During the Tang and Song dynasties, the social economy was developed, the city was full of shops, the number of merchants increased significantly, the people's lives became increasingly rich, the style of luxury prevailed, gold and silver ornaments were widely popular, and the number of shops specializing in gold and silver also increased. The Southern Song Dynasty is a corner of peace, and the industry and commerce of Lin'an Mansion in the capital are quite prosperous, and there are hundreds of gold and silver shops alone. On the basis of retaining the various businesses of the gold and silver shops of the previous dynasty, its business scope has added the business of exchanging huàn banknotes, so that its nature has changed from a simple gold and silver shop that buys and sells gold and silver and builds gold and silver to a private financial exchange institution with the nature of government and business, so it has become a financial institution integrating government and the people in the early days of China.

1. The social background and history of the gold and silver exchange

Gold and silver have been traded for a long time. During the Warring States period, gold was already commonly used among emperors and nobles. Gold ornaments, gold coins, cake gold, and other gold currencies have shown their high value. After the Qin and Han dynasties, silver became increasingly popular, so that gold and silver were not only used to make zuò utensils, but also became a store of value, and at the same time performed some monetary functions in some special fields.

There is no doubt that behind the surge of gold and silver ornaments there is a large number of gold and silver craftsmen, which were initially only served by slaves raised by rich and aristocratic families, and with the popularity of gold and silver ornaments, a group of craftsmen who are really engaged in the creation of gold and silver ornaments have been produced among the people. During the Northern Wei Dynasty, there was a gold and jade shop dealing in gold, silver and jade. "Book of Wei" volume 53 "Li Anshi Biography" records: "The country has Jiangnan envoys, and there are more treasures in the collection, so that the rich room can accommodate the goods." Make a deal of choice. Make it to the gold stone to ask the price. ”

In the Tang Dynasty, the national power was at its peak, industry and commerce were developed, and the social status of gold and silversmiths also improved, and gold and silver shops were slowly developed and established. Gao Yanxiu's "History of the Tang Dynasty" volume "Wang Jushi Shendan" contains "(Chang'an) Yanshoufang gold, silver, pearls and jade". During the Tang Dynasty, the business of gold and silver shops was mainly to make gold and silver ornaments, and also to buy and sell gold and silver ornaments and raw gold and silver (gold and silver collars, cakes, etc. used as currency), and there were also those who bought pearls and jade. In addition, the business of appraising gold and silver arises from the buying and selling of gold and silver.

In the fifth dynasty, a shop specializing in the buying and selling of silver appeared.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, there were many gold and silver shops in Bianjing. "Tokyo Menghualu" volume 2 "East Corner Tower Street and Alley" contains: "Nantong Lane is called the boundary body, and is the place of gold and silver color trading, the house is majestic, the façade is broad, the look is forested, every transaction, every move is tens of millions, appalling." At the same time, "Xuanhe Louqian Provincial Government Guanyu" contains: "Tang family gold and silver shop, Wenzhou lacquerware sundries shop, Daxiangguo Temple on the southeast side of Nanmen Street". "Tokyo Menghualu" was written by the author Meng Yuanlao in more than 20 years after the second year of Chongning, and describes the prosperity of Bianjing in the late Northern Song Dynasty. Ma Duanlin's "General Examination of Literature" Volume 9 "Coin Examination" recorded: "In the third year of Daguan, Lu Gong (Cai Jing) was dismissed, and the court discussion was changed to be three, and when three were folded and doubled, although the county officials could not cast it, and the big money was abolished, and the initial discussion was changed to three. Zai Zhi fought for money and the city gold, in the capital gold and silver shop did not know, not two months under the order. Shi Chuan laughed. This historical document records that in the third year of Daguan, when the ten coins were changed to three, Zai Zhi and others fought to send all their big money to Bianjing gold and silver shop to buy gold to avoid losses. It can be seen that in the Northern Song Dynasty, the gold and silver shops were quite developed, and the scale was also quite large, and there was a business of exchanging money for gold and silver.

2. The gold and silver shops in the Southern Song Dynasty and the gold and silver shop numbers on the unearthed gold and silver collar plates in the literature

The gold and silver shops of the Southern Song Dynasty are called gold and silver shops, gold and silver salt banknote trading shops, gold, silver, tea and salt banknote shops, etc.

