Mid-late Qing Dynasty150-around 220 yuan;
Mid-Ming 600-800 yuan;
600 yuan-1300 yuan in the middle of the northern song dynasty (or 1000- 1800 yuan);
2000-4000 yuan in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
Many people don't know how much an ancient silver is worth. Especially in contemporary TV series, two steamed buns, a bowl of soup, five taels of silver, and a rich housewife lost 10 million taels of silver at a time of gambling, which shows the extent to which China's creators are ignorant and not serious. You know, the annual revenue of the state treasury only reached 2 million taels during the Wanli period, and the state treasury was rich after the reform.
Even a master like Jin Yong doesn't seem to have made an in-depth study of silver and its monetary value. You should remember that Guo Jingchu met Huang Rong and was killed by her. As a result, * * * is 1927 cents.
After reading some ancient books, we can find that the monetary value of one or two pieces of silver is actually quite high.
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.
In Ming History, it is mentioned that the proper 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.
calculate
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.
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 basically you can buy 4-8 stone rice. Based on 66 kilograms of Song Shi, 1 silver 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.
The purchase value of silver in the early Qing Dynasty was slightly lower than that in the Ming Dynasty, but in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, due to the influx of foreign silver into China, according to statistics, more than 70% of the world's silver output was used to buy porcelain, silk, tea and other products produced in China every year before the Opium War, and the monetary value of silver dropped to less than one-third of that in the Ming Dynasty, that is, 1 silver =200 yuan RMB. At that time, in addition to the traditional "silver coin" in China, silver coins from western countries also appeared in the currency in circulation, which was called "Yinyang".
To sum up, on the question of "how much is a silver coin worth?", we can basically draw the following conclusion:
One or two ounces of silver is equivalent to RMB.
Mid-late Qing Dynasty150-around 220 yuan;
Mid-Ming 600-800 yuan;
600 yuan-1300 yuan in the middle of the northern song dynasty (or 1000- 1800 yuan);
2000-4000 yuan in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
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 go to the market to buy things ...), and it only existed in the settlement given by the court, such as taxes and state payments (such as the amount of silver and silk given 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)
It was 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? The author thinks that it is mainly because of the prevalence of novels in Ming and Qing Dynasties. These novels describe the former dynasties according to the living conditions at that time, such as Water Margin, Sanyan Erpai, etc. The silver value in these works is based on the silver price in Ming Dynasty, mixed with primitive monetary units such as Wen, Guan, Min and Ba, and different from other works.
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.
How much is an ancient silver equivalent to RMB now? A silver ingot is not silver, but a silver ingot is actually a quantifier, that is, a piece of silver. The ingot is used on the ingot, and only one ingot is said. In Ming and Qing dynasties, ingots were all fixed in weight, roughly divided into one or two, two or two, five or two, twelve or twenty-two.
How many ounces of silver are equal to one ingot? There were many monetary units in ancient China, and each dynasty was different, especially before Qin and Han Dynasties. There are three commonly used units: a coin (that is, a standard square hole copper coin), one or two ounces of silver and one or two ounces of gold. Although the above units are different from generation to generation, at least there is little difference after the Tang and Song Dynasties, so relatively stable and reliable data can be obtained. However, the exchange rates of copper coins, silver and gold in different periods are constantly changing, just like the current foreign exchange prices, unlike 1 yuan is equal to 100. The approximate ratio is as follows: one or two ounces of gold = 100 ounces of silver, and one or two ounces of silver = 1000 copper coins.
The exchange rate of silver and gold, like the current foreign exchange price, is constantly changing, unlike 1 yuan equals 100 cents.
According to the following description: "The price of gold and silver rose from 1: 8 around 1600 to 1: 10 in the middle and late 20th century, and doubled to 1: 20 by the end of 18." It is known that 1 gold can be exchanged for 8- 1 1 silver.
In ancient times, although the weight units of "two" were different, they were all about 40 grams, while "Jin" was about 700 grams.
According to the closing price of Shanghai Gold Exchange in early trading today (RMB), the details are as follows:
Gold: 346.7 yuan/gram
Silver: 6.86 yuan/gram
The calculation results are as follows:
1 two gold: about 13868 yuan.
