Zhouyuan Tongbao

The Zhouyuan Tongbao (traditional Chinese: 周元通寳; simplified Chinese: 周元通宝; pinyin: zhōuyuán tōng bǎo) is a copper-alloy cash coin produced during the reign of Emperor Shizong of the Later Zhou dynasty, a historical Chinese state that existed in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The design of the Zhouyuan Tongbao cash coins closely resembles that of the Kaiyuan Tongbao (開元通寳) series produced during the earlier Tang dynasty period. The Zhouyuan Tongbao cash coins were produced from recycled Buddhist statues confiscated from Buddhist temples. For this reason the Zhouyuan Tongbao is commonly referred to as "Arhat money" (traditional Chinese: 羅漢錢; simplified Chinese: 罗汉钱; pinyin: Luóhàn qián) or as the "money that destroyed Buddha" (traditional Chinese: 毀佛錢; simplified Chinese: 毁佛钱; pinyin: Huǐ fú qián). Nicknames only reserved for a handful of Chinese cash coins, as confiscation of Buddhist statues for coin production only happened around 7 times in Chinese history.

Superstitions surrounding these bronze cash coins claim that they have amuletic properties because they were cast from Buddhist statues, and are particularly said to be effective in midwifery, hence many later-made imitations and amulets based on them exist and they have remained a popular motif for Chinese and Vietnamese amulets.

History

During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Guo Wei, a native of Yaoshan, Xingzhou, founded the Later Zhou state in Dongjing (東京, present-day Kaifeng, Henan Province) in 951. In 954, Guo Wei's adopted son Chai Rong succeeded to the throne, in Chinese historiography he is referred to Emperor Zhou Shizong, and adopted reign era to Xiande (顯德). During this period, there was a shortage of bronze cash coins in circulation in Later Zhou making private transactions were very difficult.

The Zhouyuan Tongbao commenced production in the year Xiande 2 (顯德二年), February 955 AD (using the Gregorian calendar), during the reign of Emperor Shizong and was the first cash coin produced by the Later Zhou dynasty. It is said that Emperor Shizong himself would supervise their casting at the many large furnaces at the back of the palace.

The Later Zhou dynasty was heavily in debt and in order to try to pay off the government's debts, Emperor Shizong started a campaign to procure enough copper for the production of cash coins. As copper was scarce during the Later Zhou period, the government tried confiscate enough bronze to cash coins to be able to pay for government expenditures and a number of policies were enacted, initially Emperor Shizong prohibited households from holding bronze utensils and later the Later Zhou would confiscate the assets of Buddhist temples to produce bronze cash coins.

The imperial government of the Later Zhou dynasty re-melted Buddhist bronze statues from 3356 temples to produce bronze coins. This decision was not just opposed by the Buddhists but also by his advisors, including both civil and military mandarins. When reproached for this, the emperor claimed that Gautama Buddha himself would not mind this sacrifice.

Generally speaking, cash coins produced from the Warring States period until the reign of the Jiajing Emperor of the Ming dynasty were made of bronze, but because the Zhouyuan Tongbao cash coins were cast from melted Buddhist statues, which are typically brass, they contain higher levels of zinc that other coinages from this period. Though zinc was present in these coins, the quantity remains quite low overall with values of zinc up to 2–4%.

Because they were believed to have spiritual powers inherited from the Buddhist statues, these coins were subsequently much-copied throughout Chinese history, these copies are popularly known as "folk coins" (民俗錢) and are believed to have the same spiritual powers as the original coins.

Design

The design and calligraphy of the Zhouyuan Tongbao very closely resembles those of the Kaiyuan Tongbao series of cash coins produced during the Tang dynasty period. It is a typical bronze Xiaoping Qian (小平錢) in size and weight, and its inscription is written using clerical script. The second stroke of the "Yuan" (元) character is written "picked from the left" ("元"字第二筆左挑).

The reverse side of the Zhouyuan Tongbao cash coins sometimes have moon (crescent), star (dot), or star-moon (crescent and dot) patterns. The star (dot) patterns are either left, right, up or down, and the moon patterns are not always in the same place, they are either up or down, left or right, or near a corner. According to Chinese economic historian Zhao Dexin (赵德馨), the moon (crescent) on the back of every coin seems to represent one of the eight trigrams. Therefore, it is said that the moon (crescent) patterns found on Zhouyuan Tongbao cash coins are closely related to the five elements, yin and yang, new life, and the beginning of the day (further reading: "Han dynasty coinage § "Yin Yang" and the "Five Elements" as the basis for Star, Moon, Cloud, and Dragon symbols on ancient Chinese coins and charms").

Zhouyuan Tongbao cash coins generally have a diameter of about 24 mm to 25 mm, with the largest recorded one being 25.8 mm, and the smallest one being only 22.6 mm. They typically weigh between 3 and 4 grams, with the heaviest recorded one being 4.6 grams, and the lightest one being only 2.9 grams.

List of variants of the Zhouyuan Tongbao

Catalogue numbers

Hartill = Cast Chinese Coins by David Hartill. Trafford, United Kingdom: Trafford Publishing. September 22, 2005. ISBN 978-1412054669.
FD = Fisher's Ding (丁), George A. Fisher's copy of Ding Fubao's (丁福保) original work catalogue, 1980, 251 pages.
Schjøth = "Chinese Currency, Currency of the Far East - A Comprehensive Text Chou Dynasty, 1122 B.C.–255 B.C. Through Ch'ing Dynasty 1644 A.D.–1911 A.D." by Fredrik Schjøth and Virgil Hancock, Oslow, Norway, 1929.

Zhouyuan Tongbao and superstitions

Traditional Chinese medicine

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) the Zhouyuan Tongbao is believed to have preventative powers against malaria and both miscarriages and various childbirth complications, such as dystocia. Pregnant women are advised to carry a Zhouyuan Tongbao cash coin around for both a smoother pregnancy and childbirth.

Zhouyuan Tongbao charms

As the Zhouyuan Tongbao was created from Buddhist statues the inscription very quickly became a popular inscription used on Chinese numismatic charms (see "Chinese charms with coin inscriptions"). As ancient Chinese people believed that Zhouyuan Tongbao cash coins were "auspicious" because of there origins, this belief Was carried over to the coin charms and amulets produced during the following centuries which display the same inscription. The general idea behind the "charm powers" of the Zhouyuan Tongbao inscription is based on the fact that the original cash coins were created from Buddhist statues meaning that their religious significance was transferred to the cash coins.

Variant Zhouyuan Tongbao charms typically have the same obverse side as the original cash coin, but the reverse side of the coin charm shows a different design. These charms include reverse sides featuring "suns" and "moons" represented by dots and crescents, the dragon and fenghuang symbolising matrimonial harmony, a meditating Lohan, and other symbols. Besides metal, Zhouyuan Tongbao charms can also be made of other materials such as jade.

In Vietnam, a number of coin amulets with the inscription Châu Nguyên Thông Bảo (the Vietnamese reading of the traditional Chinese characters "周元通寳") were also produced, some of the amulets with this inscription were uniquely produced and used as lucky and protective charms in Vietnam. According to French numismatist François Thierry some of these Vietnamese Châu Nguyên Thông Bảo amulets had distinctive features that differentiated them from their Chinese counterparts, for example some Vietnamese amulets with this inscription are written using an elegant form of the bā fēn (八分) style of Chinese calligraphy (alternatively known as "diverting style"), which was developed during the Han dynasty period. Thierry further states that the Châu Nguyên Thông Bảo amulet was especially desired by Chinese and Vietnamese women who wished to have a male child, as it was believed that being in possession of this amulet would increase the chances of having a son.

List of Zhouyuan Tongbao charms

List of variants of Chinese charms, amulets, and talismans based on the Zhouyuan Tongbao cash coins with the same or derivative inscriptions:

Catalogue numbers

Hartill = Cast Chinese Amulets by David Hartill (13 August 2020).
ACV = Amulettes de Chine et du Viet-Nam by François Thierry de Crussol, Paris (1987), in French.
AC = Amulettes de Chine by François Thierry de Crussol, Bibliothèque nationale de France (2008), in French.
CC = Classic Chinese Charms. Editor: Zheng Yiwei, Deputy Editors: Guo Yi-ling et al. Shanghai (2004).
CS = Sequel of Classic Chinese Charms. Editor Zheng Yiwei, Deputy Editors Liu Yuan, Li Guangjie. Shanghai 2006.
S = С. Н. ШЕВЦОВ - КИТАЙСКИЕ МОНЕТОВИАНЫЕ АМУЛЕТЫ НАЛПИСИ, CIOжEты, CимВОлы (Sergei Shevtsov - Chinese Coin Amulets. Inscriptions, Narration, Symbols), Moscow (2019).

Manufacturing process

During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period the method employed to produce cash coins was known as the "sand casting method" (翻砂法), which was a technique where cash coins were cast using vertically arranged two-piece moulds. This technique allowed a large number of cash coins to be produced in batches.

In the sand casting method the preparation of moulds was done with fine sand which was reinforced using an organic binder, and placed inside of a wooden box. Consistency of the designs was maintained through the creation of "mother coins" (母錢). Around 50 to 100 "mother coins" were pressed lightly into the surface of the mould box and was followed by the placing down of a second mould box on top of the first one. This allowed for an impression to be taken of both sides of the pattern of the mother coin. After the impression was taken the mould boxes would be turned over and separated, which would allow the mother coin to stay placed on the surface or the lower mould. A new fresh mould box would subsequently be laid on top and this allowed the pair to be turned and separated again. Using this methodology, the mint workers obtained a series of two-piece moulds. Afterwards, the casting channels between the cash coin imprints and a central tunnel were cleared out, allowing the boxes to be fixed together in pairs of two. The final step involved the pouring in of molten metal.

When the process was done and the metal was allowed to cool down a "coin tree" was formed, from this "coin tree" the cash coins could be separated and cleaned up.

Hoards of Zhouyuan Tongbao cash coins

In March 1997, on the bank of the Hun river in Qingshuihe County, Inner Mongolia, a jar of cash coins weighing 7 kilograms was unearthed. The jar contained over 30 Zhouyuan Tongbao cash coins among other coins, with the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty period Dading Tongbao (大定通寶) being the latest. The cash coins stored in the jar are well preserved because they were buried in an arid and less rainy area.

Explenatory notes

References

Sources

Hartill, David (2005). Cast Chinese Coins. Trafford, UK.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Hartill, David (2020). Cast Chinese Amulets.