The earliest record of the gold and silver exchange shop in the Southern Song Dynasty is Naide Weng's "Capital Jisheng". The book records the prosperity of Lin'an (Hangzhou) in the capital during the Duanping period of Ningzong, and records that there are more than 100 gold and silver shops on the most prosperous commercial street. "....... the capital city of Tianjie, the old from the south of Qinghefang, then the south of the tile north, called the north of the boundary. In front of Zhongwa (now East and West Papaya Lane), it is called the center of the five flowers and hungry children. From the five buildings (famous restaurants) north to Guanxiang (now Zhongshan Middle Road, Guanxiangkou area) Nanyu Street (now Zhongshan Middle Road), the two lines are mostly households, and there are only more than 100 gold and silver banknote trading shops. The door lists gold and silver and sees money, which is called looking at the stack of money, and this money is prepared to be included in the calculation, please quote the banknotes. And please make a craftsman's furnace, and there are countless of them. ”

Ming Tao Zongyi's "Ancient Hangzhou Sleepwalk" also recorded the situation of Lin'an gold and silver shops: "From the north of the five buildings to the south of Guanxiang to the south of Du Street, most of them are households, and there are only more than 100 gold and silver money trading shops, which are listed to see the stacks of gold and silver. The record is basically the same as that of the "Capital City Jisheng", which is obviously from Naideon's statement, but the gold and silver banknote trading shop was changed to a gold and silver money trading shop.

Wu Zimu's "Dream Lianglu" recorded the customs of Lin'an in the Southern Song Dynasty, including art and literature, construction, mountains and rivers, towns, products and many other aspects, and recorded some famous gold and silver shop names in various parts of Lin'an City: "Hangzhou City Mansion...... Since the year of Chunyou, there have been famous people such as... City Xifang (now Yangbatou) Nanhe Huimin Pharmacy. In front of the bureau, the Shen family and the Zhang family were introduced to the gold and silver shop...... Dr. Li Bridge (now Zhongshan Middle Road) Dengjia gold and silver shop. ”

Zhou Mi's "Xin Miscellaneous Records" recorded: "There is a Zhangjia gold and silver shop in Tianjing Lane (now Qinghefang). ”

"The Old Man of West Lake" records the grand occasion of the Hangzhou commercial market in the first year of Ning Zongqing: "Zhuxing City, Sichuan and Guangzhou Crude Medicine Market, Ivory, Tortoiseshell City, Gold and Silver City..." ”

Lin Zhengqiu's "Lin'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty" contains: "The west square of the city... It is the most dense downtown area of Lin'an store, with many shops. Such as the Shen family gold and silver shop, Zhangjia gold and silver foot shop, Zhangjia iron shop... There are many gold and silver shops and silk shops. ”

The above-mentioned documents tell us that the commercial economy of Lin'an in the Southern Song Dynasty was quite prosperous, and the gold and silver shops were the main commercial shops in the city, and gradually formed a market. Not only that, but similar gold and silver shops were opened in towns outside the capital. According to the Jingding Jiankang Chronicles, there were various markets in the city of Jiankang (Nanjing), among which the banks dealing in gold and silver were called banks. In addition, the "Baoqing Siming Chronicles" records that there are also six gold and silver shops in Mingzhou (Ningbo) City.

In the past 100 years, especially after the liberation, more than 300 gold and silver collar plates of the Southern Song Dynasty have been unearthed. These collars and plaques have the name of the gold and silver shop, the name of the gold and silver shop owner and the name of the craftsman, and the words such as expression, weight, and use, among which there are more than ten kinds of gold and silver shop names. In 1956, 6 gold collars were unearthed in the west of Hangzhou Railway Station, including three "Shiyuanpu". Judging from the distribution map of Fang Lane in the Southern Song Dynasty (see Lin Zhengqiu's attached map of Lin'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty), its excavation site is equivalent to the area of Fenghefang in the east of Lin'an City, which is the concentration of aristocratic mansions. Fenghefang Wang Hotel near the bridge is a famous high-end restaurant in Lin'an, and the utensils in the store are all made of gold and silver.

