|
Chinese Ancient Currency
 Shell Money before Qin Dynasty |
China led the ancient world by introducing shells as a medium of exchange and unit of account in commerce.
Like many of their counterparts, our forebears at the end of the Neolithic Age used shells as money. Shells
are durable and easy to carry and count so it was used as the universal equivalent. The unit of shell money is
peng, which has evolved to mean "friend". Friend is our fortune indeed! There is no agreement on how many
clustered shells a peng include. A cluster of 10 shells makes one peng, the commonly held standard unit.
At the end of the Shang Dynasty, northerners in China found it was hard to find enough shells from the south,
so they used other materials like pottery, stone, bone, jade, bronze and gold to make shell-shaped money.
The bronze shell-shaped coins heralded the mintage of Chinese coin. It was a great leap in the evolution of
Chinese currency. Featuring the comparatively unified size, weight and value, the bronze shell-shaped coin
entered the circulation smoothly.
After the Spring and Autumn Period, Chu State (present-day Hubei and Hunan) minted coins with Chinese
characters. Some of them looked like ants climbing along a nose and some like the face of ghosts.
In north China, gold shell, silver shell and gold-plating bronze shell appeared.
Spade-shaped and knife-shaped coins were also popular in northern China. The influence of shell did not
fade though it staged out as a currency with the social and economic development.
Shell (bei) is an important character component in Chinese. Almost all things or acts concerning money have
the component of shell, such as fortune, poverty, goods, trade, businessman, tribute, greed, expense,
compensation, ransom, expensive (as well as noble), and cheap (as well as humble). People like to call
their dear children or pets bao bei, or more sweetly bao bao or bei bei, which literally means treasure,
and implies to honey or darling.
|
| Ban Liang Qian of Qin Dynasty and early Western Han Dynasty |
As the time went on to the exciting Qin Dynasty, which left so many legacies to the Chinese people such as
the Great Wall and the Terra Cotta Army, Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified the currencies circulated and laid
the pattern of the Chinese coins in the subsequential dynasties. The two legal currencies were gold and
bronze coin. The bronze coin originated from those used by the Qin State in previous dynasties and was
named Ban Liang Qian (half liang money). Liang was a unit for weight and the coin weighed half liang.
The mintage technique of Ban Liang coin did not surpass those of the Warring States but the greatness
of this system was that it forbade private mintage and centralized the mintage right to the state.
Ban Liang coin can be said to have reached the foremost ideal of symmetry and balance. The round coin with
a square hole in the center reflected the concept the round sky covering the square earth held by our
ancestors. Round and square are representative of flexibility and strength respectively as well as mobility
and stability. The round symbolizes heavenly commandment while the square symbolizes the authority of the
emperor. Wherever the Ban Liang coins went, the prowess of the emperor would go.
Ban Liang coins were material economical than any other coins circulated at the time and the square hole
was easy to make. This revealed that people at that time were efficiency-conscious, which was also reflected
in the spectacle of the Terra Cotta Army.
The Chinese characters Ban Liang were written by Minister Li Si, the originator of zhuan shu
(seal character), a font of Chinese calligraphy.
The value of Ban Liang was high compared to the low price for other goods. An interesting anecdote may
help us to understand this. When Liu Bang stationed his army in Xianyang, most of officials gave him 3
Ban Liang coins while Xiao He, a well known general, gave him 5 coins. One year later, when Liu Bang
became Emperor Gao Zu of Han Dynasty, he regarded Xiao He's exploit as the most brilliant and endowed
him most generously. Some people hold that besides Xiao He's achievement, these two extra coins were
also a decisive factor.
In summery, the unification of currency promoted the exchange of commodities and economic development.
Two monetary records are notable during the Han Dynasty.
Monetary debit and credit had already existed during the Qin and Han Dynasties. Shi Ji recorded a case of
what we call "risk investment". The background was the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms . To subdue the rebellion,
the aristocrats in Chang'an (today's Xian) tried to raise fund from the bankers. The bankers did not know who
would win so most of them refused this idea except one-a Mr. Wuyan. Mr. Wuyan loaned a large sum of money to
the aristocrats at an interest rate of 10. After 3 months' fight, the Han aristocrats defeated the seven
kingdoms and Wuyan gained a giant fortune.
