Coin Zhaowu tongbao

A round copper alloy coin with a square hole in the centre, called fangkong qian 方孔錢. These appeared in various denominations, mostly as tongbao 通寶 (“common currency”) coins, which were worth one monetary unit, yuanbao 元寶 (“original currency”) and zhongbao 重寶 (“heavy currency”) which had higher denominations. In many varieties and denominations, such coins had been in circulation as standard money since the time of Emperor Gaozu 高祖 (reigned 618–626), the first emperor of the Tang Dynasty (618–907) until the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912). The inscription on the coin usually consists of two characters, reading from top to bottom, indicating the name of the reign or the period in which the coin was minted. The other two characters are to be read from right to left. On the left-hand side of the coin is usually the character bao 寶 (wealth, preciousness), which in combination with the character on the right means “currency” or “money in circulation”. This is usually the character tong 通 (circulate, be uniform, general or universal), but often alsoyuan 元 (origin, basis) or zhong 重 (weight), which usually denote coins with a larger face value. Thus, the entire inscription literally means “money in circulation at the time of this or that emperor” or “in this or that period of a single emperor’s reign”.

With the Ming dynasty 明 (1368–1644), Chinese territory was reunified under Chinese suzerainty after nearly a century of rule by the Mongol Yuan 元 Dynasty (1271–1368). In the early period of the dynasty, paper money, which had dominated as a means of payment in the previous Mongol dynasty, remained in circulation to some extent until it was completely abolished in the early 16th century, leaving only coins in circulation. The founder of the Zhu Dynasty, Yuanzhang 朱元璋 (1328–1398) or Emperor Hongwu 洪武 (reigned 1368–1398) chose the city of Nanjing (now capital of Jiangsu province) in the south as his capital, and Yongle Emperor 永樂 (reigned 1402–1424) moved his court and institutions north to Beijing in 1421. Nevertheless, there were central government mints in both cities throughout the dynasty, under the administration of the Bureau of Revenue (Hubu ju 戶部局) and Bureau of Labour (Gongbu ju 工部局). In addition to these mints in Beijing and Nanjing, there were already numerous local mints in various provinces. From the Ming Dynasty onwards, the coin naming system was also simplified, as only one name was used, namely the temple title of the emperor throughout his reign.

The coin in the photo was issued from 1674 to 1678 by Wu Sangui 吳三桂 (1612–1678), a rebel against dynastic rule during the early period of the Manchu Qing 清 Dynasty (1644–1912). He was one of the so-called “three governors” (san fan 三藩), former military commanders of the Ming 明 Dynasty (1368–1644). During the years of the dynasty’s rapid decline, they preferred to ally themselves with the Manchus, who rewarded them after the fall of the Ming Dynasty by making them local leaders and overseers of the distant southern provinces. They ruled there quite autonomously until the beginning of the reign of Emperor Kangxi 康熙 (1654–1722). Wu Sangui controlled an area of Yunnan province, and his authority even extended to neighbouring Guizhou province. He possessed such autonomy and power that his financial resources were not dependent on the Bureau of Revenue (Hubu ju 戶部局) in Beijing. In 1673, the Manchu court in Beijing decided to oust the governors in the south, which prompted Wu to rebel. By 1676, his army had already occupied most of southern China, whereupon he proclaimed the Zhou Dynasty (1678–1681) and restored the institutions and customs of the Ming Dynasty. In 1678, he proclaimed himself emperor with the title Zhaowu 昭武, meaning “Call to the Army”, but died suddenly a few months later that year. At the beginning of the imperial reign, he issued new coins called Zhaowu tongbao 昭武通寶, an example of which can be seen in the photo. (MG)