1 two silver: about 274.4 yuan.
The value of ancient "one or two" silver is now RMB, and the monetary value of silver in each dynasty is different. Someone once tried to calculate the value of silver with rice as the unit of measurement. Although the conversion figures are not necessarily accurate, the conversion method is worth referring to. For example, during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, one or two pieces of silver could buy two pieces of rice of average quality. If a stone was about 94.4 kg at that time, one or two pieces of silver could buy 188.8 kg of rice, which was 377.6 kg. 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 is equal to 660.8 yuan; For example, during the Zhenguan period of Emperor Taizong, a barrel of rice only sold for 5 pence. Usually, when one or two grains of rice are converted into 65,438+0,000 copper coins (also known as consistency), you can buy 200 grains of rice, and 65,438+00 grains are one stone, which is about 59 kilograms in the Tang Dynasty. Based on today's average rice price 1.75 yuan a catty, one tael of silver is equivalent to 46,600 yuan. During the Kaiyuan period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the price of rice rose to 10, and one silver or two was equal to 2065 yuan. According to the record of "Before Feng, the rice stone was only 600-700" in Records of Grain Goods in Song Dynasty and the record of "30 yuan per bucket (meter) in Records of Officials in Song Dynasty", let's take 2000 copper coins as one or two pieces of silver, and the rice price in peacetime is 1 stone 600-300 yuan. 1 Silver can basically buy 4-8 stones of rice. Based on 66 kilograms of Song Shi, 1 silver is equivalent to nearly 924- 1848 yuan.
How much is it now to convert one or two pieces of silver in ancient times into RMB? It's hard to say, most of the time it's 1, which is equivalent to about 100 yuan.
How much is it to convert one million taels of silver into RMB in ancient times? As mentioned in an article earlier, the concrete calculation and comparison are very complicated. If an equivalent formula must be given, there is no way but to make a general statement:
1 two gold = RMB 2000 = 10 two silver 1 two silver = RMB 200 yuan = 1000 = 1 customs clearance (adjustment) money 1 = RMB 0.2 yuan and:/kloc-0.
Late Qing dynasty and early Republic of China: a silver coin (weighing about 0.9) = a pair of scattered silver coins can buy a big buffalo, and a silver coin can buy a ton of rice. Lu Xun is a professor at Beijing Normal University, with 300 silver coins/month (at that time, rice was expensive, calculated by rice price), which is equivalent to at least 30,000 yuan now; Mao worked as a librarian for 5 silver dollars/month, General Cai E worked as a Yunnan inspector for 65 silver dollars/month, and ordinary industrial workers worked for 5 to 10 silver dollars/month.
Generally speaking, the value of one or two pieces of silver in ancient times was about 100 yuan ~ 250 yuan RMB. The salary of a six-product official in the Qing Dynasty is about 9000 yuan/year now, and the salary is very low.
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.
So in ancient times, 1 million taels of silver was about 1 100 million to 250 million RMB. .....
One or two ounces of silver in ancient times was equal to how much RMB it is now. Different dynasties have different purchasing power.
Converting silver into RMB is usually based on the price of rice. In different periods, the price of rice varies greatly in different regions. According to the data collected in Huang Miantang's Textual Research on the Price of China in Past Dynasties, the price of one stone of rice was very common in Ming Dynasty from two San Qian to one or two, and in Qing Dynasty from five or six yuan to two or three.
If the average rice price of 0.8 Liang/stone in Jiajing years and 65438 Liang/stone in Qianlong years are used to calculate the silver price in Ming and Qing dynasties respectively. Ming and Qing dynasties 1 stone about 0. 1 cubic meter, 1 cubic meter of rice about 800 kg. Now the national rice price is around 5 yuan/kg. This one or two pieces of silver was equivalent to 500 yuan in Jiajing and 267 yuan in Qianlong. In the past few hundred years, the purchasing power of silver has almost dropped by half, which is caused by the continuous import of silver from South America and Japan after Qin Long opened the sea.
How much is an ancient silver coin worth?