Changes

For much of the pre-modern period, the Chinese economy ran on a combination of [[silver]] and [[copper]] coins. Coins were minted in China since at least the 4th century BCE, originally in a knife-like shape, acquiring a standard form of a circular coin with a square hole in the center from the [[Han Dynasty]] onwards. Though there was a unified standard of bronze coins up until the [[Song Dynasty]] ([[960]]-[[1279]]), the economy grew so large at that time, and demand for coin grew so great, that China shifted to multiple concurrent systems, using bronze/copper coins alongside unminted silver and paper money ("[[flying cash]]"), which was first developed and circulated in the early 11th century.

For much of the pre-modern period, the Chinese economy ran on a combination of [[silver]] and [[copper]] coins. Coins were minted in China since at least the 6th century BCE, originally in [[bronze]] in a variety of knife-like and spade-like shapes in different regions or [[Warring States Period|states]],<ref name=british>Gallery labels, British Museum.[https://flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/33763493818/in/photostream/][https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/32698425237/sizes/h/][https://www.flickr.com/photos/toranosuke/32698424707/in/photostream/]</ref> acquiring a standard form of a circular coin with a square hole in the center from the [[Qin Dynasty]] onwards. The [[Qin Shihuangdi|first emperor of Qin]] banned all regional variant currencies other than the ''banliang'' (half-[[tael]]), making that coin the standard of the realm; from that time forward, round coins with square holes in the center remained the standard for roughly 2000 years, until the modern period.<ref name=british/> Though there was a unified standard of bronze coins up until the [[Song Dynasty]] ([[960]]-[[1279]]), the economy grew so large at that time, and demand for coin grew so great, that China shifted to multiple concurrent systems, using bronze/copper coins alongside unminted silver and paper money ("[[flying cash]]"), which was first developed and circulated in the early 11th century.

Silver was used for large purchases, while copper was used for smaller purchases. The Chinese government minted massive numbers of coins, especially in the [[Song Dynasty]], in such large amounts (several hundred billion coins over the course of the dynasty)<ref>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> that they came to be widely used throughout the region, and survive in great numbers today, going back even as far as the Han Dynasty.

Silver was used for large purchases, while copper was used for smaller purchases. The Chinese government minted massive numbers of coins, especially in the [[Song Dynasty]], in such large amounts (several hundred billion coins over the course of the dynasty)<ref>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> that they came to be widely used throughout the region, and survive in great numbers today, going back even as far as the Han Dynasty.

==Paper==

==Paper==

[[File:Mingpapermoney.JPG|right|thumb|400px|An item of paper money from the [[Ming Dynasty]], c. 1375.]]

[[File:Ming-paper-money.jpg|right|thumb|400px|An item of paper money from the [[Ming Dynasty]], c. 1375.]]

Paper money was produced as early as the beginning of the 11th century, and though initially produced independently by [[Sichuan province]] merchants, the production of paper money (交子, ''jiaozi'') was taken over by the court in [[1024]]. It continued to circulate chiefly in Sichuan until the [[Southern Song Dynasty]], when it became more standard. In [[1161]], the Southern Song court issued a new type of paper money, called ''huizi'' 會子, for circulation in the [[Jiangnan]] region around [[Suzhou]] and [[Hangzhou]]. Backed by silver by the court, the ''huizi'' were originally intended as a temporary measure, but by [[1170]] became a permanent feature of the economic landscape. The ''huizi'' originally issued expired after three years, with the intention that people would exchange them with government offices for new issues; this discouraged saving, and encouraged the use of the bills only as a mode of exchange. However, by the 1230s, prices came increasingly to be marked in amounts of ''huizi'', rather than in coin, and after [[1240]], the court ceased placing an expiration on the value of the bills. By this time, paper and silver had become the standard modes of exchange, and bronze coins fell nearly out of use, comprising less than two percent of the currency disbursed in redemption of old ''huizi''. Still, these ''huizi'' notes remained in use chiefly in the Jiangnan region, while three other sets of currency became or remained standard in other regions, respectively.<ref>von Glahn, 251-254.</ref>

Paper money was produced as early as the beginning of the 11th century, and though initially produced independently by [[Sichuan province]] merchants, the production of paper money (交子, ''jiaozi'') was taken over by the court in [[1024]]. It continued to circulate chiefly in Sichuan until the [[Southern Song Dynasty]], when it became more standard. In [[1161]], the Southern Song court issued a new type of paper money, called ''huizi'' 會子, for circulation in the [[Jiangnan]] region around [[Suzhou]] and [[Hangzhou]]. Backed by silver by the court, the ''huizi'' were originally intended as a temporary measure, but by [[1170]] became a permanent feature of the economic landscape. The ''huizi'' originally issued expired after three years, with the intention that people would exchange them with government offices for new issues; this discouraged saving, and encouraged the use of the bills only as a mode of exchange. However, by the 1230s, prices came increasingly to be marked in amounts of ''huizi'', rather than in coin, and after [[1240]], the court ceased placing an expiration on the value of the bills. By this time, paper and silver had become the standard modes of exchange, and bronze coins fell nearly out of use, comprising less than two percent of the currency disbursed in redemption of old ''huizi''. Still, these ''huizi'' notes remained in use chiefly in the Jiangnan region, while three other sets of currency became or remained standard in other regions, respectively.<ref>von Glahn, 251-254.</ref>