In 22 1 year BC, Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, reformed the monetary system and unified the currency. The unified currency of Qin Dynasty contains the specifications and parity of the unified currency, and guarantees the circulation of the currency by law, which is of epoch-making significance in the currency history of China. First of all, Qin Shihuang reformed monetary materials and implemented the double standard system of gold and copper coins throughout the country. Historical records? "Ping Shu" contains: "The currency of a certain country in China is second-class, and gold is named after Yan, which is the upper currency; Copper coins are famous for their half-weight, which is as important as their characters, so they are used as coins. " . Gold is paid by weight and the unit is "Iraq". The legal weight of copper coins is 12 baht, that is, half two, and the currency is also half two. However, the academic circles have different opinions on the starting time and actual weight of "Qin Banliang" coins. Secondly, Qin Shihuang reformed the currency form, promoted the square hole round currency of Qin State, and abolished other countries' currencies such as knife currency, cloth currency and copper shell. This style lasted for more than two thousand years, and it was not eliminated until the early years of the Republic of China. Third, the Qin law stipulates that coins are specially issued by the government, and private casting is strictly prohibited. No matter whether the money is good or bad, it should be used together. "People use money in the market, beauty and evil are mixed, and they dare not be different." [9] Otherwise, the chooser and the platoon leader will be punished if they don't report for duty and the officials don't strictly check. These regulations show that the Qin Dynasty really paid attention to the use of legal means to manage the currency, which fully guaranteed the implementation of a unified monetary policy.
Although the Qin Dynasty cancelled real money such as jade and tortoise shell, it did not cancel the use of cloth coins. Judging from Qin bamboo slips, Qin used gold, money and cloth. The golden cloth law stipulates: "The cloth is eight feet wide, two feet and five inches. The cloth is evil, and its width is not as wide as its style." A piece of cloth 1 1 USD. "Money can be used as gold and cloth, which is in line with the law." [10] On the one hand, specific requirements are made for the specifications of "cloth", and those that fail to meet the requirements shall not be circulated; On the other hand, the exchange rate of currency is fixed, that is, eleven dollars is equivalent to a piece of cloth. If you change money into gold or cloth, it must be done according to the law.
After the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty, the monetary system continued to follow the Qin system, but some reforms were also carried out. In the early Han Dynasty, due to the economic depression and financial difficulties of the government, it was unable to issue a large amount of money, so it had to lift the ban in Qin and allow the people to cast money. At the same time, reduce the weight of copper coins and issue "pod coins" weighing about 3 baht. The unit of weight of gold has also been changed from "one" to "Jin", which is 16 Liang, about 250 grams today.
In the early Han Dynasty, the monetary system was unstable. In the third year of Huidi (BC 192), private money casting was prohibited. During the period of Lv Hou, private minting of money was still prohibited, and new money was issued twice, once for 8 baht and once for 5 cents. During the period of Emperor Wen, he began to stabilize the currency and improve the money law. Carry out four baht money, abolish the original law prohibiting people from casting money privately, and allow people to cast money according to the standards set by the state. At the same time, the "legal tender weighing" system is implemented, which stipulates that the total weight of coins should be weighed according to the legal tender standard when trading.
During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, three baht money, half two of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, five baht of Yuan Shou and red money were issued successively. In the fourth year of Ding Yuan, three official coins weighing five baht were issued. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered that "no money can be used without three official coins", and all the coins previously minted were recovered and destroyed. Private individuals and local counties and countries are prohibited from minting money, and the right to mint money belongs to the central government. As a result, the monetary system stabilized and lasted until the late Sui Dynasty. In the middle, Wang Mang reformed the currency system, but it was eventually overthrown, and the five baht was restored in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Besides copper coins, there were other currencies in the Han Dynasty, such as gold coins, platinum coins and leather coins. The Western Han Dynasty implemented the standard of gold and copper coins, with gold for large payments and copper coins for small transactions. The price of gold and copper coins is a kilo of gold worth ten thousand copper coins. Pibi is made of white deerskin from Shanglinyuan. Make one piece per square foot, painted with color pictures and spiked on the side. It is stipulated that a leather coin is priced at 400,000 copper coins. Platinum and leather coins were basically not in circulation in the market and were eventually abolished.
