Why did China use copper to make money in ancient times?

Why did China use copper to make money in ancient times?

(2009- 1 1-20 1 1:4 1:00)

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Category: ancient coins

When we appreciate coins, the first thing we see is the color, followed by the shape. After we get the words, patterns or patterns on the surface of the coins, we can weigh the size, weight, smoothness and roughness of the coins. These intuitive feelings directly form our aesthetic judgment on coins. Weng Shupei, an archaeologist in the Qing Dynasty, said that when he studied coins, he "argued about their characters, shapes, colors, qualities and sounds; All five of them are available and carefully reviewed. " It can be seen that the material, modeling, calligraphy, decoration and culture attached to the coin carrier have brought aesthetic visual effects and pleasant psychological feelings.

In the aesthetic meaning of coins in China, copper coins are not produced for decorative and artistic purposes because of their natural materials. However, in the process of history, their unique physical form is integrated with historical social thoughts and aesthetic concepts, and they have gradually become the carrier of historical culture in addition to undertaking practical functions.

Gong Ji, an important scientific and technological work in the pre-Qin period, put forward at the beginning: "Sometimes, the sky is full of gas, the materials are beautiful, the work is skillful, and then it can be good." This simple concept of craft emphasizes that "the right time", "the right place", "the beauty of materials" and "the ingenuity" are the theoretical basis and creative principles of ancient ware design and craft production. "Weather" can be understood as not violating nature, reasonably arranging creation according to seasonal changes, and also as adapting to the changes of the times. "Geo-gas" refers to objective natural conditions, such as natural resources and regional traditions, which are manifested in coins, that is, the metal reserves in various places. The comprehensive form of weather and local atmosphere can only be expressed through the shaping of materials. The texture, color, texture and other effects of the material itself are aesthetic. Select materials according to functional purposes, and then process them through processing technology. The beauty of weather, atmosphere and materials is perfectly combined through craftsmanship. China's ancient coin casting should follow the design concept of "weather", "atmosphere" and "material beauty" as far as possible, and combine the coin plastic arts with advanced metal smelting level and casting technology according to local conditions to cast exquisite products that are still praised and loved by collectors.

In the pre-Qin period, because there were not enough real shells to meet the needs of circulation, imitation shells were used, including stone shells, jade shells, bone shells and copper shells. And finally stabilized on the copper shell. The appearance of copper shell laid the foundation of copper as the main monetary material in ancient times. During the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, a large number of bronzes were used to make ritual vessels, weapons and farm tools. Bronze has objectively become a recognized social wealth and has the possibility of replacing natural objects. This is also the inevitable result of the rapid development of bronze smelting technology and casting technology in China. In the process of looking for and processing stone and jade materials to make stone tools and jade articles, people gradually have mineral processing experience to identify natural copper and copper ore. The practice of firing primitive pottery provides necessary high temperature and refractory materials for bronze smelting. Bronze is an alloy material containing elements such as copper, tin and lead. It is characterized by low melting point, high hardness and good casting and mechanical properties. After long-term smelting practice, people gradually realize the relationship between the composition, properties and uses of bronze alloys, and can reasonably control the proportion of copper, tin and lead, and master the proportion and uses of bronze skillfully. The pre-Qin craft classic Kao contains the strict and reasonable proportion of "six qi" at that time: "Gold has six qi. Its gold and tin are divided into six parts, which is called the Qi of Zhong Ding. Its gold and tin are divided into five parts, that is, the axe Jin Qi. Its gold and tin are divided into one, that is, the gas of Geji. One-third of its Suk Kim, it is called the gas of big blade. Its gold and tin are the second, that is, slaying the arrows. Suk Kim is half, which means it is a good example. " This alloy ratio shows that bronze is an ideal alloy material, which can be used to make anything people want: ritual vessels, containers, weapons, musical instruments, farm tools, tools and decorations. At the same time, "History of Han Law" records: "Copper is the essence of things, not for dryness, dampness, cold and summer, nor for its shape. Natural and common, but also like a gentleman's trip, so copper is used. " Copper is not easy to corrode and deform, so it is used to make measuring instruments to standardize the measurement standards of people's daily life. This shows that the ancients loved copper and even thought that the quality of copper was similar to that of a gentleman.

Most coins in ancient China were cast in the form of copper alloy, so coins showed different colors due to different alloy compositions. The color of bronze will change with the increase of tin content, from copper (red copper) to red yellow, orange yellow, and finally to grayish white. Due to the differences in "weather" and "atmosphere" of ancient smelting technology, coins of different times are made of different copper, and ancient coins cast in different dynasties and regions are also different and have their own characteristics.

Pre-Qin coinage refers to coinage in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. On the one hand, the coins in this period were influenced by the cultural origin and geographical environment differences of various vassal countries, and different countries made different coins; On the other hand, because the bronze coins themselves are still in the development stage, even the coins cast in different periods or regions in the same country are not the same. Copper coins are only embryonic coins, and also have decorative functions. According to the existing archaeological data, the earliest cloth coins in China were empty cloth, and the earliest knife coins were sharp knives. They are also the earliest bronze coins dedicated to currency function in ancient China. Money and ant nose money are both produced later. Archaeological excavations have confirmed that hollow cloth and sharp knives were cast around the middle of the Spring and Autumn Period. According to modern scientific analysis, the characteristic contents of the alloy composition of Bubi series are: copper 62-64%, lead 26-28% and tin 6-7%, which is a scientific alloy composition of copper coins, similar to the copper coins of the Northern Song Dynasty. The average alloy composition of pointed foot cloth is: copper 44-46%, lead 48-50% and tin 2-4%. The ratio of copper to lead is 1.05, and the lead content of pointed foot cloth is so high and light, so most unearthed products are seriously corroded and easily broken. The alloy distribution range of square ruler cloth is roughly: 60%