The bronze Rectangular Capacity Measuring Vessel by of Shang Yang 商鞅方升 from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) is the only extant evidence of the reforms proposed by Shang Yang (390-337 BC), who assisted the Duke of Xiao, ruler of the Qin State, in establishing hegemony through the introduction of a new measuring system.
An artifact from the Shanghai Museum collection, the 18.7-centimeter-long and 480-grams vessel became the basic unit of volume during Shang Yang’s time.