After the Sui Dynasty unified the north and south, it issued a new five baht to replace the original complicated old currency and unify the national currency. Since the Han dynasty, the prohibition of privately minting coins has gradually increased in various dynasties. Gong Yuchuan said: "From Wuzhu Qian Qi more than 70 years ago, many people were sentenced for stealing coins." Sui dynasty followed the system of prohibiting private coin casting in the previous dynasty. "Sui Shu Food Records" contains: "Gaozu was influenced by Zhou Chan and made new coins according to the weight of money and goods in the world." "It's time to take out the money, and the people or the private sector will melt it away." But the old currency can still be used in trade. Because the wind of private casting has a long history, it is difficult to ban it. In the tenth year of the imperial system, Yangzhou minted new coins, and made lists and placed money samples in the capital and other cities above the state level. Different ones are not allowed to trade in the city. In the eighteenth year, "all the officials, including the boss of the world government, saw the money, but they were ruined and their copper went to the official." But capital transactions are bad money, held by officials, and some people die. ""Over the past few years, private casting has been quite interesting. "[1 1] Not for long. During the great cause, the wind of private casting revived, and it was more violent than before.
In the Tang Dynasty, the commodity economy developed rapidly, the circulation of commodities increased day by day, and so did the monetary economy. In the Tang Dynasty, the policy of parallel physical currency and metal currency was implemented. Both silk and copper coins can be circulated in the market as money, which is called "money and silk go hand in hand", but its overall development tends to be based on metal currency.
At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, "Emperor Gaozu ascended the throne and still used five baht from the Sui Dynasty." In July of the fourth year of Wude (AD 62 1 year), five baht was abolished, and Kaiyuan Baotong money was used, with a diameter of eight cents and a weight of two baht and four tired. Ten articles weigh one or two, and a thousand articles weigh six catties and four ounces. "The appearance of [12] Kaiyuan Bao Tongqian finally disappeared the title of weight in China's currency history, and the weight conversion of currency was simplified, from the previous 24 baht to 10 yuan (text), forming a decimal 120 money system, which brought great convenience to social and economic development. Kaiyuan Bao Tong coins have been used for more than 1000 years since the Tang Dynasty. In the period of Emperor Gaozong, the casting "Ganfeng Quanbao" was replaced, and in the period of Su Zong, the casting "Gan Yuan Bao Tong" was used with it, but it was forced to be abolished and Kaiyuan Baotong Money was used. In the middle of the Tang Dynasty, silver began to enter the circulation field and developed rapidly, becoming the de facto standard currency. With the widespread use of legal standard currency-copper coins and factual standard currency-silver, the physical currency gradually weakened and eventually withdrew from the circulation field after the Tang Dynasty, which was a great opportunity in the history of China's currency development.
In the early Tang Dynasty, a mint supervisor was set up in the central government with ten furnaces, which belonged to the Shaofu supervisor together with the local state mint supervisors. Later, the Shaofu Mint Supervision was removed, and the local Mint Supervision was changed to the local state capital. The right to coin is the greatest concern of the rulers of past dynasties, because it is related to economic development and the stability of rule. The sustainable development of social economy in the early Tang Dynasty was inseparable from the unification of the monetary system at that time, including the unification of the right to coin and the stability of the financial situation. In the fourth year of Wude, Gaozu ordered: "Anyone who dares to steal the casting will die, and his family has no family background." [13] Its punishment is far more severe than that of North Korea. On Tang Law? The miscellaneous law stipulates: "Those who privately cast money flow for three thousand miles, and those who have equipment but have not cast it are only two years; If you are not ready, you will get a hundred sticks. "As for the coin-making units in feudal countries, if the coins are not made thin and small according to the unified national standards, they will be sentenced to one year in prison for' taking copper as a benefit'. However, after the middle Tang Dynasty, casting piracy became increasingly rampant and was repeatedly banned.
