The li () in Mandarin, or lei in Cantonese, is a traditional Chinese unit of length. One li equals 10 hao, 1/10 of a fen, 1/1000 of a chi, or 1/3 mm in China.https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/釐
Chinese length units promulgated in 1915 + Table of Chinese length units promulgated in 1915. PinyinCharacterRelative valueMetric valueImperial valueNotesháo 32 μmlí (T) or (S)0.32 mm0.0126 infēn3.2 mm0.126 incùn32 mm1.26 inChinese inchchǐ10.32 m12.6 inChinese footbù51.6 m5.2 ftChinese pacezhàng103.2 m3.50 ydChinese yardyǐn10032 m35.0 ydlǐ1800576 m630 ydChinese mile, this li is not the small li above, which has a different character and tone
Present law on Chinese length units
This law of length measurement was issued by the Chinese government in 1929, and has been effective since 1 January 1930. The base unit chi is defined to be 1/3 meter.
+ Table of Chinese length units effective since 1930PinyinCharacterRelative valueMetric valueImperial valueNotesháo μmChinese millí (T) or (S) mm0.0131 inChinese calibrefēn mm0.1312 inChinese linecùn cm1.312 inChinese inchchǐ1 cm13.12 inChinese footzhàng10 m3.645 ydChinese yardyǐn100 m36.45 ydChinese chainlǐ1500500 m546.8 ydChinese mile, this li is not the small li above, which has a different character and tone
Chinese length units in engineering These units are based on the metric system. The Chinese word for metre is mǐ, which can take the Chinese standard SI prefixes (for "kilo-", "centi-", etc.). A kilometre, however, may also be called gōnglǐ, i.e. a metric lǐ. In the engineering field, traditional units are rounded up to metric units. 1981 Gazette of the State Council of the People's Republic of China , No. 365 , page 575, Table 7: SI prefixes
+ Table of Chinese length units in engineeringPinyinCharacterRelative valueMetric valueImperial value Noteshū1 μmAuthorized name: sī (T) or (S)10 μmAuthorized name: háo100 μmAuthorized name: (T) or (S)lí (T) or (S)1 mmAuthorized name: fēn10 mmAuthorized name: (T) or (S)cùn100 mmAuthorized name: chǐ11 mAuthorized name: Zhàng1010 mAuthorized name: yǐn100100 mAuthorized name: lǐ10001000 mthis li is not the small li above, which has a different character and tone
Compounds
差之毫釐，謬以千里 (chāzhīháolí, miùyǐqiānlǐ)
See also Li (length) Fen (length) Chinese units of measurement
References