In 1955, 155 silver collars were unearthed in Xisai Mountain, Huangshi City, two of which were "Xu Shenpu in Babei Lijiao" and "Shen Pu in the East of Babei Street". Babei is the location of Lin'an Meat Market in the Southern Song Dynasty, which is equivalent to the current Sanyuan Lane Street, and is known as the Meat Market Lane. "Dream Lianglu" contains: "The meat market is in Dawa, and now it is in the north of the country... The two streets in the alley are both slaughterhouses. In 1982, Pingqiao, Liyang County, Jiangsu Province unearthed 6 silver collars have "Xie Pu Ji", two of which also have "Babei Street East" and "Babei Street West", which shows that Xie Pu is located in the north area of Lin'an.

In 1955, the silver collar unearthed in Xisai Mountain, Huangshi, Hubei Province has "Maoerqiao East", and in 1995, the silver collar unearthed from Chen Bozhen Grain Depot in Huangshi, Hubei Province has the place names of Lin'an in the Southern Song Dynasty such as "Chaotianmenli" and "Qinghefang North". "Mao'er Bridge" is located in Xianfu, which is equivalent to the current Huimin Road. Wu Zimu's "Dream Lianglu" contains: "Fufang East, Ripingjin Bridge, commonly known as Mao'er Bridge. "Chaotianmen" is now the Drum Tower." "Qinghefang" is named after Zhang Jun, the king of Qinghe County of the Southern Song Dynasty, which is equivalent to the west section of Hefang Street and East Taiping Lane where Zhongshan Middle Road is connected now, and the place name of "Qinghefang" is still in use today. Although the names of these silver collars are not clearly marked with the names of gold and silver shops, the origin of these silver collars can be found from these place names.

Third, the business scope of the Southern Song Dynasty gold and silver exchange

(1) Buying and selling banknotes

Both the "Capital City Jisheng" and the "Menglianglu" record that gold, silver, and cash were displayed in the gold and silver banknote trading shop, which was ready to be exchanged and liquidated for salt banknotes. From the Tang Dynasty gold and silver shop to the Southern Song Dynasty gold and silver exchange shop, the most obvious difference is that the business scope of the gold and silver exchange shop in the Southern Song Dynasty has been expanded, and the business of buying and selling and exchanging huàn banknotes has been increased. In a sense, banknotes are a kind of valuable papers. During the Song Dynasty, the production, distribution and distribution of salt, tea, and alum were all monopolized by the government. Only after the government issues a license certificate (i.e., "introduction") can the merchant go to the production area to collect and distribute it. The proof of receiving and selling salt is called "salt money citation" or "salt quotation", and the certificate of receiving tea is called "tea quotation" or "tea quotation"; The certificate of receiving alum is called "alum citation", and is divided into large, medium and small three types, the large quotation is "100 catties", the medium citation is "50 catties", and the small citation is "30 catties". Merchants pay for the goods in the capital, and after obtaining the license certificate "lead", they can take them to the tea field, salt field and alum field to receive the goods, and then transport them to various places to sell ~ sale. At that time, salt, tea, and alum were the most profitable trades, and merchants were happy to do so. Therefore, as proof of the purchase and sale of special commodities such as tea, salt, and alum, "Yin" can also be sold at a high price, which plays the role of a security.

Another situation of "introduction" is that, due to the military relationship, merchants are allowed to sell grain, timber, etc. to foreign garrisons, and the garrison will send them to the capital to collect money, but these "introductions" often cannot be exchanged for cash immediately, so some of them are sold by merchants. The gold and silver exchange shop is the shop that undertakes this type of transaction and collects a commission from it. In addition to trading with copper coins, this kind of banknote trading can also be traded with gold and silver, and the gold and silver value is large and small, easy to carry, and it is the best way to trade large salt banknotes. The "Jingkang Chronicles" of the "Jingkang Chronicles" of the "Records of the Years since the Establishment of Yan" contains: "Another edict, the gold and silver people, and the plan to return the tea and salt banknotes." 〈〈History of the Song Dynasty. The Food and Goods Chronicles, Volume 180, "Coins", contains: "In the twenty-ninth year of (Shaoxing), the family of the order official kept 20,000 pieces of money, half of the people, and the remaining two years were limited to the transfer of gold and silver, counting tea, incense, alum and the like. All kinds of "citations" can also be traded with huizi. 〈〈History of the Song Dynasty. The Food and Goods Chronicles, Volume 181, "Huizi", contains: "(Ningzong Jiading five years) Huguang Yuchen Wang Cao, please use the degree of tea to redeem the old meeting of the Fifth Realm. "(The main road) five years, so that the goods capital tea field, will liquidate the tea, salt, and alum banknotes, and the right to exchange the first realm."

