During the late Eastern Zhou dynasty, Chinese coinage was in a state of flux and chaos, which should come as no surprise given that this period of Chinese history is known to us as the "Warring States Period." During this era of competing kingdoms, the State of Qin was undergoing a series of reforms which would bring it in 100 years from a backwaters semi-barbaric state to the founder of China's first Imperial dynasty. During this era of reformation, the State of Qin phased out spade and knife money, and introduced a coin which would set the template for Chinese coinage for 2,100+ years to come...the Ban Liang. The Qin-era Ban Liang, first introduced some time before 300 BCE, weighed around 6 grams, and was roughly 30mm in diameter. It proved highly popular and was China's first unified currency. The one above was graciously provided by @Ken Dorney . Although it is the right size for a Qin dynasty Ban Liang, it is curiously underweight. And that brings us round to the Western Han Dynasty. What you are looking at is a very early Western Han Dynasty Ban Liang, probably minted during the reign of the Empress Lu (roughly the 190's through 180 BCE). What? An early Western Han Ban Liang? That's right, the Qin Ban Liang was so influential that it survived the fall of the Qin and the rise of the Han, and continued to be minted over 100 years into the Western Han era. In fact, here are a few of the later Han Ban Liang, which by their weight I would reckon were minted by Emperor Wen around 180 BCE to 157 BCE, though it is possible the official one was minted as late as 119 BCE. Western Han Dynasty, 175 - 119 BC AE 4 Zhu, 24mm, 2.43 grams Obverse: BAN LIANG. Reverse: Blank, as made. Hartill7.17 Sublime example with casting sprue attached. The second one is even more interesting to me, as it's style marks it as being the product of a non-official mint, probably minted under the orders of a Western Han prince or lord in a far flung province of the Han Empire. It is clear evidence of the problem that plagued the early dynasties of China. When a new dynasty came to power, the relatives of the new emperor were given provinces to rule. It made sense when a dynasty was new and had a precarious hold on power. However, over time the ties that bound these princes and lords to the imperial throne became more distant and precarious. Eventually they started to act out as independent rulers, minting coins and raising their own armies. This in turn weakened the dynasty, making it vulnerable to internal power struggles, which in turn allowed outsiders to exploit the situation and attempt a revolt to establish their own dynasty. Western Han Dynasty, Private Mint Issue, 200 - 180 BC AE Yu Jia 21mm, 1.56 grams Obverse: BAN LIANG. Reverse: Blank as made. Hartill7.10 It is an early Western Han private Ban Liang, so this very much during an era where the Han Dynasty was in excellent shape and beginning a golden period in Chinese history. However, the coin very much represents the roots of the eventual Western Han downfall. To give it a western perspective for us to whom Asian history is not too familiar, what we have here in essence is the Trojan Horse during the early phases of it's construction. Troy still had some life left in it, though the seeds for its destruction were already being sown. Unfortunately, the coin to rule them all (like Qin) would be short lived, even if it did heavily influence and inspire the rest of Chinese numismatics history. In 118 BCE the Western Han introduced another highly influential coin, the Wu Zhu. It had a square hole and round shape, an appearance borrowed from the Ban Liang. But unlike it's predecessor which only lasted for less than 200 years, the Wu Zhu would last for around 800 years as China's currency (with few interruptions). However, none of that would have occurred without the legacy of the Ban Liang, to which Chinese numismatics owes a great debt of gratitude. Western Han Dynasty Emperor Wu Di (141-87 BCE) Ae. Wu Zhu (5 Zhus) Hartill # 8.10
I have read some of the ancient Chinese history by Sima Qian in which he spoke of "catties" of gold. I have no idea what a "cattie" - it might mean weight, but is it possibly a gold coin? Were there any precious metal Chinese coins?
There is a useful overview of Chinese use of precious metals (as coin and bullion) on line here by Cribb https://www.academia.edu/33778498/ Of course - there is much more in books, like Peng, or indeed Cribb's own Scycee catalogue As to the Catty - as I recall in Zhou and Han times gold was chopped out of flat ingots that were pre-marked in squares, a bit like modern Chocolate bars (in the UK anyhow). There are some pictures of such fragments them at the back of the Cribb thing above The Catty is till in use - and these days weighs about 600g - see wiki. But that is based upon 16 x the Tael (Chinese ounce) that came in with the Tang period. Before that the Tael (or Liang) was about 15.6 g - giving a Catty of very close to 250g Rob
From my understanding, precious metal coins in ancient China were rare and seldom cast. Bars and ingots were a lot more common than precious metal coins. For your average ancient Chinese person though, they would have probably never seen anything besides their brass coinage. At least the ancient Greek and Roman poor might have had an occasional silver coin, but things were very different in China.
To be honest, I feel you are rather getting this upside down. All other things being equal, a plentiful copper coinage in itself surely assists the poor? The people a lack of gold or silver inconveniences are the rich. My old friend Mike Maier has written extensively on this topic here: https://washington.academia.edu/MikeMaier On the detail of associated Ancient Chinese events try this https://www.academia.edu/356703/Wang_Mang BTW - the policy followed in practice by the Ancient Chinese is very like the one recommended by Plato (in Republic and Statesman, as I recall)
I may as well ask, as Yep, that's a Wu Fen Ban Lang. Should be a rather small Ban Liang, about 2.4 Zhu in weight. According to Hartill probably minted around the late 180s BCE under the authority of Empress Lu.
Very nice write-up! I am glad you are enjoying your foray into these ancient washers. I actually just bought a small hoard of around 100 4-zhu Ban Liangs for resale. They should be fun to go through. I have around 40 in my collection, but I only have 3 pictured at the moment. My largest (36 mm and 10.9g) next to my smallest (5mm and 0.05g): Ban Liang with rosette hole (38mm and 8g):
