In A Dream of Red Mansions, Granny Liu saw the Jia family eat crabs for 24 taels of silver and lamented that the small family could live for one year. You know, Granny Liu's family was also middle class at that time. She has a house and land, and can afford to hire a worker's maid. The first time I went to Jiafu for a windfall, I got twenty taels of silver, which I am very grateful for. "Ming History" also mentioned that the legal salary (basic salary) of Qipin County for one year is only 45 taels of silver. In the middle and late Southern Song Dynasty, the circulation of silver was lower than that of Ming and Qing Dynasties, and its value could only be higher. This 19 double meal, however rare, seems too much.
Due to the different monetary value of silver in different dynasties, the common equivalent exchange method is generally used to calculate the value of ancient coins. For China people, rice is an eternal commodity for people's livelihood. Based on the record of rice price in Taiping years, we can roughly calculate the monetary value of silver.
According to historical records, during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, one tael of silver could buy two taels of rice of average quality. At that time, one or two ounces of rice was about 94.4 kilograms, and one or two ounces of silver could buy 188.8 kilograms of rice, which was 377.6 kilograms. At present, the rice eaten by ordinary families in China is between 5 yuan and 2 yuan per catty1. Based on the median price 1.75 yuan, it can be calculated that one or two pieces of silver in the Ming Dynasty = 660.8 yuan. Because the story of A Dream of Red Mansions is set in the Qing Dynasty, but the living conditions are set in the Ming Dynasty, let's calculate the silver value of the Ming Dynasty. Granny Liu is of course very happy to get more than 13 thousand yuan in the New Year. Guo Jing, on the other hand, spent more than 12,000 yuan for a meal, still in a small place like Zhangjiakou, which is too exaggerated. Even if Guo Jing is stupid again, he was born in poverty, so it is impossible for him not to know the value of money, and it is even more impossible for Huang Rong to be killed by the store.
If these two pieces of silver were obtained in the Tang Dynasty, the purchasing power would be higher. During the Zhenguan period of Emperor Taizong, material civilization was extremely rich. A barrel of rice costs only 5p. Usually, one or two pieces of silver can be converted into 1 0,000 copper coins (also called consistency), and you can buy 200 buckets of rice, and 10 bucket is 20 stones. A stone in the Tang Dynasty was about 59 kilograms. At today's average rice price 1.75 yuan a catty, one stone. During the Kaiyuan period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the price of rice rose to 10, which was also one or two pieces of silver = 2065 yuan.
The biggest problem lies in the Song Dynasty, mainly because the coin system in the Song Dynasty was extremely chaotic and its records were full of contradictions. In the Song Dynasty, "money" was the currency in circulation. Due to the rapid social and economic development in the Song Dynasty, the industry and commerce were unprecedentedly developed, the demand for money was unprecedentedly strong, and the output and import of silver were not high. At that time, there was no government macro-control organization like the central bank, which caused a very chaotic situation. We know that in general dynasties, 1000 yuan was the same, which was equal to one or two pieces of silver, but this was not the case in the Song Dynasty. Both the History of Grain and Goods in Song Dynasty and Zi Zhi Tong Jian mentioned that since Zhenzong, the stock of silver was too small to keep up with the economic development, and the price of silver kept rising. Basically, more than 2,000 copper coins were used as one or two pieces of silver. Moreover, the "money law" in the Song Dynasty was very chaotic. At that time, copper coins, iron coins and lead-tin coins were in circulation at the same time, and each state had the right to make its own coins. There are also cases of private money casting. The money varies in size, composition is inappropriate, value is changeable, and it is "made at any time", which is very chaotic. Sichuan and Shaanxi use iron coins, and ten coins are exchanged for a copper coin. The money circulating in Jiangnan and Jiangbei is different. I'm not sure how much money there is. There are 800 or 850 and 480. I have to send a letter to 770, and the States are "doing their own things for their own use", which is a complete mess.
According to the Records of Foodstuffs in the History of Song Dynasty, "Before Feng, there were only 600 to 700 taels of rice and stones" and the Records of Officials in the History of Song Dynasty, "30 yuan for each bucket (meter)", let's just take 2000 copper coins as one tael of silver. The price of rice in Taiping period 1 stone, 600 to 300 yuan (from before and after the Jingkang Rebellion to the early Southern Song Dynasty) 1 two can basically buy 4-8 stone rice. Calculated by 66 kg, 1 2 is equivalent to nearly 924- 1848 yuan. (Turquoise weighs 96 Jin, equivalent to RMB 1 two silver 672- 1344 yuan). Assuming that the price of silver in the Southern Song Dynasty is similar to that in the Northern Song Dynasty, Guo Jing invited Huang Rong to dinner for at least 13,000 yuan. No wonder the little girl was moved at once.