Tang implemented the dual-currency standard, so the Tang government stipulated that all transactions must be combined with money and silk. When the transaction reached a certain amount, special fabrics should be used, and offenders would be prosecuted. "In September 732, kaiyuan twenty years, trade silk, silk, cloth, groceries, etc. Is universal. It is said that the store wants money, which is unreasonable. It uses both money and goods. The offender was punished by law and committed a crime. " [14] (in 804, the twentieth year of Zhenyuan) ordered the market to use silk, silk and groceries in addition to money. [15] In order to ensure the monetary value of fabrics in circulation, the Tang government attached great importance to the quality of fabrics. According to the Tang law, "the silk piece is less than forty feet, the cloth end is less than fifty feet, and the width is less than one foot eight inches, and each staff is sixty. ..... the "quasi-theft theory" that the amount of stolen goods is more than 60. " [16] In order to ensure the smooth and stable dual currency system, the Tang government issued decrees for many times prohibiting the weaving of illegal fabrics, and at the same time, the government also bought fabrics at a high price to improve the price comparison between fabrics and copper coins.
In the Tang Dynasty, folk copper coins became more and more abundant, and there were more and more bad and counterfeit coins. With the development of commodity economy, there is a shortage of copper coins and a shortage of money. In order to deal with the above situation, the Tang government issued a decree prohibiting counterfeiting and adopted strict laws, but the results were minimal. At the same time, measures were taken to prohibit copper coins from leaving the country, control the circulation of copper coins, prohibit excessive private savings, increase the amount of money, force money to go hand in hand with silk, prohibit buying and selling money, prohibit bronze casting, and adopt laws to eliminate strangers. At the same time, the state also changed good money into bad money, recycled bad money with rice and millet, or collected bad money in transactions. Only these measures still can't solve the problems of money shortage and counterfeit money that have been plaguing the rulers of the Tang Dynasty.
Due to the development of commodity economy in Tang dynasty, the currency circulation between different regions is increasing day by day. At this time, the metal currency can not meet this requirement. In order to facilitate the mobilization of cash throughout the country, flying money similar to modern cash exchange appeared in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, also known as convenient exchange. According to historical records, when Tang Xianzong arrived in the capital, "businessmen sent money to schools and armies to make them rich, so they traveled around lightly and took the coupons, with the number" wasting money "and" [17] ". The government allows businessmen to fly money after the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Salt and Iron. In the Tang Dynasty, this kind of flying money business operated by the central government, local governments and rich households promoted the development of commodity economy in various places. Although the money law of the Tang Dynasty still did not solve many practical problems, the monetary system of the Tang Dynasty had a far-reaching impact on later generations.
After ending the division of the Five Dynasties and Ten Countries, the Song Dynasty attached great importance to the unification of currencies. The Northern Song regime set out to clean up old money and set up its own coinage industry. Song Taizu prohibits the circulation of bad money and iron money and issues them to officials within a time limit. Those who cast them privately gave up the market. In the early years of Emperor Taizong, it was stipulated that the circulation price of copper coins should be more than four and a half per penetration. Those who fail to meet the standards will be sent to the official in January, and the official will give the copper price. Later, the Song government issued several bans in this regard. The Song government also vigorously developed the coinage industry and set up coinage supervisors in various copper-producing areas throughout the country, and successively established four key coinage supervisors: Raozhou Taiping Supervisor, Chizhou Yongfeng Supervisor, Jianzhou Fengguojian Supervisor and Jiangzhou Guangning Supervisor. In the Song Dynasty, copper coins were used as legal tender, and iron coins were also used. Later, small coins and tin coins were cast, and by the time they reached 50 pieces, the money method was getting worse and worse. Although there have been many rectifications, there is no result.
