There are two photographs on the University of Bristol’s Historical Photographs of China website that the caption associates with the junk on the 1932 Sun Yat-sen silver dollar.
(more…)
There are two photographs on the University of Bristol’s Historical Photographs of China website that the caption associates with the junk on the 1932 Sun Yat-sen silver dollar.
(more…)Sasha Pare, “Researchers decode metal-making recipes in ancient Chinese text. Study identifies mystery elements in Kaogong ji, shedding light on how early bronzes were produced” in The Guardian, 10 Aug 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/10/metal-making-recipes-ancient-chinese-text-kaogong-ji
(more…)Ding MA, Dian CHEN, Naisheng LI, Yue CHEN, Jing DU, and Wugan LUO, “Archaeometallurgical research on the bronze coins of Song Dynasty (960–1279AD) from Nanhai No. Ⅰ shipwreck, the south China sea”, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 45, October 2022.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2022.103581
A.M. Pollard and Ruiliang Liu, “Chemical Studies of Ming and Qing (1368–1911 CE) coinage and the later history of brass in China”, Journal of Archaeological Science 142, June 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2022.105597
(more…)Shanghai Museum (ed.), Yiyi qian nian: Zhongguo huobi shi zhong de baiyin. Shanghai: Shanghai Museum, 2019. ISBN ISBN 978-7-5479-1987-3. 187 pp.
上海博物馆 编:《熠熠千年:中国货币史中的白银》 / Silver in the History of Chinese Currency. 上海: 上海博物馆, 2019 年。
This is the catalogue of the exhibition at the Shanghai Museum, in 2019. Curated by Wu Danmin, the exhibition centred on the Shanghai Museum’s excellent collection, with loans from China’s Finance and Taxation Museum 中国财税博物馆, the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeological Research Institute 四川省文物考古研究院副院长, the National Center of Underwater Cultural Heritage 国家文物局水下文化遗产保护中心, and Guangdong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology 广东省文物考古研究所 . The index (in Chinese and English) gives the captions to the 130 objects illustrated in the catalogue.
There are four forewords (in Chinese and English):
YANG Zhigang 杨志刚, Director, Shanghai Museum (pp. 6-7)
XU Xiang 徐向, China’s Finance and Taxation Museum (pp. 8-9)
TANG Fei 唐飞, Vice Dean, Sichuan Archaeology Research Institute (pp. 10-11)
SUN Jian 孙键, National Center of Underwater Cultural Heritage (pp. 12-13)
These are followed by four essays (in Chinese, with an English abstract):
WU Danmin 吴旦敏 — Zhongguo huobi shi zhong de baiyin 中国货币史中的白银 // The Silver in the History of Chinese Currency (pp. 14-20)
Abstract: The natural attributes of gold and silver give them the advantage over other metals to function as a form of payment. In Europe the history of silver working as currency and as vessels or adornments had virtually overlapped while it was not the same in China. Silver had been valued as precious metal as well as long-distance exchange media in the history of Chinese currency until by the end of sixteenth century that it became a standard currency in the monetary system. The Age of Exploration in the fifteenth century speeded up the global circulation of silver and saw its enormous influx into China which fueled the metallic currency market. To some extent, the maritime trade stimulated China’s commerce and industry, and urged a more advanced currency system to match its development. Silver eventually acted as a significant role on the stage and backed all of China’s economy.
CHEN Yang 陈阳 — Baiyin huobi beihou de caizheng tuishou – Tangdai zhi Mingdai yinding zhong suojian baiyin yu caizheng de guanxi 白银货币背后的财政推手 – 唐代至明代银锭中所见白银与财政的关系 // Pushing Hands Behind: The Relationship between the Silver Ingots and the Finance from the Tang to the Ming Dynasties (pp. 20-27)
Abstract: The thesis attempts to reveal the relationship between silver ingots and government’s income and expenditure on the analysis of the inscriptions and text material based on various forms of silver currency from the Tang to the Ming dynasties. It aims to investigate how the national’s finance and taxation system worked out to set up a silver standard monetary system through the functions of silver currency transferred from a method of large-scale payment in common commodity to considerable tax generated from goods in great volume of trade.
