I am a financial expert

Chapter 1 What is money (1)
The origin of currency

If you want to learn how to manage money, you should first understand money and have an understanding of the origin of money.

When it comes to money, everyone is familiar with it. As a carrier of currency exchange, money can be said to be closely related to daily life.At present, people use money to meet all material needs, and money can be said to be a necessity of life.And everyone needs to make money through work. The goal and dream of modern people looking for a job is high wages.

Where does the origin of money come from?This is probably not clear to most people.

In fact, the source of money actually started from the matrilineal society in ancient times.

The earliest form of money that appeared was shell coins.About 3000 years ago BC, human beings were still in a matrilineal clan society.At that time, matrilineal blood relationship was the bond.The form of marriage is basically group marriage.Due to exogamy, the husband and wife lived separately in their respective matrilineal clans. The married life mainly took the form of the husband visiting his wife. The children lived with their mothers and belonged to the matrilineal clan. Property and lineage inheritance were all matrilineal.In the prosperous period of the matrilineal clan, due to the emergence and gradual consolidation of spousal marriage, the husband began to move to the wife's clan to live with his wife.So women's rights were supreme at the time and dominated everything.

Human beings' initial understanding of themselves was simple and intuitive. Because of the birth of life, people in that period were in awe and worship of sexual organs.Generally, around the necks of matriarchal clan leaders, there are strings of necklaces worn with "bei", which are actually a kind of worship of the sexual organs by the female ancestors of human beings.

What is "bei"?In the eyes of modern people, shellfish is just a creature in the ocean, an item that was used as money in the human clan society at that time.But at that time, "Bei" was the totem of female genitalia, which is the place where human life is born and a sacred object for human beings to multiply.In the beginning of Chinese hieroglyphs, "贝" was actually the reproductive organ between the two thighs of a woman.In ancient times, human beings were constantly fighting desperately against nature, and the living conditions were extremely harsh. Life was regarded as the most precious gift bestowed by the gods. Therefore, people's awe and worship of sexual organs was born.At that time, the mother had the supreme power, so the shell, which resembled the female genitalia, naturally became a sacred object loved by everyone.

From shellfish to currency, it mainly experienced a process from matrilineal clan leader bestowing to gift exchange.Threading several "shells" together is called "piercing", and the matriarchal clan leaders wear these "sacred objects" around their necks, praying for the protection of heaven.At the same time, when clan members prosper, hunt richly, or make meritorious service against foreign clans, the clan leader will take off a "shell" from his own necklace and reward the meritorious subordinates.It is a special honor to get the subordinates of "Bei".She can use this "shell" as a gift to someone she likes, or exchange this "shell" for stone axes, animal skins, food and other items.With the gradual enrichment of materials, the exchange between clans has also increased. "Bei" has played the role of currency and has become a reliable token of exchange in daily life. This is the origin of money.

Throughout the Chinese characters, all the characters related to wealth and money are next to the word "bei", such as: "sell", "earn", "thief", "wealth", "goods", etc. The origin of these characters , In fact, it all lies in the word "Bei", just like all people are born of their mothers.The term "baby" extended by later generations is not difficult for teenagers to understand now.

Six Revolutions in Currency

my country is one of the first countries in the world to use currency, and the history of currency use has been as long as 4000 years.In the process of formation and development of ancient Chinese currency, there were six major changes:
Evolution from messy shapes to canonical shapes

During the period from the appearance of copper shells in the Shang Dynasty to the Warring States period, my country's currency gradually formed four major systems characterized by the separatism of the princes of the seven countries, namely: ring money, knife coin, shovel coin, Chu coin (ant nose money, Yuan gold).

After the Qin Dynasty unified China, Qin Shihuang promulgated China's earliest currency law in 210 BC "Using Qin coins to be the same as the currency of the world", stipulating that the Qin State's half-two coins with round square holes should be circulated within the jurisdiction of the Qin Dynasty.

The circular square-hole Qinban two coins are popular across the country, ending the messy state of ancient Chinese currency with disparity in weight and shape. It is a major evolution from chaotic and disordered to standardized and unified in the history of ancient Chinese currency.The round and square hole currency shape determined by the Qin Ban Liang coin was used until the early Republic of China.

Evolution from natural money to artificial money

In Chinese characters in our country, most of the characters related to wealth start with "贝".It can be seen that the earliest currency in my country is Bei.

With the increasing scale of commodity exchange, people's demand for currency is also gradually increasing, and shellfish gradually cannot meet people's needs, and people begin to use copper instead of shellfish.The emergence of copper shells is a landmark event in the history of ancient Chinese currency from natural currency to artificial currency.

