What were the main currencies of the Tang Dynasty? How to convert the respective currency values ??(for example, how much is one tael of gold worth and how much is one tael of silver)?

From Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty to Emperor Zhaoxuan Li (Brother Zuomu and Righteous), in the last 290 years of the Tang Dynasty, only seven or eight kinds of coins were issued, and only three kinds are seen in official history, namely the aforementioned "Kaiyuan Tongbao", "Qianfeng Quanbao" and "Qianyuan Chongbao" are two types of treasure money. This situation is in stark contrast to the dazzling money systems of previous dynasties. It can be seen from this that the monetary policy of the Tang Dynasty was very stable and effective, and the basis of stability certainly lies in the positive performance of the currency itself in market circulation.

In the early Tang Dynasty, society was open and the economy was prosperous. "Kaiyuan Tongbao" has always been the protagonist in currency circulation. The early rulers worked very hard to control prices and maintain a reasonable currency value and strong purchasing power for Tongbao. This was also one of the important features of this period known as the prosperous Tang Dynasty. In the first year of Qianfeng (666), Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty issued the "Qianfeng Quanbao" with a large face value and "one was equivalent to ten old coins". This coin was exquisitely made and slightly larger in shape or equivalent to Kaiyuan coins. It was stopped due to inflation, and the use of Kaiyuan money was restored. This was the first large-denomination coin promoted in the Tang Dynasty.

After entering the middle period, due to the social unrest caused by the "Anshi Rebellion", the Tang Dynasty's economy began to decline. Not only was the country's money system in chaos, but private coining of small money was also rampant. During this period, the imperial court introduced a new type of money, "Qianyuan Chongbao", which was issued in the first year of Qianyuan (758) after Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty came to power. The following year, Suzong cast another "Qianyuan Chongbao" worth fifty cents, but it was only about twice as heavy as ten cents, making it a veritable fortune. There are two wide and thin outer walls on the back of this coin, so the Quan family calls it Chonglun Qianyuan. During the Dali period of Emperor Daizong of the Tang Dynasty and the Jianzhong period of Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty, the government also cast two kinds of coins, "Dali Yuanbao" and "Jianzhong Tongbao" respectively. However, in modern archaeological excavations, they are rarely found in the Tang and Song Dynasty hoards in the Central Plains. It appears that it has been repeatedly unearthed from the ruins of ancient Qiuci in Kuqa, Xinjiang. This is a very precious testimony for studying the exchanges and influences between the Central Plains culture and the Silk Road civilization in the Western Regions in the mid-Tang Dynasty.

The economy recovered in the late Tang Dynasty, which led to the recovery of the Xiaoping Qian system, which was prominently reflected in the "Kaiyuan Tongbao" Xiaoping Qian with place names. Because this kind of money began to be minted in the fifth year of Huichang (845), Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty, it was called "Huichang Kaiyuan" in history. At that time, due to the economic downturn and currency shortage caused by the continuous civil war, all state capitals cast coins on the spot. Among them, Li Shen, the governor of Huainan Festival, added the word "Chang" on the back of the new coins and presented them to the court to commemorate the year. This idea was greatly appreciated by Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty, so he ordered money furnaces from all over the country to add place names such as Jing, Luo, Yi, Jing, Guang, Fu, etc. when newly casting "Kaiyuan Tongbao". Currently, there are "Huichang Kaiyuan" coins that have been handed down or unearthed in kind. There are 23 species.

Although "Huichang Kaiyuan" was called a great spectacle of ancient coins by later generations, it was at the expense of the extreme measures of destroying temples, destroying Buddhas and casting coins. Buddhism was very popular in the Tang Dynasty. Buddhist temples and orchids were spread all over the world, and the construction of temples and statues required a large amount of copper materials. This made the original insufficient scale of copper mining even more embarrassing when the country needed to increase the total currency. In order to resolve this contradiction, in July of the fifth year of Huichang, Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty ordered the whole country to "abolish temples, bronze statues, bells and chimes and commission salt and iron envoys to make money... All gold, silver, bronze and iron statues in the homes of well-dressed scholars and common people, after the edict was issued, The limit was one month to accept official duties. If he violated the law, he would be punished by the salt and iron envoys in accordance with the copper ban law." As a result, only one month later, "more than 4,600 temples in the world were demolished, and 260,500 monks and nuns returned to lay life. They served as two-tax households, demolished more than 40,000 houses, harvested tens of millions of hectares of farmland, and recruited 150,000 slaves and maidservants as two-tax households" ("Old Book of Tang Dynasty, Wuzong Ji"). This situation can be regarded as a meaningful footnote in the history of currency development in the Tang Dynasty.