User:Donald Trung/Zheng De Tong Bao

This page serves as the editing history of Zhengde Tongbao and is preserved for the historical record.

Original draft


The Zhengde Tongbao is a fantasy cash coin and Chinese numismatic charm bearing an inscription based on the reign title of the Zhengde Emperor of the Ming dynasty. The Zhengde Emperor reigned from the year 1505 until 1521, however during this period no circulating cash coins were minted. There were a large amount "cash coins" bearing the Zhengde era name are minted from the late Ming to early Qing dynasty periods as superstitious "lucky coins" with auspicious depictions and instructions (making them Chinese numismatic charms), as this inscription remained popular for charms modern reproductions of the Zhengde Tongbao are also very common.

A popular saying in imperial China was "If a household has a Zhengde coin, there will be material wealth and honour for ten thousand years" (家有正德錢富貴萬萬年, jiā yǒu zhèng dé qián fù guì wàn wàn nián).

Overview
It is generally believed that there were no cash coins minted by the government of the Ming dynasty under the reign of the Zhengde Emperor, however it has been claimed that a small number of cash coins were cast there doesn't seem to be any evidence supporting this claim. Despite the fact that no Zhengde Tongbao were ever officially cast by the Ming dynasty a very large amount of them do exist today in the form of Chinese numismatic charms and amulets which is likely due to the fact that the inscription Zhengde Tongbao (正德通寶) could be translated as "currency of correct virtue" or "Coinage of True Virtue". Another possible reason why such a large number of Chinese numismatic charms with the inscription "Zhengde Tongbao" were cast is because it was believed m by many people during the Ming dynasty that the Zhengde Emperor was the reincarnation of a "swimming" dragon which gave the rise to the belief that carrying a Zhengde Tongbao amulet will protect its wearer from big waves while crossing a body of water such as the sea or a river. Other superstitions surrounding Zhengde Tongbao coins included that they protected pregnant women and their unborn offspring and that these coins would also help its carriers win gambling games. During Chinese new year Zhengde Tongbao cash coins were also given as "new year's lucky money" (壓歲錢, yā suì qián).

Zhengde Tongbao charms commonly feature the image of a dragon and a fenghuang on their reverses, when a Chinese dragon and fenghuang are shown together they often symbolise the union of a man and a woman meaning that these Zhengde Tongbao charms were used as Chinese marriage charms. Although Gary Ashkenazy claims that the dragon and fenghuang symbolises matrimony, it is argued by Edgar J. Mandel that the dragon and fenghuang actually represent the power of the imperial Chinese government where the dragon represents the Emperor and the fenghuang the Empress. Another variant of the Zhengde Tongbao has two dragons on its reverse chasing after the wish-granting pearl.

Another variant of the Zhengde Tongbao charm only contains the Hanzi character wén (文) on its reverse which is usually used as a measure word for counting cash coins but could also mean "obverse". These coins were also exclusively used as charms and amulets and were not meant for circulation.

Edgar J.Mandel's book Metal Charms and Amulets of China lists 41 variants of the Zhengde Tongbao charm.

Redirects

 * 1) REDIRECT Zhengde Tongbao


 * Zhengde tongbao.


 * Zheng De Tong Bao.


 * 正德通寶.


 * 正德通宝.


 * Zheng De tong bao.


 * zhengde tongbao.


 * Zhèngdé Tōngbǎo.


 * Zhèngdé tōngbǎo.


 * 正德通寳, factually correct contemporary spelling that for some reason is only used by the Japanese today.


 * Cheng Te T'ung Pao.


 * Chengte T'ungpao.


 * Chengte Tungpao.


 * Cheng Te Tung Pao.


 * Chengte tungpao.


 * Cheng Te tung pao.

Why I wrote this article.
While feeding my youngest son soup I had the idea to write an article about the Zhengde Tongbao, as far as I'm aware of there are no articles about fantasy Asian coins on the English Wikipedia, and hopefully by writing this I will set a trend to create articles of Chinese numismatic charms by inscription. --Donald Trung (talk) 10:13, 25 July 2018 (UTC)

Standard reference templates

 * July 2018.