The Western Han Dynasty was "rich in gold", this is the conclusion of historians of the past dynasties. What was the reason for the huge amount of gold in the Western Han Dynasty? There was no golden dynasty in Chinese history like the Western Han Dynasty - at that time, gold was rewarded according to weight, traded in gold, and even fined. Why was gold so abundant during the Western Han Dynasty, but then greatly reduced in the Eastern Han Dynasty and subsequent dynasties? Has the Chinese people’s view of gold changed, or has their gold reserves changed?
If you have been to the Shaanxi History Museum, you must have seen many tempting Western Han Dynasty gold cakes. These 219 gold cakes were discovered in a brick factory in the northeastern suburbs of northwest China in November 1999. Each piece weighs about 247 grams, about one pound in the Han Dynasty. Their appearance confirms the records in history books about the "rich gold" in the Western Han Dynasty.
More than 2,000 years ago, the state of Chu used gold plates as shown in the picture. Because their seals were in the shape of a small square or circle, they were customarily called "yinzi gold". The inscriptions on the gold plate include Ying, Chen, Zhuan, Qin, Ge, Lu, etc. Especially Ying, also known as "gold". Ying is the name of the capital of Chu State, and Shen is the currency unit of weight at that time.
The winter of 205 BC was very cold. It snowed continuously for nearly a month, and the Chu and Han armies were in a stalemate in Xingyang.
Xiang Yu, the overlord of Chu, was already restless. He wanted to win the war as soon as possible, so he tried every means to cut off the tunnels through which the Han army transported food. The Han army, which was constantly attacked by the Chu army for food and grass, did have some support. Liu Bang didn't want to wait endlessly in this horrible weather, he had to do something!
One late night in December, a group of chariots and horses slipped out of the Han army's camp and headed straight for the Chu army. The leader's name is Chen Ping. He looked serious and complicated because the convoy behind him contained tens of thousands of pounds of gold. Chen Ping couldn't help but recall the situation when Liu Bang asked him for advice a few days ago. Liu Bang was very distressed and sad, so he proposed that no one could resist the temptation of gold. Gold could be used to alienate the king of Chu, especially Zhong Limei and Fan Zeng, who were known for their honesty and frankness. Liu Bang was overjoyed and immediately ordered someone to bring 40,000 kilograms of gold to Chen Ping for him to spend as he pleased. There were some in the convoy behind him, which were used to bribe the soldiers in the Chu army's tent and let them spread rumors about Zhong Limei.
Just a few days after the gold was delivered, rumors spread. The soldiers said: "The hard-working man began to be dissatisfied with King Xiang for not giving him land to become king. He wanted to join forces with the Han army." Get up and destroy Xiang's family so that he can divide the land of Chu and become king." When this rumor reached Xiang Yu's ears, he became suspicious of Zhong Limei and gradually alienated him.
The effect of these 40,000 kilograms of gold is far from over. In April of the next year, Chen Ping bought three cows, sheep, and pigs with gold, prepared a sumptuous banquet, and waited leisurely in the camp for the envoy sent by Xiang Yu. As soon as the envoy arrived, he ordered a sumptuous banquet to be delivered to the envoy's residence. As soon as he entered the door, he pretended to be surprised and said, "I thought he was the envoy of my father Fan Zeng!" He immediately asked people to serve food. After returning home, the envoy described his situation to Wang Xiang, and from then on he became suspicious of Fan Zeng. After Fan Zeng learned about this, he asked to retire, but he died of illness on the way home.
Wang Xiang, who lost his right-hand man, committed suicide by the Wujiang River two years later. These 40,000 kilograms of gold started the Western Han Dynasty to a certain extent. It also seems to indicate that the Western Han Dynasty will be a "rich" dynasty.
The Western Han Dynasty was "rich in gold", this is the conclusion of historians of the past dynasties. Not to mention the 40,000 kilograms of gold in "Jianguo", which is enough to surprise people. Let’s take a look at the gold stock during the Western Han Dynasty, which is the so-called “gold reserve” in modern times. The huge amount is also rare in ancient Chinese history, and can be said to be the largest in history.
Year: "In the early Western Han Dynasty, the total amount of gold used was more than one million kilograms." According to the historical data of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, one kilogram in the Western Han Dynasty is equivalent to 248 grams today, and one million kilograms in the Western Han Dynasty is today's of 248 tons. In 2003, China's gold reserves were 600 tons, which means that the gold reserves during the Western Han Dynasty had reached 41.3% of China's gold reserves in 2003.