The world's earliest credit money was issued in 119 B.C. Made of white deer hide, this money was colorfully
paint and decorated with embroidery. The deer was from the imperial park but this was not the reason why it
was worth 400,000. The true reason behind was at the time, the imperial treasury was in deficit but the
aristocrats plundered the people mercilessly, to turn the tables, Emperor Wu issued this kind of money
to control the fortunes of the rich and to enrich the treasury. This money was not for circulation but
for tribute by ministers and kings。
|
| Wu Zhu Qian of Han Dynasty |
In 118 B.C. Wu Zhu Qian (five zhu money) coin was made upon Emperor Wu Di's reformation. Zhu was 1/24th of
one liang. Some later Wu Zhu coin weighed less than its names implied but the name lasted 739 years till
the mintage of Kai Yuan Tong Bao in 621 in the Tang Dynasty.
Kai Yuan Tong Bao of Tang Dynasty
Kai Yuan means the opening of a new epoch and Tong Bao is the treasure in circulation. Kai Yuan Tong Bao
is also known as Kai Tong Yuan Bao. The former was read up and down and from right to left while the latter
was read clockwise from 12o'clock. This money had two features from its predecessors. Firstly, the coin was
no longer named according to its weight. Secondly, the writer of the characters on the coin was recorded in
history books for the first time. Kai Yuan Tong Bao was written by Ouyang Xun, the top one among the four
calligraphy masters in the Tang Dynasty. From poets and other records, we can see that this coin enjoyed
high praise for its artistic value.
Kai Yuan Tong Bao's size, weight and the accordance of name with the form made it not only the main currency
of the Tang Dynasty but also the norm of the coin in the next dynasties. It was claimed the most successful
money in Chinese history. Since its first mintage, it had been used through out the Tang Dynasty without
discontinuity, which was rare in the monetary history. People's preference for it diminished not even the
least after Tang Dynasty's collapse. Till Hong Xian Tong Bao in 1916, this form of money had experienced
nearly 1300 years.
The Tang Dynasty was one of the most enchanting times in Chinese history. China was the commercial center
of Asia. Kai Yuan Tong Bao was circulated in many countries that had close commercial tie with the Tang Dynasty.
The outflow of the coins caused money shortage in China so during the reign of Emperor Xian Zong (806-820) the
government practiced the earliest transfer method, fei qian, namely flying money.
There were two types of fei qian. One was state-owned and the other was private bankers. Special offices were set
by the government for transfer and encash. Businessmen could cash in at any time with the paper receipt in any
one of the over 40 offices in the country. Unlike the state-owned ones, the private bankers differentiated
themselves by the fact they did not charge any fee for encash of fei qian. Their profit came from the
interest as a result of slow transportation and time lag of one or two months before a fei qian was finally
cashed in.
There were two emperors in the Chinese history who ordered to melt Buddha statues for mintage. And the first
one was Emperor Wu Zong of Tang Dynasty. Buddhism was so popular during the Tang that hundreds of thousands ton
of bronze were used for Buddha statues. Nearly all bronze were collected by the Buddhist temples and there was
no bronze for mintage. Unlike most emperors of Tang, Emperor Wu Zong did not believe in Buddhism and he claimed,
"It is the Buddha that impoverished my country." In 845 Emperor Wu Zong ordered to melt Buddha statues
for mintage. At first, people were shocked but when the circulation of the currency went smoothly and
the riches increased, people were grateful to this wise emperor.
During the Five Dynasties, another wise sovereign, Emperor Shi Zong of Later Zhou, commanded to melt Buddha
statues for mintage. Many Buddhist believers and even ministers in court were against this order but Emperor
Shi Zhong defended himself by saying, "The Buddha is determined to bring happiness to all flesh. If he is
alive, he would sacrifice his own life for others, not to mention his statues?" Upon hearing this,
the objectors were left speechless but to obey.
|
| Monetary Development in the Song Dynasty |
The highlight of the coins in the Song Dynasty was that the characters on the coins were written by emperors.
The initiator of this fashion was Emperor Tai Zong. He excelled in many fields and had a preference for
calligraphy. His writing of Chun Hua Yuan Bao was bold and unrestrained, admired by later calligraphers.