LIU Zhiyan 刘志岩 — Zheji chensha yin wei xiao: Jiangkou chen yin yizhi fajue ji 折戟沉沙银未销:江口沉银遗址发掘记 // The Underwater Archaeological Finding of Silver from the Jiangkou Site (pp. 28-32)
Abstract: This paper is aimed to tell the inside stories of the underwater archaeological finding of a sunken silver hoard in Jiangkou from the perspective of the archaeologist on-site, with some unrevealed details of how the site was discovered and excavated as well as the spiritual journey that the author experienced in the whole process. The article focuses on recording the archaeologists’ efforts in this first underwater practice in Sichuan province and so far the largest scaled underwater archaeological excavation of rivers in China. This tremendous discovery proved the legend of Zhang Xianzhong hiding a large silver treasure underwater at Jiangkou a real story and once again, the significance of archaeological evidence in the study of Chinese history.
YE Daoyang 叶道阳 — ‘Nanhai yihao’ chutu de yi pi jinshu huobi ‘南海一号’出土的一批金属货币 // Metal Coins Excavated from the Nanhai I Shipwreck (pp. 33-35).
Abstract: The Nanhai I shipwreck was originally located in the border area between Taishan City and Yangjiang City of Guangdong Province. It was discovered in the late 1980s. Afterward, the wreck was entirely unwatered and shifted to the Maritime Silk Road Museum of Guangdong in 2007. It has been conducted with excavation since 2014. It is a very important discovery so far in the history of China’s underwater archaeology. It is also very important relics along the Maritime Silk Road. // The Nanhai I shipwreck was basically preserved under sea mud. It is loaded with cargo of trade goods of the Southern Song Dynasty. The wreck is 22 meters long and 9.9 meters wide, with a sharp bow, square stern and multiple plates on both sides. Its structure is suitable for seagoing voyage, known as ‘Fu Chuan’, or literally Fortune Ship. // The Song dynasty was a prosperous period for China’s coinage industry. Silver began to circulate as an important part of the financial system. The development of overseas trade led to an increasing importance of the precious metals such as gold and silver of high value, light weight and convenient for long distance transportation. The Song people normally call it ‘light assets’ for both the silk and precious metals. // In the wreck, 290 kg of silver ingots have been excavated. It has also yielded a lot of gold leaves, as well as a large quantity of gold, silver and copper coins. The silver ingots displayed in this exhibition were intended to be carried abroad for use, so that the audience can also imagine the scenery of prosperous foreign trade in the Song Dynasty.
These are followed by the catalogue in three sections:
Chuantong yinliang 传统银两 // The Traditional Silver Ingots (pp. 36-95)
Baiyin dongzhe 白银东浙 // Silver Travelling to the East (pp. 96-127)
Yin yu zhichao 银与纸钞 // Silver and Paper Money (pp. 128-181)
Suoyin 索引 // Index (pp. 182-186)
“Money and Empire: coin influence and change from a world perspective“
WANG Chunfa 王春法:Huobi yu wangchao: guoji shiyexia qianbi de yingxiang yu gaibian 《货币与王朝:国际视野下钱币的影响与改变》. Beijing 北京:Beijng shidai huawen shuju 北京时代华文书局, 2020年. ISBN 978-5699-3724-4. [WANG Chunfa (ed.-in-chief). Money and Empire: coin influence and change from a world perspective. Beijing: Beijing Shidai Huawen shuju, 2020. 325 pp. In Chinese]
This volume is the proceedings of the international conference held at the National Museum of China, 13-14 November 2019. It contains the 32 papers listed below (my translations are approximate) and foreword by the Director of the National Museum of China. A total of 42 papers were presented at the conference and are listed at the back of the book.