After Song Taizu ascended the throne, he began to cast "Song copper ingot" coins. In the early years of Emperor Taizong (976), "Taiping Bao Tong" money was minted. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Xiaoping coins were mainly cast, with a weight of five catties per thousand pieces of copper, eight taels of lead and eight taels of tin. The Southern Song Dynasty mainly cast and folded two kinds of coins. Two Jin of copper, nine Liang of lead, fifteen Liang of lead and two Jin of tin are used for every thousand pence, and the content of copper is very low. During the Song Dynasty, due to the chaotic monetary system, the quality of the national minted currency declined year by year, resulting in a shortage of money and the theft of Yun Qi. History: "The traitor took the law, stole Yun Qi's casting, and it is forbidden to resume it" [18]. In the Song Dynasty, the money law was strict, and there was a special article on "privately casting money" in the Song Criminal Code, which stipulated: "Those who privately cast money flow three thousand miles. Those who are not cast will only serve for two years, and those who are not prepared will be beaten with a hundred sticks. " If it turns out that the money is too small, it only takes one year to make a profit from copper. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong in the Southern Song Dynasty, it was stipulated that anyone who cast or melted copper coins and made bronzes privately was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, and if the circumstances were serious, he was severely punished and fined 300 yuan. Allow others to report, neighbors oversight, but also pay a fine of 200. [19] By the Song Dynasty, the problem of money shortage had not been solved. In order to alleviate the money shortage to a certain extent, the Song government strictly regulated the circulation of copper coins and prohibited taking them out of the country. If copper coins are allowed to flow into "foreign countries" or "foreign countries", they will be punished with the crime of less than five strokes and the death penalty of more than five strokes, and then they will be executed immediately, which is extremely severe. At the same time, the Song government also formulated other punishments such as apprenticeship, exile and distribution, as well as related regulations. During the Southern Song Dynasty, in 1 158, the Order of Rewarding for the Crime of Copper Coins Leaving the Country was formulated and promulgated, and it was strictly forbidden for copper coins to leave the country. Anyone who uses copper coins to trade with foreign businessmen is sentenced to two years' imprisonment and a thousand miles' imprisonment. [20]
During the Northern Song Dynasty, Sichuan used iron money, which was small and heavy, which was not suitable for the development of its commodity economy and was not conducive to trading. In order to overcome this shortcoming, Sichuan folk created a kind of credit paper money-Jiaozi. The earliest jiaozi came into being in 10 century, "internal and external standards, secret questions, Zhu Mo's fault, private inspection, and counting books for trading". [2 1] During the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhang Yong, Zhili Prefecture said, "The method of setting the quality agent, with one hand and one hand, changes with three years as the boundary, and sixty-five years is the twenty-second boundary, which is called the crossing" [22]. This cross printed on paper is not only the earliest paper money in China, but also the earliest paper money in the world. During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, after a rectification, it was changed to be presided over by the government and co-sponsored by 16 households, with its financial resources as the guarantee, and the children were distributed. Later it was abolished because of the weakening of the economic ability of enriching the people. In the first year of Tiansheng (1023), the transshipment made Xue Tian and Zhang Ruogu request to set up Yizhou Jiaozi service, "in order to check its discrepancy, the private creators banned it" [23]. Jiaozi Dance is an organ established by the government to manage the distribution of Jiaozi Dance, which later developed rapidly to Luzhou, Shaanxi and Northwest Road, Beijing. At this point, the Banknote Law was formally established as a legal system.