With the extensive use of artificial coinage, seashells, a natural currency, have gradually withdrawn from the currency stage of our country.

Evolution from hand-minted coins to machine-made banknotes

In the late Qing Dynasty, various reasons led to the gradual introduction of foreign advanced science and technology. From the Guangxu period, the Qing government gradually purchased coinage machines abroad for the manufacture of copper and silver coins.Later, for the first time in Guangdong, machines were used to make ten copper coins without holes.As manufacturers reaped huge profits, other provinces followed suit.

The emergence of machine-made currency in the late Qing Dynasty is actually a major evolution of ancient Chinese currency from manual minting to machine-made currency.

Evolution from local coinage to central coinage

According to the "Hanshu Shihuozhi", after Liu Bang established the Western Han Dynasty, he allowed people to mint coins privately.Local forces and rich gentry and wealthy businessmen took the opportunity to make a lot of bad money and make profits.During Emperor Wen's time, "Dr. Deng Tong also made money to surpass the king."

In the fourth year of Yuanding ([-] years ago), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty withdrew the local minting rights and only allowed the central minting, and five baht coins appeared.Since then, the unified management of coin issuance and casting by the central government has been determined. This is a major evolution of ancient Chinese currency from local coinage to central coinage.

Since then, the minting power has been returned to the central government, and the minting of all dynasties has been directly managed by the central government.It has played an important role in economic development and stabilizing the political situation of various dynasties.

Evolution from Metal Currency to Paper Currency

In the Northern Song Dynasty, due to the shortage of copper materials for casting coins, the government of the Northern Song Dynasty began to cast a large number of iron coins in some areas in order to make up for the shortage of copper coins.According to the "History of the Song Dynasty", the iron coins made in Sichuan at that time always weighed 25 catties.To buy a piro (silk fabric) in Sichuan, you even need to pay 130 catties of iron money.Iron money is so cumbersome and inconvenient, so the Sichuan area was the first to use banknotes for Jiaozi.The emergence of Jiaozi is actually an important evolution of ancient Chinese currency from metal currency to paper money.

Jiaozi is not only the earliest banknote in my country, but also the earliest banknote in the world.

Evolution from Document Weight to Tongbao and Yuanbao
The coins minted since the Qin and Han Dynasties generally clearly indicate the weight of the money in the money text, such as "four baht", "five baht", "half two" and so on (24 baht is one tael).

In the fourth year of Tang Gaozu Wude ([-]), Li Yuan made up his mind to reform the currency system, abolished the ancient coins of different dynasties, and took the meaning of "opening a new era" to cast "Kaiyuan Tongbao" in a unified way.Kaiyuan Tongbao reversed the old system of Qin and Han Dynasties, and Qian Wen began to not mark the weight, which is the evolution of ancient Chinese currency from the weight of documents to Yuanbao and Tongbao.

Kaiyuan Tongbao coin is the earliest Tongbao coin in my country.Since then, Chinese copper coins no longer use the weight of the money mark, but are commensurate with Yuanbao and Tongbao, and have been used until the "Republic of China Tongbao" after the Revolution of [-].

The Evolution Process of Ancient Chinese Currency

my country's currency not only has a long history, but also has many types, and has formed a unique currency culture.For the currency in the pre-Qin period, each vassal state implemented a different monetary policy: different shapes and forms of ring money, cloth coins, and knife coins were used in different regions.After Qin Shihuang unified China, the main shape of Chinese currency is ring.During the Northern Song Dynasty, the earliest banknotes in the world - Jiaozi appeared in my country.By the Ming Dynasty, silver gradually became the most important currency in circulation.

Shang Dynasty coins
In the Shang Dynasty, shells had been used as currency. With the gradual development of the commodity economy, natural shells could no longer supply the demand for money, so artificial shell coins appeared, such as clam shell coins, bone shell coins, stone shell coins, etc. .In the late Shang Dynasty, copper metal shell coins appeared.

Pre Qin coins
By the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, shell coins had completely withdrawn from the stage of history, and different currencies were formed in different regions due to differences in cultural and social conditions.There are mainly cloth coins in the Yellow River Basin, ant nose coins in the Chu State area, ring coins in the Sanjin and Zhouzhou areas, and knife coins in the Qiyan area.

Qin and Han coins
① After the Qin Dynasty unified the world, the old coins such as knife coins and cloth coins of the six countries were abolished, and the square hole and half coins were used as the unified currency. The form of ancient Chinese currency has been fixed since then, and it has been used until the end of the Qing Dynasty.

②The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system and allowed the people to make it themselves.Copper coins in the Western Han Dynasty were still named after their weight, but the name and weight gradually became inconsistent.There are mainly three kinds of copper coins in the Western Han Dynasty: five baht, three baht, and half two.

③At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, during the reign of Wang Mang and the rule of the new dynasty, four major currency system reforms were carried out in a short period of more than ten years. Wang Mang's coins had complicated names and grades, so the currency system reform finally failed.

④The money minted in the Eastern Han Dynasty was basically five baht coins.

Three Kingdoms, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties coins

During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties of the Three Kingdoms period, due to social turmoil, the circulation range of metal currency gradually decreased, and the value of the currency was different, and the shape was diverse, and the situation of heavy objects and light coins appeared.

① During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Wei implemented a monetary policy based on real objects. During the period of Emperor Wei Ming, he resumed the use of five baht coins, which were very similar in shape to the five baht coins in the Eastern Han Dynasty.Soochow and Shuhan mostly practiced big money.Shu coins mainly include: straight hundred, straight hundred and five baht, etc.Wu coins mainly include: Daquan two thousand, Daquan Dangqian, Daquan five hundred and so on.

②After the establishment of the Western Jin Dynasty, the old money of the Han and Wei Dynasties was mainly used, and at the same time, real objects such as grain and silk were used; at the beginning of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the old money of the State of Wu was used, and then the five baht small money gradually appeared, because it was cast by Shen Chong, so it is also called: Shen Lang five baht.

③ During the period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, Li Shou of Chenghan cast the earliest year coin "Hanxing" in China; during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, due to social turmoil, the value of the currency was chaotic, and the phenomenon of private casting was serious.Starting from the Northern Wei Dynasty in the Northern Dynasties, minting coins gradually became orthodox and transitioned to the year title money system.

Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms coins
①The establishment of the Sui Dynasty once again unified China's chaotic currency. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty cast a standard five baht coin in the third year of Kaihuang, and banned the circulation of old money.

②Kaiyuan Tongbao.In the fourth year of Wude Tang Dynasty, Kaiyuan Tongbao, the coin of the reign of the minted bank, disappeared from then on and was replaced by the Baowen currency system (mainly Chongbao, Yuanbao and Tongbao).Kaiyuan Tongbao was the main coin of the Tang Dynasty for 300 years. In addition, Qianyuan Chongbao, Qianfeng Chongbao, Jianzhong Tongbao, Dali Yuanbao, Xiantong Xuanbao, Yi Yuanbao and Shuntian Yuanbao were minted by Shi Siming.

③The political division of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms was particularly serious, and the change of dynasty was like watching flowers on horseback. In order to strengthen their own strength and weaken the strength of other countries, countries began to mint coins. Therefore, although there were many coins, the quality was not high.

Song, Liao, Jin and Xixia coins

① During the relatively developed period of the ancient Chinese mint industry in the Song Dynasty, the quality and quantity surpassed the previous generation, which was another peak period after Wang Mang's money.The currency of the Northern Song Dynasty was mainly copper coins, while the currency of the Southern Song Dynasty was mainly iron coins.It was only in the late Northern Song Dynasty that money with year titles really became popular. Almost every time the title of the year was changed, new coins would be minted. There are many styles of money writing.At the same time, silver also began to circulate in large quantities during this period.Moreover, during the Northern Song Dynasty, Jiaozi, the earliest banknote in the world, appeared, and then other banknotes gradually appeared: Guanzi and Huizi, and their status became more and more important.In addition, prison money, pair money, annual money, and stove money also came into being.Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty Zhao Ji thin gold style imperial book money is a must.

②The Liao Kingdom was established by the Khitan people. At the beginning, they used the currency of the Central Plains, and later minted their own coins, using Chinese characters as the inscriptions on the money. Therefore, most of the coins minted were not refined.

③ Xixia once cast two kinds of currency, one is Chinese money, which is similar in shape and size to Song money; the other is Xixia language, called "house money".The coins of Xixia are neatly minted and have beautiful characters.

④The Kingdom of Jin was founded by the Jurchens, who once ruled the vast areas of northern China. Therefore, there were various types of coins minted, not only copper coins, but also banknotes, all of which were written in Chinese.The coins of the Kingdom of Jin were greatly influenced by the Southern Song Dynasty.

Yuan, Ming and Qing coins

①In the Yuan Dynasty, paper money gradually became the main currency in circulation, and the status of copper coins gradually declined, while the circulation of silver also gradually increased.The rulers of the Yuan Dynasty believed in Buddhism, so some small temple money and offering money were minted for temples and Buddhas.