(2) The buying and selling of gold and silver ornaments and gold and silver currency

The focus here is on the buying and selling of gold and silver currency.

Lin'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, prospered in industry and commerce, and the people lived a prosperous life. The government used gold and silver in taxation, military expenditures, disaster relief, rewards, and official salaries, which inevitably led to a large amount of gold and silver, which was used as a precious metal weighing currency. Relatively speaking, silver is more widely used, and people even use silver directly or indirectly in clothing, food, shelter and transportation. Since the people need to exchange gold and silver for copper coins when they use it, the gold and silver exchange shop as a trading institution has become the best trading place. The tenth volume of Yi Jianzhi (Qin Chucai) records that gold and silver can be taken to gold and silver shops to sell for money: "A piece of platinum in the basket...... Deliver the goods for food and drink. People in the world can't put it down repeatedly, and ask how much money do you need? He said: "It is okay to pay for it with the market price." The man said: "My family is tired of making silver shops, and I have never tasted this product." Op. cit. The fact that there were more than 100 gold and silver shops in Lin'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, recorded in the 180 volumes of the Food and Goods Chronicles, and the fact that there were more than 100 gold and silver shops in Lin'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, all show that the gold and silver shop industry was developed at that time, and the use of gold and silver among the people was extremely common. In his "A Study of Gold and Silver in the Tang and Song Dynasties" (Volume II), it is stated that "the gold and silver shops give special prices to the rare gold and silver of particularly noble taste, and the ordinary gold and silver are calculated according to the weight of the gold and silver varieties at the current price, and then a certain fee is applied, and then the coins are converted. It is almost mechanical, not only for coins, but also for gold and silver, and silver for gold. The "particularly noble and rare gold and silver" mentioned by Gartenfan should belong to the particularly well-minted ornaments, and should be of high price. The price of ordinary gold and silver ornaments and gold and silver used for currency is calculated according to their fineness and weight. This kind of transaction between money and gold and silver, and between gold and silver, can be said to be a kind of sale and exchange. Gold and silver are a commodity when bought and sold as goods. When gold and silver are exchanged as a medium, it is a currency.

(3) The creation and appraisal of gold and silver ornaments and currency

According to the "Dream Lianglu" (Volume 19), "Tea and wine can be in charge of banquets, and gold and silver wine and tea utensils can be used. This shows that the Southern Song Dynasty folk use gold and silver to make daily utensils has been very common, in a certain way to stimulate the prosperity of gold and silver shops in Lin'an City, gold and silver shops set up workshops to create gold and silver ornaments and gold and silver currency (collars, cards, cakes, etc.) is one of the important businesses of gold and silver shops. The "Zhuzuo Fighting and Furnace" in the "Dream Lianglu" and the "Craftsman Furnace" in the "Capital City Jisheng" are the gold and silver creations. "Zhusho Craftsman" means that there were several workshops and craftsmen, "and" refers to gold and silver carving, and "鞲" means bellows, which are indispensable tools for making gold and silver ornaments and gold and silver currency. It can be seen that at that time, the gold and silver in the gold and silver shops had already reached a certain scale, and the gold and silver ornaments created had reached a certain level.

