Changes

In the late 10th century, private merchants in western China began to issue their own private forms of bills of exchange, which customers could then exchange at agents in other regions for actual coinage, or for goods and services. These were replaced in [[1024]] by the government's establishment of an official system of paper money known as "[[flying cash]]," the first paper money in the world.

In the late 10th century, private merchants in western China began to issue their own private forms of bills of exchange, which customers could then exchange at agents in other regions for actual coinage, or for goods and services. These were replaced in [[1024]] by the government's establishment of an official system of paper money known as "[[flying cash]]," the first paper money in the world.

By the 1020s, the Song government was minting far more coinage than any previous dynasty. In the 1070s, it was producing nearly 6 billion coins per year, a process which required 9600 tons of copper each year. But even this volume of coinage could not fulfill the needs of the economy, and so paper money continued to play a large role.<ref>''Crossroads and Cultures'', 385.</ref>

By the 1020s, the Song government was minting far more coinage than any previous dynasty. In the 1070s, it was producing nearly 6 million coins per year, a process which required 9600 tons of copper each year. Over the course of the entire dynasty, Song mints produced some 260-300 million coins. But even this volume of coinage could not fulfill the needs of the economy, and so paper money continued to play a large role.<ref>''Crossroads and Cultures'', 385.; Richard von Glahn, "The Ningbo-Hakata Merchant Network and the Reorientation of East Asian Maritime Trade, 1150-1350," ''Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies'' 74:2 (2014), 251.</ref>

Maritime trade with Southeast Asia, India, and beyond was flourishing at this time. As early as the 9th century (prior to the beginning of the Song Dynasty), one Arab merchant wrote that more than half of the 200,000 residents of the southern Chinese port city of [[Guangzhou]] were Jewish, Arab, Persian, or Indian traders. The port of [[Quanzhou]], likewise, supported a notable Tamil merchant community during the Song Dynasty. In earlier periods, Arab merchants took two or three years to make the round-trip journey from their homes to China, and back, due to patterns of the winds and currents; by the 10th century, however, many came to use ports in maritime Southeast Asia as stepping stones, allowing them to make the journey in a single year.<ref name=crossroads393/>

Maritime trade with Southeast Asia, India, and beyond was flourishing at this time. As early as the 9th century (prior to the beginning of the Song Dynasty), one Arab merchant wrote that more than half of the 200,000 residents of the southern Chinese port city of [[Guangzhou]] were Jewish, Arab, Persian, or Indian traders. The port of [[Quanzhou]], likewise, supported a notable Tamil merchant community during the Song Dynasty. In earlier periods, Arab merchants took two or three years to make the round-trip journey from their homes to China, and back, due to patterns of the winds and currents; by the 10th century, however, many came to use ports in maritime Southeast Asia as stepping stones, allowing them to make the journey in a single year.<ref name=crossroads393/>