The conversion of the metrological system: How high was the mountain the Old Fool wanted to move?
Q: It is said in the story “The Old Fool Who Wants To Remove The Mountain”, Chapter Tangwen, Liezi, "The circumference of Mountain Taihang and Mountain Wangwu is 700 lis (a measurement unit) and their height is 10,000 rens." What is the exact height of the 10,000-ren-high mountain?
A: One ren is the distance between an adult's outstretched arms. During the Zhou Dynasty, one ren was equal to eight chis; one chi was about 19.91 cm; eight chis were about 159.28 cm, i.e. 1.6 meters or so; therefore, 10,000 rens would be 16,000 meters (1.6×10,000). This height is about twice the height of Mount Everest (8,848 meters). However, this is a frequently used hyperbole in literature (Hyperbole: extravagant and exaggerated rhetoric). Of course, it was impossible that the mountain moved by the Old Fool could be that high.
