Currencies/Chinese li
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Introduction
The Chinese li was a historical subdivision of the Chinese cash system, used in China as a very small unit of account in traditional Chinese currency.
History
The li was used in imperial China as part of a layered monetary structure based on copper cash coins. It functioned mainly as an accounting unit rather than a circulating denomination and was used to express fractional values below the cash. Its use declined with monetary modernization in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Banknotes
No banknotes were issued denominated in li. The unit existed only for accounting purposes within the traditional copper cash system.
Currency
Unit name li
Role minor unit / accounting subdivision
Relationship (traditional)
10 li = 1 fen
10 fen = 1 cash (wen)
The exact usage and relevance varied by period and region.
Legacy
The li disappeared from practical use with the abolition of the traditional cash system and the adoption of modern decimal currencies in China.