Money is an important commodity to measure the value of commodities and promote their circulation. In the pre-Qin period, the currencies of various countries were chaotic, and there were many kinds of empty cloth and knife coins, which was dazzling. The differences in shape and format also hindered the economic development at that time.

Pre-Qin currency

After the unification of the first emperor, the old money of the six countries was abolished, and "Qin Banliang" ascended the center of the historical stage and occupied a dominant position.

Qin banliang

Qin Zuo was short-lived and the second one died. Emperor gaozu then sailed for Kyushu. But when the Han Dynasty was established, the situation was different. The chaos in the world has led to people's hardship and prosperity. A large number of coins like Qin Banliang have long been out of line with the living standards of the people in the early Han Dynasty. The shape reform of coins will set off another storm in the Han Dynasty.

Currency before Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty

"Historical Records, Pingzhun Benji" said: "Han Xing took over the disadvantages of Qin, and his husband joined the army and changed the grain ... So it was difficult for Qin with money, so the people made money, one gold and one catty, and saved the law." The money invested this time is for elm pods. This currency is named after the shape of elm pods, and later generations refer to it as pod money for short. Pod money is light and easy to earn, so there is more and more pod money on the market.

Pod money

At this time, there are so-called "lawless people" who manipulate prices and hoard goods. As a result, there has been a situation that "the rice is worth 10,000 and the horse is worth 100". With prices rising so much, it is natural for the court to intervene. In the fifth year of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty (BC 175), he ordered: "In addition to the order of stealing money, four more baht should be made so that the people can make their own money."

Emperor Wen of Han reformed four baht, but he let the people make their own money. Further on, the wind of stealing actors has been repeatedly banned. As many as/kloc-0.00 people were sentenced for stealing actors, and more people were tortured for being suspected.

This is a dilemma. If the people are allowed to cast money, the son of heaven's family is not rich enough, but the money is light. Liu Bi, the king of Wu, became rich by casting money, and even the rebellion of the Seven Kings broke out behind him. If it is restricted, the number of coins in the market will be reduced, the profits from participating in festivals will be higher, and the people below will be more crazy.

Currency Reform in the Period of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty carried out a series of reforms, including minting coins. The situation at that time was that the country was war-weary, the treasury was empty, and the people had nothing to hide; Businessmen and tycoons smelt and boiled salt, and their wealth was as high as ten thousand gold, but they "did not assist the urgent needs of the country." In order to improve the central finance and currency devaluation, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty carried out six reforms successively.

1. The first reform, in the first year of Jianyuan, abolished the four baht money of Han Jingdi and changed it to three ingots.

Due to the problems of stealing coins and participating in counterfeiting, there were no four baht in the past, so the reform of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was to make coins "worthy of the name" and become real three baht.

2. The second reform was five years after the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, and the problem of private casting by the people remained unresolved. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had no choice but to change back to his original appearance and spend "four and a half baht".

But this time, the standard of coins has undergone an epoch-making change, that is, a "foreign country" has been added to the periphery of copper coins. This kind of outer pot can prevent people who steal casting from grinding scraps from the edge of copper coins to make coins, which is conducive to curbing the wind of private casting.

3. The third reform was aimed at princes, and white deerskin coins were made, so it was impossible to follow the schedule here.

The fourth reform took place in the fifth year of yuanshou.

Emperor Wu ordered the abolition of four baht and allowed counties to make five baht. Since then, five baht money has officially entered the historical stage.

The goal of the fifth and sixth reforms is five baht.

Because the size and weight of the five baht money in the county are different, criminals still have an opportunity to take advantage of the gap to make profits. Therefore, Liang Wudi ordered the recovery of the county's coinage right, unified by the capital Guanzhong, and abolished all the coins in circulation before. Since then, the wind of stealing coins has gradually subsided.