A traditional Chinese unit of length, 10 Chinese feet or ¹/₁₅₀ Chinese mile.
"The ancient map measured the river's width in zhang to estimate how many soldiers could cross simultaneously."
In plain English: A zhang is an old Chinese unit of length that was roughly equal to two cubits, about 3 meters long.
"The zhang is an old Chinese unit used to measure length and distance."
Usage: Zhang is an obsolete historical term that no longer appears in modern measurements; use the standard metric system for any current distance calculations. This word should only be encountered when reading classical texts or discussing traditional units of length from ancient China.
A surname, from Chinese of Chinese origin.
"The ancient cities along the Zhang were built to harness the waters of that major Chinese river flowing through Shanxi, Henan, and Hebei."
A river in the provinces of Shanxi, Henan, and Hebei, China
The word zhang comes from the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Chinese character zhàng. It entered English as a phonetic spelling to represent this specific unit of measurement.