In the Southern Song Dynasty, in addition to the annotation, there were also prison annotations and annotation. In the early years of Emperor Gaozong in the Southern Song Dynasty, Guan Zi needed money to station troops in Jiangxi, but the money was too heavy, so Guan Zi was asked to pay for military supplies in Jiangxi. Huizi was also created during the reign of Emperor Gaozong. The government reserves cash, and Huizi circulates inside and outside the city and pays taxes. The face value of the meeting is divided into one thousand, two thousand and three thousand. In order to prohibit forgery, the government of the Southern Song Dynasty stipulated that "whoever forges the conference book, if unwilling to compensate or make up for the righteousness of a captain, will be beheaded and rewarded with 1000 dollars." "If you become an apprentice and hide at home, you will be exempted from sin, rewarded, or willing to make up your previous name." [24]
In the Song Dynasty, time, land and places were limited. In the Song Dynasty, the supreme ruler determined the special organization and distribution methods in the form of imperial edict, and it was strictly forbidden to forge paper money. [25]
The commodity economy in the Song Dynasty developed further on the basis of the Tang Dynasty, and the exchange of flying money in the Tang Dynasty was continued and developed in the Song Dynasty. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Song Dynasty imitated Tang Fei's money. "When Xu Min entered the capital, he changed in many places." In order to manage flying money, Kaibao set up a convenient money service for three years, which made this business develop steadily. At the same time, it is stipulated that merchants "accept the goods when they stop making an appointment, and shall not change them privately" [26], and no one is allowed to change them. After the mid-Northern Song Dynasty, the forms of government-run money for the convenience of the people were diversified, not only from the capital to other States, but also from the border to the capital, and from different regions outside the capital. Yuan You's three-year imperial edict: "Yuanfeng Road is a seven-year workshop, free of money, except for the three roads, half of them are left, and others are invited to enter" [27]. After the Southern Song Dynasty, money was widely used, but official money still existed.
The loan industry developed rapidly in Song Dynasty, which was synchronous with the development of commodity economy. Many people borrowed money in Song Dynasty, many of them were part-time, such as landlords, businessmen, bureaucrats, nobles and monks in temples. At the same time, loan sharks appeared in the Song Dynasty, and the "bitter households" and "Qian Min" mentioned in the literature of the Song Dynasty belong to this category. In addition, the Song government also operated this business. It is worth mentioning that the government has set up a school library, which is managed by Kaifeng government, mainly to raise and manage orphans who have lost their parents in officials' homes. In order to solve the cost problem, "we will send gold, silver and cash in accordance with the normal closing practice, and invite people to come in first to receive the benefit fee and give it to the people in the Yuan Calibration Institute." [28] It is quite similar to the folk quality library. During the reign of Xining, the government implemented the market exchange law, and the business of borrowing official money on credit was similar. Xining nine years, will record the library. Pawn shops were under the unified jurisdiction of Yi Shi until the Southern Song Dynasty.
In order to limit the exploitation of usury capital and maintain social stability, the Song government stipulated the upper limit of usury interest rate and the total amount of interest collected, and prohibited compound interest. The criminal law of the Song Dynasty stipulates that "the monthly profit shall not exceed six points, and it shall not be doubled over time" and "the profit shall not be returned". [29] The Southern Song Dynasty's Yuan Tiao Law and Shi Lei has a similar provision: "If you give money and property, you can't get a profit of more than 4% per month. Although it has accumulated a lot, it cannot be doubled. " "And those who are profit-oriented, hold their ground." [30] The law also stipulates that it is forbidden to arbitrarily convert physical objects and currencies in the process of borrowing and repayment. "Due to the drought in the previous year, borrowers are not allowed to discount at high prices and learn color" [31]; Loan sharks who have been forcibly exempted from paying more than double the total interest will be postponed to pay their debts in famine years. "Enriching the people cannot be overstepped, and offenders are not allowed to enter" [32], "Private debts of all walks of life, debtors" and "release according to regulations" [33]; Loan sharks are prohibited from folding land, houses, houses, etc. "People have to take away farmland, cattle and livestock to pay for this." [34] "These families are heavily in debt, and when they arrive in Qiu Cheng, they will demand compensation. If they dare to encroach on tenants' fields and seedlings, they will be guilty according to the law. ".[35] In the Southern Song Dynasty, it was stipulated:" Those who plow cattle and benefit from debts will be rewarded with a hundred sticks. Return the cow to the owner. " [36]
To sum up, the monetary and financial development of the Song Dynasty was very rapid, and the formulation of laws and regulations was much more perfect than that of the previous generation, which also accumulated experience for the legal system construction of later generations.
