Even Jin Yong's old teacher doesn't seem to have done in-depth research on the value of silver. Remember when Guo Jing met Huang Rong for the first time in The Legend of the Condor Heroes, and was severely slaughtered? "The bill will be settled later, and the total is 1927 cents and 4 cents."
According to historical data, the purchasing power of one or two pieces of silver in ancient times was very high.
In 2000, grandma Liu saw that the next crab in Jia's family was 24 taels of silver, and said with emotion that a small family could live for one year. At that time, Grandma Liu's family was middle-class, had a house and land, and could afford to hire servants. She was grateful for her first unexpected harvest in Jiafu and got twenty taels of silver.
It is mentioned in A Dream of Red Mansions that one county has seven products, and the annual salary is only 45 taels of silver. The history of Ming Dynasty was in the middle and late Southern Song Dynasty. The circulation of silver is lower than that of Ming and Qing dynasties, so the value will only be higher. Ordinary inns eat 19 taels of silver for a meal, no matter what they eat, it seems too much.
Because the value of silver in different dynasties is different, if it is calculated now, it is generally calculated by the method of equivalent exchange. According to the rice price in Taiping years, the monetary value of silver can be roughly estimated.
How much is a tael of silver in the Tang Dynasty?
During the Zhenguan period of Emperor Taizong, material civilization was abundant, and a barrel of rice sold for only five pence. Usually one or two pieces of silver are converted into1000p, and you can buy 200 dou meters. 10 The bucket is a stone, that is, 20 stones. A stone in the Tang Dynasty was about 59 kilograms. If the average rice price today is 1.75 yuan a catty, then the purchasing power of one or two pieces of silver in the Tang Dynasty is equivalent to 4 130 yuan.
During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Kaiyuan, the price of rice rose to 10 yuan per barrel, and one tael of silver was equal to 2065 yuan.
How much is one tael of silver in Song Dynasty equal to RMB?
The Legend of the Condor Heroes records "30 cents a bucket", and the official history of Song Dynasty also mentions that "before Hefeng, the rice stone was only six or seven hundred." Take 2000 copper coins as a silver. During the Taiping period, the price of rice was 600-300 cents a stone.
Assuming that the price of silver in the Southern Song Dynasty and the Northern Song Dynasty was similar, Guo Jing invited Huang Rong to eat a meal ranging from 10,000 to 30,000. No wonder he was moved at once.
How much is a tael of silver in the Ming Dynasty?
According to historical records, during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, one or two pieces of silver could buy two stones of rice of average quality. At that time, a stone of rice was about 94.4 kilograms, and one or two pieces of silver could buy 188.8 kilograms of rice, which was 377.6 kilograms.
At present, the average family in China eats a kilo of rice between 1.5 yuan and 2 yuan, and the median price is 1.75 yuan. It can be concluded that one or two ounces of silver in the Ming Dynasty is equal to 660.8 yuan.
Although the story of the history of the Song Dynasty is set in the Qing Dynasty, its living condition is set in the Ming Dynasty. At present, according to the value of silver in the Ming Dynasty, Granny Liu got more than 13 thousand yuan for the New Year, which of course made her extremely happy. Guo Jing spent more than 12000 on a meal, still in a small place that is not prosperous. It's too exaggerated. No matter how stupid Guo Jing is, it is impossible not to know the value of silver.
How much is one tael of silver equal to RMB in Qing Dynasty?
In the early Qing dynasty
At that time, in addition to the traditional "silver coins", China also had silver coins from western countries, also known as "silver coins".
From the above, we can basically draw the conclusion that one or two pieces of silver are worth RMB:
2000-4000 yuan in the prosperous Tang Dynasty;
600 yuan-1300 yuan in the middle of Northern Song Dynasty;
Mid-Ming 600-800 yuan;
Mid-late Qing dynasty150-around 220 yuan.
It is worth mentioning 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. It only exists in court rulings and accounting settlements, such as taxes and state payments. In fact, before the Ming Dynasty, copper coins were mostly used in market circulation. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, foreign trade was active, and after the influx of foreign silver, silver became currency.
But why do many people think that silver has always been money? Personally, I think it is mainly because of the popularity of novels in Ming and Qing Dynasties, so I describe the previous dynasties according to the living conditions at that time, such as A Dream of Red Mansions, Sanyan Erpai and so on. The monetary value of silver in these works is based on the silver price in Ming Dynasty.
Compared with the Ming and Qing Dynasties, modern people are far away and do not know enough about the previous monetary system and the actual purchasing power of silver, so that sky-high steamed buns and sky-high dining tables often appear. Some serious readers or viewers may have a clearer understanding of the value of silver out of curiosity about the ancient economic situation.