The studies on the measuring devices of the Han Dynasty and the relevant issues
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Yunxiang Bai
Abstract
Great progress has been made in the study of the measurement of the Han Dynasty by the efforts of scholars of several generations. Increasing new discoveries have refreshed our understandings as well. The discoveries and analyses of rulers of the Han Dynasty indicate that the commonly used rulers at that time were made of bronze, bone and wood. Their materials and decorations varied in terms of date and region, and were often found as grave goods in the burials of women. The actual length of the unit “chi” was generally 23cm during the Western Han and Xin (Wang Mang Interregnum) Dynasties and was usually 23.4cm in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It could be seen as the standard measurement during that time. Archaeological research should calculate and understand the size of objects and architecture of the Han Dynasty based on this scale, but had better not be restricted by it. Therefore, an archaeological study with scientific perspective of measurement should adopt measurement concepts in historical context to investigate and analyze cultural remains and features, rather than deal with it stereotypically.
© 2015 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Feature
- Solving puzzles about the casting method of bronze inscriptions of the Western Zhou Dynasty
- New archaeological discoveries
- The Xichengyi Site in Zhangye City, Gansu
- The Eastern Zhou cemetery at Wenfengta, Suizhou City
- Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum site in Xi’an
- The remains of the ancient bridges on the Wei River in Xi’an City
- The Laoguanshan Cemetery of the Han Dynasty in Tianhui Town, Chengdu City
- The tomb of Emperor Sui Yangdi at Caozhuang in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu
- Spotlight
- Excavations in 1988–1989 at the Mount Dagudui lithic quarry site in Xiangfen County, Shanxi
- A preliminary study on the lithic resource utilization mode of the Mount Dagudui Site in Xiangfen County, Shanxi
- Reports
- The Neolithic remains of the Shuangta Site in Baicheng City, Jilin
- The excavation of the Wangyukou Locus South at Yinxu Site in Anyang City, Henan in 2009
- The excavation of the mirror-casting workshop site of the Qin and Han Dynasties at the Linzi City Site of the Qi State in Shandong
- Mausoleum M1 of the Jiangdu Feudatory Kingdom of the Western Han Dynasty at Dayun Hill in Xuyi County, Jiangsu Province
- The archaeological investigation and coring exploration of the Weiling Mausoleum of Emperor Yuan of the Western Han Dynasty
- Preliminary findings from the 2010 archaeological survey in Lake Dian Basin, Yunnan
- The Singim Cemetery in Turfan City
- Research
- The salt-making workshop sites of the Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties in northern Shandong and their organization of production
- On the emergence of the domestic chicken as seen from finds of bronze chickens in southwestern China
- The production context of the Zeng State bronzes from Yejiashan Cemetery of the Western Zhou Dynasty
- The studies on the measuring devices of the Han Dynasty and the relevant issues
- Caprid kill-off patterns and secondary product exploitation at Xinzhai Site, Henan Province
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Feature
- Solving puzzles about the casting method of bronze inscriptions of the Western Zhou Dynasty
- New archaeological discoveries
- The Xichengyi Site in Zhangye City, Gansu
- The Eastern Zhou cemetery at Wenfengta, Suizhou City
- Emperor Qin Shihuang’s Mausoleum site in Xi’an
- The remains of the ancient bridges on the Wei River in Xi’an City
- The Laoguanshan Cemetery of the Han Dynasty in Tianhui Town, Chengdu City
- The tomb of Emperor Sui Yangdi at Caozhuang in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu
- Spotlight
- Excavations in 1988–1989 at the Mount Dagudui lithic quarry site in Xiangfen County, Shanxi
- A preliminary study on the lithic resource utilization mode of the Mount Dagudui Site in Xiangfen County, Shanxi
- Reports
- The Neolithic remains of the Shuangta Site in Baicheng City, Jilin
- The excavation of the Wangyukou Locus South at Yinxu Site in Anyang City, Henan in 2009
- The excavation of the mirror-casting workshop site of the Qin and Han Dynasties at the Linzi City Site of the Qi State in Shandong
- Mausoleum M1 of the Jiangdu Feudatory Kingdom of the Western Han Dynasty at Dayun Hill in Xuyi County, Jiangsu Province
- The archaeological investigation and coring exploration of the Weiling Mausoleum of Emperor Yuan of the Western Han Dynasty
- Preliminary findings from the 2010 archaeological survey in Lake Dian Basin, Yunnan
- The Singim Cemetery in Turfan City
- Research
- The salt-making workshop sites of the Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties in northern Shandong and their organization of production
- On the emergence of the domestic chicken as seen from finds of bronze chickens in southwestern China
- The production context of the Zeng State bronzes from Yejiashan Cemetery of the Western Zhou Dynasty
- The studies on the measuring devices of the Han Dynasty and the relevant issues
- Caprid kill-off patterns and secondary product exploitation at Xinzhai Site, Henan Province
