Li (unit)
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Li (
or "Chinese feet".The character 里 combines the characters for "field" (田, tián) and "earth" (土, tǔ), since it was considered to be about the length of a single village. As late as the 1940s, a "li" did not represent a fixed measure but could be longer or shorter depending on the effort required to cover the distance.[1]
There is also another li (Traditional:
Changing values
Like most
The basic Chinese traditional unit of distance was the chi. As its value changed over time, so did the li's. In addition, the number of chi per li was sometimes altered. To add further complexity, under the Qin dynasty, the li was set at 360 "paces" (
The basic units of measurement remained stable over the Qin and Han periods. A bronze imperial standard measure, dated AD 9, had been preserved at the Imperial Palace in Beijing and came to light in 1924. This has allowed very accurate conversions to modern measurements, which has provided a new and extremely useful additional tool in the identification of place names and routes. These measurements have been confirmed in many ways including the discovery of a number of rulers found at archaeological sites, and careful measurements of distances between known points.[2] The Han li was calculated by Dubs to be 415.8 metres[3] and all indications are that this is a precise and reliable determination.[2]
Dynasty | Period | SI length |
---|---|---|
Xia | 2100–1600 BCE
|
405 m |
Western Zhou | 1045–771 BCE | 358 m |
Eastern Zhou | 770–250 BCE | 416 m |
Qin | 221–206 BCE | 415.8 m |
Han | 205 BCE – 220 CE
|
415.8 m |
Tang | 618–907 CE | 323 m |
Qing | 1644–1911 CE | 537–645 m |
ROC | 1911–1984 | 500–545 m |
PRC | 1984–present | 500 m |
Under the Tang dynasty (AD 618–907), the li was approximately 323 meters.[citation needed]
In the late
These changes were undone by the
Under
Cultural use
As one might expect for the equivalent of "mile", li appears in many Chinese sayings, locations, and proverbs as an indicator of great distances or the exotic:
- One Chinese name for the Great Wall is the "Ten-Thousand-Li Long Wall" (traditional Chinese: 萬里長城; simplified Chinese: 万里长城; pinyin: Wànlǐchángchéng). As in Greek, the number "ten thousand" is used figuratively in Chinese to mean any "immeasurable" value and this title has never provided a literal distance of 10,000 li (5,000 km or 3,100 mi). The actual length of the modern Great Wall is around 42,000 li (21,000 km or 13,000 mi), over 4 times the name's proverbially "immeasurable" length.[citation needed]
- The Chinese proverb appearing in chapter 64 of the Tao Te Ching and commonly rendered as "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" in fact refers to a thousand li: 千里之行,始於足下(Qiānlǐzhīxíng, shǐyúzúxià).
- The greatest horses of Chinese history – including thousand-li horses" (千里馬, qiānlǐmǎ), since they could supposedly travel a thousand li (500 km or 310 mi) in a single day.
- Li is sometimes used in location names, for example: Wulipu (Chinese: 五里铺镇), Hubei; Ankang Wulipu Airport (Chinese: 安康五里铺机场), Shaanxi. Sanlitun (Chinese: 三里屯; pinyin: Sānlǐtún; lit. 'three li village') is an area in Beijing.
Ri in Japan and Korea
The present day Korean ri (리, 里) and Japanese ri (里) are units of measurements that can be traced back to the Chinese li (里).
Although the Chinese unit was unofficially used in Japan since the
In
In North Korea the Chollima Movement, a campaign aimed at improving labour productivity along the lines of the earlier Soviet Stakhanovite movement, gets its name from the word "chollima" which refers to a thousand-ri horse (chŏn + ri + ma in North Korean Romanization).
See also
- Chinese units of measurement
- League (unit) for a general discussion of league-style units
- Japanese units of measurement
- Korean units of measurement
- Qianlima for more on "thousand-li horse" including North Korean Chollima
References
Citations
- ISBN 978-0-929398-77-8.
- ^ a b Hulsewé (1961), pp. 206–207.
- ^ Dubs (1938), pp. 276–280; (1955), p. 160, n. 7,
Sources
- Homer H. Dubs (1938): The History of the Former Han Dynasty by Pan Ku. Vol. One. Translator and editor: Homer H. Dubs. Baltimore. Waverly Press, Inc.
- Homer H. Dubs (1955): The History of the Former Han Dynasty by Pan Ku. Vol. Three. Translator and editor: Homer H. Dubs. Ithaca, New York. Spoken Languages Services, Inc.
- Hulsewé, A. F. P.(1961). "Han measures". A. F. P. Hulsewé, T'oung pao Archives, Vol. XLIX, Livre 3, pp. 206–207.
- Needham, Joseph. (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 3, Civil Engineering and Nautics. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd.