On the longest day in Chang 'an, when Zhang Xiaojing, a condemned man, appeared, he ordered a basin of mutton and fire crystal persimmon gluttony in Xi Shi. Yao Ru can pay the bill for him and throw a string of copper coins engraved with the four traditional characters of "Kaiyuan Bao Tong" into the store. This is an ordinary coin of the Tang Dynasty.
In the play, the female killer fish intestines also wore a string of coins, but they were Sassanian gold coins from Persia and could not be circulated in Chang 'an. Perhaps, as an international trade zone of the Tang Dynasty, Xi Shi has more coins. However, there are certainly not as many ancient coins as there are in the collection of Datang West City Museum today.
Sassanian gold coins worn by fish sausage come from Persia and are also available in Datang Xicheng Museum.
The Silk Road Story in Currency
On the third floor of the Datang West City Museum, there is an exhibition on the theme of ancient coins on the Silk Road, named "Silk Road Story in Currency". Thousands of ancient coins from dozens of countries along the Silk Road were exhibited, and when you walk in, you feel like you have the whole universe. From ancient China, ancient Greece, ancient Rome and ancient India to modern Afghanistan, Iranian Kingdom and East India Company, it lasted for thousands of years. Geographically, it covers the Mediterranean coast of Europe, West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Arabia and India Peninsula, spanning tens of thousands of miles. Coins string together the history and civilization of the east and the west, and prove the story with temperature.
The exhibition is divided into eight sections: Greece began to make precious metal currency, from Rome to Byzantium, an ancient country in Central Asia, the second Persian Empire and its vassal States, and the four major empires and dynasties in the India-Pakistan subcontinent, from Arab Empire to Islamic Dynasty, Mongolia and Khanate, and Chang 'an currency east of Silk Road. At this time, we can see the currency history and development history of the empire along the Silk Road.
"Kaiyuan Bao Tong" of Datang West City Museum
"Kaiyuan Bao Tong", which has been circulating for nearly 300 years.
In the eye-catching place of the "Chang 'an Coin" section, you can see a bunch of "Kaiyuan Bao Tong" used by Zhang Xiaojing, which is the official currency of the Tang Dynasty. "The Silk Road Story in Currency has a lot of knowledge about ancient coins, but we still can't miss learning about this coin.
Here is the general situation of "Kaiyuan Bao Tong": Kaiyuan Bao Tong is the currency of the Tang Dynasty, pronounced "up and down, left and right"; Tang Gaozu Wude began casting in imitation of five baht in the Western Han Dynasty in four years. It was not until the eighth year of Song Taizu's treasure in Song Dynasty that Qian Wencai wrote official script by calligrapher Ou Yangxun. It is characterized by no annual fee; Qian Wen's explanation is to open the circulating treasure of a new era.
Kaiyuan Bao Tong production standard, ten pieces weigh one or two, which revolutionized the old system of twenty-four baht for two since Qin and Han Dynasties. Since then, China has added another unit in the weighing system, that is, 65438+ 1/00 is called a "money", which is the weight of a kaiyuan Bao Tong; Also, since each Kaiyuan coin has a diameter of eight cents and ten coins are arranged in a row, in the Tang Dynasty, it was a small foot and twelve and a half were big feet, so Kaiyuan coins can also be used as a ruler.
In addition, the name of the coin has also been innovated. Before the Tang Dynasty, coins were mostly named after weight, such as half Liang in Qin Dynasty and five baht in Han Dynasty, all of which were weight. Since the beginning of Kaiyuan, the word "Bao" was cast for the first time, and it was crowned with the year number at that time, indicating that the currency at that time had become the economic pillar of the country and the treasure in the eyes of the Tang people. This is a great change in the ancient people's understanding of coins. Kaiyuan Bao Tong spread in the Tang Dynasty for nearly 300 years, and a large number of them survived.
Kaiyuan Bao Tong is made of copper, silver and gold plating. The diameter is 24 ~ 25mm, and a coin weighs 3.73g. Ten yuan kaiyuan Bao Tong equals one or two kaiyuan Bao Tong.
Chang 'an, when I was in the Tang Dynasty, I was an international metropolis, and all countries came to Korea. "Kaiyuan Bao Tong" is equivalent to the current pound or dollar. (Some pictures are from Datang West City Museum)