China Coins in the Northern Song Dynasty

Song Taizu and Zhao Kuangyin established the Song Dynasty through the mutiny in Chen Qiao, and the yellow robe was added. The title is Stegosaurus, which is addressed to Song Taizu. The Song Dynasty was also the peak period of the development of culture and art in China feudal society. Painting, calligraphy, sculpture and block printing all reached a fairly high level. As the crystallization of science, technology and art, coins in the Song Dynasty also showed colorful competition in this historical period. The coin system in the Song Dynasty was based on money, and silks and things like silks became common commodities. Silver is becoming more and more important, and paper money is also circulating, which is a prominent feature of the monetary system in Song Dynasty, but copper coins still occupy an important position.

Song Dynasty is the most complicated period in the history of coins in China, and its characteristics can be summarized as follows:

First, the earliest payment. In the seventh year of filial piety in the Southern Song Dynasty, Qian Bei began to record the years. The back of the coin "Xichun Yuanbao" is marked with the word "seven", indicating that the coin was cast in Xichun for seven years, more than 300 years earlier than the European currency.

Second, the earliest invention of paper money. During the Northern Song Zhenzong period, the world's earliest paper money, jiaozi, was minted by wealthy businessmen in Sichuan at that time.

Third, the annual fee is the most. During the more than 300 years from "Taiping Bao Tong" in the Northern Song Dynasty to "Xichun Yuanbao" in the Southern Song Dynasty, emperors exchanged yuan frequently, and * * * made 49 kinds of money every year.

Fourth, the unearthed amount is the largest. The amount of casting in the Song Dynasty is not necessarily the largest, but the amount of coins unearthed in the Song Dynasty is the largest. A coin of 1 10000 kg was once unearthed in Cisai Mountain, Huangshi, Hubei. In addition, a large number of Song Dynasty coins have been unearthed in other parts of China.

Fifth, he created the Qian Wen written by the emperor-"Imperial Pen". Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi began to write the title of "Chunhua Yuanbao" in Qian Wen, while Song Huizong Evonne wrote "Chongning, Daguan" Bao Tong and so on in original fine gold style.

Sixth, the coin circulation is obvious. At that time, copper coins were used in most areas of Central Plains, South China and North China, and iron coins were used in Sichuan. Shanxi and Shaanxi use both copper and iron coins, while Guangdong uses both gold and silver. In addition, there are banknotes circulating all over the country, which are limited to a certain area or can pass through the whole country.

Seven, the denomination of coins is complex, and the name changes greatly. There are different denominations of money in Song Dynasty, such as Xiaoping, Fold 2, Fold 3, Dang 5, Dang 10, Dang 100, Dang 500, etc. Changing ten dollars into five dollars is often a paper order, which often changes. The different names of money treasures in the Song Dynasty added to the confusion. Its copper coins include Yuanbao, Bao Tong and Chongbao. And iron coins include ten or twenty kinds of treasures, treasures and red treasures.

Eight, Qian Wen's calligraphy is diverse. Qian Wen's calligraphy in Song Dynasty has various forms, with the characteristics of innovation, symmetry and composition, and most of them are from famous artists. Since Chunhua Yuanbao's running script and cursive script were introduced into Qian Wen, it has formed five styles: seal script, official script, running script, cursive script and regular script. There are nine stacks of seal script "Song Huizong Bao Tong" in the seal script, and Hui Zong's fine gold characters in the regular script, and the calligraphy is beautiful and charming, or

Song and Yuan Bao Tong

The first currency minted in Song Dynasty was "Bao Tong in Song and Yuan Dynasties", which was minted in the first year of Stegosaurus in Song Taizu (AD 95 1). The style of coins follows the rule of "Bao Tong is in various yuan" and is called Xiao Ping Qian. Qian Wen read it in order. This is the title of Wen Jiabao's book Money. Later, Song Taizu was handed over to his younger brother, Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi, who ascended the throne. During the reign of Taiping (976-983), Taiping was cast, and its shape was the same as that of Song and Yuan Dynasties. At that time, Sichuan and Fujian offered iron money. The iron coins produced in Fujian are very popular because of their clear back and skilled sculptors. Therefore, a top ten coin with a diameter of 4.2 cm was introduced. Calligraphers and sculptors are all good, and there is a dot on the back, which may be a commemorative coin, which is rare in the world. These two kinds of "Taiping Bao Tong" are all Five Dynasties styles, and the foundry workers are diligent and profound, comparable to Kaiyuan Money.

Chunhua Yuanbao (Gold Coin)

Chunhua Yuanbao (back of gold coin)

"Chunhua Yuanbao" was cast by Song Taizong in May of the first year of Chunhua (AD 990), and it was the earliest "imperial book money". There are three styles of Qian Wen's calligraphy, namely original, running script and cursive script, all written by Song Taizong. In addition, the Chunhua iron coins cast in Sichuan and other places are also the imperial style of Qian Wen. The gold "Spring Garden Yuanbao" unearthed in Wutai Mountain has a Buddha statue on the back. From Song Taizong to the Taoist period (995-997 AD), another "Taoist treasure" was cast, and the three bodies of truth, action and grass also appeared in Qian Wen.

