one penny (that is, a standard square hole copper coin)
one tael of silver
one tael of gold
Although the units above are different from generation to generation, at least there is little difference after the Tang and Song Dynasties, so relatively stable and reliable data can be obtained.
exchange relationship
the exchange ratio between copper coins, silver and gold, like the current foreign exchange price, is constantly changing, unlike 1 yuan where money is equal to 1 cents.
According to the following description:
"The exchange rate of gold and silver rose from 1: 8 around 16 to 1: 1 in the middle and late 2th century, and doubled to 1: 2 by the end of 18th century."
It is known that one tael of gold can be exchanged for about eight to eleven taels of silver.
There is another thing:
"In the early years of Daoguang, one or two pieces of silver were exchanged for money, which is 1, pieces; By the time of the Opium War in Daoguang's twenty years, one tael of silver could be exchanged for 16,7 taels of money. Since Xianfeng, the price of silver has soared, and one or two pieces of silver can be exchanged for as much as 22,3 pieces of money. "
It can be known that under normal circumstances, one tael of silver can be exchanged for about 1, ~ 1,5 coppers. In ancient times, it was usually said that one tael of money or one tael of money was 1, taels.
metal price
because money made of gold, silver and copper is valuable in itself, and theoretically the value of money should be equal to the price of metal, we can answer the question of "how much is a silver or two?"
In the Tang Dynasty, each Kaiyuan Tongbao Tongqian was 8 cents in diameter, 1 pieces weighed 1 Liang, and thousands of pieces weighed 6 Jin 4 Liang. During the reign of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty, each copper coin weighed one dollar, two cents and five cents, and then increased to one dollar and four cents, so it weighed eight catties and twelve ounces per thousand articles. In ancient times, although the weight unit of "two" was different, it was about 4 grams, while "Jin" was about 7 grams. The average weight of each copper coin is 5 grams.
The current price of gold, silver and copper (RMB) is as follows:
Gold: 1 yuan/g
Silver: 2 yuan/g
Brass: .2 yuan/g
The calculated result is:
1 Two gold: about 4, yuan
1 Two silver: about 8 yuan
. Xiaolin found the following record on the Internet:
"Nine cents and five cents for rice (stone)?
white rice (stone) is nine dollars, two cents, six cents and eight cents?
eight yuan and three cents for rice (stone)?
white? According to the records of military department in the Qing Dynasty, the grain prices of Shuntianfu, Daming and Xuanhua in Zhili Province in the first half of the 15th year of Guangxu were calculated on the basis of millet, sorghum and corn, with an average of one hundred and twenty-four cents and six cents for each grain.
According to the calculation of 1 stone =1 kg =7 kg, and the grain price is calculated in 2 yuan RMB/kg, the following average values can be obtained:
1 two silvers: the approximate value of 17 yuan
1 copper coin (1 paper coin): the approximate value of .2 yuan
Conclusion
According to the above calculation, considering that
1 the price of gold is higher than others. Therefore, the reference value of the current silver price is relatively low
3. Due to the rapid development of agricultural technology, the current relative price of grain is much cheaper than that of ancient times
4. Respect the ancient exchange ratio
5. Round up the whole number, which is convenient for conversion and perceptual knowledge
Therefore, the author suggests that the following conversion system should be adopted when encountering ancient monetary units in the future. It is convenient and has a feeling:
1 Liang Gold = RMB 2, =1 Liang Silver
1 Liang Silver = RMB 2 yuan = 1, Wen Qian = 1 Guan (hanging) Qian
1 Wen Qian = RMB .2 yuan
In addition: 1 Shi Mi = 1 Liang Silver
Statement: The above conclusions are not academic opinions, but only used as.