During Zhenyuan period in Hailing, Jin Dynasty, "duplicate banknotes were introduced, so the banknotes were made and handed in, and used together with money" [37], and a banknote introduction library and a banknote issuing library were set up to print customized banknotes. At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, it imitated the law of Song and Jin, and made money based on silk. "Every silver 520 yuan, silk 1200 yuan" [38], the value of other items is also taken as an example. After that, they made precious paper money, which was based on silver, and the characters were based on ten penetration, one hundred penetration and consistency. Each consistency was always the same as one or two paper money, and two penetration was the same as one or two silver, which was circulated throughout the country. At the same time, the renminbi also implements a pure paper money system, prohibiting the circulation of metal money. The banknote law in Yuan Dynasty is relatively complete, and various crimes are listed, such as the crime of counterfeiting, changing banknotes, replenishing banknotes and blocking banknotes. , and from the beginning, the responsibility of the relevant competent officials will be investigated.
With the further development of commodity economy in Ming Dynasty, the economic ties between different regions became increasingly close. In order to meet the needs of economic development, the rulers of the Ming Dynasty enacted many economic laws to strengthen the legal adjustment of economic relations.
The currencies in circulation in the early Ming Dynasty were mainly copper coins and precious paper money. In order to standardize currency management, the government has enacted the Currency Law and the Banknote Law. Although the law of using money was also implemented in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, it was not incorporated into the law until the Ming Dynasty.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the monetary system was chaotic, and the people refused to use the official currency and implemented physical exchange. After the Ming Dynasty unified the whole country, copper coins were used as local currency. In the first year of Hongwu (1368), Baoyuan Bureau was set up in Beijing, and Baoquan Bureau was set up in all provinces to take charge of coinage. The Ming law stipulates that "Baoyuan and other bureaus should be set up to drum up Hongwu Bao Tong copper coins and merge them with the copper coins of Dazhong Bao Tong and previous dynasties". "If it is blocked, it will be done, with a stick of 60." Baoyuan Bureau cast a sample of "Hongwu Bao Tong" and distributed it all over the country. Baoquan Bureau was added to the Houhu Department to specialize in casting money, which was called "Qianfatang", and an assistant minister was set up to supervise and manage money. In the twenty-second year of Hongwu (1389), the currency system was unified in June, and small coins were divided into five grades: small coins weighed one yuan, two times as much, three times as much as San Qian, five times as much as five yuan, and four times as much as ten or twelve yuan, all of which were raw copper. "One hundred and sixty small copper coins were cast for each catty of raw copper, and they were converted into two pieces of eighty, when San Qian was fifty-four, five pieces of thirty-two and ten pieces of sixteen." In the ninth year of Yongle (141) and the ninth year of Xuande (1434), the "Yongle Bao Tong" and "Xuande Bao Tong" were respectively cast, which were parallel to the coins of previous dynasties. At the same time, it is strictly forbidden to cast copper coins privately, such as "those who cast copper coins privately, wring them, and the craftsmen are guilty of the same crime. If you buy messengers, you will know that they will be reduced by one level." The "scrap copper and iron" taken by the people will be sold to the government and controlled by the government.
