Aksu is named after the water, which means "white water" in Uyghur, located east of Kashgar, north of the Tianshan Mountains, south of the Taklamakan Desert, east of Kucha, west of Ush, ancient Wensu State, is an important stop on the "Silk Road". According to the historical records of the Qing Dynasty, the area is "fertile and fertile, full of honey gardens, cattle, alpacas and horses, and color as a group", and enjoys the reputation of "Saiwai Jiangnan".
In 1761 (the twenty-sixth year of Qianlong), a bureau was set up in Aksu to mint money. In 1892 (the eighteenth year of Guangxu), the Aksu Money Bureau moved to Kucha. The money bureau that has been running for 76 years has been minted from Qianlong to Guangxu, and it is the money bureau with the longest minting time, the largest scale and the largest number of minted money bureaus in Xinjiang.
First, the Qianlong period began to cast
In 1759 (the twenty-fourth year of Qianlong), the Qing Dynasty established the General's Mansion in Ili to unify the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. In 1760 (the twenty-fifth year of Qianlong), a bureau was set up in The capital of the former Yeerqiang Khanate (present-day Shache County) to mint money, and for the first time, the Xinjiang red money "Qianlong Tongbao" was issued with the back of "Yeerqiang". The minting of this money served as a recollection of old government money, while facilitating and reviving trade and production in Kashgar, Ingisa, Yarkand and Hotan. In view of this, Aksu Counsellor General "Shumulu Shuhede" asked the Qianlong Emperor to set up a bureau in Aksu to mint money, and he could use the local copper resources to drum up red money for use in the four cities of Aksu, Kucha, Ush, and Karashar in southern Xinjiang. In December, the Qianlong Emperor approved the request and ordered Xi'an to be sent by 8 money minting craftsmen to Aksu to assist in the minting of money.
In 1761 (the twenty-sixth year of Qianlong), the second money bureau in Xinjiang, the Aksu money bureau, was officially minted. The coins minted by the bureau are well-minted, and the raw materials are pure red copper, ruddy in color, and Guo Shenzijun. Its front Chinese characters are "Qianlong Tongbao", the back is worn left and right by Manchu and Uighur script, and the casting place is "Aksu". The diameter of the coin is about 2.5-2.6 cm, and the thickness is about 0.15-0.2 cm. According to historical records, the weight of the coin is the same as that of Yeerqiang (about 7.4 grams), but the actual weight is between 5.5-8 grams. The ratio of the money to the money is "one for five", that is, one red coin can be exchanged for five coins. The money is divided into two categories: "sheng" zilong and "mountain" zilong.
In 1765 (the 30th year of Qianlong), the Ushevi people rebelled against the oppression of the local nobleman "Aqimu Burke" in southern Xinjiang and corrupt officials of the Qing Dynasty. After the Qing government suppressed the uprising, it moved the Kashgar Counsellor's Minister's Office to Ush along with the Prime Minister's Office, the Qian Bureau, and the garrison officers and soldiers. In the money bureau that has been minting for less than 5 years, it had to be suspended. The Ush Bureau became the third money bureau in Xinjiang.
2. Resumption of production during the Jiaqing period
In 1774 (the thirty-ninth year of Qianlong), in order to commemorate the immortal merits of unifying Xinjiang, the Qianlong Emperor issued a decree to warn the emperors that the Qianlong Tongbao, the coins minted in Xinjiang, "will always be respected and must not be recast." It can be seen from this that the Qianlong Emperor hoped that Xinjiang would always only pass on one kind of coin of Qianlong Tongbao, and even the heir emperor could not mint red money of other years. Of course, when the Qianlong Emperor was still in the human world, no one disobeyed. After his death, the Jiaqing Emperor ordered Xinjiang to "recast 20% of Qianlong Tongbao and 80% of Jiaqing Tongbao every year." In this way, not only did he retain the last wish of the former emperor, but also spread the favor of the new emperor to the frontier. Since then, the successive emperors have followed this move, which has formed a unique scene of future emperors re-casting Qianlong Tongbao in Xinjiang, and also brought difficulties to the discontinuation of Qianlong red money.
In 1799 (the fourth year of Jiaqing), the Counsellor General "Saltuk Changling" asked the Ushchan Bureau to be moved back to Aksu. The reason is that the mint resources in the Aksu region are far more abundant than ush, such as copper, charcoal, sand, and labor. Minting money in the resource-poor Ush is not only extremely costly, but also makes the craftsmen and the poor people miserable. The Jiaqing Emperor approved the report and ordered the household department to issue one Qianlong Tongbao and one Piece of Aksu Grandmother's Money on the Back of Jiaqing Tongbao. The Aksu Money Bureau, which had been minting for more than 30 years, officially resumed production in 1800 (jiaqing five years).
