Official and Private Weights and Measures (Duliangheng (sic)) during the Qing Dynasty and Contemporary Perceptions

There was little consensus among the Qing leadership which comprised emperors, provincial officials, and the gentry regarding policy issues arising from the official and private practices of weights and measures. Spearheading a reform initiative seeking to unify weights and measures, the Kangxi Emperor became personally involved in the definition and dissemination of new standards through government publications. However, with later policy proposals tending to limit the scope of this initiative, a more cautious approach was adopted. While the rigorous enforcement and stringent supervision of the official standards sought to eliminate the dishonest practices of merchants, who defined and used weights and measures for selfish gains, reservations soon emerged that the government's interventionist approach might disrupt existing market customs.