The development of urban industry and commerce needs a lot of money as a means of circulation and payment, and the legislation on paper money first appeared in the Ming Dynasty. In the seventh year of Hongwu (1374), a banknote bank was set up to print money. In the eighth year of Hongwu, Daming Collection was published. In thirteen years, books were saved and banknotes were returned to the household department. Paper money is based on consistency and has the same credit value as copper coins. "Every banknote is the same, there are thousands of them, and there are also one or two pieces of silver; Four penetration quasi gold one or two "[40]. In the 22nd year of Hongwu (1389), ten to fifty banknotes were added to facilitate exchange. Daming law? The Warehouse Bill Law in the Household Law stipulates that "when people buy and sell all kinds of things, as well as the tax courses of tea and salt merchants", the banknotes and copper coins are "combined into one", and the tax authorities must "collect" and "offend one hundred sticks". For the act of forging "treasure money", "whoever knowingly commits it will be beheaded and the property will be merged into the official. The plaintiff will get a reward of 250 taels of silver, and the prisoner will still get the property. "..... if it is copied, supplemented and traced back to the source, it will be forged with the truth, and the staff will be one hundred, and it will flow three thousand miles" [4 1]. When using banknotes, you can endorse them in your own name in private for inspection, and it is forbidden to use counterfeit banknotes. Offenders will be fined. Banknote endorsement is not only a means of circulation, but also a credit certificate. The "Regulations" of the Banknote Law also prevent government officials from being punished for selling expensive banknotes, and the sellers send border guards to fill the army.
In order to ensure the circulation of precious banknotes, the Ming government also issued a decree "prohibiting people from buying and selling gold and silver goods, and offenders will be punished, and whistleblowers will be rewarded with their goods;" If anyone exchanges money for gold and silver, listen. " At the same time, people are encouraged to use paper money. "Where there is business tax, money and banknotes are collected, with three-tenths of money and seven-tenths of banknotes. If the amount is less than 100, only copper coins will be used. " [43] During the reign of Yongle and Xuande, it was reiterated that the sale of gold and silver was prohibited, and it was clearly stipulated that the relevant taxes should be paid in paper money. In order to solve the problem that paper money is easy to be stained and damaged, the Ming government "ordered banks to use it, so that military and civilian merchants can exchange faint paper money for new paper money and collect ink value", and set up Guangyuan warehouse and Guanghui warehouse respectively to take charge of the import and export of paper money. [44]
The Ming government enacted the Money Law, the Money Law and the Criminal Law of the Daming Law, which beheaded, strangled and confiscated the assets of those who forged precious banknotes and privately minted copper coins respectively, and punished the criminals and insiders, which played a certain role in ensuring the normal circulation and currency stability of precious banknotes and copper coins and promoting non-governmental economic exchanges. However, after Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, paper money depreciated, and the Ming government had to lift the ban on the use of silver. Silver coins and copper coins have gradually replaced paper money in circulation. Silver has become the most important currency and entered the circulation field, gradually moving towards the silver standard, and copper coins have retired to the auxiliary position.
On the basis of the increasingly developed commodity economy, the financial industry was quite active in the Ming Dynasty, and usury and pawnbroking developed rapidly. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, there was a ban: "All princes and officials at home and abroad are not allowed to borrow money." [45] However, despite repeated orders, local officials are still eager to make huge profits.
The loan methods of usury in Ming Dynasty mainly included central loan and goods pawn loan. The former is popular in rural areas, while the latter is popular in cities. "Daming Law" stipulates the interest on loans: "Anyone who borrows, owes debts or pawns property privately may not charge interest of more than three points per month. Although it has been many years, each book has only one profit. " [46] But in fact, they are beyond the limits of law making. Pawnbroking was very common in Ming Dynasty, with different scales. Its operation mode is mainly mortgage lending.