Verification
Here are some ancient data to verify the conversion method given by Xiaolin, so as to improve perceptual knowledge:
The monthly salary of nine officials in the Tang Dynasty was 5 stone meters = the monthly salary of junior civil servants in the Tang Dynasty was 1 yuan;
The annual salary of six officials in the Qing Dynasty is 45 taels of silver = bureau-level cadres in the Qing Dynasty, with an annual salary of 9, yuan;
three years of Qing dynasty magistrate, 1, snowflakes and silver = those officials, there are no tens of millions in that family?
in the early years of Qianlong, it took 13,122 silver to donate a platform = 2.7 million yuan to buy a departmental cadre, which was clearly marked.
The ancient system of weights and measures in China was extremely chaotic. There are differences between different dynasties, and there are differences between different regions of the same dynasty. This is an indisputable fact.
The weights and measures system in Qing Dynasty was mainly "Kuping Construction System", which was basically the same as that in Ming Dynasty. One kilogram is about 6 grams (more than 597 grams) of the international standard system. This system of weights and measures remains in Hong Kong, Singapore and other places. For example, the units of measurement of gold in Hong Kong and Singapore are "Liang" and "Qian", which are the units of measurement built by Kuping. One "two" is equivalent to 37.5 grams of international standard system, and one "money" is equivalent to 3.75 grams of international standard system.
in 193s, in order to keep up with international standards, unify China's weights and measures system, solve the obstacles brought by the differences of weights and measures between different regions to economic development, and promote economic development, Nanjing government carried out weights and measures reform. In order to meet the habitual needs of the broad masses of the people, the "Kuping construction system" was reformed into a "municipal system", and in order to be in line with international standards, the "municipal system" and the international standard system were easily converted. Specially change "one building ruler" to "one city ruler", which is equal to 33.33 cm =.3 m; One kilometer is equal to two cities. Changing "one kilo per kilogram" to "one kilo per kilogram" is equal to 5 grams =.5 kilograms.
"one liter" = one liter. Therefore, this reform of weights and measures is also called "one, two, three systems". The measurement of "city system" and "Kuping construction system" is close, which is easy for ordinary people to accept. The conversion between city system and metric system is simple and can be accepted by international trade. Commonly known as "Jin is short, ruler is long", that is, the weight of Jin is smaller than that of Kuping system, and the ruler is longer than that of construction system.
this reform of weights and measures is a success. It laid a good foundation for the reform of the weights and measures system in the future and is still playing its basic role.
another big reform in the Republic of China was the currency reform.
a big move in the reform of the currency system during the Beiyang government period was to "abolish the two and change the yuan". At the end of the Qing Dynasty, although there were also silver coins in China, the monetary system was based on silver coins, and making money (including copper coins and copper coins) was the main currency. The monetary unit is quite chaotic. There are two units of measurement: Kuping and Customs. At the same time, the fineness of silver coins and silver is also extremely inconsistent. This chaotic currency system has greatly hindered the normal economic activities. As a result, there was the first monetary reform: "abolishing two and changing the yuan." That is, the Beiyang government promulgated the "national currency regulations", which stipulated that the silver dollar should be used as the basic monetary unit and the circulation of silver and silver should be stopped. A dollar of silver weighs seven cents and two cents of Kuping silver, and the silver content is 85\%. One yuan equals twelve angles (imitation of English system). Take copper coins as tokens and stop the circulation of copper coins. The exchange rate of one-dollar silver dollar and copper dollar basically fluctuates between 18 and 188. Commonly known as "the ocean is long and the ocean is short." Every day, the silver house or bank will publish the silver price of the day. When the price of silver rises, it is called "ocean length" and when the price of silver falls, it is called "ocean short". Small-scale private transactions are basically denominated in copper coins. Banks issue paper money in yuan, and one yuan of paper money is exchanged for one yuan of silver. Money is based on silver.
this monetary reform has basically unified the financial system of the whole country. But there are still many problems to be solved.