February 1st 2022 marked the start of the lunar new year. This year being the Year of the Tiger, images of tigers flooded social media. Several people sent me this image of a tiger covered in coins, but none could tell me the source of this image. Here, Alex Chengyu Fang, an expert on Chinese coin-shaped charms (a very portable medium of Chinese folk-art), offers his thoughts.
Alex writes:
This is a New Year print 年畫, the kind that is traditionally produced and posted about the house especially for the celebration of the Spring Festival marking the beginning of a lunar year. This time, it is the year of the tiger. The picture appropriately features a tiger holding a sword between its jaws. There is a lizard near the hilt of the sword, a centipede near the front paw of the tiger and a snake under its belly. A spider can be seen hanging down from the tail. The five therefore form a reference to the Five Poisons 五毒, that is, Tiger, Snake, Centipede, Lizard and Spider. The five poisons were originally meant to be suppressed, traditionally on the fifth day of the fifth month, which is celebrated as the Duanwu Festival 端午節 or the Double Wu Festival, when the sun is believed in its highest position, and thus at its most powerful, an ideal moment to rid the household of unwanted pests. The Five Poisons therefore also came to represent a lucky sign, often featured on Chinese coin-like charms. The five creatures can vary, as in the coin-like charm below, which features a tiger, snake, spider, toad and lizard.
On this printed image, the theme of luck and fortune is reinforced by the many coins covering the tiger. Reading the inscriptions on the coins, we find those issued during various reigns of the Ming and the Qing, including Hongwu 洪武, Yongle 永樂, Chenghua 成化, Jiajing 嘉靖, Shunzhi 順治, Kangxi 康熙, Qianlong 乾隆, Jiaqing 嘉慶, Daoguang 道光, Xianfeng 咸豐, Tongzhi 同治, and Guangxu 光緒, etc. The latest coin featured reads Guangxu 光緒 (1875-1908) just below the tiger’s tail.
In the coin inscriptions, it’s noticeable that the head of the tong 通 varies in appearance, that bao 寳 is always given in the simplified form 宝, and that the Manchu script on the back of Qing coins is often garbled.
Rather unusually for a Chinese print, we also see some foreign coins such as Kan’ei tsuho 寬永通寶 and Meiji tsuho 明治通寶 issued in Japan and Cảnh Hưng 景興通寶 issued in Vietnam.
In the middle of the tiger, we find a coin-like charm inscribed Fu gui chang ming 富貴長命, meaning fortune, honour and long life:
The four characters in red read Hu nian da ji 虎年大吉, or Great luck in the Year of the Tiger, and the two-character signature reads Fan Hua 范華.
This print was once in a private collection, as it has a seal impression in the lower right corner. The seal reads “Studied and collected in the studio of xxx” (xxx 攷藏印). The studio name cannot be identified due to the missing part of the seal. The print was probably later in the collection of a museum, as suggested by a very vague trace of a museum stamp in the top right corner.
New Year prints such as this were produced across China in older times. This particular print was believed to have been produced in Taohuawu 桃花塢, located in Suzhou, one of the five best known places for the production of New Year prints. The other four places include Yangliuqing 楊柳青 in Tianjin, Zhuxianzhen 朱仙鎮 in Henan, Yangjiabu 楊家埠 in Shandong and Mianzhu 綿竹 in Sichuan. Pictures produced in Taohuawu are noted for their vibrant colours and fine woodcut skills. The following is an identical print but in colour, retrieved from an article focussing on tigers in New Year prints (link here).
*
So, we know where the print was produced and it appears to be, or to have been, in at least one collection. Were the characters in red added later? By Photoshop? Was the print produced for the lunar new year, or for the Duanwu Festival, or for general use throughout the year? So many questions – if you have any answers, please leave a comment!
Many thanks to Alex, who has produced two books on Chinese charms, and last year wrote the introduction to François Thierry’s new book on this subject:
Alex Chengyu Fang, Chinese Charms: Art, Religion, and Folk Belief (Beijing: The Commercial Press, 2008) 方称宇著:《中国花钱与传统文化》 (北京:商业印书馆, 2008. ISBN 978-7-100-05832-2.