After Tai Zong, many emperors of the Song Dynasty wrote for the coins while the ones written by Emperor
Hui Zong represented the zenith of the Song monetary culture.
The Chinese proverb goes, "Man should avoid entering a wrong industry while woman should avoid marrying
a wrong husband." But what if you inherit the throne as an emperor? Do you have any choice? Emperor
Hui Zong of the Northern Song dynasty was such a tragic character. As a ruler, Hui Zong was unqualified.
Politics was not where his interest lay and he appointed crafty ministers to reign over the country.
He himself led an extremely luxurious life, extorting money from the people.
However, he was versatile in art and contributed to embroidery, painting, calligraphy and ci poem.
He created a font of his own, shou jin, which features slim but firm with elegant demeanor. The four
characters Da Guan Tong Bao written by Emperor Hui Zong reflect his calligraphy features to the full.
It is generally regarded that to write on a coin is the most difficult for calligraphers, even much more
difficult than seal cutting and plaque writing. In addition, these four characters were not easy to
configure but Hui Zong achieved harmony and aesthetic feeling by outstanding skill.
The Song Dynasty witnessed the achievement in artistic field; ci poem, paintings, and calligraphy all came to
their pomp at this time. It was under such background that dui qian, originated from the Five Dynasties and
the Ten States, gained its popularity. Literally, dui qian means couple coins. Two coins of the same bronze
purity, weight, size, outline, and other specifications have the same characters written in different fonts.
For example, one coin may have cursive script while another seal or regular script. From 1023 to 1180, a
total of 30 pairs of couple coins were minted. Emperors, great litterateur Su Dong Po and brilliant
historian Sima Guang all left their calligraphy on couple coins, adding more beauty and value to it.
Dui qian is unique phenomena in Chinese monetary history, full reflecting Chinese people's love for
symmetry.
Fei qian developed rapidly in the Northern Song Dynasty. A new service of money remittance was launched by
the government in 971. Some data show that from 995 to 997, the amount of remittance reached 1,780,000 guan.
One guan was equal to 1,000 cash.
Jiao Zi - the Earliest Paper Currency in the World
Jiao zi is the earliest paper not in the world. It was first issued freely among the people and replaced
the circulation of coins. Later 16 rich businessmen took it over. When they declined, jiao zi could not be
cashed in and social turmoil exploded. In 1023 the Song government set up an office in Chengdu to handle
with the issuance of jiao zi. In the next year, stately jiao zi was issued.
The face value was first written at the time of issuance and later was printed. Two official seals were
stamped to prevent counterfeit and private issuance was forbidden. One term of an issuance lasted two
years and new jiao zi would be issued at the end of each term. Later, the period for one issuance was
extended to two terms and the amount of the issuance doubled, which led to depreciation.
However, jiao zi occupies an important role in both the monetary development and the money printing history.
|
| Money in Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties |
The heyday of Chinese ancient paper note came during the Yuan Dynasty. Throughout the dynasty, paper note was
used and the concerned system was developed and perfected. Surrounding countries such as India, Korea,
Japan followed the Yuan Dynasty and issued paper note.
Coins were also minted during this time but they could not be compared to those made in the Song Dynasty
either in quantity or quality.
The name of yuan bao originated from the Yuan Dynasty. It had the meaning of the treasure of the Yuan and
later referred to gold and silver money. Though gold and sivler ingots were not in circulation any more,
their mimics could be seen easily.
The Ming Dynasty issued Da Ming Tong Xing Bao Chao (paper note circulating in the Ming Dynasty) and this was
the only paper note during the whole dynasty, which was unprecedented in the previous dynasties. The note,
claimed to be the world's largest note, is 34 cm long and 22 cm wide.
With the depreciation of the paper note, mintage was started again. The reign of Jia Jing by Emperor Shi Zong
of Ming Dynasty witnessed a breakthrough in the mintage technique. With the addition of zinc, brass coin
emerged. Before this, all the coins were made of bronze.
At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, there was not issuance of paper note until 1651. This issuance lasted
only ten years. After the Opium War, to deal with the financial crisis, the Qing Dynasty began to issue paper
note again in 1853.