another monetary reform was carried out by the Nanjing government to solve the financial crisis. In the 193s, American currency abandoned the silver standard and adopted the gold standard, which stipulated that 1 ounce of gold was equal to 35 dollars. At the same time, the purchase of silver in the international market (London) led to an increase in the price of silver in the international market. China's monetary system is based on silver, but it does not produce much silver. The rise in the price of silver in the international market has caused a large outflow of silver from China, especially the Japanese imperialists engaged in armed smuggling in Northeast China and North China, which has caused a large outflow of silver from China. At the same time, the rise in the price of silver makes China's currency appreciate, imports soar and exports are blocked, which affects the balance of international payments of economy and development. If it is not reformed in time, it will lead to the financial collapse of China. Nanjing government negotiated with Britain and the United States to provide foreign exchange guarantee for currency reform. Finally, it won strong support from the United States (see Sino-US Silver Negotiations for details). Therefore, the Nanjing government decided to reform the currency system, stop the circulation of silver dollars, and use the paper money issued by the Central Bank, Bank of China, Bank of Communications and Farmers Bank of China (later added) as legal tender for trading and paying taxes on grain. Legal tender is pegged to the pound and the dollar.
It's often funny to watch TV series now. The ancients could spend dozens of taels, even hundreds, thousands and tens of thousands of taels of silver. What's more, it is often possible to take out hundreds of thousands of silver tickets from your pocket.
there are two misunderstandings here. First, I thought that one or two pieces of silver in ancient times were equal to one yuan today. Second, I thought that ancient silver tickets were today's banknotes or checks.
In fact, there was a shortage of silver in ancient China, and the value of silver was very high. One or two ounces of silver is equal to more than 1,2 articles (before the early Qing Dynasty) to more than 3, articles (after the Daoguang reign). Until the end of the Qing Dynasty, a catty of pork (equivalent to 1.2 Jin) only cost twenty pence, and an acre of fertile land only cost seven to eight taels of silver or twelve or three taels of silver. A few taels of silver, dozens of taels of silver is a big deal, and a hundred taels of silver is today's big money, and you can buy more than ten acres of fertile land. In the Ming Dynasty, a civilian's life was only one and a half cents a year, so the soldiers' pay in Qi Jiguang was only three cents a day, less than one or two cents a month. It was a little more expensive in Qing Dynasty, which was mainly caused by the large foreign trade surplus before the Opium War and the decline of silver price after a large amount of silver flowed in. Later, after a large amount of compensation, the price of silver and copper rose again. Ordinary people use copper coins. In the late Qing Dynasty, copper coins were used, and silver was rarely used for daily transactions. Many ordinary people have never seen silver until their death. Therefore, when you say that you have no money (poverty), you use "no copper money" instead of "no silver". This is one of the reasons why people often value silver.
by the time of the Republic of China, silver dollars were in circulation, which was called national currency. People call it "Yuan Datou". Its value is also relatively high, and it can be exchanged for more than 18 copper coins. According to the current price level, today's purchasing power, one yuan of silver is about equal to today's RMB in 35 yuan. Considering the development of production and the decline in the prices of grain and daily necessities, one yuan of silver is about the same as that of 1 yuan today. If calculated by the price of silver, it is about 5-6 yuan of RMB today. At that time, the investment in running a better printing and dyeing factory was less than 1 thousand yuan. Buying a better car at that time was about 1 yuan. So there won't be a case of taking out a silver dollar to buy a steamed bread, at most a copper coin.
A silver ticket is actually an exchange voucher issued by a Shanxi draft bank. It is encrypted, not a bank note (banknote) that can be redeemed at sight. You have to pay the exchange fee for using a silver ticket.
silver tickets are needed by businessmen who do big business. It can avoid the risk of carrying a lot of cash, and it is convenient, and the cost is similar to that of carrying a lot of cash yourself. Ordinary people and officials don't need it. So there won't be hundreds of thousands of silver tickets from your pocket to pay for it. Even if you pay for it, businesses and ordinary people will not accept it. Its circulation is not as good as today's personal checks