Alex Chengyu Fang and François Thierry (eds), The Language and Iconography of Chinese Charms: Deciphering a past belief system, pp. 149-161 (Springer, 2016). ISBN 978-981-10-1791-9.
Francois Thierry, Amulettes et talismans de la Chine ancienne (Paris: CNRS, 2021), ISBN 978-227-113-9023.
Werner Burger, known for his research on Qing dynasty coins and his extensive collection of coins and library, died in Hong Kong on 15 November, aged 85.
Werner Burger (Chinese: 布威纳 Bu Weina) was born in Munich in 1936. He studied Chinese at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), graduating in 1962, with a thesis on Chinese money. According to an announcement by the Chinese Numismatic Museum in Beijing, Burger took 16 years to complete his PhD (instead of the usual 3-4 years), and 30 years to complete his volume Ch’ing Cash (2016) (link here).
In 1963 he went to China to teach German in Shanghai. When the school he was teaching at closed down, he was sent to be a sheep farmer. He moved to Hong Kong in 1965.
Burger was also a member of the major research project Monies, Markets and Finance in China and East Asia, 1600-1900: Local, Regional, National and International Dimensions led by Hans Ulrich Vogel in Tübingen. For this project, he was looking in particular at “Qing Coinage, 1850-1911: Mint Statistics, Numismatic Evidence, and Monetary Policy”.
Burger’s publications include the following titles:
Further information
Memorial Event
Ricarda Beatrix, assistant curator at the V&A recently tweeted about her work on the more than 500 Chinese snuff-bottles at the V&A (see V&A collection online). There are a further 451 Chinese snuff-bottles on the British Museum’s Collection Online. That makes almost 1000 in just two collections. I did a quick internet search for snuff-bottles and found a few examples with coin designs, which I’ll post below in three groups: foreign coins (usually silver dollars) on snuff-bottles, Chinese coins on snuff-bottles, and Liu Hai and the three-legged toad on snuff-bottles. There are probably a lot more out there. The images are not to size.
The Durham University Archaeology Laboratory Collection houses a wide variety of objects obtained over many years for teaching and learning purposes, many with unknown histories. One such object is a coin sword (Figure 1). Coin swords, also known as cash swords, evil-warding swords, exorcising swords, and magic swords, are generally believed to have been used within Chinese households to ward off evil spirits. In Chinese, they are known as 辟邪剑 bixiejian (evil-averting sword), 钱剑 qianjian (coin-sword), 古钱剑 guqianjian (old coin sword), and 铜钱剑 tongqianjian (copper coin sword).
The precise history of this sword is unknown. The only documentation it possesses is a small label tied to the hilt, which gives the date of ‘5 Jan 77’, but is otherwise mostly illegible (Figure 2).
The sword is composed of 66 coins in total: 42 on the blade, 16 on the guard and 8 on the pommel. The coins are fastened by red and yellow cords onto an iron rod which extends throughout the full length of the sword (Figure 3).
The sword is not unique and various other similar comparative pieces are in museums and private collections worldwide. Coin swords can be found in the collections of the British Museum, the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Scotland, Horniman Museum and Gardens, the Science Museum in London and many other places. Despite the apparent prevalence of coin swords, little information is available about their use and their place within Chinese material culture. However, suggestions have been made of their connection to Taoist rituals and deities, Feng Shui and Chinese numismatic charms. For example, Doré (1914, p. 507) suggests that coin swords were made to represent the exorcising sword of the Daoist magician Zhong Kui.
If you have any knowledge or guidance on how they were used, who made and used them, or their connections to Chinese religion and culture, please contact Anna Crowther at anna.n.crowther@durham.ac.uk
Many thanks to Helen Wang, Emily Williams and Helen Armstrong for their help and assistance with this artefact research so far.
References: