If you want to understand paper money, you must have a general understanding of the history of the development of paper money in ancient China and the important role it played!

This is also the Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youzhen after thinking repeatedly in the past few days, first ignore his new law, but focus on the reform of the currency, as long as he has a firm foothold in the economy! Firmly grasp the economic foundation of Beizhili! He wasn't worried about what these old ministers could turn over!

Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youzhen is a person who is good at grasping the main contradictions!

According to the literature and a large number of unearthed cultural relics, the origin of China's currency has a history of at least 4,000 years, from the original shell coins to cloth coins, knife coins, yuan coins, ant nose coins and Qin Shi Huang unified China after the popular square hole money, the development of China's monetary culture can be said to have a long history. By the Northern Song Dynasty, paper money appeared in China - "Jiaozi".

Historical research shows that "Jiaozi" was first printed in Chengdu Wanfo Temple.

Researchers in the past believed that the "Jiaozi Street" at the east gate of Chengdu should have been the place where the official "Jiaozi" was printed at that time. Because the "Chengdu Chengfang Historical Monuments Examination" has such an explanation of the "Jiaozi Street" at the east gate of Chengdu, "the name of the street is called 'Jiaozi', and the Song Dynasty tried to set up Jiaozi to do this." ”

However, local currency collectors have questioned this claim, because according to the text in the Chengdu Financial Chronicle: "The 'Jiaozipu' in Yizhou in the Northern Song Dynasty was actually the earliest monetary financial institution in the history of Sichuan, and the Jiaoziwu in Yizhou was the earliest banknote issuing institution approved by the state." "Obviously, there is no basis for saying that the banknote issuing agency is the place where it was printed. That is, there is no direct evidence to suggest that. "Jiaozi Street" is the birthplace of "Jiaozi". It has been more than 900 years since the birth of "Jiaozi". There is no specific physical evidence. Only look from the literature. In 2009, Zhan Xing of the Currency Museum began to look for the birthplace of "Jiaozi" from historical classics. "Quanshu Art Chronicles", there is a passage in the "Yuan Dynasty Coins" written by Fei: "In the first year of Yuanfeng (1078 AD), 1 member was added; There are 10 pawns, 69 stickers, 81 printers, 6 carvers and 2 casters. There are 12 miscellaneous servants, and each has a difference. The paper used was placed on the field at the beginning of the year, and it was handed over to the sub-officer, and then it was considered that it was disadvantageous, and he was the official director. In the first year of Longxing (1163 A.D.), a member of the special official came to him and moved to the Jingzhong Temple in the west of the city. This shows that the official "Jiaozi" is printed in the Jingzhong Temple in the west of the city, but after more than 900 years, there is no Jingzhong Temple in Chengdu. How to find it? Later, with the help of Ding Zuchun, a scholar from Nanchong City, Sichuan. Zhan Xing's verification went one step further, it turned out that Jingzhong Temple was first built in the Eastern Han Dynasty Huan Emperor Yanxi period, the name of Anpu Temple in the Six Dynasties, the name of Jingzhong Temple in the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty changed its name to Jingyin Temple, the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty was renamed the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, Zhang Xianzhong entered Sichuan at the end of the Ming Dynasty and was destroyed in the war, the Qing Dynasty Kangxi was rebuilt in the early years, still called the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, and the address was on the side of the Jinhua Bridge at the West Gate of Chengdu.

Second, the cause

It is no accident that paper money appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty, it is an inevitable product of social and political economic development. The development of the commodity economy in the Song Dynasty was relatively fast, and more currency was needed in the circulation of goods, and there was a shortage of copper coins at that time, which could not meet the demand in circulation. At that time, iron money was common in Sichuan, and the value of iron money was low and heavy, and it was extremely inconvenient to use. At that time, a copper coin was worth ten iron coins, and the weight of each thousand iron coins was 25 catties for large coins and 13 catties for medium coins. It costs 20,000 yuan to buy a piece of cloth, weighs about 500 catties, and you need to use a car. Chengdu is an important economic powerhouse, and the road to the outside world is extremely rugged and difficult, so there is an objective need for a light currency, which is the main reason why paper money first appeared in Sichuan. Moreover, although the Northern Song Dynasty was a highly centralized feudal autocracy, the national currency was not uniform, and there were several currency areas, each of which did not share each other. At that time, there were 13 roads (administrative units of the Song Dynasty) special copper coins, 4 roads special iron coins, and Shaanxi and Hedong used both copper and iron coins. The outflow of currency is also strictly prohibited in various currency areas, and the use of paper money can prevent the outflow of copper and iron coins. In addition, the Song government was often attacked by the Liao, Xia, and Jin, and spent heavily on military and indemnities, and also needed to issue paper money to cover the fiscal deficit. A variety of reasons contributed to the creation of paper money - "Jiaozi".

3. Development process

The original Jiaozi were freely issued by merchants. In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, there were "Jiaozi shopkeepers" in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, who operated cash storage business for merchants who carried huge sums of money. The depositor delivers the cash to the shopkeeper, and the shopkeeper temporarily fills in the amount of cash deposited by the depositor on a roll made of 楮 paper, and then returns it to the depositor, and when the depositor withdraws cash, he pays 3% of the interest paid to the shopkeeper for every 30 yuan of interest. This kind of paper coupon that temporarily fills in the deposit amount is called "Jiaozi". At this time, the "Jiaozi" is only a deposit and withdrawal voucher, not a currency.

With the development of the commodity economy, the use of "jiaozi" has become more and more extensive, and many merchants have jointly established jiaozi shops that specialize in issuing and redeeming huàn "jiaozi", and set up jiaozi branches in various places. Because Jiaozi shop owners are credited, take it at any time, the printed "Jiaozi" pattern is exquisite, hidden as a mark, black and red errors, handwritten words, others are difficult to forge, so "Jiaozi" has won a high reputation. In order to avoid the trouble of transporting coins for large transactions between merchants, there are also increasing cases of direct payment for goods made with "jiaozi", which can be turned into cash at any time. It is in the repeated circulation process that "Jiaozi" gradually acquires the character of credit currency. Later, the Jiaozi shop owner found that only part of the deposit was used, which would not endanger the reputation of "Jiaozi". So they began to print "jiaozi" with a unified denomination and format, and distributed it to the market as a new means of circulation. This kind of "Jiaozi" is already a symbol of coinage, and it has really become a paper money. However, at this time, the "Jiaozi" has not yet been recognized by the government, and it is still a "private relationship" issued by the private sector.

However, not all Jiaozi shops are law-abiding and trustworthy. There are some profit-seeking, insatiable shopkeepers, malicious fraud, closed their doors and stopped business after indiscriminately handing out friends; or misappropriate deposits, business failures and bankruptcy, so that the "Jiaozi" issued cannot be cashed. In this way, when depositors withdraw money but are unable to do so, it often provokes incidents and leads to lawsuits. So, during the Jingde period (1004-1007), Zhang Yong, the governor of Yizhou, rectified the Jiaozi shop households and eliminated the lawbreakers. It is run by 16 wealthy merchants. So far, the issuance of "Jiaozi" has been recognized by the government.

The first year of Song Renzong's Tiansheng (1023). The government set up Yizhou to hand over the sub-affairs. One or two officials of the Beijing Dynasty served as supervisors to preside over the issuance of Jiaozi, and "set up a paper making institute to reform the disadvantages of forgery", and strictly enforced its printing process. This is the earliest paper money officially issued by the government in China - "Guanjiaozi". It is six or seven hundred years earlier than the issuance of paper money in Western countries such as the United States (1692) and France (1716), so it is also the earliest paper money issued in the world.

