Cun (unit)
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Cun | |||
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Chinese name | |||
Chinese | 寸 | ||
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Japanese name | |||
Kanji | 寸 | ||
Kana | すん | ||
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Korean name | |||
Hangul | 치 | ||
Hanja | n/a | ||
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Alternative Korean name | |||
Hangul | 촌 | ||
Hanja | 寸 | ||
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Cun | |
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![]() Wooden ruler of the western Han dynasty, unearthed at Jinguan Pass Site in Jinta County | |
General information | |
Unit system | Chinese unit |
Unit of | length |
Conversions | |
1 cun in ... | ... is equal to ... |
metric (SI) units | 1/30 m ~33.33 mm |
imperial/US units | ~0.10936 ft ~1.3123 in |
Tsun | |
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![]() A section of an old Hong Kong ruler, showing the last (10th) cun of a chi. One can see that the chi in that jurisdiction was exactly equal to 14+5/8 of an inch. A metric ruler is shown next to it for comparison | |
General information | |
Unit system | Chinese unit |
Unit of | length |
Conversions | |
1 tsun in ... | ... is equal to ... |
metric (SI) units | 0.0371475 m ~37.15 mm |
imperial/US units | 0.121875 ft 1+37/80 in |
Sun | |
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Unit system | Japanese unit |
Unit of | length |
Conversions | |
1 sun in ... | ... is equal to ... |
metric (SI) units | 1⁄33 m ~30.30 mm |
imperial/US units | ~0.099419 ft ~1.1930 in |
Cun (Chinese: 寸; pinyin: cùn; Wade–Giles: ts'un; Japanese: sun; Korean: chon), often glossed as the Chinese inch, is a traditional Chinese unit of length. Its traditional measure is the width of a person's thumb at the knuckle, whereas the width of the two forefingers denotes 1.5 cun and the width of four fingers (except the thumb) side-by-side is 3 cuns.[1] In this sense it continues to be used to chart acupuncture points on the human body in various uses of traditional Chinese medicine.
The cun was part of a larger system, and represented one-tenth of a chi ("Chinese foot"). In time the lengths were standardized, although to different values in different jurisdictions. (See chi (unit) for details.)
In Hong Kong, using the traditional standard, it measures ~3.715 cm (~1.463 in) and is written "tsun".[2] In the twentieth century in the Republic of China, the lengths were standardized to fit with the metric system, and in current usage in People's Republic of China and Taiwan[citation needed] it measures 3+1⁄3 cm (~1.312 in).
In Japan, the corresponding unit, sun (寸), was standardized at 1000⁄33 mm (~3.030 cm, ~1.193 in, or ~0.09942 ft).
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "TCM Student: Cun Measurements". www.tcmstudent.com. Retrieved 2018-02-10.
- ^ Cap. 68 WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ORDINANCE
External links[]
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Look up 寸 or tsun in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- Units of length
- Human-based units of measurement