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{{Short description|Traditional Chinese unit of distance}}
{{hatnote|Li may also refer to a Chinese unit of weight; see [[Cash (unit)]].}}
{{italic title}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2011}}
[[File:Guang Yutu 1588 Vol 2 Pg 107 Eastern South Sea 1.jpg|thumb|Map of the eastern [[South China Sea]] from 1588; each grid square is 400 ''li'' (about 133 km or 80 miles).]]
'''''Li''''' ({{zh|{{linktext|里}}}}, ''lǐ'', or {{lang|zh|{{linktext|市里}}}}, ''shìlǐ''), also known as the '''Chinese mile''',{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}} is a [[Chinese units of measurement|traditional Chinese unit]] of [[distance]]. The li has varied considerably over time but was usually about one third of an English [[mile]] and now has a standardized length of a half-[[kilometer]] ({{convert|500|m|ft mi|sp=us|lk=on|sigfig=3|disp=or|abbr=off}}). This is then divided into 1,500 [[chi (unit)|chi]] or "Chinese feet".

The character [[wikt:里|里]] combines the characters for "field" ([[wikt:田|田]], ''tián'') and "earth" ([[wikt:土|土]], ''tǔ''), since it was considered to be about the length of a single village. As late as the 1940s, a "li" did not represent a fixed measure but could be longer or shorter depending on the ''effort'' required to cover the distance.<ref name="Winborn1994">{{cite book|author=Byron R. Winborn|title=Wen Bon: a Naval Air Intelligence Officer behind Japanese lines in China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TD-x0Heq0uEC&pg=PA63|year=1994|publisher=University of North Texas Press|isbn=978-0-929398-77-8|page=63}}</ref>

There is also another ''li'' (Traditional: [[wikt:釐|釐]], Simplified: [[wikt:厘|厘]], ''lí'') that indicates a unit of length {{Fraction|1000}} of a ''chi'', but it is used much less commonly. This ''li'' is used in the [[People's Republic of China]] as the equivalent of the ''centi-'' prefix in metric units, thus ''limi'' ([[wikt:厘米|厘米]], límǐ) for centimeter. The [[Tone (linguistics)|tonal difference]] makes it distinguishable to speakers of Chinese, but unless specifically noted otherwise, any reference to ''li'' will always refer to the longer traditional unit and not to either the shorter unit or the kilometer. This traditional unit, in terms of historical usage and distance proportion, can be considered the [[East Asia]]n counterpart to the Western [[League (unit)|league unit]]. However, English ''[[League (unit)#English-speaking world|league]]'' commonly means "3 miles". Based upon the etymology of English ''[[Wikt:mile|mile]]'' from Latin [[Wikt: mille#Latin|mīlle]] ("1,000") abbreviating ''[[Wikt: mille#Latin|mīlle]] [[Wikt: passus#Latin|passūs]]'' ("1,000 paces"), [[Victor Mair]] coined the [[neologism]] "tricent" ("300 [paces], about a third of a mile") to translate ''li'' as a unit of distance.<ref>Mair, Victor H. (1994). "Buddhism and the Rise of the Written Vernacular in East Asia: The Making of National Languages", ''[[The Journal of Asian Studies]]'', Vol. 53, No. 3 (Aug., 1994), 729.</ref>

==Changing values==
{{See also|Chinese units}}
Like most [[Chinese units|traditional Chinese measurements]], the ''li'' was reputed to have been established by the [[Yellow Emperor]] at the founding of Chinese civilization around [[26th century BC|2600 BC]] and standardized by [[Yu the Great]] of the [[Xia Dynasty]] six hundred years later. Although the value varied from state to state during the [[Spring and Autumn period]] and [[Warring States]] periods, historians give a general value to the ''li'' of 405 meters prior to the [[Qin Dynasty]] imposition of its standard in the 3rd century BC.{{citation needed|date=September 2011}}

The basic Chinese traditional unit of distance was the ''chi''. As its value changed over time, so did the ''li''{{'}}s. In addition, the number of ''chi'' per ''li'' was sometimes altered. To add further complexity, under the Qin Dynasty, the ''li'' was set at 360 "paces" ({{lang|zh|{{linktext|步}}}}, ''bù'') but the number of ''chi'' per ''bu'' was subsequently changed from 6 to 5, shortening the ''li'' by {{frac|1|6}}. Thus, the Qin ''li'' of about 576 meters became (with other changes) the [[Han Dynasty|Han]] ''li'', which was standardized at 415.8 meters.

