Fen (mass)
Fen, called fan in Cantonese, hun in Taiwanese, phân in Vietnamese, or "candareen" in English, is a traditional Chinese unit for weight measurement. It originated in China before being introduced to neighboring countries in East Asia. Nowaday, the mass of 1 fen equals 0.5 grams in mainland China, 0.375 grams in Taiwan, 0.37799 grams in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia, and 0.378 grams in Vietnam.
Fen is mostly used in the traditional markets, and famous for measuring gold, silver and Chinese medicines.
China Mainland
On June 25, 1959, the State Council of the People's Republic of China issued the "Order on the Unified Measurement System", retaining the market measure system, with minor amendment.| Pinyin | Character | Relative value | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
| lí | 市厘 | 50 mg | cash | ||
| fēn | 市分 | ' | 500 mg | ' | candareen |
| qián | 市錢 | 5 g | 0.1764 oz | mace or Chinese dram | |
| liǎng | 市兩 | 50 g | 1.764 oz | tael or Chinese ounce | |
| jīn | 市斤 | 1 | 500 g | 1.102 lb | catty or Chinese pound formerly 16 liang = 1 jin |
| dàn | 市擔 | 100 | 50 kg | 110.2 lb | picul or Chinese hundredweight |
where 1 fen equals 0.5 grams and 10 fens equals 1 qian. The traditional Chinese medicine measurement system remains unchanged.
Taiwan
The Taiwanese still followed their own habits and continued to use the old weights and measures of the Qing Dynasty. 1 Taiwan fen is equal to 0.375 grams, or 1/10 Taiwan qian.Hong Kong and Macau
Hong Kong and Macau mass units
In Hong Kong, one fen is equal to 1/10 qian, which is 0.3779936375 grams, or 377.9936375 mg.| Jyutping | Character | English | Portuguese | Relative value | Relation to the Traditional Chinese Units | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
| lei4 | 厘 | li (cash) | liz | condorim | ||||
| fan1 | 分 | fen | condorim | ' | maz | ' | 0.2133 dr | |
| cin4 | 錢 | qian (mace, tsin) | maz | tael | 2.1333 dr | |||
| loeng2 | 兩 | liang (leung, tael) | tael | cate | 1.3333 oz | 604.78982/16=37.79936375 | ||
| gan1 | 斤 | jin (gan, catty) | cate | 1 | pico | 604.78982 g | 1.3333 lb | Hong Kong and Macau share the definition. |
| daam3 | 擔 | dan, (tam, dan) | pico | 100 | - | 60.478982 kg | 133.3333 lb | Hong Kong and Macau share the definition. |
Similarly, Singapore law stipulates that one fen equals 0.37799 g. Malaysia has the same regulations as it is a former British colony as well.
Hong Kong troy units
These are used for trading precious metals such as gold and silver.| English | Character | Relative value | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
| fen troy | 金衡分 | 374.29 mg | 0.096 drt | ||
| qian (mace) troy | 金衡錢 | 3.7429 g | 0.96 drt | ||
| liang (tael) troy | 金衡兩 | 1 | 37.429 g | 1.2 ozt |
Vietnam
In Vietnam, the unit of fen is called "phân": 1 phân is equal to 0.38 grams or 10 ly by traditional value.| Name in Chữ Quốc ngữ | Hán/Nôm name | Traditional value | Traditional conversion | Modern value | Modern conversion |
| tấn | 擯 | 604.5 kg | 10 tạ | kg | 10 tạ |
| quân | 302.25 kg | 5 tạ | 500 kg | obsolete | |
| tạ | 榭 | 60.45 kg | 10 yến | 100 kg | 10 yến |
| bình | 30.225 kg | 5 yến | 50 kg | obsolete | |
| yến | 6.045 kg | 10 cân | 10 kg | 10 cân | |
| cân | 斤 | 604.5 g | 16 lạng | 1 kg | 10 lạng |
| nén | 378 g | 10 lạng | |||
| lạng | 兩 | 37.8 g | 10 đồng | 100 g | |
| đồng or tiền | 錢 | 3.78 g | 10 phân | ||
| phân | 分 | 0.38 g | 10 ly | ||
| ly or li | 厘 | 37.8 mg | 10 hào | ||
| hào | 毫 | 3.8 mg | 10 ti | ||
| ti | 絲 | 0.4 mg | 10 hốt | ||
| hốt | 忽 | 0.04 mg | 10 vi | ||
| vi | 微 | 0.004 mg |
For more information on the Chinese mass measurement system, please see article Jin (mass).