Gold and silver are valuables. The Southern Song Dynasty was very strict with the planning, trading and management of gold and silver. During the Song Dynasty, most of the gold and silver ornaments and currencies were made by the government to recruit private craftsmen to smelt and cast in the Wensi Academy. Due to the low wages of the craftsmen of the Bunsi Academy, the craftsmen with high skills often refused to come and hire them. Therefore, during the Chunxi period, the "common people's craftsmen" or "gold and silver shopkeepers" in Lin'an were used to undertake the construction of gold and silver, and it was stipulated that the gold and silver craftsmen who supported the government's errands must have a certain amount of property and two gold and silver shop owners as a guarantee to prevent cheating and be responsible for compensation. During the Qingyuan period, it was also stipulated that the tribute of gold and silver must be engraved with the name of the gold and silver shop, the name of the craftsman, and the name and position of the official who supervised the casting. The names "Zhang Pu, Wang Zhoupu, Shen Pu, Xie Pu, Shi Yuanpu, Shi Sanlang, Han Shilang, Wei Liulang" on the unearthed gold and silver collars were obviously influenced by this regulation. At the same time, it is also a necessary means to ensure quality and enhance credibility. "Yuan Qu Zhang" (Volume 20, to the 19th year of the Yuan Dynasty to rectify the banknote law) contains: "Gold and silver craftsmen open shops to build, open a house of life, with everyone will go to the gold and silver to build, on the chisel to record the name of the craftsman, not allowed to use gold and silver to make hair and buy, if it has become a vessel, go to the Pingzhun warehouse to buy." It can be seen that the custom of creating gold and silver ornaments in gold and silver shops in the Southern Song Dynasty was still in use at the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty.

According to the unearthed gold and silver currency, it can be seen that the size, weight and fineness of gold and silver collars and cards have relatively uniform standards. FOR EXAMPLE, THE SIX GOLD MEDALS UNEARTHED IN THE WEST OF HANGZHOU RAILWAY STATION ARE ABOUT 12,2CM IN LENGTH, 1,4CM IN WIDTH, 0,2CM IN THICKNESS, WEIGHING 39 GRAMS, AND THE FINENESS IS BETWEEN 95~99,9%. THE SHAPE, SIZE, WEIGHT AND FINENESS OF THE NINE GOLD MEDALS UNEARTHED IN CHANGMINGSI LANE, HANGZHOU ARE ALL THE SAME, 2CM LONG, 1.2CM WIDE, 0.1CM THICK, WEIGHS 4 GRAMS, AND THE FINENESS IS 98%. There is also a unified standard for the silver collar unearthed in various places, 50 taels for the large collar, 25 taels for the medium collar, and about 12 taels for the small collar, which shows that the gold and silver currency was created according to a certain standard and showed a certain value for easy circulation.

Gold and silver appraisal is an indispensable business since the birth of gold and silver shops. Buying, selling, and exchanging huàn gold and silver must be authenticated and their merits. Since ancient times, there have been many methods for identifying gold and silver, the most important of which is to prepare a variety of standard samples of gold and silver fineness to compare the standards of observation. "The Chronicle of Spring Enough" (Volume 10) recounts the Taoist to the gold and silver shop of the Luan family in Bianjing, which was known as the first in the world at that time: "When you go to the capital, you will go to the market with ten taels, and the Luan family will take the gold of their family, and the body will be soft and purple, that is, you will have to go straight and return." Although this historical material records the identification of gold and silver by the Bianjing gold and silver shop in the Northern Song Dynasty, the identification of gold and silver by the gold and silver shop in the Southern Song Dynasty is nothing more than this.

At the same time, when creating gold and silver collar plates, it is also necessary to identify their fineness. The inscriptions such as "10 0 gold" and "10 red gold" on the gold collar gold medal of the Southern Song Dynasty, and "flower silver" and "infiltrating silver" on the silver collar all reflect that gold and silver identification is one of the business of gold and silver cross-introduction.

conclusion

To sum up, the following conclusions can be drawn about the nature and business of the gold and silver exchange shop in the Southern Song Dynasty.

The Southern Song Dynasty gold and silver shop is a gold and silver shop with special functions, it is the biggest difference with the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties of the previous Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and the later dynasties of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, silver shops, silver shops, silver buildings, in addition to the operation of gold and silver trading, building and appraisal, but also operating the exchange of securities issued by the Southern Song Dynasty government and gold, silver and copper coins, gold and silver exchange business, has many characteristics of financial institutions, is the earliest private financial institutions in China.

The nature of buying and selling gold and silver is very different from that of exchange. Buying and selling is the treatment of gold and silver as commodities, while tuihuàn treats gold and silver as currency. The Southern Song Dynasty gold and silver exchange shop realized the role exchange between the two attributes of gold and silver, which can be bought and sold, and can be exchanged for huàn. On the one hand, it is determined by the characteristics and functions of gold and silver itself, and on the other hand, it is also a true portrayal of the widespread use of gold and silver among the people in the Southern Song Dynasty I1387