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The Civilization of China by Herbert Allen Giles
page 22 of 159 (13%)
does not appear to be known; but in this case it is the pound which is
the unit of weight, and not the lower denomination. The word which
for more than twenty centuries signified "pound" to the Chinese, was
originally the rude picture of an axe-head; and there is no doubt
that axe-heads, being all of the same size, were used in weighing
commodities, and were subsequently split, for convenience's sake, into
sixteen equal parts, each about one-third heavier than the English
ounce. For measures of capacity, we must revert to the millet-grain, a
fixed number of which set the standard for Chinese pints and quarts.
The result of this rule-of-thumb calculation has been that weights and
measures vary all over the empire, although there actually exist an
official foot, pound and pint, as recognized by the Chinese government.
In one and the same city a tailor's foot will differ from a carpenter's
foot, an oilman's pint from a spirit-merchant's pint, and so on. The
final appeal is to local custom.

With the definitive establishment of the monarchy, two hundred years
before the Christian era, a system of government was inaugurated which
has proceeded, so far as essentials are concerned, upon almost uniform
lines down to the present day.

It is an ancient and well-recognized principle in China, that every
inch of soil belongs to the sovereign; consequently, all land is held on
consideration of a land-tax payable to the emperor, and so long as this
tax is forthcoming, the land in question is practically freehold, and
can be passed by sale from hand to hand for a small conveyancing fee to
the local authorities who stamp the deeds. Thus, the foreign concessions
or settlements in China were not sold or parted with in any way by the
Chinese; they were "leased in perpetuity" so long as the ground-rent
is paid, and remain for all municipal and such purposes under the
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