Currency developed to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and Tang Dynasty changed "baht" to "treasure". Starting from " Kaiyuan Tongbao", later currencies ushered in the era of being called "treasures" - Tongbao , Yuanbao, Chongbao and other "treasures". The "Kaiyuan Tongbao" has always occupied the C position of Datang currency. Its emergence has become another golden moment in the history of Chinese currency after Qin Shihuang unified the currency, and also opened another new era in the history of our country's currency.
When some people hear the word "Kaiyuan", they will think that "Kaiyuan Tongbao" is Tang Xuanzong Li Longji's "era coin", but this "Kaiyuan" is not that "Kaiyuan". "Kaiyuan Tongbao" does not belong to the Kaiyuan flourishing . It tells people about the far-sightedness of Li Yuan, the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and its Qianwen was inscribed by Ouyang Xun, a calligrapher of the early Tang , and it was also passed down as a good story by later generations.
一
After Tang Gaozu Li Yuan established the Tang Dynasty, he began to mint Kaiyuan coins in the fourth year of Wude (621). The currency system with "baht" and "liang" as the money names in Chinese history ended. Even the five baht of the Sui Dynasty, which was only born for more than 40 years, could not escape the fate of being replaced.
The general trend of the world will inevitably converge after a long period of separation. In 581 AD, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty Yang Jian replaced the Northern Zhou Dynasty and established the Sui Dynasty , reunifying China. Eight years later, the Sui army invaded Jiankang and destroyed Nanchen, thus ending the more than 200-year history of the north-south division. In the early Sui Dynasty, the currency was extremely chaotic, and all the coins of the previous dynasties could be used. In order to meet the needs of commodity exchange, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty ordered the currency to be rectified and minted into a unified standard "five baht" coin.
Sui Wu Baht, Sui Dynasty, 2.3 cm in diameter, 1 cm in diameter, weighing about 3 grams, made of copper, complete in shape.
This coin was minted in the first year of Emperor Wen's reign (581) of the Sui Dynasty. It was also called Zhiyuan Wu Baht. At that time, it was stipulated that a thousand coins would weigh four pounds and two taels, and each coin should weigh 3.168 grams, and other coins were prohibited from circulation. The five bahts of the Sui Dynasty were well made and "the meat on the back is good, and they all have Zhou Guo". Lanzhou Museum has a large collection. Some of Qian's writings have thick strokes, some have thin strokes, some have straight intersections, and some have slightly rounded strokes. But overall Zhou Guo is well-organized and the size and thickness are relatively consistent.
According to the "Old Tang Book" record: "At the beginning of the founding of the Emperor (Sui), the debaters compared the Han Dynastywen and scenery, with the accumulation of millet and decay." The accumulation of money in the treasury means that the money in the treasury is so much that the rope is broken, which shows how prosperous the social economy was during the reign of Emperor Kaihuang. As the protagonist of "Guanxi", the five-baht coin played a very important role at that time. The unified currency played a very key role in the recovery and development of the social economy, so there was " Kaihuang rule ".
However, the Sui Dynasty was similar to the Qin Dynasty . Although it was less than 40 years ago, the early political reforms, currency rectification, and people's livelihood brought the country to a prosperous age with full treasury and "Kaihuang rule". However, they also died in the second generation.
二
According to the "Old Book of Tang·Shi Huo Zhi": "(Tang Dynasty) Emperor Gaozu still used the Sui Dynasty's five-baht coin. In July of the fourth year of Wude (AD 621), the five-baht coin was abolished and Kaiyuan Tongbao coin was used. Eight cents, weighing two baht and four bamboo coins, weighing one tael for ten coins, and six pounds and four taels for one thousand coins. "
Kaiyuan Tongbao, Tang Dynasty , the diameter of the coin is 2.4 cm, the diameter of the thread is 0.7 cm, and it weighs about 3 grams. It is made of copper and has a complete shape. There are many coins in the collection of Lanzhou Museum
With the change of dynasties, it is imperative to carry out currency reform . However, Li Yuan, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, abolished the five-baht coin that had been used for more than 700 years and minted a new coin named "Kaiyuan Tongbao", which was a monetary revolution.
"Kaiyuan" refers to the opening of a new era, and "Tongbao" refers to the popular currency. The shape still follows Qin square hole round coin . The great significance of this currency reform is that it not only completely separates the name of currency from its weight, but also coins are no longer called by weight, but instead called "treasure", which is a popular treasure. This not only cleverly concealed the trouble caused by the disparity between the name of the coin and the actual coin weight, but also made Kaiyuan coins the coinage standard for later dynasties.
Not only that, Li Yuan also made changes to the balance system after establishing the Tongbao currency system. "Kaiyuan Tongbao" weighs about two baht, ten coins is one tael, and one thousand coins weighs six catties and four taels.Due to the inconsistency in weights and measures, a pound in the Tang Dynasty was more than twice as heavy as that in the Western Han Dynasty. Therefore, Kaiyuan Tongbao was slightly heavier than the five-baht coin in the Western Han Dynasty. Before the Tang Dynasty, twenty-four baht was equal to one tael, which was the 24-carry method. After the reform, the decimal method of liang, qian, cents, and cents was used. One qian is 3.73 grams, which is the weight of one coin. Ten qian is equal to one tael. Obviously, this decimal system is more convenient among the people. From this, it is not difficult to see Li Yuan's foresight in casting "Kaiyuan Tongbao".
Another feature of "Kaiyuan Tongbao" also highlights the important status of this coin.
The Qianwen of "Kaiyuan Tongbao" was written by Ouyang Xun, a famous calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty. Ouyang Xun was a great calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty and even in China's 5,000-year history. He was known as the "Four Great Calligraphers of the Early Tang Dynasty" together with Yu Shinan , Chu Suiliang , Xue Ji . He also served as Guanglu doctor, Gai Shizhong, Prince Li Gengling, and Hongwenguan bachelor. Ouyang Xun also became the first calligrapher in Chinese history to write money inscriptions on coins. People around the world comment that the font "Kaiyuan Tongbao" is vigorous, precise, dignified and elegant, dignified and powerful.
Qianyuan Chongbao , Tang Dynasty, the diameter of the coin is 2.9-2.2 cm, the diameter is 0.6-0.7 cm, the weight is 3.5-8.6 grams, made of copper, and the shape is basically complete.
Dali Yuanbao , Tang Dynasty, 2.3 cm in diameter, 0.7 cm in diameter, 3.5 grams in weight, made of copper, complete in shape.
Of course, the Tang Dynasty also issued Qianyuan Chongbao, Dali Yuanbao, Huichang Kaiyuan Tongbao, and other currencies, but in comparison, "Kaiyuan Tongbao" is more like a star that has always occupied the C position. Since its issuance in the Tang Dynasty, due to its reasonable quality, currency proper control, and relatively exquisite workmanship, it has been deeply loved by the people. Of course, it also brought a soft landing to the economy in the early Tang Dynasty and became a model for later generations of copper coins. Both the Ming and Qing dynasties used its shape as a blueprint for casting.
Nowadays, the "Kaiyuan Tongbao" in the collection world has become an important part of the "Five Emperors' Money". People even think that it can ward off evil spirits and make money, and then love it.
text丨Benliu News reporter Jing Wen
