Chapter 25 Section 3 The Great Development of Bronze Currency

According to archaeological findings, seashells were used as decorations in the Shang Dynasty, and seashells were also used as currency.More than 6,800 seashells were buried in the tomb of Fu Hao at the Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan.In the Shang Dynasty, copper shells, bone shells, and mussels made of imitation sea shells such as bronze, animal bones, and shells were also discovered.During the Western Zhou Dynasty, seashells were still used as currency, and copper blocks were used as weighing currency.In the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period, with the decline of slavery, the commodity economy began to develop, and metal coins began to appear at this time. In 1959, 12 coins cast in bronze in the shape of the bronze shovel used at that time were unearthed at the site of the Nanjin Kingdom in the ancient city of Houma Niu Village, Shanxi in 1959. There are six characters in facial script.The handle is hollow, known as the empty head cloth.In addition, empty headcloths appeared in the royal family of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty during the Spring and Autumn Period. There were large and small flat-shoulder or sloping-shouldered bridge-foot empty headcloths.It has been popular until the Warring States period, and the facial writing has "Eastern Zhou" and so on.

In the Warring States period, especially after the middle period of the Warring States period, due to the great development of the commodity economy, the bronze currency had an unprecedented development and was widely circulated and used.Due to the different cultural traditions of the vassal states, the shapes of the bronze coins used by each country at that time were also different. There were mainly four types of coins, knife coins, yuan coins and copper shells (Figure 17).Han, Zhao, and Wei mainly used cloth coins, which are characterized by the fact that the handle is no longer hollow, but flat like the shovel body, which is called flat head cloth.Most of Wei's cloth coins have flat heads, flat shoulders (or round shoulders), square feet, and round spans.Some coins have place names cast on them, such as "Anyi", "Pusan", "Yinjin", "Gong" and so on.Some coin faces have coin value inscriptions, such as "Liang Qi (or Shi Chong [kua]) 釿 [jin jin, the original character of "jin"], Baidang 锊 [lue slightly]", "Liang Zheng coin (or Shi Shang), one hundred tenths", "Liang Qiyin, fifty tenths", "Liang half coin, two hundred tenths" and so on.Therefore, Wei Bu is generally divided into three categories: "half 釿", "one 釿" and "two 釿".According to the determination, a 釿 is about 12-15 grams.Most of Zhao's cloth coins have flat (or round) heads, round shoulders, and pointed (or round) feet, which are generally divided into two grades.Some coins are also cast with place names, such as "Jinyang", "Zishi", "Yuji (Ci)", "Lishi", "Lin" and so on.In addition, some Zhao Guobu coins have three round holes on them, called three-hole cloth, and their faces include "Southern Tang (front), Twelve Baht (back)" and so on.In addition, Zhao Guo also has knife coins, which are small and straight, commonly known as straight swords, and have "Gan (Han) Dan (Dan)" on their faces.Most of the cloth coins in South Korea are small square shoulders, square feet, and square cross cloth, with "plain" on the face.But in the late Warring States period, small square footcloths were popular in Han, Zhao, and Wei.

Qi and Yan mainly use knife coins, which are called knife coins because their shape imitates cutting from a knife.Qi's knife coins are large and heavy, with inscriptions cast on them. legalization", "the legalization of festival (i.e.) ink" and so on.In the early days, the knife coins of Yan State were sharp-headed knives.The shape of the late period is small, and the back of the knife has two types of chime folds and arcs. The arch back is earlier, and the chime fold is later.Most of them are cast with the word "Ming" in the face, also known as Ming Dao.

The Qin State mainly used won money, which is round, without outline, with a square piercing (hole) in the middle, and the inscription "Half Liang" cast on it, also known as half Liang money.In addition, there are "Wen Xin" and other winning money.It must be pointed out that the state of Qin also used cloth as currency. The state of Chu uses copper shell coins, oval in shape, commonly known as ant nose coins.There are inscriptions cast on it, and the common ones are "(upper and lower six characters) (Xun [Xun Xun], or Shibei)", "(upper and lower Zhu) ((upper and lower Zhu) Zhu)", and There are "jun", "gold", "(ten catties) (釿)", "匋", "xing" and so on.There are also a small number of copper cloth coins in Chu State, which are large and small, rectangular, flat shoulders, and square feet.The big one has a round hole at the head, and the face reads "〔〔peipei〕Qian Dang釿 (the old interpretation of "Shubu Dang釿")", which may be a local currency minted after Chu merged with Wuyue and other places.At the same time, the state of Chu used gold coins. On square or round metal plates, square or round small seals were chiseled. There are "(鬲阝) title", "special title", "Lu Jin" and so on. In 1974, 18 gold coins such as Ying weighed, round gold cakes, horseshoe gold and silver coins were unearthed in the ancient city of Fugou, Henan.The silver coins are all cloth coins, rectangular shovel-shaped, and divided into large, medium and small. Except for one empty head, the rest are real heads, which is the first discovery of silver coins in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

It must be pointed out that by the end of the Warring States period, most countries except Chu State had produced and circulated coins.For example, the coins cast in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty are about 2.5 cm in diameter, round and outlined, with "Western Zhou" and "Eastern Zhou" written on their faces; "Yi" and so on; Zhao's "Lin" and "Lishi" won money, etc.; Yan's "Ming Dagger (goods)" won money, etc.; ", "Zang Liuhua" won money, etc.It is on this basis that after Qin Shihuang unified China, he adapted to the trend of social and historical development and unified the national currency with Qin Banliang, which promoted the further development of social economy.