# Qian (mass)

Qian (simplified Chinese: 钱; traditional Chinese: 錢; pinyin: qián), called tsin (cin4) in Cantonese, tiền or đồng in Vietnamese, or "Chinese ounce" or "mace" in English, is a traditional Chinese unit for weight measurement. It originated in China before being introduced to neighboring countries in East Asia. Nowaday, the mass of 1 qian equals 5 grams in mainland China, 3.75 grams in Taiwan,
3.7799 grams in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, and 3.78 grams in Vietnam.
Qian is mostly used in the traditional markets, and famous for measuring gold, silver and Chinese medicines.

## China Mainland

On June 25, 1959, the State Council of the People's Republic of China issued the "Order on the Unified Measurement System", retaining the market measure system, with minor amendment.
Table of mass units in the People's Republic of China since 1959 :
| Pinyin | Character | Relative value | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
| lí | 市厘 | 1⁄10000 | 50 mg | 0.001764 oz | cash |
| fēn | 市分 | 1⁄1000 | 500 mg | 0.01764 oz | candareen |
| qián | 市錢 | 1⁄100 | 5 g | 0.1764 oz | mace or Chinese dram |
| liǎng | 市兩 | 1⁄10 | 50 g | 1.764 oz | tael or Chinese ounce |
| jīn | 市斤 | 1 | 500 g | 1.102 lb | catty or Chinese pound formerly 16 liang = 1 jin |
| dàn | 市擔 | 100 | 50 kg | 110.2 lb | picul or Chinese hundredweight |
where 1 qian equals 5 grams, and 10 qiags equals 1 liang. The traditional Chinese medicine measurement system remains unchanged.

## Taiwan

In 1895, Taiwan was ceded to Japan from China. The Japanese implemented the metric system, but the Taiwanese still followed their own habits and continued to use the old weights and measures of the Qing Dynasty. 1 Taiwan qian is equal to 3.75 grams, or 1/10 Taiwan liang.
Table of units of mass in Taiwan :
| Unit | Unit | Unit | Unit | Relative value | Metric | Metric | US & Imperial | US & Imperial | Notes |
| Taiwanese Hokkien | Hakka | Mandarin | Character | Relative value | Legal | Decimal | Exact | Approx. | Notes |
| Lî | Lî | Lí | 釐 | 1⁄1000 | ⁠3/80,000⁠ kg | 37.5 mg | ⁠3750/45,359,237⁠ lb | 0.5787 gr | Cash; Same as Japanese Rin |
| Hun | Fûn | Fēn | 分 | 1⁄100 | ⁠3/8000⁠ kg | 375 mg | ⁠37,500/45,359,237⁠ lb | 5.787 gr | Candareen; Same as Japanese Fun |
| Chîⁿ | Chhièn | Qián | 錢 | 1⁄10 | ⁠3/800⁠ kg | 3.75 g | ⁠375,000/45,359,237⁠ lb | 2.116 dr | Mace; Same as Japanese Momme (匁) |
| Niú | Liông | Liǎng | 兩 | 1 | ⁠3/80⁠ kg | 37.5 g | ⁠3,750,000/45,359,237⁠ lb | 21.16 dr | Tael |
| Kin/Kun | Kîn | Jīn | 斤 | 16 | ⁠3/5⁠ kg | 600 g | ⁠60,000,000/45,359,237⁠ lb | 1.323 lb | Catty; Same as Japanese Kin |
| Tàⁿ | Tâm | Dàn | 擔 | 1600 | 60 kg | 60 kg | ⁠6,000,000,000/45,359,237⁠ lb | 132.3 lb | Picul; Same as Japanese Tan |

## Hong Kong and Macau
### Hong Kong and Macau mass units

Currently, Hong Kong law stipulates that one qian is equal to 1/10 liang, which is 3.779936375 grams.
Table of Chinese mass units in Hong Kong and Macau :
| Jyutping | Character | English | Portuguese | Relative value | Relation to the Traditional Chinese Units (Macau) | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
| lei4 | 厘 | li (cash) | liz | 1⁄16000 | 1⁄10 condorim | 37.79931 mg | 0.02133 dr | |
| fan1 | 分 | fen (candareen, fan) | condorim | 1⁄1600 | 1⁄10 maz | 377.9936375 mg | 0.2133 dr | |
| cin4 | 錢 | qian (mace, tsin) | maz | 1⁄160 | 1⁄10 tael | 3.779936375 g | 2.1333 dr | |
| loeng2 | 兩 | liang (leung, tael) | tael | 1⁄16 | 1⁄16 cate | 37.79936375 g | 1.3333 oz | 604.78982/16=37.79936375 |
| gan1 | 斤 | jin (gan, catty) | cate | 1 | 1⁄100 pico | 604.78982 g | 1.3333 lb | Hong Kong and Macau share the definition. |
| daam3 | 擔 | dan (tam, dan) | pico | 100 | None | 60.478982 kg | 133.3333 lb | Hong Kong and Macau share the definition. |
Similarly, Singapore law stipulates that one qian equals 3.7799 g. Malaysia has the same regulations as it is a former British colony as well.

### Hong Kong troy units

These are used for trading precious metals such as gold and silver.
Table of mass (Hong Kong troy) units :
| English | Character | Relative value | Metric value | Imperial value |
| fen (candareen) troy | 金衡分 | 1⁄100 | 374.29 mg | 0.096 drt |
| qian (mace) troy | 金衡錢 | 1⁄10 | 3.7429 g | 0.96 drt |
| liang (tael) troy | 金衡兩 | 1 | 37.429 g | 1.2 ozt |

## Vietnam

In Vietnam, the unit of qian is called "đồng or tiền": 1 đồng is equal to 3.78 grams or 10 phân by traditional value.
Early 20th-century units of weight :
| Name in Chữ Quốc ngữ | Hán/Nôm name | Traditional value | Traditional conversion | Modern value | Modern conversion |
| tấn | 擯 | 604.5 kg | 10 tạ | 1 000 kg | 10 tạ |
| quân | | 302.25 kg | 5 tạ | 500 kg | obsolete |
| tạ | 榭 | 60.45 kg | 10 yến | 100 kg | 10 yến |
| bình | | 30.225 kg | 5 yến | 50 kg | obsolete |
| yến | | 6.045 kg | 10 cân | 10 kg | 10 cân |
| cân | 斤 | 604.5 g | 16 lạng | 1 kg | 10 lạng |
| nén | | 378 g | 10 lạng | | |
| lạng | 兩 | 37.8 g | 10 đồng | 100 g | |
| đồng or tiền | 錢 | 3.78 g | 10 phân | | |
| phân | 分 | 0.38 g | 10 ly | | |
| ly or li | 厘 | 37.8 mg | 10 hào | | |
| hào | 毫 | 3.8 mg | 10 ti | | |
| ti | 絲 | 0.4 mg | 10 hốt | | |
| hốt | 忽 | 0.04 mg | 10 vi | | |
| vi | 微 | 0.004 mg | | | |
For more information on the Chinese mass measurement system, please see article Jin (mass).