 The Ban Liang coins take their name from their two character inscription "Ban Liang "(), which means "half a "liang"".The "liang" refers to the weight unit of tael (also known as the "Chinese ounce"), which consisted of 24 "zhu "() and was the equivalent of about .Thus the original Ban Liang weighed the equivalent of 12 "zhu" — ; however, it kept this inscription even when its weight was later reduced.