Gold, or gold, due to its unique chemical stability and beautiful luster, is one of the earliest metals recognized and used by people, and has been regarded as a sacred and noble item in the world since ancient times. As far as the existing archaeological excavations are concerned, the earliest ancient gold artifacts on the mainland were found in the late Neolithic and Xia Dynasties, mainly human ornaments. For example, gold earrings and nose drinks have been excavated from the cemetery of the Yumen Huohuogou site in Gansu Province (carbon 14 years ago 3700 years ago), and gold earrings have been excavated from the lower cultural tomb of Dadian Zixiajiadian in Ao Han Banner, Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia (carbon 14 years ago 4300 to 3600 years ago). There are more and more gold archaeological relics in the Shang Dynasty, but most of them are also ornaments or sacrificial supplies. The famous Anyang Yin Ruins site in Henan province has unearthed more gold products, such as in the chema pit of a commercial tomb in Anyang Dasikong Village, there are 3 pieces of overlapping circular gold ornaments found in the middle of the public opinion; gold leaf is found in the Yin Dynasty car and horse pit in Anyang MeiyuanZhuang. Sichuan Guanghan Sanxingdui and Chengdu Jinsha sites not only unearthed a large number of gold artifacts, but also unique shapes, especially the gold staff, gold masks, golden tiger-shaped ornaments excavated from the Sanxingdui No. 1 sacrifice pit and the golden staffs, golden masks, gold masks, gold belts, sun god bird gold ornaments excavated from the Chengdu Jinsha site are likely to be sacrificial supplies. By the Western Zhou Dynasty, the use of gold increased, but it was still mainly jewelry or sacrificial utensils used by the nobility. Among the official excavations of the Western Zhou tombs, 12 pieces of gold belt ornaments were excavated from the Sanmenxia Yuguo Tomb in Henan, the early tombs of the Western Zhou Dynasty in Xiaoshan East, Qian'an County, Hebei Province, had gold earrings and golden arms, and tomb M27 of the Ruiguo Cemetery in Liangdai Village, Hancheng, Shaanxi Province, unearthed 48 pieces of gold artifacts at one time. Looking at the archaeological excavations, in the prehistoric era of the mainland, the Shang Dynasty and the Western Zhou Dynasty, gold was only used as an ornament for nobles or as a sacrificial item for tribes. In other words, aristocratic ornaments and sacrificial vessels were used for early gold.
The Chujin edition of China's earliest gold currency
The earliest use of gold as currency in ancient times on the mainland was the State of Chu in the Warring States period, and the current exact measures are Yin, Chen, Liao,, Lujin, Zi, and Lingling, in addition to the seven kinds of Chuqiu and Chinese character gold plates that have yet to be examined. When the Chu state began to use gold currency, each family has different views: Mr. Wang Guowei deduced that "after Shouchun", that is, after the Chu state dingdu Shouchun, that is, the late Warring States period; Mr. Kato Shigeru believes that "it is about fifty or sixty years after the end of the Warring States period"; Mr. Wang Yuquan believes that it should be earlier than this time, "as for when it is early, it is still uncertain"; Mr. Peng Xinwei believes that the casting of gold cakes "seems to have been cast after the capital was moved during the Warring States period"; Mr. Zhu Huo believes that "it may not be later than the late Spring and Autumn Period". Mr. Huang Xiquan believes that "it may be mainly cast after the middle of the Warring States period, or after the Chu capital Chen".
Based on years of research, we agree with Wang Guowei and Kato Shigeru that the Chujin version was cast at the end of the Warring States period, specifically, when it was cast after the Chu capital Shouchun, and the reasons for this article are not discussed for the time being.
