Nationally, it is common to use the measurement system in which three feet make up one meter, and three thousand feet make up one kilometer. This system is typically used to describe long distances. Additionally, throughout various historical periods, different ratios were employed for converting the length of one foot. During the Shang Dynasty, one foot was equivalent to approximately 16.95 cm in today’s measurements. It is worth noting that during this time, individuals were roughly one zhang tall, earning them the title of “zhang fu”. In the Zhou Dynasty and Qin Dynasty, one foot was approximately 23.1 cm. In the Han Dynasty, the measurement ranged from 21.35 to 23.75 cm. During the Three Kingdoms period, one foot equaled around 24.2 cm. In the Southern Dynasty, it was about 25.8 cm, while during the Northern Wei Dynasty, one foot was approximately 30.9 cm. In the Sui Dynasty, the measurement was around 29.6 cm, and in the Tang Dynasty, it was approximately 30.7 cm. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, one foot equated to approximately 31.68 cm. Finally, during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a carpenter’s foot measured around 31.1 cm in today’s units.