After Song Zhenzong ascended the throne, in the first year of Xianping (AD 998), a copper coin named "Xianping Yuanbao" was printed by Qian Wen in regular script, with a diameter of 2.4 cm, and read by Qian Wen. There are bills with a diameter of 4.2 cm, and there are also block letters in Qian Wen. This Shufa Qian is acceptable, so it should be currency. But in addition, there are some people who have a large margin and little money, and the quality of characterization is different. They may not be circulating currencies issued by the government, but they may all be commemorative and the number is small. In the first year of Jingdezhen (A.D. 1004), the "Jingdezhen Yuanbao" copper coin was cast, and the currency system was the same as before. Qian Wen uses regular script as the imperial currency. The "Xiangfu Yuanbao" cast in the first year of Dazhong Xiangfu (A.D. 1008) has two kinds: back and bare back. There is also a wide margin of money, which is divided into ten or five, and also divided into stars, moons and no words. In addition, there is "Bao Tong", which is a kind of royal book money. There are two kinds of money, big and small, which are used to reward ministers, so the casting amount is small. Since then, "Yuanbao" and "Bao Tong" have been circulating at the same time. In the first year of Tianxi (AD 10 17), Tianxi ingot was cast.

Huang Song Bao Tong (Nine Deaths of Seals)

Song Renzong reigned for forty years, during which he changed yuan nine times and issued annual money nine times. During this period, the number of money supervisors in Song Dynasty increased, but the management was not very strict. There are great differences in the format and copper coins of the money paid by the local money supervisors, and the fineness of the foundry workers is also very different. There are two kinds of calligraphy in Qian Wen: Tiansheng Yuanbao, Ming Dow Yuanbao in Ming Dow and Jingyou Yuanbao in Jingyou, which have exactly the same diameter and outline and are called "matching money". At present, there are still two kinds of iron money: five and Xiaoping. During the first year of Bao, it was thought that the title of Bao was inconvenient, so it was called "Song Emperor", including copper and iron. Copper coins have more formats, and seal characters and model characters are generally paired. In addition, there is also a kind of seal script money-nine-fold seal script "Emperor Song Bao Tong" or "Nine-fold Emperor Song", which should be a gift. Exquisite casting, very few in quantity, extremely rare. During the Li Qing period, Li Yuanhao, king of Xixia, attacked Shaanxi and other places, and sent troops to crusade against the Song Dynasty. Therefore, he cast "Li Qing Heavy Treasure" as ten coins to solve the problem of military supplies. The diameter of this money is 2.9 cm. Qian Wen has regular script, which can be read sequentially and rotated. There are also ten iron coins with a diameter of 3.2 cm. The war between the two countries lasted for three years. In the Northern Song Dynasty, the national strength was greatly damaged, coins were decreasing, and a large number of paper money was issued, which led to the price increase. By the end of the war, ten coins were converted into triple circulation. In He Zhi period, Zeng's "He Zhi" and "He Zhi Yuan Bao", Xiaoping copper coins, bare back without words, were matched with seal characters and kai characters, and there were two sizes. Besides, there are two discounts for Hall of Supreme Harmony and San Qian. In the first year of Jiayou, "Jiayou Yuanbao" and "Jiayou Bao Tong" were both small coins and copper coins.

In the first year of Xining in Song Yingzong (AD 1068), the "Xining Yuanbao" was cast, all of which were small copper coins; In the fourth year of Xining (A.D. 107 1), "Xining Heavy Treasure" was cast into ten pieces, which were cast by the northwest frontier. After that, the weight was continuously reduced, making money in various formats. In the sixth year of Xining (A.D. 1073), it was changed to three-fold use, and then changed to two-fold use. Since then, it has been issued at a discount of two yuan every year. In addition, there are "Xi Ning Chong Bao" iron money, including Xiaoping and Party affairs, and Qian Wen's regular script reading. In Xining Xiaoping's money, there are some people who recite articles and remember prison. During the Yuanfeng period (A.D. 1078- 1085), "Yuanfeng Bao Tong" was published and engraved, with Xiaoping, two copper and iron coins, and Qian Wen seal cutting lines. There are many pages, including Dongpo Yuanfeng written by Su Shi. During the reign of Zongshen, the average annual casting money was more than 4 million yuan, the highest in the Song Dynasty.

During the period of Song Zhezong, three kinds of coins were minted. In the first year of Yuan You (AD 1086), copper coins and iron coins of "Yuan You Bao Tong" were cast. There are two kinds of copper coins: Xiaoping and Zheer, and Qian Wen seal in pairs. The word "Shaanxi" is rarely seen in Xiaoping coins. San Qian's iron coins are folded in half, and Qian Wen's seals and lines are paired. Born less than three years (A.D. 1096), Born less ingot and Born less Bao Tong came out one after another. There are two kinds of copper coins: Xiaoping and Fold, and the seal characters are paired. There is also a kind of official script Xiaoping coin, which is rare. Iron money has Xiaoping, 20% discount and 30% discount, all in pairs. There is a copper cast Xiaoping in Bao Tong coins, and Qian Wen uses regular script with no words on the back. There is only one kind of iron money in Bao Tong, Xiaoping. In addition, there are iron mother money with the word "stone" on the back, which is extremely rare. In the second year of Fu Yuan (A.D. 1099), the casting of Fu Yuan Bao Tong was completed. There are two kinds of copper and iron, both of which are Xiaoping, folded in half, sealed and lined in pairs. This Shufa Qian is exquisite and spectacular. Iron money has a kind of "Fu Yuan Bao Zhong", which is extremely rare to fold two yuan, and the book is exquisite and beautiful, and has not been passed down from generation to generation.