What needs to be added is that before the Song Dynasty, the total amount of silver was too small and its value was too high, and it had not yet become a currency in circulation (think about it, take a banknote with a face value of more than 2,000 yuan to buy things in the market ...), and it only existed in court awards and accounting settlement, such as taxes and state expenditures (such as the amount of silver and silk sent to Jin and Xixia). In fact, before the Ming Dynasty, copper coins were used in the market circulation (paper money appeared in some areas of the Northern Song Dynasty) only after the foreign trade was active in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and foreign silver poured in. But why do many people always think that silver is a traditional currency in circulation? I think it's mainly because novels in Ming and Qing dynasties are popular, and they all describe the former dynasties according to the living conditions at that time, such as Water Margin, Jin Ping Mei, San Yan Er Pai and so on. The silver value in these works is based on the silver price in Ming Dynasty, which is different from the original currencies such as Wen, Guan, Jin and Zhu. But after all, modern people are farther away than Ming and Qing dynasties, and they know less about the previous monetary system and the actual purchasing power of silver coins, which often leads to sky-high steamed buns and sky-high dining tables. Serious readers or viewers should have a clearer understanding of the value of silver coins out of curiosity about the ancient economic situation.
The following are some ancient materials to verify the conversion method given by Kobayashi and improve perceptual knowledge:
The monthly salary of the Tang Dynasty Jiupin official is 5 stone meters = the monthly salary of the junior civil servants in the Tang Dynasty 1 0,000 yuan;
The annual salary of six officials in the Qing Dynasty is 45 taels of silver = the annual salary of bureau-level cadres in the Qing Dynasty is 9000 yuan;
Three years to clear the magistrate, 100 thousand snowflakes silver = those officials, that family is not tens of millions?
In the early years of Qianlong, I donated a Taiwanese flower 13 122 silver = 2.7 million yuan to buy a departmental level cadre, which was clearly marked.
The ancient system of weights and measures in China was extremely chaotic. There are differences between different dynasties, and there are also differences between different regions in the same dynasty. This is an indisputable fact.
The system of weights and measures in Qing dynasty was mainly "Kuping building system", which was basically the same as that in Ming dynasty. One kilogram is about 600 grams (more than 597 grams) of the international standard system. This system of weights and measures still exists in Hong Kong, Singapore and other places. For example, the gold units of measurement in Hong Kong and Singapore are "Liang" and "Qian", which are the units of measurement built by Kuping. A "two" is equivalent to 37.5 grams of international standard system, and a "money" is equivalent to 3.75 grams of international standard system.
1930s, in order to be in line with international standards, unify China's weights and measures system, solve the obstacles brought by the differences of weights and measures in different regions to economic development, and promote economic development, the Nanjing government carried out weights and measures reform. In order to meet the habitual needs of the broad masses of the people, the "Kuping construction system" was reformed into the "municipal system", and in order to be in line with international standards, the "municipal system" and the international standard system were easily converted. Specially change "a building scale" to "a city scale", which is equal to 33.33 cm = 0.3 m; One kilometer is equal to two cities. Changing "one kilogram" to "one kilogram" equals 500 grams =0.5 kilograms.
"One liter" = one liter. So this reform of weights and measures is also called "one, two, three systems". The measurement of "city system" and "library-level organizational system" is close and easy for ordinary people to accept. The conversion between urban system and metric system is simple and can be accepted by international trade. Commonly known as "gold is short and long", that is, the weight of gold is less than that of the library system, and the ruler is longer than the organizational system. This reform of weights and measures is a success. It laid a good foundation for the reform of the weights and measures system in the future, and it is still playing its basic role today.
Another major reform during the Republic of China was the monetary reform.
During the period of Beiyang government, one of the major actions of the monetary system reform was to "scrap two pieces and change them into yuan" in the late Qing Dynasty. Although China also had silver coins, the monetary system was based on silver coins, with coins (including copper coins) as the main currency. The monetary unit is quite chaotic. There are two units of measurement: Kuping and Customs. At the same time, the fineness of silver coins and silver is also extremely inconsistent. This chaotic monetary system has greatly hindered normal economic activities. As a result, there was the first monetary reform: "Abandoning two to change yuan." That is, the Beiyang government promulgated the "National Monetary Regulations", which stipulated that the silver dollar should be used as the basic monetary unit to stop the circulation of silver and silver. One dollar of silver weighs seven points and two points of Kuping silver, and the silver content is 85\%. One yuan equals twelve angles (imitation of English system). Take copper coins as tokens and stop the circulation of copper coins. The exchange rates of one-dollar silver dollar and copper dollar basically fluctuate between 180- 188. Commonly known as "the ocean is long and the ocean is short." Every day, the silver house or bank will announce the silver price of the day. When the price of silver rises, it is called "ocean long" and when the price of silver falls, it is called "ocean short". Small private transactions are basically denominated in copper coins. Banks issue paper money in RMB, and one yuan of paper money is exchanged for one yuan of silver. Money is based on silver.