In the early days of the founding of the Qing Dynasty, Baoyuan Bureau and Baoquan Bureau were established in the capital, which were subordinate to the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Housing, casting "Shunzhi Bao Tong", which was popular all over the country. Money is made of 70% copper and 30% lead white; One thousand dollars is a string, and two thousand dollars is a cardinal number. Each piece weighed one yuan, then increased to one yuan and twenty-five cents, and it was used until the end of the Qing Dynasty. The laws of the Qing dynasty prohibit the private casting of coins, stipulating that: those who privately cast coins, leaders and craftsmen will be beheaded and their property will be confiscated; Collaborators, insiders, buyers, users, and a well-informed local official were sentenced respectively, and traitors were rewarded with 520 taels of silver; His cohabiting father, brother, uncle, brother, etc. Those who know and share the benefits will be given first-class punishment, with staff 100, with a flow of 3000 Li. Later, he designated cutting money as detention and stipulated that private money should be collected within a time limit. Compared with the previous dynasties, the punishment of privately minted coins in Qing Dynasty was more severe.
The Qing Dynasty continued to use paper money. * * * The Qing government issued paper money three times before and after. In the eighth year of Shunzhi (165 1), the imitation lighting system was printed with money as the calculation unit, but it was abolished in less than ten years. During the Xianfeng period, the Qing Dynasty paper money and official tickets mainly made of silver were printed, but they only lasted for 89 years. During the Guangxu period, China Commercial Bank was established and issued two kinds of banknotes, silver and silver, but they are already new banknotes. The ancient "notes" ended here.
By the Qing Dynasty, the financial industry had made great progress. In the early Qing dynasty, the financial industry mainly included pawn, money house, bank, accounting office and bank. Pawnshops are financial institutions left over from the previous dynasty, mainly mortgage loans. Money houses and banks are shops engaged in currency exchange business. The Ministry of Housing was a financial institution in northern cities such as Beijing and Zhangjiakou during the reign of Gan Yong, which handled deposit and loan business for industrial and commercial people. Its operators are mainly Shanxi businessmen. The draft bank is a financial institution specialized in exchange business that appeared in the middle of Qing Dynasty.
In the Qing dynasty, the double standard system of parallel silver and copper coins was implemented, both of which were used for market transactions. Usually, silver coins are used for bulk trade and government revenue and expenditure, while copper coins are used for small-scale private trade. With the increasing use of silver coins in transactions, it is necessary to have a special institution to evaluate the fineness of silver coins and exchange a large number of silver coins for copper coins or broken silver. Banks and banks are developed to meet this demand. With the development of economy and the increasing frequency of inter-port trade, Kangxi began to operate exchange business or use bills of exchange for commercial liquidation and debt settlement. After the mid-Qing Dynasty, the number of money houses gradually became common.
The management of the financial industry in Qing Dynasty was strict. The law of the Qing Dynasty stipulated: "No matter whether it is new or old, the five banks in the capital should jointly protect each other and report to the local officials for the record. If there is any erosion in storing cash exchange tickets in the Qian Wen of the store, and because some people deposit money or borrow money to release money, they have accumulated a lot of benefits, so they plot to hide cash, and those who flee behind closed doors are immediately arrested and pursued by the owner; " If we delay for two months, those who can erode the hidden money and fully develop it will be acquitted. "[47] During the Qing Dynasty, folk money was not abundant. In places where the money shortage is serious, the price of money has greatly increased, and some middlemen "are scattered everywhere, and it is difficult to unify the prices in the morning and evening, without the constraint of entrustment or extorting money", which has provoked the price of money to rise. In order to solve this problem, the Qing court decided to "merge the banks into one place and check the officials to raise prices." "... every shopkeeper has a high price, instructing the broker to strictly reduce the order and forbid monopoly; ..... make brokers and others get together in one place every day to go public, and recruit merchants to buy and sell shops, so as to avoid the disadvantages of buying and selling privately. "[48] Although the monetary and financial legal system in the Qing Dynasty was much more complete than that in the previous dynasty, it played a certain role in promoting economic development and maintaining currency stability; However, due to its perfection, on the other hand, it also restricted the free development of the financial industry, restricted the further development and perfection of the financial market, and finally did not embark on the road of modernization.