About China currency, some people say that it has a history of more than 3,000 years; Some people say it has a history of four or five thousand years. There are different views because of the different standards of textual research. In the monetary history of China, some natural objects were the first to obtain the means of payment. As we all know, seashells are one of them, and seashells have achieved the status of physical currency since the late Neolithic age in China, about four or five thousand years ago. According to the excavation data of scientific archaeology, in the middle and late Shang Dynasty in China, there were primitive metal coins-seashells imitated by bronze. That is to say, the early coins in China were conceived in the Great Bronze Age and were born in14-1century BC, with a history of more than 3 100 years. During the Western Zhou Dynasty (BC11-8th century), copper bullion became the common weighing currency in China. During this period, imitation bronze shells were also cast.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period (770-22 BC1), due to the separatist regime, China's monetary culture showed a free and unrestrained momentum, and as far as bronzes were concerned, it gradually formed a regional currency. Coins in different regions have different shapes, weights, symbols, monetary units and alloy compositions. The shape of Central Plains currency originated from tool cutting, which is called knife currency. The form of currency in southern China originated from bronzes. Call it ant nose money; The form of money in the central and western regions originated from the spinning wheel (or jade wall), which is called money; Around the middle of the Warring States period, there were square holes and round coins. According to the data, in addition to a large number of copper coins, we will occasionally find lead coins. During the Warring States period, Chu in the south also used gold, which was called golden plate, and some people called it sealing gold. The western Qin dynasty also copied the gold plate. In the original, there were gold shells and silver shells, and silver coins were also found.
After the mid-Warring States period, the main currency of Qin State was "half-Liang" square hole round money. In 22 1 BC, Qin unified China, and Qin Shihuang extended its monetary system to the whole country, so the currency was unified. The gold coins that unified Qin State, like persimmon, were called persimmon gold, and they could also be cut and used as in the Warring States Period. Because "money is hard to make", copper coins also lost weight several times in the early Western Han Dynasty. By the time of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, the legal copper coin system with a weight of five baht was finally established, and the centralized policy was implemented for the first time, and Shanglin Sanli was responsible for casting money. After Wang Mang usurped the throne, under the banner of restoring ancient ways, he actually implemented the big bill system and suppressed the currency. Therefore, for the first time in the currency history of China, thousands and five thousand bills appeared, and the currency system of cloth coins and knife coins was restored. But this is just a flash in the pan. After Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty rebuilt the political power in the Eastern Han Dynasty, he quickly restored the five-baht system. Since then, five baht money has been used until the end of Sui Dynasty and the beginning of Tang Dynasty. The Western Han Dynasty used the most gold in the history of China, mainly as a reward for the emperor. Gold coins are modeled after horseshoe gold, so they are called horseshoe gold and toe gold. Tang Gaozu Wude began casting Kaiyuan Bao Tong money in four years, which initiated the precious metal system period in China's currency history. Since then, coins are no longer named by weight, and they have completely got rid of photocopying and weighing money.
Taking the year number as Qian Ming, "Hanxing" money first appeared in the Sixteen Kingdoms period in China's monetary history, that is, coins minted by Li Shouhan (338-343) in Hanxing period. But it was only after the Tang and Song Dynasties that the annual money really prevailed. After Chunhua (990-994) in the Northern Song Dynasty, under normal circumstances, every time the year number was changed, new money was cast.
The Song Dynasty (960- 1279) was the peak period of China's ancient coinage. Not only the number of coins is the largest and the types are complex, but also the application of coin-making technology has reached a perfect level. China's calligraphy art was well reflected in the Song and Qian Dynasties, and various calligraphy styles, such as Zhen, Cao, Xing, Li and Zhuan, were all applied in Qian Wen during the Song and Qian Dynasties. Moreover, this kind of annual money often uses more than two calligraphy styles at the same time, which is called "Duiqian", forming an atmosphere and making Song Qian more artistic. During the reign of Xi Chun, a dutiful son in the Southern Song Dynasty, the monetary system changed. From the seventh year of Xichun, the copper coin Qian Wen was changed to Song Dynasty, and the chronology began in northern Guizhou.
After the Yuan Dynasty, the making of copper coins in China tends to be simple. Qian Wen's calligraphy generally uses original works, and the names of coins are mostly named after "Bao Tong". After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, from the Jiajing period, copper coins were gradually changed into brass coins, ending the history of copper coins. Due to the use of paper money and silver coins, it is also reflected in copper coins. In the Yuan Dynasty, Hui Zong had the right to paper money, and in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, he had the right to money.
In ancient China, casting technology was always used, and the shape of square hole and round money was always used until the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, and it was not until the third year of the Republic of China that it finally withdrew from the historical stage. Influenced by western monetary culture, in the 26th year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty, Guangdong first produced a new type of mechanism copper coin, which was once imitated by many places and widely circulated. At first, the new copper coin appeared as an auxiliary coin of the mechanism silver dollar, but in the process of circulation, it actually replaced the square hole round coin to a great extent. The mechanism copper coin has only a short historical stage of more than 30 years. After the implementation of the legal tender policy in 1935, it gradually withdrew from the historical stage, but the types of copper coins were extremely complicated.
Before the Tang Dynasty in China, the use of silver was very limited, and most of it was used for foreign trade. Since the Song Dynasty, the use of silver has gradually increased. As far as the remains are concerned, there were many silver collars in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. However, it was in the orthodox period of Ming Yingzong that silver really achieved the status of value scale. In the currency history of China, silver has been used as a weighing currency for a long time, and only after Daoguang Qing began to cast local silver dollars. In the fifteenth year of Guangxu, Guangdong tried to cast the silver dollar of the dragon pattern of Guangxu Yuanbao, and the provinces competed to imitate it and spread it widely. As a truly unified national currency, the silver dollar was issued with Yuan Shikai's head in the third year of the Republic of China, and it was only more than 20 years since the legal tender policy was implemented in the twenty-fourth year of the Republic of China.
China's paper money was produced in the Northern Song Dynasty. It was first initiated by some wealthy businessmen in Sichuan (1023). The policy is to set up a "Jiaozi Service Office" in Yizhou, and the official Jiaozi will be officially issued the following year to replace the folk Jiaozi. This is the earliest paper money issued by this policy. In the early days, paper money had various names and irregular systems. After the practice in Song and Jin Dynasties, it became the main currency of China in Yuan Dynasty (1279- 1368), which had a great influence on the west. In the Ming Dynasty (1368- 1644), the name of paper money was unified as "Daming Tongtongbao Paper Money". Paper money was banned in the Qing Dynasty. Xianfeng three years, due to financial constraints, re-issued the "Qing dynasty treasure notes" and "household official tickets." For these ancient banknotes, the coin industry is collectively called ancient banknotes. China's new banknotes appeared in the 21st year of Guangxu (1895), that is, the silver dollar tickets issued by Beiyang Railway Bureau and Taiwan Province Province successively. China Commercial Bank was founded in the 23rd year of Guangxu, and it is the earliest bank in China. Since then, there have been exchange certificates issued by banks in China. 1948 12. The People's Bank of China was established and began to issue RMB, and the currency of China was re-issued. Throughout the history of Chinese currency, in the long ancient society, it has gone through an independent development road, created a unique currency culture, and influenced East Asia, Southeast Asia and other regions and countries. It contrasts with the western monetary culture and becomes the representative of the eastern monetary culture.