During the Jiaqing period, the Qianlong Tongbao minted by the Aksu Money Bureau was a mountain bottom long, and the body of the money was lighter than that of the Qianlong period, usually with a diameter of 2.5 centimeters, a thickness of about 0.1 centimeters, and a weight of about 4.4 grams. However, the four characters of Qianlong Tongbao on the front are written in a more regular way, which is in line with the Qianlong back Ush, while the back of the Weiwen Aksu appears wide and short, and the starting pen is still like the word "ren", the two circles in the middle are gathered together, and the tail is also shorter.
The size and weight of Jiaqing Tongbao are the same as those of Qianlong Tongbao. According to the difference in the upper part of the word "Jia", it can be divided into two versions: big Ji Jia and small Ji Jia. Xiao Jijia is a double-point pass, which is consistent with Qianlong, and the face writing of the word Tongbao is basically the same. The Great Jijia is a single-point pass, which has more surviving than the Small Jijia version, and no Qianlong Aksu has been found to match the face text. Therefore, it is speculated that after the reopening of the Aksu Money Bureau, Qianlong Tongbao and Jiaqing Xiaoji Jia Qian were issued in a short period of time, and then the revised version only issued Jiaqing Daji Jia. This move is still to cater to the new emperor's "solipsistic" mentality, with obvious political intentions.
Third, the casting of inflated money
In 1851 (the early years of Xianfeng), the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement broke out, and the rich provinces of Jiangnan were occupied, resulting in tight taxes, a sharp increase in military expenditure by the Qing government, and the failure to send "co-salaries" to Xinjiang on time. The central government has ordered Xinjiang to "make it difficult to survive unless it is tried to adapt." In this context, cities in Xinjiang have also followed the example of the hinterland in minting inflated money. Among them, the Aksu Money Bureau added Xianfeng Heavy Treasure and Xianfeng Yuanbao in addition to the Xianfeng Tongbao.
Xianfeng Tongbao has two kinds of "dang five" and "dang ten", and there is no small flat money. The "Dangwu" coin has a diameter of 2.42 cm, a thickness of about 0.12 cm, and a weight of about 4.2 grams, and is worn on the left and right of the Manchu and Uighur scripts, and the mint place is "Aksu". The upper and lower parts are the Chinese denomination of "Dang Wu", that is, one can be exchanged for five coins, but in fact, in southern Xinjiang, it can only be used as "one piece of money", and then devalued into "half a piece of money".
The "DangShi" coin is 2.62 cm in diameter, about 0.18 cm thick, and weighs about 6.2 grams, and the text is roughly the same as the former, except that the word "DangShi" is different when worn. Coins of this period, Vivian is wide and short, the middle two circles are compact, and the tail is curved.
The diameter of Xianfeng Zhongbao is 3.73 cm, the thickness is 0.21 cm, the weight is about 15.6 grams, the front text is as its name, the writing is more regular, the back is worn on the left and right for Manchu and Uighur script, the casting place is "Aksu", and the upper and lower is Chinese "Dang Fifty", that is, one can be exchanged for fifty coins. Xianfeng Yuanbao is 4.09 cm in diameter, about 0.28 cm thick, weighs about 23.2 grams, and the text is basically the same as that of the heavy treasure, only the back wears the Chinese word "Dangbai" differently, that is, one can be exchanged for a hundred coins.
In 1854 (the fourth year of Xianfeng), the Aksu Money Bureau cast the Xianfeng Yuanbao "Dangbai" big money with 20% copper, the 20% copper minted xianfeng heavy treasure "Dang50" big money, and the remaining 60% cast Xianfeng Tongbao money. Because such large sums of money were boycotted by the local people, not only failed to alleviate economic pressure, but also easily provoked civil unrest.
In 1859 (the ninth year of Xianfeng), the Aksu Money Bureau stopped minting large coins, and recycled most of the minted coins and re-minted "Dang ten" coins. This is also the reason why large sums of money in Xinjiang are relatively rare today.
Fourth, Tongzhi fine products are difficult to find
In 1864 (the third year of Tongzhi), uprisings broke out in many parts of Xinjiang, forming a situation of division and chaos. The neighboring state of Kokand (present-day Uzbekistan) sent "Muhammad Yahov" to escort the exiled leader of the White Mountain Sect of Islam , Busuluk ( Son of Zhang Ge ) into xinjiang in an attempt to seize power by taking advantage of the chaos. However, Muhammad Yahov was ambitious, using his military power to break the rebel armies in southern Xinjiang one by one, and then killed Busuluk to establish himself as khan, established the "Zhedshar Khanate" (meaning the country of seven cities), recognized Turkey as the suzerainty, minted its own currency, and printed the Turkish Pasha (supreme ruler) "Abdu Azezi Khan", while stopping minting and using the Qing government's red money.
