From "Anti-Grain" to "Weighing": The Ancient Chinese Millet and SorghumAgricultural Tradition And the origin and Development of the MeasurementSvstem

From "Anti-Grain" to "Weighing": The Ancient Chinese Millet and SorghumAgricultural Tradition And the origin and Development of the MeasurementSvstem

DONG Xiaobo

(1. Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000; 

2. JinshangResearch Institute, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006)

[Abstract]: James C. Scott's "grain-nation" analytical framework provides a new perspective for re-examining the origin and formation mechanism of ancient Chinese weights and measures. The earlyChinese weights and measures were not the result of the natural evolution of commodity exchange;instead, they were an institutionalized product based on millet and sorghum as the material foundationand the control of national resources as the political impetus. The biological characteristics of milletand sorghum grains, such as their uniformity, ease of counting, and convenience for storage andcollection, made them natural measurement benchmarks, thereby forming a complete system of"accumulating sorghum to determine measurement, accumulating sorghum to determine quantity, andaccumulating sorghum to determine weights". The interdependent logic of "agriculture as thefoundation, measurement as the means, and the state as the institution" demonstrates the unique pathof the formation of early Chinese states and provides local experience for understanding the politicalorigin of technical standards.

[Key Words] :Anti-grain; Millet and Sorghum Agriculture; Measurement and Weighing System; EarlyState; Accumulated Sorghum for Weighing

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