Candareen

A candareen (/kændəˈriːn/;[1] Chinese: 分; pinyin: fēn; Cantonese Yale: fàn;[2] Singapore English usage: hoon[3]) is a traditional measurement of weight in East Asia. It is equal to 10 cash and is ​¹⁄₁₀ of a mace. It is approximately 378 milligrams. A troy candareen is approximately 374 milligrams (5.77 gr).

Candareen
Chinese name
Chinese	分
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin fēn Wade–Giles fen Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization fàn Southern Min Hokkien POJ hun
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	phân
Chữ Hán	分
Korean name
Hangul	푼
Hanja	分
Transcriptions Revised Romanization pun
Mongolian name
Mongolian Cyrillic	пүн
Japanese name
Kanji	分
Hiragana	ふん
Transcriptions Romanization fun

In Hong Kong, one candareen is 0.3779936375 grams[2] and, in the Weights and Measures Ordinance, it is ​²⁄₁₅₀ ounces avoirdupois. In Singapore, one candareen is 0.377994 grams.[3]

The word candareen comes from the Malay kandūri.[1] An earlier English form of the name was condrin.[1] The candareen was also formerly used to describe a unit of currency in imperial China equal to 10 li (釐) and is ​¹⁄₁₀ of a mace. The Mandarin Chinese word fēn is used to denote ​¹⁄₁₀₀ of a Chinese renminbi yuan but the term candareen for that currency is now obsolete.

Postal denomination

The "Large Dragons", China's first postage stamps, 1878

On 1 May 1878 the Imperial Maritime Customs was opened to the public and China's first postage stamps, the "Large Dragons" (Chinese: 大龍郵票; pinyin: dài lóng yóupiào), were issued to handle payment. The stamps were inscribed "CHINA" in both Latin and Chinese characters, and denominated in candareens.[4]

References

1. "Candareen". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) Accessed from OED Online.
2. "Weights and Measures Ordinance". Laws of Hong Kong.
3. "Weights and Measures Act (CHAPTER 349) Third Schedule". Singapore Statutes.
4. Institute of Chinese Studies, University of Heidelberg, Germany: Shelfmark: HE6185.C55 T33 1989|title: 大龍郵票與清代郵史 / 中國郵票博物館 編 Ta-lung yu-p'iao yü Ch'ing-tai yu-shih / Chung-kuo yu-p'iao po-wu-kuan pien |Published: 香港 : 商務印書館 Hsiang-kang : Shang-wu yin-shu-kuan, 1989 |Description: 212 p.: col. ill.|ISBN 978-962-07-5077-9 |Language: chi.; eng.|Corp. body: 中國郵票博物館 Chung-kuo yu-p'iao po-wu-kuan|Parallel Title: A picture album of The Large Dragon Stamps and the postal history of the Qing Dynasty|Subjects: Postage-stamps - China - History

See also

• Postage stamps and postal history of China#Imperial China
• Chinese units of measurement
• Economy of China
• Economic history of China (Pre-1911)
• Economic history of China (1912–1949)