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The history of Chinese currency spans more than 3000 years. Currency of some type has been used in China since the Neolithic age which can be traced back to between 3000 and 4500 years ago. Cowry shells are believed to have been the earliest form of currency used in Central China, and were used during the Neolithic period.
Here, we take a look at the evolution of money in China– its origins, the ideas behind its inception, and the ups and downs of paper money. 1. c.2070 BCE-c. 1200 BCE Cowries were used as money in China
The Foundation has a variety of specimens of old Chinese money, some rare, some common. Particularly unusual are a specimen of a note printed on cloth and another made of wood. It was the Chinese who invented paper money, in the ninth century AD.
Copper cash is the general terms of Chinese ancient currency made of copper which turned up in the Qin Dynasty (221 BC–206 BC), a dynasty leaving so many legacies to the Chinese people such as the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army.
At the time of the Sui second unification of China, Emperor Wendi reintroduced a standard Wuzhu coin - the 隋 五 铢 suí wǔ zhū. Then Emperor Wudi minted the kai yuan tong bao 开 元 通 宝 which was no longer of standard weight, they were also known as 开 元 通 宝 kāi yuán tōng bǎo, 重 宝 zhòng bǎo or 元 宝 yuán bǎo.
The earliest form of Chinese money was shells (hence the use of the shell character in many other characters related to value, money and wealth). Money shells were later bronzed. In the period of rival states (770 – 221 BC) different shapes of money were used by different states: knife-shaped, spade shaped, and ant-nose-shaped.
In the year 8 A.D., the ruler Wang Mang staged a coup and entered the dragon throne. He reintroduced the old coin forms, such as the spade money and knife coins. This remained a short episode in coin history, since as soon as 23 A.D., Wang Mang was defeated in battle and killed. “Empires wax and wane. States come and go.