In addition, the reason why the Chu jin version appeared in large numbers in the late Warring States period is that some researchers believe that "the gold coin is not a product of the economic development of the Chu state, but a product of the economic crisis", which is reasonable. After the Qin dynasty destroyed the capital of Ying, the State of Chu not only lost a large amount of territory, but also suffered a huge blow to handicrafts, and a large number of craftsmen were plundered by the State of Qin, resulting in great damage to the economy of the State of Chu. At the same time, because the Qin state also occupied a large area such as Dongting Lake in Jiangnan, many trade routes in the Chu state were interrupted. In order to maintain the national economy and raise funds, it is entirely possible for the Chu State to mint a large number of Chu Jin editions in a short period of time to develop internal and external trade to enhance its strength, so the Chu Jin edition will appear in large quantities in a short period of time at the end of the Warring States period.
In addition to the casting time, the manufacturing process of the Chujin version has also been quite concerned by the academic community. Although some scholars proposed in the 1950s and 1960s that the production of Chujin plates may require three steps: casting plates with molten gold, printing chisels, and cutting into single scales, no scholar has given a reasonable explanation for the reasons for the appearance of features such as cloth patterns (fabric patterns) on the back of The Chujin plates. In recent years, some people in the numismatic community believe that after the Chujin plate was cast, it left cloth marks due to the fabric on the back of the stamp when printing. Through years of observation of the physical object, we have found that most of the Chujin plates have clearly visible cloth patterns on the back, and these cloth patterns should be reproduced from the pottery fan, which is a typical tao fan method process.
People who have done fan casting process simulation experimental research will have such an experience, the more flat the prime mold, the more difficult it is to release the mold when turning the model, because the suction is large, and the surface with the pattern decoration is easier to release the mold, and the more the pattern is full, the better the mold release. The appearance of the cloth pattern on the back of the Chujin version is precisely because the pottery fan that cast it is convenient for demolding, and the measures of using cloth and other pads are taken when turning the model, which eventually leads to the cloth pattern being reproduced on the back of the Chujin version.
The Western Han Dynasty used horse and toe gold as sacrifices rather than currency
During the Western Han Dynasty, people used gold to mint gold cakes, horseshoe gold, and lin toe gold, but because the historical materials at that time did not clearly record their shape and function, there were many controversies among later scholars. In recent years, with the excavation of the Western Han Dynasty gold cake and the tombs of Ma Jianjin and Lin toe gold in Nanchang, such as the tomb of Marquis Haixia and the tomb of The King of Zhongshan in Dingxian County, their shape and function have been basically clarified.
The golden cake of the Western Han Dynasty is commonly known as persimmon gold, and its appearance is earlier than the horse and toe gold, and it is also called "cake gold" in ancient texts. The weight of the Western Han Dynasty gold cake is mainly one pound, and because of its huge value, its function must also be different from the five baht money of daily transactions. Among the gold cakes unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Haidian, four of them have ink books left on them, "He Yuankang, the Marquis of The Marquis of The Marquis of the South China Sea, has a gold medallion for three years", which indicates that this batch of gold cakes was the gold used by The Marquis of Haixia to hand over. Gold is the western Han Dynasty emperor with the Tianzi sacrifice of the temple donated gold, it originated from the ancient temple sacrifice, the princes, the princes and princes according to the number of people in the feudal jurisdiction to hand over the gold for the Tianzi sacrifice, if the quantity and quality of the gold surrendered does not meet the prescribed requirements, will be stripped of the land. In the Western Han Dynasty, many dukes were stripped of their titles and exempted from the state because of the problem of gold. Due to the importance of gold to the Western Han Dynasty court, especially the princes, the princes everywhere must reserve a considerable amount of gold, and this gold will be cast into the form of gold cakes for the use of imperial court sacrifices, which is the reason for the existence of a large number of golden cakes in the Western Han Dynasty, and it is also the main function of gold cakes. Moreover, from the actual excavation of gold cakes, most of the surfaces can be seen with various types of stamps and stamps, which just show that the gold cakes need to be marked and color tested in actual use, which is in line with the central government's requirements for gold.
