However, in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, especially in the Qing Dynasty, silver dollar and silver ticket gradually occupied the dominant position, and copper coins, which occupied the main currency position, declined. What caused silver to occupy a dominant position in the currency circulation in Qing Dynasty?
1, inherited the monetary system of the Ming Dynasty, and silver became the main currency.
In the Ming Dynasty, copper coins were the main currency in circulation. Because of the economic development, there are many disadvantages. So the Ming government began to gradually control the use of copper coins and began to use silver. Therefore, I think that the monetary system of the Qing Dynasty largely inherited the monetary system of the Ming Dynasty, so the choice of major currencies will also tend to be silver.
The first reason why the use of copper coins in the Ming Dynasty was greatly reduced was that the raw material of copper coins, copper mines, was too little.
The science and technology of Ming dynasty was not developed in modern times, so the mining of copper mine was the most primitive human mining, and the mining amount was very small, which was far from enough to make copper coins, so the number of copper coins began to stick to in Ming dynasty.
The second reason is that the demand for copper coins in people's daily life at that time was very large, which would lead to a very large amount of copper coins flowing out every day, and the government's control over copper coins was far from reaching the amount of copper coins flowing out every day in real life, which would lead to inflation.
Copper coins can't meet the needs of people's daily life, which will cause social contradictions and even threaten the rule of the Ming government to a certain extent. Therefore, the government is gradually controlling the use of copper coins and intends to start developing with silver as the main currency.
The third reason is that the payment procedure of copper coins will be more complicated and the unit of value of copper coins is small. Once you want to buy valuables, you need copper coins in sacks, and the quality of copper is relatively high. Therefore, a large amount of copper coins will be heavy and not easy to carry, which will naturally hinder economic transactions.
In addition, although paper money appeared in Song Dynasty, compared with silver as currency, paper money is easier to be copied, and without national logo, it will be more unsafe and not very safe, and it cannot meet the daily needs of the people like copper coins.
Another reason is that paper money is more like fake money than silver, and it has no sense of reality, so paper money can only be used as an auxiliary currency instead of the main currency respected by the dynasty.
As a dynasty after the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty will naturally learn from the previous dynasty's currency circulation lessons, avoid serious inflation caused by the massive outflow of copper coins, and avoid a large number of counterfeit banknotes. Therefore, it is very much in favor of silver beginning to replace copper coins as the main currency, thus inheriting the monetary system of the Ming Dynasty and taking silver as the main currency.
2. Silver is a special currency for the government to collect taxes and the people to pay taxes.
As a currency, silver has its unique function, that is, it is a special currency for the government to collect taxes and the people to pay taxes, which is different from copper coins and paper money. Therefore, I think silver became the special currency for taxation and the main currency in circulation in the Qing Dynasty.
1657, there was such a provision on tax collection in the Qing law at that time, which roughly meant that most taxes in all regions must be paid in silver.
As mentioned earlier, the unit of value of copper coins is relatively small, and a large amount of copper coins will be more complicated, so officials at that time proposed to pay taxes in silver. The approximate ratio is seven cents for silver and three cents for copper. At the same time, seven cents of silver will be shipped to Beijing, and three cents of copper will be left on local property for normal expenses.
Regulations are regulations, but there will always be many problems in the implementation process. So, after agreeing to the great use of silver, the emperor adopted the suggestion of Anhui governor, and a small amount of cash withdrawal and a large amount of tax can be used for copper coins. Therefore, in the status of silver and copper coins, silver has a higher status and is a special currency for tax collection by the government and the people.
In the actual currency circulation, most provinces still use copper coins to pay land taxes. 1844, 80% of the land tax was paid in copper coins, but the provincial government would collect the copper coins, exchange them for silver, then melt them and hand them over to the central government.
Therefore, even though the main currency in circulation among the people is still copper coins, in the official institutions, silver has become a proper mainstream currency. Therefore, even though the people still rely on the use of copper coins, officially, silver has become the main currency, which is why the main currencies in circulation in the Qing Dynasty gradually became silver coins and silver dollars.
3. The amount of copper coins is too large and the value-added is too fast, so it needs to be suppressed by silver.
Although the early Qing dynasty inherited the monetary system of the Ming dynasty and intended to promote silver as the main currency, each emperor had different grasp of the status quo, so the mainstream currency was different.
