Indian Antiquary Vol 27

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 34

30
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
are 1 liang equals grs. 97.5 1 kin
195
33
780
3,900
7,800
B.Special Ancient Coins.
1 fun
equals grs. 86 9 fun are 1 yuen "2780 C.-Literary Weights.
20 liang are 1 literary kin F equals grs. 1,950
2 kin, 1 lüeh
2 lüeh,, 1 hwan
3,900 7,800
D.
Larger Weights.
30 kinare 1 kuin equals grs. 58,500 1 shih23 234,000 Ancient and Modern compared.
4 kuin
23
2 che 2 liang 4 kin, 1 yaen
1 lüeh
1 hwan
5 yuen 2 lüeh
33
13
33
93
6 ywê are 1 pè 2 pè 1 mû (2 &) 2 mû 1 mat 4 mặt 1 kyat
33
39
33
Burmese Decimal Scale of Mu.
39
39
33
23
33
E.
1 modern chu is 1 ancient hwa, or 6 ancient chu, equals grs. 24:17 1 modern liang is 6 ancient liang24 equals grs. 579.84
39
These ancient Chinese tables are of the first importance to the present discussion, because of the following comparison that can be made:
[FEBRUARY, 1899.
Ancient Chinese Scale.
are 1 hwa
REFLE
6 chu 2 hwa
1 che
2 che ,, 1 liang 2 liang,, 1 kin
Therefore 96 ywé: 1 kyat and 48 chu= 1 kin. Now the chu is four grains and equals the fén or candareen, i. e., the conventional seed of the Adenanthera pavonina, and the ywê is in this case, as we have seen ante, Vol. XXVI. p. 314, the seed of the Abrus precatorius, conventionally
23 Neumann, Translations from Chinese and Armenian, 1831, in The History of the Chinese Pirates, has under date 1809, p. 41, and also p. 124, an odd note: "A shih or stone contains 4 kuens: a kuen 30 kin or catty, the well-known Chinese weight: a catty is equal to lt lb. English." The shih could not, therefore, have possibly been a stone or 14 lbs. He has, however, other odd notes; e. g., p. 22 (also p. 102):-"These (teaou fa) are large vessels, with windows from 200 to 300 tons: they are called by Europeans by the Chinese name, in the Canton dialect, junks: chuen is the Mandarin pronunciation." But how about Malay and Javanese jong and ajong?
24 Lockyer, Trade in India, p. 156 ff., gives a table, dated c. 1704, for converting Canton weights into Troy weights and vice versa. His tale is 10 oz. 4 dwts, 5'28 grs. 581-28 grs. His mace is 2 dwts. 10-12 grs. = 58'12 grs. But p. 159 he says: "you cannot well be without such a Table, thoroughly examin'd, in your Closet. I met with several done by other Hands; but all disagreeing, I calculated this for the Use of the Factory.
weights are here much bigger than at Amoy; where by the Medium of four different Tables 100 oz. Troy, amount to The Tale 84, 4m., 8c., 90., which at Canton is 82T., 5m., 7c., 6c." That is, the Canton weights were then about 2 per cent. larger than the Amoy weights, which would make the Amoy Tale of that period c. 570 grs. and the mace about 57 grs. Stevens, Guide, 1775, p. 105 ff., gives a table for converting "Canton Weight or Money into English Troy Weight" and vice verad. His tale is 1 oz. 4 dwts, 3'84 grs. 579-84 grs.; his mace 2 dwts, 9984 grs. 57 984 grs.: his candareen is 5-7984 grs.: his cash (caza on p. 129) is 0-57984 grs. This is a calculation downwards on the basis that 100 taels, Canton weight, 120 oz. 16 dwts. English Troy weight. Both Terrien de la Couperie's and Stevens' weights must be taken as conventional literary denominations, because in 1870 the tael varied in practice from 58. 9d. to 6s. 8d., i. e., c. 14 per cent,, in different ports in China: Herstlett's Treaties, p. 37 n., quoting Pori. Papers, China, Nos, 7 and 12, 1870.