How tall is a seven-foot man?

A seven-foot man now usually refers to a height of about 1.7 meters.

Seven-foot man is an expression in China traditional culture, which is used to describe the height of adult men. This statement originated in ancient times, but due to the different definitions of the length of the ruler in different dynasties, the specific height of the seven-foot man has also changed. In modern times, we usually think that a seven-foot man refers to a height of about 1.7 meters.

The ruler in ancient times was a unit of length, and its length changed with the change of dynasties. For example, in the Qin and Han dynasties, the length of a foot was about 23 to 24 cm, while in the Tang dynasty, the length of a foot was about 3.7 cm. Therefore, if calculated by the ruler of the Tang Dynasty, the height of a seven-foot man will reach more than 2 meters, which is obviously impossible.

According to the measurement system before the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the so-called seven-foot man is only about 1.7 meters, which is almost the same as the average height of modern people. The saying of seven-foot man first appeared in the Western Zhou Dynasty. From the Warring States to the Qin and Han Dynasties, the length of one foot is about 23.1 cm, and seven feet is about 161.7 cm.

From the Three Kingdoms to the Western Jin Dynasty, the ruler increased slightly, reaching about 24.2 cm, and seven feet was about 169.4 cm. But in fact, seven feet does not mean height, but refers to the length of the belt hanging down. Children are three feet, adults are seven feet. A seven-foot body means an adult.

Notes on the conversion of ancient ruler and modern ruler:

1. Significant differences in times: the length of ancient ruler changed greatly in different dynasties, for example, in Shang Dynasty, one foot was about 16.95 cm, but in Ming and Qing Dynasties it became 31.1 cm. Therefore, when converting ancient and modern rulers, the first task is to determine the specific historical period to which ancient documents or cultural relics belong.

2. Regional differences: In addition to the change of size standards caused by the change of dynasties, there may be some regional differences in ancient China, that is, the scales in different regions in the same period may not be completely consistent, so it is necessary to refer to the weights and measures system in the corresponding regions and periods when accurately converting.

3. There are different records in the literature: the specific length of ruler in ancient literature is sometimes different, which may be caused by multiple factors such as the accuracy of measuring tools, recording methods or errors in copying, so it is necessary to verify each other with a variety of historical materials to ensure the reliability of conversion results.

above content reference: Baidu Encyclopedia-China Ancient Ruler