This monetary reform has basically unified the national financial system. But there are still many problems to be solved.
Another monetary reform was carried out by the Nanjing government to solve the financial crisis. In 1930s, American currency abandoned the silver standard and adopted the gold standard, which stipulated that 1 ounce of gold was equal to $35. At the same time, buying silver in the international market (London) led to an increase in the price of silver in the international market. China's monetary system is based on silver, but it does not produce much silver. The rise in the price of silver in the international market has caused a large outflow of silver from China, especially the armed smuggling by Japanese imperialism in northeast China and north China, which has caused a large outflow of silver from China. At the same time, the rising price of silver makes China's currency appreciate, imports soar, and exports are blocked, which affects the balance of international payments of economy and development. If it is not reformed in time, it will lead to the financial collapse of China. Nanjing government negotiated with Britain and the United States to provide foreign exchange guarantee for currency reform. Finally, it won the strong support of the United States (see Sino-US silver negotiations for details). Therefore, the Nanjing government decided to reform the monetary system, stop the circulation of silver dollars, and use paper money issued by the Central Bank, Bank of China, Bank of Communications and Farmers Bank (later added) as legal tender for grain trading and tax payment. Legal tender is pegged to the pound and the dollar.
It is often ridiculous to watch TV plays now. The ancients could use dozens of taels, even hundreds, thousands and tens of thousands of taels of silver. What's more, you can often take out hundreds of thousands of silver tickets from your pocket.
There are two misunderstandings here. First, I thought that one or two pieces of silver in ancient times were equal to one yuan today. Second, I thought the ancient silver ticket was today's paper money or check.
In fact, China was short of silver in ancient times, and the value of silver was very high. One or two pieces of silver is equal to 1200 (before the early Qing Dynasty) to more than 3,000 (after Daoguang). Until the end of the Qing Dynasty, a catty of pork (equivalent to 65,438 +0.2 catty) only needed twenty pence, and an acre of fertile land only needed seven or eight taels of silver or twelve or thirteen pieces of silver. A few taels of silver, dozens of taels of silver is a big deal, and one hundred taels of silver is today's big money, which can buy more than ten acres of fertile land. In the Ming Dynasty, a civilian's life was only one and a half cents a year, so Qi Jiguang's pay was only three cents a day, less than one or two cents a month. It was a little more expensive in the Qing Dynasty, mainly because of the large foreign trade surplus before the Opium War and the decline in the price of silver after a large amount of silver flowed in. Later, after a large amount of compensation, the price of silver and copper rose again. Ordinary people use copper coins. Copper coins were used in the late Qing dynasty, and silver was rarely used in daily transactions. Many ordinary people have never seen silver until they die. So when you say you have no money (poverty), you use "no copper money" instead of "no silver" This is also one of the reasons why people often value silver.
In the Republic of China, silver dollars began to circulate and were called national currency. People call it "Yuan Datou". Its value is also relatively high, and it can be exchanged for copper coins above 180. According to the current price level, today's purchasing power, one yuan of silver is about equal to today's RMB for 35 yuan. Considering the development of production and the decline in the prices of grain and daily necessities, 1 Yuan Bai silver is about equal to RMB 100 today. If calculated by the price of silver, it is about RMB 50-60 yuan today. At that time, running a better printing and dyeing factory cost less than 10 thousand yuan. At that time, buying a better car was about 1000 yuan. So there won't be a situation where you take out a silver dollar to buy a steamed bread, at most a copper coin.
In fact, the silver ticket is an exchange certificate issued by Shanxi draft bank, which is secret, not a bank note (banknote) that can be redeemed at sight. You have to pay an exchange fee to use the silver ticket.
Businessmen who do big business need silver tickets. You can avoid the risk of carrying a lot of cash, and it is convenient and the cost is similar to that of carrying a lot of cash yourself. Neither ordinary people nor officials need it. So there won't be hundreds of thousands of silver tickets out of their pockets to pay the bill. Even if you pay, businesses and ordinary people will not accept it. Its circulation is not as good as today's personal checks.
To sum up, on the question of how much a silver coin is worth, we can basically draw the following conclusions: in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, the value of a silver coin was about RMB 150-220 yuan; The value in the middle of the Ming Dynasty is 600-800 yuan RMB; 600 yuan-1300 yuan in the middle of the northern song dynasty (or 1000- 1800 yuan); Sheng Tang 2000-4000 yuan