In the late of the 19th century, foreign imperialist countries invaded China and set up banks and issued
paper notes. The Qing Dynasty set up mintage factory in Beijing in 1908 and the first steel money template
was made during this time. However, hardly were any notes issued, the Qing Dynasty collapsed.
|
| Traditions concerning money |
The Spring Festival is the most important festival for Chinese people, just as Christmas for westerners.
Many travelers have tasted Chinese dumplings (jiao zi). Jiaozi is a must for people in Northern China during
the Spring Festival but not many people know that this habit was not popular until the Ming Dynasty. Jiao zi has
the shape of ancient yuan bao (gold or silver ingots) and the pronunciation takes after jiao zi, the earliest paper
money in China.
When we make dumplings (jiao zi) for the first meal of the new year. Dumplings made for this special occasion are
different from those ordinary ones. Dumplings for the new year are prepared at the New Year's Eve and ate at
12 o'clock midnight. The logic behind is to have money at the change of years. Some people also hide a coin
in the dumplings and anyone having it is regarded to have good fortunes in the new year.
Sometimes dumplings are cooked together with noodles and the Chinese name means silver threads wrap around
gold ingots.
For children, the highlight besides delicious food is the red envelop (hong bao or ya sui qian).
Red is auspicious color, symbolizing good luck and vigor in China. Parents or the elder relatives wrap
some money in a piece of red paper and give them to the under age. The red envelop can be given directly
to the children or hidden under their pillows. Record also has it that some parents clustered the coins with
colorful threads and made them into the shape of dragon, another auspicious symbol. As the red envelop is the
good wish from the elders so the sum of the money is not important and it is not polite to open the red envelop
in the presence of the elder.
Children usually use this money to buy fireworks, toys and candies. Nowadays children can get pocket
money so easily that they are not that excited by the red envelop as their parents once did. They pay
much more importance to the sum of the money. So some people advocate to get rid of this habit of giving
children red envelop.
What's more, red envelop is also used sarcastically to refer to bribery.
However, for most people, red envelop is still a heart-warming memory when they recall how their parents
love them and prepare the red envelop for them despite a tight budget.
|
| Titbit |
Ya sheng coin, also known as flowery coin, takes the shape of ancient coins but it was not circulated in the market.
It originated from a kind of sorcery and was meant to subdue bad luck. The mintage of these coins began during
the Western Han Dynasty. From the Wei Dynasty, flowery coins were minted whenever there was a sacrificial
ceremony in the court. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, flowery coins were minted for every new emperor
ascending the throne.
There are many types of ya sheng coins for various occasions such as award by emperors to his ministers,
birth, wedding, and school entrance.
On one side of the coin there are auspicious phrases like "good fortune and good luck", "peace in the
world", and "dispelling evil". On the other side of the coin are auspicious patterns, such as dragon ,
phoenix, tortoise, kylin, double fish, sword, the Eight Diagrams (ba gua), the Chinese zodiac , and the
big dipper.
Normally, the shape of the flowery coin is round with a square or round hole in the middle but other shapes
like rectangle, gourd, two fishes connected by a coin exist, too.
The largest flowery coin is the Jia Jing Tong Bao, in commemoration of the opening of Dongchuan (today's Huize,
Yunnan Province) Mintage Bureau. The coin has a diameter of 58 centimeters (23 inches), a width of 3.5 cm
(1.3 inches) and weighs 41.47 kg (91.4 pounds). It has been listed into the Guinness World Records.
Undeniable, ya sheng coin has some superstitious background but during its evolution, the superstitious color
faded little by little. Take wei wu zhi zu coin as an example. It was a game by the Qing scholars. Wei wu
zhi zu means "only I am not greedy". The highlight of this coin is that only half components of these four
characters were minted with their common half component kou (mouth) omitted. Then how do we know the meaning?
The secret lies with the square hole of the coin, which was used as the component kou. Read from three o'clock
to six o'clock counter-clockwise, the square hole is on the left, above, right and the below the four minted
characters,
making four new characters.
It is so interesting and instructive, after all not many people could restrain their greed for money.
Ya sheng qian may be regarded as the forerunner of commemorate coins of modern days. Nowadays in many
shops we will find a big Chinese knot with a coin in it. The words on the coin read, "invite fortune and welcome treasure".
|
|