②The Ming Dynasty vigorously promoted banknotes - banknotes. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, only banknotes were used without money, and later it was changed to both banknotes and banknotes. However, only one banknote was issued in the Ming Dynasty - Daming Baochao.In the Ming Dynasty, silver had become the legal currency in circulation, and money or notes were used for small transactions, while silver was mostly used for large transactions.A total of ten emperors in the Ming Dynasty cast new year coins. Because the character "Yuan" was tabooed by the emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, all coins in the Ming Dynasty should not use "Yuanbao", collectively referred to as "Tongbao".

③The currency of the Qing Dynasty was mainly silver, and money was generally used for small transactions.In the early Qing Dynasty, following the tradition of more than 2000 years ago, molds were used to make money. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, money was made by machines following the example of foreign countries.At the end of the Qing Dynasty, after the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom invaded Nanjing, they also minted copper coins, which were greatly influenced by religion and were called "Holy Treasures".

how paper money is produced
Paper currency is a form of currency commonly used by countries all over the world, and the first paper currency in the world was a kind of "Jiaozi" used by merchants in Chengdu, Sichuan, which appeared in the Northern Song Dynasty of China.

China is one of the countries that used currency earlier in the world.According to a large number of cultural relics and document records, the origin of my country's currency has a history of at least 4000 years. From primitive shell coins to knife coins, cloth coins, ant nose coins, yuan coins, and square hole coins popular after Qin Shihuang unified China, our country The cultural development of minting industry can be said to have a long history.In the Northern Song Dynasty, the world's first banknote - "Jiaozi" appeared in my country.

The emergence of banknotes is a major milestone in the history of world currency.Some people in the coin industry think that the origin of my country's banknotes should be traced back to the "flying money" in the Tang Dynasty and the "white buckskin currency" in the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, due to the long-term war with the Huns, the treasury was extremely empty. In order to solve the financial difficulties, on the basis of casting "platinum coins" and "three baht coins" (alloy coins made of tin and silver), at the same time issued "White Buckskin Coin".The so-called "white buckskin coins" use the white deerskin of the palace as the material, each piece is about one square foot, with painted surroundings, and each leather coin was valued at 40 yuan at that time.But its value far exceeds the value of the leather currency itself, so the "white buckskin currency" is only used as a tribute between princes and princes, and is not really used in the field of circulation, so it cannot be regarded as a paper currency in the true sense. It can be said that it is a trend of paper currency. "Flying money" appeared in the middle of the Tang Dynasty. At that time, it was inconvenient for merchants to carry a large amount of copper coins at one time when they went out to do business, so they could first go to the official to issue a certificate, which recorded the number of coins and places, and then they could go to the city with this certificate. Withdrawal to purchase goods in different places.This voucher is also known as "flying money". "Flying money" can only be regarded as a kind of exchange business in essence. It does not participate in circulation and does not perform the function of currency, so it cannot be regarded as banknotes in the true sense.Until the Northern Song Dynasty, the "Jiaozi" that appeared in Chengdu, Sichuan was the beginning of real banknotes.

The emergence of banknotes in the Northern Song Dynasty was not accidental, it was the product of social, political and economic development to a certain extent.The commodity economy in the Song Dynasty developed greatly, and commodity circulation required a large amount of currency, but at that time there was a shortage of copper coins, which could not meet the demand in circulation.At that time, iron coins were used in Sichuan, but the value of iron coins was low and heavy, so it was extremely inconvenient to use.At that time, one copper coin was worth ten iron coins, and the weight of every thousand iron coins was 13 catties for medium coins and 25 catties for large coins.It costs 500 iron coins to buy a piece of cloth, weighs about 4 catties, and requires a car.Therefore, some light currency is objectively needed, which is also the main reason why paper money first appeared in Sichuan.Furthermore, although the Northern Song Dynasty was a highly centralized feudal autocratic country, it did not have a unified national currency. There were several currency areas that were not in common with each other and acted independently.At that time, there were 13 roads (administrative units in the Song Dynasty) dedicated to iron coins, [-] roads dedicated to copper coins, and Hedong and Shaanxi used both copper and iron coins.The outflow of currency is strictly prohibited in each currency area, and the use of banknotes can prevent the outflow of copper and iron money.In addition, the government of the Song Dynasty was often attacked by the Jin, Xia, and Liao, and the indemnities and military expenditures were large, so it was necessary to issue paper money to make up for such fiscal deficits.Various reasons have resulted in the emergence of paper money - "Jiaozi".

(End of this chapter)