The basic units of measurement remained stable over the Qin and Han periods. A bronze imperial standard measure, dated AD 9, had been preserved at the Imperial Palace in Beijing and came to light in 1924. This has allowed very accurate conversions to modern measurements, which has provided a new and extremely useful additional tool in the identification of place names and routes. These measurements have been confirmed in many ways including the discovery of a number of rulers found at archaeological sites, and careful measurements of distances between known points.<ref name="Hulsewé 1961, pp. 206–207">Hulsewé (1961), pp. 206–207.</ref> The Han ''li'' was calculated by Dubs to be 415.8 metres<ref>Dubs (1938), pp. 276–280; (1955), p. 160, n. 7,</ref> and all indications are that this is a precise and reliable determination.<ref name="Hulsewé 1961, pp. 206–207"/>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ '''Evolving values of the ''li''{{citation needed|date=September 2011}}'''
|-
! Dynasty
! Period
! [[International System of Units|SI]] length
|-
| Xia
| 2100–1600 [[BCE]]
| 405 m
|-
| Western Zhou
| 1045–771 BCE
| 358 m
|-
| Eastern Zhou
| 770–250 BCE
| 416 m
|-
| Qin
| 221–206 BCE
| 415.8 m
|-
| Han
| 205 BCE – 220 [[Common era|CE]]
| 415.8 m
|-
| Tang
| 618–907 CE
| 323 m
|-
| Qing
| 1644–1911 CE
| 537–645 m
|-
| ROC
| 1911–1984
| 500–545 m
|-
| PRC
| 1984–present
| 500 m
|}

Under the [[Tang Dynasty]] (AD 618–907), the ''li'' was approximately 323 meters.{{Citation needed|date=June 2011}}

In the late [[Manchu]] or [[Qing Dynasty]], the number of ''chi'' was increased from 1,500 per ''li'' to 1,800. This had a value of 2115 feet or 644.6 meters. In addition, the Qing added a longer unit called the '''tu''', which was equal to 150 ''li'' (96.7 km).

These changes were undone by the [[Republic of China]] of [[Chiang Kai-shek]], who adopted the metric system in 1928. The Republic of China (now also known as [[Taiwan]]) continues not to use the ''li'' at all but only the kilometer ([[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]]: {{lang|zh|{{linktext|公里}}}}, ''gōnglǐ'', <small>lit.</small> "common li").

Under [[Mao Zedong]], the [[People's Republic of China]] reinstituted the traditional units as a measure of anti-imperialism and cultural pride before officially adopting the [[metric system]] in 1984. A place was made within this for the traditional units, which were restandardized to metric values. A modern ''li'' is thus set at exactly half a kilometer (500 meters). However, unlike the ''[[catty|jin]]'' which is still frequently preferred in daily use over the kilogram, the ''li'' is almost never used. Nonetheless, its appearance in many phrases and sayings means that "kilometer" must always be specified by saying ''gōnglǐ'' in full.

==Cultural use==
[[File:Anping Bridge - west-central part - looking west - DSCF9094.JPG|thumb|A section of the [[Song Dynasty|Song]]-era [[Anping Bridge]] in [[Fujian]]. The bridge is commonly known as the "Five-Li Bridge" due to its length.]]
As one might expect for the equivalent of "mile", ''li'' appears in many Chinese sayings, locations, and proverbs as an indicator of great distances or the exotic:

