The sheng (), also known as the Chinese liter, is a traditional unit of volume originating in China. It was later adopted in Japan, where it is known as the sho, in Korea as the seung, and in Vietnam and other East Asian regions. One sheng is equal to 10 ge or 1⁄10 dou, although its exact capacity has varied across historical periods and regions.

In modern usage, the value of one sheng differs by country: in China, it is defined as exactly 1 litre; in Japan, one sho equals approximately 1.8039 litres; and in Korea, one seung is 1.8 litres.

Historically, the sheng was primarily used as a measure for cereal grains. In contemporary contexts, it is more commonly used, like the litre, to measure liquids or gases.

Ancient systems

As a unit of volume, the sheng emerged during the Warring States period (c. 475–221 BC) and has been in continuous use since then.

+ History of volume measurement systems in China Dynasty Unit conversion Metric conversion (milliliters ml) Warring States Period (戰國) Qi (齊): 1 zhong (鍾) = 10 fu (釜); 1 fu = 4 qu (區); 1 qu = 4 dou (豆); 1 dou = 4 sheng (升) — Chu (楚): 1 shao (筲) = 5 sheng (升) — Qin (秦) Three Qin (三晉) 1 hu (斛) = 10 dou (斗); 1 dou = 10 sheng (升) 1 hu = 20,000 ml; 1 dou = 2,000 ml; 1 sheng = 200 ml; Shang Yang's Reform (商鞅變法): 1 cubic sheng = 201 ml Han (漢) 1 hu (斛)=10 dou (斗)；1 斗=10 sheng (升)；1 升=10 ge (合)；1合=2 yue (龠)；1龠=5 cuo (撮)；1撮=4 gui (圭) 1 hu = 20,000 ml; 1 dou = 2,000 ml; 1 sheng = 200 ml; 1 ge = 20 ml; 1 lun = 10 ml; 1 cuo = 2 ml; 1 gui = 0.5 ml Three Kingdoms (三國) and Jin (兩晉) 1 hu = 10 dou; 1 dou = 10 sheng; 1 sheng = 10 ge 1 hu = 20,450 ml; 1 dou = 2,045 ml; 1 sheng = 204.5 ml; 1 ge = 20.45 ml Northern and Southern Dynasties (南北朝) 1 hu = 10 dou; 1 dou = 10 sheng; 1 sheng = 10 ge 1 hu = 30,000 ml; 1 dou = 3,000 ml; 1 sheng = 300 ml; 1 ge = 30 ml Sui (隋) 1 hu = 10 dou; 1 dou = 10 sheng; 1 sheng = 10 ge Kaihuang (開皇): 1 hu = 60,000 ml; 1 dou = 6,000 ml; 1 sheng = 600 ml; 1 ge = 60 ml Daye (大業): 1 hu = 20,000 ml; 1 dou = 2,000 ml; 1 sheng = 200 ml; 1 ge = 20 ml Tang (唐) 1 hu = 10 dou; 1 dou = 10 sheng; 1 sheng = 10 ge Large system (大): 1 hu = 60,000 ml; 1 dou = 6,000 ml; 1 sheng = 600 ml; 1 ge = 60 ml Small system (小): 1 hu = 20,000 ml; 1 dou = 2,000 ml; 1 sheng = 200 ml; 1 ge = 20 ml Song (宋) 1 dan (石) = 2 hu; 1 hu = 5 dou; 1 dou = 10 sheng; 1 sheng = 10 ge 1 dan = 67,000 ml; 1 hu = 33,500 ml; 1 dou = 6,700 ml; 1 sheng = 670 ml; 1 ge = 67 ml Yuan (元) 1 dan = 2 hu; 1 hu = 5 dou; 1 dou = 10 sheng; 1 sheng = 10 ge 1 dan = 95,000 ml; 1 hu = 47,500 ml; 1 dou = 9,500 ml; 1 sheng = 950 ml; 1 ge = 95 ml Ming (明) & Qing (清) 1 dan = 2 hu; 1 hu = 5 dou; 1 dou = 10 sheng; 1 sheng = 10 ge 1 dan = 100,000 ml; 1 hu = 50,000 ml; 1 dou = 10,000 ml; 1 sheng = 1,000 ml; 1 ge = 100 ml

Modern systems China

The sheng (升) was established as the base unit in the volume measurement system promulgated by the Chinese government in 1915. At that time, one sheng was defined as 1.0354688 litres..

