A candareen (/kændəˈrn/;[1] Chinese: ; 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 110 of a mace. It is approximately 378 milligrams. A troy candareen is approximately 374 milligrams (5.77 gr).

Candareen
Chinese name
Chinese
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinfēn
Wade–Gilesfen
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanizationfàn
Jyutpingfan1
Southern Min
Hokkien POJhun
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabetphân
Chữ Hán
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Transcriptions
Revised Romanizationpun
Mongolian name
Mongolian Cyrillicпүн
Mongolian scriptᠫᠦᠨ
Japanese name
Kanji
Hiraganaふん
Transcriptions
Romanizationfun
Manchu name
Manchu scriptᡶᡠᠸᡝᠨ
Möllendorfffuwen

In Hong Kong, one candareen is 0.3779936375 grams[2] and, in the Weights and Measures Ordinance, it is 2150 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 () and is 110 of a mace. The Mandarin Chinese word fēn is used to denote 1100 of a Chinese renminbi yuan but the term candareen for that currency is now obsolete.

Postal denomination

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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]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Candareen". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) Accessed from OED Online.
  2. ^ a b "Weights and Measures Ordinance". Laws of Hong Kong.
  3. ^ a b "Weights and Measures Act (CHAPTER 349) Third Schedule". Singapore Statutes. Archived from the original on 2017-08-20. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
  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