* One Chinese name for the [[Great Wall]] is the "Ten-Thousand-Li Long Wall" ({{lang-zh|t=萬里長城|s=万里长城|p=Wànlǐchángchéng|first=t}}). [[myriad|As in Greek]], the number "ten thousand" is used figuratively in Chinese to mean any "immeasurable" value and this title has never provided a literal distance of 10,000 ''li'' ({{convert|{{#expr:10000*0.5}}|km|mi|abbr=on|disp=or}}). The actual length of the modern Great Wall is around 42,000 ''li'' ({{convert|{{#expr:42000*0.5}}|km|mi|abbr=on|disp=or}}), over 4 times the name's proverbially "immeasurable" length.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022|reason=Why?}}
* The [[Chinese proverb]] appearing in [[s:Laozi (Wikisource translation)#Chapter 64|chapter 64]] of the ''[[Tao Te Ching]]'' and commonly rendered as "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" in fact refers to a thousand ''li'': [[A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step|千里之行，始於足下]] (''Qiānlǐzhīxíng, shǐyúzúxià'').
* The greatest horses of Chinese history {{ndash}} including [[Red Hare]] and Hualiu (驊騮) {{ndash}} are all referred to as "[[thousand-li horse|thousand-''li'' horses]]" ({{linktext|千里馬}}, ''qiānlǐmǎ''), since they could supposedly travel a thousand ''li'' ({{convert|{{#expr:1000*0.5}}|km|mi|abbr=on|disp=or}}) in a single day.
* ''Li'' is sometimes used in location names, for example: [[Wulipu]] (Chinese: 五里铺镇), Hubei; [[Ankang Wulipu Airport]] (Chinese: 安康五里铺机场), Shaanxi. [[Sanlitun]] ({{zh|s=三里屯|t=三里屯|p=Sānlǐtún|l=three li village}}) is an area in [[Beijing]].
{{anchor|Korea}}

==Ri in Japan and Korea==

{{Further information|Japanese units of measurement|Korean units of measurement}}
The present day Korean ''ri'' (리, 里) and Japanese ''ri'' (里) are units of measurements that can be traced back to the Chinese ''li'' (里).

Although the Chinese unit was unofficially used in Japan since the [[Zhou Dynasty]], the countries officially adopted the measurement used by the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618–907 AD). The ''ri'' of an earlier era in Japan was thus true to Chinese length, corresponding to six chō ({{circa}} 500–600 m), but later evolved to denote the distance that a person carrying a load would aim to cover on mountain roads in one hour. Thus, there had been various ''ri'' of 36, 40, and 48 chō. In the [[Edo period]], the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] defined 1 ''ri'' as 36 chō, allowing other variants, and the Japanese government adopted this last definition in 1891. The Japanese ''ri'' was, at that time, fixed to the [[metric system]], {{Fraction|216|55}} ≈ 3.93 [[kilometres]] or about 2.44 [[mile]]s. Therefore, one must be careful about the correspondence between chō and ''ri''. See [[Kujūkuri Beach]] (99-''ri'' beach) for a case.

In [[South Korea]], the ''ri'' currently in use is a unit taken from the [[Han dynasty]] (206 BC–220 AD) ''li''. It has a value of approximately 392.72 meters, or one tenth of the ''ri''. The [[Aegukga]], the national anthem of South Korea, and the [[Aegukka]], the national anthem of [[North Korea]], both mention 3,000 ''ri'', which roughly corresponds to 1,200 [[kilometre|km]], the approximate longitudinal span of the [[Korean peninsula]].

In [[North Korea]] the [[Chollima Movement]], a campaign aimed at improving labour productivity along the lines of the earlier Soviet [[Stakhanovite movement]], gets its name from the word "chollima" which refers to a thousand-''ri'' horse (''chŏn + ri + ma'' in North Korean Romanization).

==See also==
* [[Chinese units of measurement]]
* [[League (unit)]] for a general discussion of league-style units
* [[Japanese units of measurement]]
* [[Korean units of measurement]]
* [[Qianlima]] for more on "thousand-li horse" including North Korean Chollima

== References ==

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* [[Homer H. Dubs]] (1938): ''The History of the Former Han Dynasty by Pan Ku''. Vol. One. Translator and editor: Homer H. Dubs. Baltimore. Waverly Press, Inc.
* Homer H. Dubs (1955): ''The History of the Former Han Dynasty by Pan Ku''. Vol. Three. Translator and editor: Homer H. Dubs. Ithaca, New York. Spoken Languages Services, Inc.
* [[A.F.P. Hulsewé|Hulsewé, A. F. P.]] (1961). "Han measures". A. F. P. Hulsewé, ''T'oung pao Archives'', Vol. XLIX, Livre 3, pp. 206–207.
* [[Needham, Joseph]]. (1986). ''Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 3, Civil Engineering and Nautics''. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd.
{{refend}}

{{systems of measurement}}

[[Category:History of science and technology in China]]
[[Category:Units of length]]

Li (unit) - Revision history

AAZAMAZEEM at 16:14, 10 January 2026

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article