In the early days of the issuance of "Guanjiaozi", its form was modeled after the private "private relationship", stamped with the state seal of the state, but the amount temporarily filled in was different. It is generally consistent to ten, and the scope of circulation is specified. During the reign of Song Renzong, it was changed to five and ten runs. By the time of Song Shenzong, it was changed to two kinds: consistent and five hundred wen. There is also a limit on the amount of issuance, which stipulates that the issuance shall be divided into three years (two years) for each sector, and the old will be replaced with the new. The first Jiaozi issued 1256340 yuan, with a reserve capital of 360,000 yuan (with Sichuan's iron money as the banknote), and the reserve was equivalent to 28% of the issuance. The circulation scope of "Jiaozi" was basically limited to Sichuan, although it became popular in Shaanxi and Hedong. But it was soon abolished.

In the first year of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty (1107), the government of the Song Dynasty changed "Jiaozi" to "Qian Yin". Change "Jiaozi Affairs" to "Money Introduction". Except for Sichuan, Fujian, Zhejiang, Huguang and other places that still use "Jiaozi", other roads have changed to "Qian Yin". Later, Sichuan also changed Jiaozi to Qian Yin in the third year of Daguan (1109). The biggest difference between "Qian Yin" and "Jiaozi" is that it is based on "缗". The paper, printing, drawings and seals of the "Qian Yin" are very good. However, the "money citation" does not place banknotes, does not allow huàn, and is issued at will, so the value of paper coupons plummeted, and in the Jiading period of the Southern Song Dynasty, each note was only worth 100 wen in cash.

Fourth, the impact

The emergence of "Jiaozi" has facilitated business contacts and made up for the shortage of cash, which is a major achievement in the history of China's currency. In addition, "Jiaozi", as the earliest banknote issued in China and even in the world, also occupies an important position in the history of printing and printmaking, which is of great significance to the study of China's ancient banknote printing technology and is the contribution of China's financial industry in the world.

Song Xiaozong was the emperor in Chinese history who attached the most importance to the stability of the value of paper money and left a lot of comments on the management of paper money. His basic experience in managing paper money was to implement the system of half of the money association, so that the meeting in the hands of the people could maintain half of the legal solvency of the government; The second is to control the number of Huizi issued, and implement the policy of recovering banknotes when Huizi depreciates. In the tenth year of Chunxi, when he saw the amount of the new seal meeting, he said: "The new seal will be more than the old one. If you use it, less will be heavy, and more will be light. (2) This is his empirical statement, which simply reflects the law of paper money circulation. Due to financial needs, he had to increase the issuance of huizi, but he was always wary of the depreciation of huizi. He repeatedly admonished his courtiers to be cautious about the circulation of huizi, and the number of huizi issued must not be excessive. In the twelfth year of Chunxi, he also said that he "couldn't sleep for almost ten years" because he was worried about the depreciation of his son" (3). As a state banknote in feudal society, Huizi was issued not mainly to facilitate the circulation of commodities, but for financial needs. Therefore, this year, Xiaozong said: "The number of children should not be too many." If he can save the army, he must collect all the time. (4) Raising soldiers became the main reason for the issuance of Huizi in Xiaozong's mind.

Most of them are woodblock or copperplate printing, similar to the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties. The face of the ticket is vertically square, the size is larger, although it is two-color or three-color overprint, but the color is monotonous, and the printing technology is not complicated. Folk multi-functional imitation. At that time, the government had to prevent forgery from the people, but also had no technical measures, so it had to affix the official seal on the face of the ticket to ensure credibility and enhance reliability. This is an early and simple counterfeiting measure in the history of Chinese money printing. At the same time, the government has enacted laws to safeguard the credibility of banknotes, through legal provisions that punish and reward forgers and whistleblowers, in order to ensure the circulation and credibility of banknotes.

