User:Donald Trung/Later Zhou coinage

This page serves as "the editing history" for the English Wikipedia article Later Zhou and is kept for both historical preservation and attribution. ✅. --Donald Trung (talk) 19:32, 13 September 2018 (UTC)

Currency


The only series of cash coins attributed to the Later Zhou period are the Zhouyuan Tongbao coins which were issued by Emperor Shizong from the year 955 (Xiande 2). Emperor Shizong is sometimes said to have cast cash coins with the inscription Guangshun Yuanbao during his Guangshun period title (951–953), however no authentic cash coins with this inscription are known to exist.

The pattern of the Zhouyuan Tongbao is based on that of the Kaiyuan Tongbao cash coins. They were cast from melted-down bronze statues from 3,336 Buddhist temples and mandated that the citizens of Later Zhou should turn in to the government all of their bronze utensils with the notable exception of bronze mirrors, Shizong also ordered a fleet of junks to go to Korea to trade Chinese silk for copper which would be used to manufacture cash coins. When reproached for this, the Emperor uttered a cryptic remark to the effect that the Buddha would not mind this sacrifice. It is said that the Emperor himself supervised the casting at the many large furnaces at the back of the palace. The coins are assigned amuletic properties and "magical powers" because they were made from Buddhist statues, and are said to particularly effective in midwifery – hence the many later-made imitations which are considered to be a form of Chinese charms and amulets. Among these assigned powers it is said that Zhouyuan Tongbao cash coins could cure malaria and help women going through a difficult labour. The Chinese numismatic charms based on the Zhouyuan Tongbao often depict a Chinese dragon and fenghuang as a pair on their reverse symbolising either a harmonious marriage or the Emperor and Empress, other images on Zhouyuan Tongbao charms and amulets include depictions of Gautama Buddha, the animals of the Chinese zodiac, and other auspicious objects.

Other than cash coins John E. Sandrock claims that the Later Zhou dynasty issued an early form of paper money, the reason for this is that because of a copper shortage the government of Later Zhou was forced to resort to a form of paper notes, these notes had the warning that those found counterfeiting them as well as their conspirators would be put to death and have their bodies displayed in public.

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Standard reference templates

 * September 2018.











Other project inspired by this one

 * User:Donald Trung/Southern Tang Kingdom coinage.