The Western Han Dynasty's Horse AndeIngJin first appeared in the literature during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, but the records only explain the time and reason for the appearance of the Lin-toed Jin, but do not clarify their form, which is disputed by later scholars. It was not until 2015, when the tomb of Marquis Haixia was excavated in batches of horse trekking gold and lin toe gold, and then corroborated with the gold excavated from the tomb of Liu Xiu, the king of Zhongshan Huai, that the shape of the horse and the lin toe gold was clarified: the horse's foot gold was divided into two sizes, both horseshoe-shaped, oval bottom, hollow, and the outside of the cavity was a polished and smooth gold mirror form, and there was a circle of gold filigree ornamental belt along the outside of the cavity mouth, and the mouth was inlaid with jade pieces (or glazed pieces); the lin toe gold and the horse trampling gold had similarities, and there was also a circle of gold filigree ornamental belts along the outside of the cavity mouth. The mouth is inlaid with jade (or glass flakes), but its base is narrower and narrower, the cross-section is pointed and rounded, and its upper posterior end has a small toe.
Due to the complex production process and exquisite shape of horse and toe gold, it is obvious that it should not be a gold coinage for circulation, but for special purposes. Before the appearance of ma jian jin and lin toe gold, the western Han emperor used a large amount of gold for the zongmiao sacrifice, and after emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty obtained bailin, he also sacrificed bailin to the zongmiao. Therefore, we believe that the horse and toe gold made of gold representing Xiangrui should also be related to the temple sacrifice activities of the emperor and the princes, and their basic function should be sacrifice rather than currency. During the Western Han Dynasty, the sacrifice of the Zongmiao Temple was an important political activity, and the princes not only had to participate in the emperor's sacrifice activities in the Capital Division, but also set up the Zongzong Temple of the County. The establishment of the JunguoZong Temple began when Emperor Han Gao ordered the princes to "establish the Taishang Emperor Temple in the capital of the country" in the tenth year, and the subsequent Hui Emperor "ordered the princes of the county to set up a high temple". After the establishment of the Junguo Zongmiao Temple, the princes of the various princes inevitably needed to sacrifice the Zongmiao Temple, so it was completely reasonable for Emperor Wu of Han to give the ma jian jin and the lin toe gold to the princes, and the princes used it for the sacrifice of the junguo zongmiao temple. In fact, the princes paid a lot of gold when they participated in the emperor's sacrifice, but at the same time they could get the emperor's feedback for the horse and toe gold used for the sacrifice of the JunguoZong Temple, and this interaction between the emperor and the princes not only met the emperor's need to collect wealth, but also strengthened each other's clan identity.
In addition, judging from the excavated horseshoe gold and lin toe gold objects, it is also very much in line with the characteristics of sacrificial supplies. First of all, the horse and toe gold are made of two kinds of materials, gold and jade, which are themselves valuables used for sacrifice in ancient China, and in the Western Han Dynasty, the combination of the two materials was made into an artifact, which could not be used as a currency for circulation, but it was very suitable as a sacrificial article. Secondly, the excavated horse and toe gold will generally be cast with "upper", "middle", "lower" Yang inscriptions in the center, which we think may represent that the emperor was in groups when he conferred them on the princes, and the text on them represents the position or combination placed during the sacrifice of the temple, rather than the code names of different workshops proposed by scholars. Ancient coins do have many of themselves marked with origin or workshop codes, the main reason is that the coin production is huge, it is not easy to trace the producer; but the horse gold, lin toe gold can only be produced by the royal family for issuance, its producer is clear, coupled with the production process is complex, the output is scarce, its production and reward will inevitably have a detailed record, there is no need to mark the workshop on the artifact itself. However, it is reasonable to think of these inscriptions as the location or combination of the temples when they are placed during the sacrifices. When the princes performed the temple sacrifice, if they needed to choose different combinations and placements according to the identity of the sacrificed person, it was necessary to cast inscriptions on the horse and toe gold to show the difference, which was also in line with the characteristics of traditional sacrifice in ancient China.
(The author is Zhou Weirong, Director, Researcher, Doctoral Supervisor of China Numismatic Museum, Secretary General of Chinese Numismatic Society, Chairman of Academic Committee of Chinese Numismatic Society)
Lin toe Gold (Tomb of the Marquis of Haixia)
Chu jin version (front)
Gold cakes