However, when the amount of copper coins is too large, it will lead to excessive appreciation. At this time, another currency, namely silver, is needed to suppress the appreciation of copper coins. Therefore, based on the shortcomings of copper coins, silver gradually became the main currency in circulation in the Qing Dynasty.
During the Qianlong period, the output of silver at that time was greatly reduced, so in desperation, Emperor Qianlong advocated and encouraged the use of copper coins, which led to the frequent use of copper coins of various amounts, even in the transaction of 100.
The conversion unit between copper coins and two coins is very large, which will cause a large amount of copper coins in currency circulation to appreciate rapidly, cause inflation, and cause extremely high prices, while the purchasing power of the people cannot be improved, thus causing sharp social contradictions.
Therefore, in order to restrain the rapid appreciation of copper coins, the Qing government encouraged the use of silver, making silver the main currency in circulation.
The appreciation of copper coins will also cause a very big disadvantage, that is, copper coins are expensive and silver coins are cheap, but the output of silver is less than copper and should be rare, so the appreciation of copper coins violates the law of silver.
In order to reduce the appreciation of copper coins, the government gradually developed silver into the field of currency circulation. The above-mentioned special currency that the government collects taxes and the people pay taxes is also an important measure to increase the value of silver.
The extensive use of copper coins in the early Qing Dynasty resulted in the rapid appreciation of copper coins. Inflation and cheap silver are social phenomena that the government does not want to see. Therefore, in order to suppress the number and appreciation of copper coins, silver was really promoted by the government, and silver replaced copper coins on a large scale and became a veritable main currency in circulation.
4. A large number of foreign silver dollars poured in, and the coastal cities flooded with silver dollars.
During the Qing Dynasty, the western countries at the same time had entered the era of industrial development, so the silver dollar produced by machines first began to circulate in the trade system. In the development of trade with China, foreign silver dollars in coastal cities are rampant, so I think the influx of foreign silver dollars into China market, especially in coastal cities, has accelerated the process of silver becoming the main currency.
Compared with the silver ingots of the Qing Dynasty, foreign silver dollars have many advantages. First of all, foreign silver dollars are all cut by machines, which will appear very neat and basically the same size, which is more convenient for circulation than silver ingots in the Qing Dynasty.
Secondly, the silver ingots in Qing dynasty need to be tested in many aspects, such as the purity and weight of silver ingots to determine the value of this silver ingot, so it is very troublesome. The Qing government also knew the disadvantages of silver ingots, so it acquiesced in the use of silver dollars in currency circulation.
There is a description about the flood of foreign silver dollars in history: "From Fujian, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the provinces south of the Yellow River, foreign money prevailed, and all money and grain merchants traded without foreign money", which shows the current situation of the flood of foreign silver dollars in Qing Dynasty.
The widespread use of silver dollar stimulated the development of silver as a currency and accelerated the promotion of silver by the government at that time. Copper coins began to withdraw from the money market on a large scale, and silver became the main currency in circulation.
5. The system of silver money and silver ticket is complete and can be circulated across provinces.
With the continuous development of the monetary system in Qing dynasty, by the middle and late Qing dynasty, the system of silver money and silver ticket had been completely constructed and could be circulated across provinces, thus increasing the circulation of silver. Therefore, I think the construction of a complete system of silver money and silver ticket is to stabilize the status of silver as the main currency in circulation.
In the late Qing Dynasty, the national silver ingots were relatively unified. Although there were still differences in the fineness and weight of silver ingots at that time, a complete exchange system was prepared among merchants, and the exchange of silver tickets was also very guaranteed, especially in the north, where the circulation of silver was very large.
In an official's memorial, it was recorded that "within two years, not less than three million and two thousand" was enough to show that silver was in large circulation at that time, so I think the integrity of the silver system is constantly consolidating the status of silver as the main currency in circulation.
6. Conclusion
As the last dynasty of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty borrowed a lot from the monetary system of the Ming Dynasty. From copper coins to silver dollar and silver ticket, why does silver occupy a dominant position?
In the Qing dynasty, silver was already a special currency for taxation, and its status was very high. Coupled with the cumbersome copper coins and the insecurity of paper money, it highlights the advantages of silver as a currency. At the same time, foreign silver dollars continuously entered the China market and were used tacitly, which accelerated the process of silver becoming the main currency in circulation. Finally, with the improvement of the silver system, silver became the main currency of the Qing Dynasty.