+ Table of Chinese volume units effective in 1915PinyinCharacterRelative valueMetric valueUS valueImperial valueNotessháo0.3501 fl oz0.3644 fl ozgě3.501 fl oz3.644 fl ozshēng12.188 pt1.822 ptdǒu102.735 gal2.278 galhú5013.68 gal11.39 galdàn10027.35 gal22.78 gal

A revised system was introduced in the Weights and Measures Acts of the 18th year of the Republic of China (1929), effective from 1 January 1930. The volume units in use, as listed in the Chinese Name Plan for Unified Metric Units of Measurement (1959), include the dàn, dǒu, shēng, and gě. The basic unit remains the shēng, now defined as exactly 1 litre.

To distinguish between different interpretations of the litre, the traditional Chinese shēng is also known as 市升 (market sheng or market litre), while the modern transliteration of litre is referred to as 公升 (common sheng or common litre). 1959 Gazette of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, No. 180, page 317

+ Table of Chinese volume units effective since 1930PinyinCharacterRelative valueMetric valueUS valueImperial valueNotescuō1 mL0.0338 fl oz0.0352 fl ozmillilitresháo10 mL0.3381 fl oz0.3520 fl ozcentilitregě100 mL3.381 fl oz3.520 fl ozdecilitreshēng11 L2.113 pt1.760 ptlitredǒu1010 L21.13 pt2.64 gal17.60 pt2.20 galdecalitredàn100100 L26.41 gal22.0 galhectolitre

Today, similar to the litre, the shēng is most commonly used to measure liquids or gases.

Japan In Japan, the base unit of volume is the shō (升), equivalent to the Chinese shēng. One shō is defined as 1.804 litres. Traditional beverages such as sake and shōchū are often sold in 1800 mL bottles known as isshōbin (一升瓶), literally "one shō bottle".

+ Table of volume units in JapanIwata, Shigeo. "Weights and Measures in Japan"UnitShōMetricUSImperialRomanizedKanjiExactApprox.ExactApprox.ExactApprox. Sai L 1.804mL cuyd 29.28min gal 30.47min 0.1101cuin Shaku L 18.04mL cuyd 0.6100floz gal 0.6349floz 1.101cuin Gō L 180.4mL cuyd 0.3812pt gal 0.3174pt 0.3276drypt Shō 1 L 1.804L cuyd 1.906qt gal 1.587qt 1.638dryqt To 10 L 18.04L cuyd 4.765gal gal 3.968gal 2.048pk Koku 100 L 180.4L cuyd 47.65gal gal 39.680gal 5.119buNotes: Approximations are rounded to four significant figures.

Korea In Korea, the traditional volume unit is the doi (되), equivalent to the Chinese shēng and the Japanese shō. In Korean, it is also referred to as seung (승, 升).

+ Table of volume units in KoreaRomanizationKoreanEnglishEquivalentsRRMROtherDoeOther countriesGlobalJakChak()HopHopGeDoeToeDoiDweKorean Peck1SeungSŭng()MalMalKorean Bushel10DuTu()SeomSŏmKorean Picul100PiculSeokSŏkSuk()JeomChŏm()SogokSogok()150PyeongseokP'yŏngsŏk()DaegokTaegok()200JeonseokChŏnsŏk()

Sheng and litre In China, the English unit litre is also referred to as sheng (升). When a distinction is necessary, the word litre is translated as 公升 (gōngshēng, "common sheng" or "common litre"), while the traditional Chinese unit is referred to as 市升 (shìshēng, "market sheng" or "market litre"), as it has historically been more commonly used in commercial contexts.

The different sheng units may also be distinguished by the regions in which they are used or defined, such as the Chinese sheng, Japanese shō, Korean seung, or British litre, among others.

In mainland China, one sheng is equal to one litre. As the two units are identical in size, both are commonly referred to as sheng in Chinese or litre in English, unless clarification is required.

Additionally, standard SI prefixes are applied to the character 升 (shēng) to form other metric volume units. These include: 分升 (fēnshēng) – decilitre (dL) 厘升 (líshēng) – centilitre (cL) 毫升 (háoshēng) – millilitre (mL)

See also Chinese units of measurement Japanese units of measurement Korean units of measurement :zh:中國度量衡

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