Paper money is a symbol of value that is made of a soft material (usually cotton) and is issued and enforced by the state (or in some regions). Paper money itself has no value, and although it is a type of currency, it cannot directly perform the function of a value scale. Paper money is a form of currency commonly used in all countries in the world today, and the world's earliest paper money was the invention of the ancient Han working people, that is, Jiaozi in Chengdu, Sichuan during the Northern Song Dynasty of China, and China is the earliest country in the world to use paper money.

Paper currency. It is generally issued by the National Bank or by a bank authorized by the government. China's banknotes originated from the 'Jiaozi' of the Northern Song Dynasty and have evolved to this day. Song Wang Yinglin, "Chronicles of Sleepy Learning. Commentary": "According to Fan Chun's father as "Guo Zigao Zhi", Yanjiao Ziyun: The design of paper money is the right to be related to money. Yuan Yu already has this saying. "The Surprise of the Second Moment of Shooting" volume 36: "Official, you say that the abbot is private, and the weight of gold and silver, how can it be exhausted in a car?" I don't know that in the Song Dynasty, the official banknotes were all carried out, and they were called paper money, and they were called official meetings, and they always ended up being a piece of paper, and there were 100,000 pieces of paper, which was very light.

Paper money is a mandatory value symbol issued by the state (or in some regions) in place of metal money. Banknotes are less expensive to make, easier to keep, carry and transport, and avoid wear and tear in circulation when coinage. Paper money is a form of currency commonly used in countries around the world today, and the earliest paper money in the world is the "Jiaozi" of Chengdu, Sichuan during the Northern Song Dynasty of China. China was the first country in the world to use paper money.

Paper money refers to a currency symbol that is issued and used by the state in place of metal money. Compared with metal currency, paper money is less expensive to make, easier to store, carry and transport, and avoids the wear and tear of the coinage in circulation.

Paper money is not a currency, but it can perform part of the functions of money: means of circulation and means of payment, and some countries' banknotes can also perform world monetary functions (such as the dollar, the euro, etc.). RMB is the legal tender of the People's Republic of China and is issued by People's Bank of China authorized by the People's Republic of China. The state may not issue paper money arbitrarily, and the amount of paper money must be limited to the amount of money required in circulation.

The earliest paper money in the world was the "Jiaozi" in Chengdu, Sichuan, during the Northern Song Dynasty of China. China is the first country in the world to use paper money.

The amount of money actually needed in circulation = the total price of the commodity / the number of times the money is in circulation

Cashable notes are banknotes issued by the government that cannot be exchanged for gold or silver, and their purchasing power derives from the authority and credibility of the government.

With the development of the exchange of goods, money appeared. Money began to be represented by certain recognized equivalents, such as shells. Later, precious metals such as gold and silver were gradually used. Metal money will wear out and become less valuable after being used for a long time, and people will realize that they can use other things instead of money for circulation, so paper money appeared.

Hou Sui didn't expect the emperor to understand economics so well, and it seemed that he was more proficient than himself! He just said that he couldn't change the ancestral law without authorization, that is, he just advanced and retreated with the ministers of the Donglin Party, but he really wanted him to say the solution, where did he say it, this has been a long time, a group of Donglin Party ministers have sweated for Hou Sui, Zheng Yuelin and Zhang Huiyi are very sympathetic to Hou Sui who is kneeling on the ground, and the two daughters also admire the emperor very much! I didn't expect the emperor to be a person who understands the economy so well, the emperor understands politics and strategy, and it abounds in history, but there are actually few emperors who understand the economy.

Hou Sui boldly looked at Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youzhen, Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youzhen was also looking at Hou Sui, the things that the two of them were thinking about were actually similar, but Hou Sui didn't believe that Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youzhen really had a way to solve the problem of currency!

Things have developed to this stage, and Emperor Zhu Youzhen of Chongzhen is no longer thinking about not only the problem of currency, but also about the role of currency, is it really so big? Will he be able to save the Chongzhen Dynasty, which is already on the verge of collapse? (To be continued......)