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Candareen

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A candareen is a very small unit used to measure weight. It is a traditional measurement found in East Asia. This unit is quite tiny and light. One candareen is about 378 milligrams. You can think of it as being equal to 10 cash. It is also the same size as a mace. People used this small measurement for many different things.

Big Dragon stamps
Big Dragon stamps

Different places use the candareen in slightly different ways. In Hong Kong, one candareen is 0.3779936375 grams. The Weights and Measures Ordinance there uses it as ounces avoirdupois. In Singapore, the measurement is 0.377994 grams. Some people in Singapore also call it hoon. The name itself comes from the Malay word kandūri. An older English name for it was condrin.

Big Dragon stamps
Big Dragon stamps

In the past, the candareen was used for more than just weight. It was also a unit of money in imperial China. This unit of currency was equal to 10 li. It was also equal to one mace. Today, the word candareen for this money is obsolete. This means people do not use the word anymore. Now, the Mandarin Chinese word fēn is used for small amounts of yuan.

Big Dragon stamps
Big Dragon stamps

History shows us how the candareen was used for mail. On May 1, 1878, China issued its very first postage stamps. These were called the "Large Dragons." The Imperial Maritime Customs opened to the public then. These stamps helped people pay for sending mail. They were very important for the postal system. The stamps were marked with the value in candareens.

Big Dragon stamps
Big Dragon stamps

These "Large Dragon" stamps have very interesting details. They have the word "CHINA" written on them. The stamps use both Latin and Chinese characters. This helped many different people read them. They are a part of the history of the Qing Dynasty. You can find them in collections like the China Stamp Museum. They show us how people measured value long ago.

Big Dragon stamps
Big Dragon stamps
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