In addition, if you open the Weights and Measures Examination of Chinese Dynasties, you will find countless examples of emperors of the Western Han Dynasty bestowing gold, and each time the gold content was tens of thousands of kilograms, just like ordinary radish and cabbage. For example, Liu Bang's eldest son Liu Ying paid generous rewards in gold for his father Liu Bang's funeral after he succeeded to the throne, especially for those who personally participated in digging the tomb. Generals paid 40 pounds of gold, officials with an annual salary of 2,000 shi paid 20 pounds of gold, those with an annual salary of 600 shi paid 6 pounds, and those with an annual salary of less than 600 shi paid 2 pounds.
It is conceivable that the huge mausoleum will definitely require the military and civil capital of the Manchu Dynasty to invest in the project, so the amount of the reward is indeed very large. After Liu Heng, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, came to the throne, he gave Zhou Bo 5,000 kilograms of gold, Chen Ping and Guan Ying 2,000 kilograms of gold, and Liu Zhang and Liu Jie's daughters. In the fifth year of Yuanshuo, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che spent more than 200,000 kilograms of gold to reward General Wei Qing for defeating the Hu army in consecutive years.
So, what caused the huge amount of gold in the Western Han Dynasty?
It is undeniable that the greatness of gold in the Western Han Dynasty benefited from the accumulation of past dynasties: before the Spring and Autumn Period, gold had become people's treasure; during the Warring States Period, all rulers regarded gold as their wealth, and they tried their best to Collect gold. At that time, Qin Chu had the greatest power and wealth. The Chu-Ru-Han area was rich in gold, and Fang Jin was popular all over the world.
When the Qin Dynasty was at its peak, "gold was used"; after the unification of the Qin Dynasty, the "wives, concubines, and silks" of various countries naturally included gold. This gold was collected in the Qin Dynasty's treasury, and the gold accumulated in the past dynasties was eventually transferred to the Western Han Dynasty.
The arrival of the Iron Age led to the rapid development of the mining industry in the Western Han Dynasty, which continuously produced more gold and enriched the treasury of the Western Han Dynasty, which already had a large amount of gold. Through continuous practice, people in the Western Han Dynasty, in addition to inheriting the methods of previous generations, also discovered the method of finding new mines according to the distribution of mineral veins and the method of finding gold mines by observing the golden light. This is recorded in the Han Dynasty and the Shi Ji Huo Shi Lie Zhuan. .
The origin of gold has also increased than in the past, from the Yellow River and Yangtze River basins to the depths of the two major river basins. The large number of people involved in gold mining can also be illustrated with an example: Gong Yu, a minister of Emperor Han Yuan, saw that the agricultural population had been greatly reduced at that time, and put forward a series of suggestions, one of which was: "Stop officials who collect pearls, gold and silver to make money. "It can be seen that at least the government at that time set up a special organization for mining pearls, gold and silver. The number of people engaged in gold mining under this organization must be a minority, otherwise they would not be serious enough to be dismissed.
In addition, the complaints of Roman historians are also worth mentioning. They complained about the foreign trade between Rome and China during the Western Han Dynasty, believing that Rome spent huge amounts of gold to purchase silk and other commodities from China. For example, a thick fabric called "jin" with double warp and double weft can be used to make clothes and pockets. The current price in China is more than 400 to 600 copper coins, but it is the same price as gold in the Roman market, that is, one or two gold coins. One gold coin weighs about 25 weights and can be exchanged for 25 gold coins.
According to statistics from the Roman historian Pliny, during the Western Han Dynasty, at least 100 million sesterces of gold from the Roman Empire flowed into China every year. This number is astonishing. The current unit of measurement is more than 5 tons. No wonder Roman historians complained that the exchange of gold for Chinese silk was the main reason for the economic decline of the Roman Empire.
A large amount of gold brought back by silver mine middlemen
On the other hand, since China was one of the few economically and culturally developed countries in the world during the Western Han Dynasty, commodity imports were relatively small. There was almost no outflow of gold, and only a small amount of gold went to countries in the Western Regions and the South China Sea to purchase rare treasures. For example, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty often bought fine horses from Dawan and pearls and glass from overseas, and that was it.