Therefore, during the Tongzhi period, the Aksu Money Bureau only had two kinds of "Dang Five" and "Dang Ten", and the number was rare. The front is "Tongzhi Tongbao", the back is worn left and right by Manchu and Uighur, and the casting place is "Aksu". The "Dang Wu" coin is 2.42 cm in diameter, about 0.12 cm thick, weighs about 3.5 grams, most of them are rough in workmanship, the text is obscure, and it is difficult to find fine products.
The "Dang ten" coin has a diameter of 2.55 cm, a thickness of about 0.13 cm, and a weight of about 4.6 grams, which is more common than the "Dang Five" coin. Most of its texts are obscure, and the "human" shaped part of the pen tends to be flattened.
5. Reforge the red money of the dynasty
In 1876 (the second year of Guangxu), in order to quell the rebellion of Muhammad Yahofu, the 65-year-old governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, Zuo Zongtang, led an army to annihilate the forces of Muhammad Yahof after two years, so that Xinjiang, which had been separated for 13 years, returned to the embrace of the motherland.
After recovering Xinjiang, the Qing court quickly recovered the iron coins minted by Muhammad Yahof, recast new money, swore an oath of sovereignty, and restored the economy. In 1883 (the ninth year of Guangxu), the Aksu Money Bureau began to cast Guangxu Tongbao. The diameter of the product is 2.49 cm, the thickness is about 0.13 cm, the weight is about 3.9 grams, the back is worn left and right for Manchu, Weiwen, casting place "Aksu", up and down for the Chinese "Ashi".
The product also has a Manchu and Vivian position interchange version, The Vivian is on the left and the Manchu is on the right, which is very interesting. At this time, the "human" shape structure of the beginning of the Weiwen writing has been simplified to "one", which is the common characteristic law of Guangxu's reign, and also provides an important reference for the discontinuity of the Qianlong Tongbao re-minted by the Qian Bureau.
In addition, there is also a kind of Guangxu Tongbao back worn left and right, although it is Manchu and Uighur, and the casting place is "Aksu", but the upper and lower parts are Chinese "Kashi". This situation in which the national script does not correspond to the Chinese language is considered by scholars to be a phenomenon of "generation casting", that is, a prefecture bureau minting currency for another city. However, there are two different views on the specific objects of minting, one is that the Aksu Money Bureau minted money for Kashgar City. The second is that the Kashgar Money Bureau minted money for the city of Aksu. The jury is still out on what is right and what is right, and most scholars prefer the first view.
Sixth, recast The Qianlong Tongbao
In 1878 (the fourth year of Guangxu), Zuo Zongtang recovered Xinjiang, and the Aksu Bureau resumed production, according to the qianlong emperor's will to "always respect" Qianlong Tongbao, and first re-minted Qianlong red money. The coin has a diameter of 2.54 cm, a thickness of about 0.13 cm, and a weight of about 4.9 grams, the front text is not as loose and natural as the previous dynasty, it is more compact, and the back is worn left and right for Manchu and Uighur script, and the mint place is "Aksu". Wei Wen's pen is a horizontal, five points biased to the right, which is a typical Guangxu period Qianwen style.
Another type of "〇" shaped mark is added to the upper part of the back, which is a large, medium, and small three, which is the official minted large number of marked currency. Scholars believe that the circle symbolizes the "sun". Interestingly, the Kuche Money Bureau, which resumed production in the same period, added a "crescent moon" in the same position of the coin, which echoed it from afar, forming a special phenomenon of the sun and moon with the same glow and yin and yang. This move is not accidental, it should be deliberately designed and planned.
There is also a kind of Qianlong Tongbao Aksu that reverses 90 degrees. Academics believe that it is due to production negligence. Through a large number of observations, it was found that the Viwen was 90 degrees clockwise, and no counterclockwise 90 degrees back was found. This is consistent with the way Uyghur is read from right to left and horizontally. Therefore, QuanYou speculates that it is a deliberate reversal effect, in order to make the local ethnic minorities more convenient to use.
In 1892 (the eighteenth year of Guangxu), the Xinjiang Inspector "Tao Mo" moved the Qian Bureau and the craftsmen to Kucha together on the grounds that Aksu had "set up a furnace for several years and the wood was cut down and burned out". Since then, the Aksu Money Bureau has not reopened, ending his wonderful life. In recent years, due to the large number, variety and good quality of Aksu red money, it has been favored by Tibetan friends and has become a rising star in the spring world.