Jin (Chinese) (jin)

ChineseTraditional unit (still used in some regions)

Exactly 500 g in the modern Chinese market system, used in grocery markets across China. Often called a catty.

1 jin (Chinese) = 0.5 kilograms (exactly).

About the jin (Chinese)

Anyone buying fruit or vegetables in a Chinese market is quoted prices per jin, and in English the unit is often called a catty, a word from the Malay kati. The historical jin shifted a great deal. Tables give about 250 g before the Qin, 220 g in the Eastern Han, 440 g in the Northern Wei, around 661 g in the Tang, 633 g in the Song and Yuan, and about 590 g in the Ming and Qing.

Modern values are tied to political decisions more than to ancient practice. The Republic's 1930 system set the jin at 500 g with 16 liang, and that mass was retained in mainland China after 1959, which is the figure used here. Hong Kong keeps a jin of about 604.79 g, and Taiwan uses 600 g. A jin is 10 liang on the mainland but 16 elsewhere, and 100 jin form one dan, also called a picul.

Sources: Wikipedia: Jin (unit); Wikipedia: Chinese units of measurement

Jin (Chinese) conversion chart

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More Chinese units

• qian (Chinese) (weight & mass)
• liang (Chinese) (weight & mass)
• dan (Chinese) (weight & mass)
• catty (Hong Kong) (weight & mass)
• tael (Hong Kong) (weight & mass)
• fen (Chinese) (length)
• cun (Chinese) (length)
• chi (Chinese) (length)
• zhang (Chinese) (length)
• li (Chinese) (length)
• mu (Chinese) (area)
• qing (Chinese) (area)
• shichen (time)
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