The Liji (a text that described the ceremonial occasions, ancient rites and social forms of the Zhou Dynasty) states that the first measurement units were created by Huangdi, better known as the Yellow Emperor. According to the Xiao Erya (early Chinese dictionary), the units of length were created with the human body serving as the basis. However, these units were inconsistent and were unified later by Yu the Great, the legendary founder of the Xia Dynasty (2100 BCE–1600 BCE). Several units of measurement like rulers with decimal units were also used during the Shang Dynasty (1600 BCE-1046 BCE), which is evident from the articles unearthed from the tombs built during this period.
The units of measurement showed a lack of consistency from state to state during the Zhou Dynasty (1122 BCE to 256 BCE) when the king conferred powers of the state to the nobles. After the Era of the Warring States (5th century BCE-221 BCE), China was unified by Qin Shi Huang (259 BCE–210 BCE), who standardized the units of measurement. During the rule of the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), the "Book of Han" listed the measurement units in a systematic manner. The traditional system of the units of measurement was not revised until the Ming Dynasty (1368-1684) introduced the decimal units.
In 1976, the Hong Kong Metrication Ordinance brought a change in the measurement units when the traditional system was gradually replaced by the International System of Units (SI). However, it was not until 1984 that the SI system was used in the People's Republic of China. In 1987, the SI system was declared the national standard by the Chinese government. |
