What is China's monetary system like

Six major evolutions of China's ancient currency

China is one of the earliest countries in the world to use money, the history of the use of money up to five thousand years. In the process of formation and development of ancient Chinese currency, it has undergone six major evolutions:

First, the evolution of natural money to artificial money

In the Chinese characters, all the words related to value, most of them are from the "shell". This shows that the shell is the earliest currency in China.

With the rapid development of commodity exchange, the demand for money is growing, sea shells have been unable to meet people's needs, people began to use copper imitation sea shells. The emergence of copper shells, is China's ancient monetary history from the natural currency to the artificial currency of a major evolution.

With the massive use of artificial coins, the natural currency of the sea shells slowly withdrew from the Chinese monetary stage.

Second, from the messy shape to the evolution of the standardized shape

From the emergence of copper shells in the Shang Dynasty to the period of the Warring States period, China's currency has gradually formed a four major systems characterized by the lords claiming to dominate, that is, shovel coins, knife coins, the ring of money, the Chu coins (爰金, ant-nose money).

After the unification of China by Qin, Emperor Qin Shihuang promulgated the earliest monetary law in China in 210 BC, which stipulated that the Qin half-two coins with round square holes were to be used throughout the country.

The Qin half-two coins with round square holes passed through the whole country, ending the messy state of different shapes and weights of ancient currencies in China, and it was a major evolution from the messy shapes to the standardized shapes in the history of ancient currencies in China. Qin half-two money to determine the down of this round square hole form, has been continued until the early Republic of China.

Third, the evolution of local minting to the central minting

According to the "Han Book - Food and Warehouse Journal" records, Liu Bang built the Han, allowing people to privately cast coins. The gentry and wealthy merchants and local forces to take advantage of the opportunity to cast a large amount of bad money and profit. Emperor Wendi's "Deng Tong Daifu also, to cast money over the king."

Yuan Ding four years (11.5 years ago), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took back the right to cast coins in the counties, and the central government unified casting of five baht money. From then on, the central government to determine the centralized management of coin casting, issuance, this is the history of ancient Chinese currency from the local minting to the central minting of a major evolution.

Since then, successive generations of minting are directly managed by the central government. The centralization of the right to mint coins played an important role in stabilizing the political situation and economic development of each dynasty.

Fourth, the evolution of the weight of the instrument to the Tongbao, Yuanbao

Coins minted since the Qin and Han dynasties, usually in the text of the money are clearly marked the weight of the money, such as "half a tael", "five baht", "four baht" and so on (twenty-four baht), "four baht" and so on.

The weight of the coins was usually clearly indicated in the text, such as "half a tael", "five baht", "four baht" and so on (twenty-four baht is one tael).

Tang Gaozu Wude four years (621 years), Li Yuan determined to reform the coinage system, the abolition of light and heavy weight of the ancient money of the past dynasties, to "open up a new era," the meaning of the unified casting of the "Kaiyuan Tongbao" money. Kaiyuan Tongbao in contrast to the old system of the Qin and Han dynasties, the money does not book weight, is China's ancient currency from the weight of the instrument to the evolution of Tongbao, Yuanbao.

Kaiyuan Tongbao money is China's earliest Tongbao money. Since then, China's copper money is no longer marked with the weight of the money, are called Tongbao, Yuanbao, it has been used to the Xinhai Revolution after the "Republic of China Tongbao".

Fifth, the evolution of metal currency to paper money

Northern Song Dynasty, due to the shortage of copper material, the government to make up for the lack of copper, in some areas of a large number of casting iron money. According to the "History of the Song Dynasty" records, at that time, Sichuan cast iron money consistently weighing up to twenty-five pounds and eight taels. In sichuan to buy a pi Luo (silk fabric), to pay one hundred and thirty pounds of iron money. Iron money is so heavy and inconvenient, paper money in the Sichuan region came into being. The emergence of Jiazi is an important evolution in the history of China's ancient currency from metal money to paper money.

Jiaozi is not only the earliest paper money in China, but also the earliest paper money in the world.

Sixth, the evolution of handmade coins to the mechanism of paper money

In the late Qing Dynasty, with the gradual introduction of advanced science and technology from abroad, Guangxu years have begun to buy minting machines in foreign countries for the manufacture of silver dollars, copper dollars. Later, Guangdong began to use the machine to manufacture non-porous when ten copper dollars. Because of the makers of lucrative, the provinces have followed suit.

The emergence of the mechanism of currency in the late Qing Dynasty, is the evolution of China's ancient monetary history from the handmade coins to the mechanism of currency reforestation.