In many Qing Dynasty-themed film and television dramas, we will see the plot of the emperor rewarding concubines or ministers with golden melon seeds.
The reason why people inside and outside the play look very excited is because people have always had a natural love for yellow and white things.
As the so-called "prosperous antiques, troubled gold", gold, a precious metal, since it was discovered, has a very high status and value in people's hearts, and to this day, gold still has an unshakable position in the modern economy.
Since more than 12,000 years ago, after gold was discovered by mankind, people have ignited a unique love for this dazzling metal, and since then, gold has been closely combined with the history of human development, and to some extent, a human history is also the history of gold.
It is not known when humans began to use gold as a medium of exchange, but in the written text, gold has always been the most valuable hard currency in all forms of trading.
No matter what civilization or what age it is, gold, a special metal, is the best choice for commercial trade, and this universal nature of the whole space and region has created a unique status of gold.
Therefore, people in ancient times and even in modern times will have a love for gold in their bones, which is actually the inevitable result of the important position played by gold in the history of human development.
At the same time, another major characteristic of gold is its scarcity.
According to relevant records, before the nineteenth century, in thousands of years of history, human society produced less than 10,000 tons of gold, note that it was the entire human society, including all the countries and regimes in the world at that time.
If that's not a concept, then look at this set of data.
In the 100 years of the 18th century, human society produced a total of 200 tons of gold, that is, after the 19th century, with the discovery of a series of gold resources, gold production gradually increased, only in the second half of the 19th century and half of the 50 years, the total amount of gold production reached the sum of 5,000 years.
Hard currency, coupled with scarcity, has created the supremacy of gold in ancient times, coupled with the love of human beings for gold engraved in their bones for thousands of years, therefore, after obtaining gold, excitement is inevitable.
Therefore, it is not difficult to understand when we see that in the Qing Palace TV series, those concubines or ministers, after being rewarded with golden melon seeds, kowtow again and again to thank them.
Of course, if it is simply because of the preciousness of gold, it will not make these rewarded people so excited, and the other meaning of golden melon seeds is the main reason.
Golden melon seeds, in fact, are broken gold nuggets, but it is very different from ordinary broken gold nuggets, it is a kind of broken gold nuggets made of gold in the shape of melon seeds, that is, it has practicality at the same time, but also ornamental.
Influenced by the Qing Palace-themed film and television dramas, many people think that golden melon seeds are only available in the Qing Dynasty, but in fact, in the Spring and Autumn Period, there were golden melon seeds.
In the "Chronicles of the Kingdoms of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty", such a story is recorded, Wu Zixu, a doctor of the Wu Kingdom, was once chased and killed by the King of Chuping, and in a panic, he fled to the edge of Seshui (located in present-day Liyang, Changzhou).
This beautiful Huansha girl brought Wu Zixu home, not only let him eat a full meal, but also carefully treated his wounds, which made Wu Zixu very moved.
In order to avoid affecting this girl, Wu Zixu had to continue to run overnight, and before leaving, Wu Zixu repeatedly told the girl not to reveal her whereabouts.
And this girl, in order to keep her promise and reassure Wu Zixu, chose to commit suicide by throwing herself into the river.
After a few years, Wu Zixu became famous, and he wanted to find this girl to express his gratitude, but after he came to Seshui, he learned that this girl had made a righteous move in order to keep the secret, which made Wu Zixu moved and ashamed.
In the end, Wu Zixu poured three buckets and three liters of golden melon seeds into Seshui to show memorial, this Huansha girl, called "loyal girl" by later generations, the great poet Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty when he swam to Seshui, but also specially wrote an inscription for this.
"Cast the golden selan, repay virtue and call it beautiful, it is clear that it is like the moon and water. --- Li Bai "Liyang Seshui Virgin Inscription"
Of course, the authenticity of this story remains to be verified, but it is enough to prove that the golden melon seeds are not unique to the Qing Dynasty.
However, unlike the golden melon seeds of the Qing Dynasty, the early golden melon seeds, due to the limitations of smelting technology, were mostly irregular shapes, and this irregular broken gold was called "golden gold".
In addition to the irregular shape, most of these "gold bills" will be engraved with auspicious words on them, such as "champion and first", etc., which is more ornamental than its practical value.
Therefore, the ancients also rarely used the "gold bill" as a trading item, but as a kind of mutual gift between the elders and the younger generations, the same generation and the same generation, the golden "gold bill" is not only of high value, and the shape is unique, and it is loved by many people in ancient times
After the smelting and forging technology gradually improved, the "golden bills" with different shapes slowly evolved into regular strips, similar to the golden melon seeds we see in film and television dramas, but the same as the "golden bills", the golden melon seeds are not exactly the same, and the size, weight and weight are not uniform.
However, this does not affect its unique status and role, because in the early Ming Dynasty, the imperial court began to control gold and silver, requiring the people not to circulate gold in large quantities, therefore, gold is becoming more and more rare in the market, most of them are hidden in the palace or treasury.
In the Qing Dynasty, although the gold and silver control policy was relaxed, the imperial court still attached great importance to gold, and tried every means to collect gold from the people.
The emperor's golden melon seeds are definitely not used to buy things, but to reward the harem and princes and ministers, and the person who receives the reward must be recognized and affirmed by the emperor because of something, which is a very high honor in feudal society, therefore, the golden melon seeds have a special significance.
The golden melon seeds of the Qing Dynasty generally weigh between 20-30 grams, and according to today's gold price, a golden melon seed is worth more than 10,000 yuan.
This is a lot of income, you know, the concubines of the Qing Dynasty only have a monthly price of 100 taels of silver, and a golden melon seed is worth more than a month's income, how can they not be excited?
In addition to the monetary value, the golden melon seeds represent the emperor's grace and glory, and for the rewarded, this honor cannot be exchanged for money, so it is extremely cherished.
However, unlike film and television dramas, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty would not reward him with a handful of golden melon seeds, although this thing was not lacking in the emperor, but it would not be rewarded as a unit of measurement.
Like Zhang Tingyu, a famous minister of the Yongzheng Dynasty, he has made such a great contribution that he has saved about one jar of golden melon seeds in his life, and every time the emperor rewards him, it is also calculated by grain, and there will be no phenomenon of becoming a handful at all.
It's not that the emperor is stingy, but the emperor also knows the truth that things are rare, if you scatter a lot of them, this thing is not rare, and it can't reflect the meaning of golden melon seeds.
However, among the rulers of the Qing Dynasty, there were still "generous" people, and the Empress Dowager Cixi once threw a lot of golden melon seeds on the stage when she was in a happy mood when she was watching a play.
No matter how you get it, anyone who has golden melon seeds is proud of it, and few people will take out the golden melon seeds for money, but carefully take them back and respectfully worship them, after all, this is a royal gift, and no one will take this out and spend it casually.
Therefore, the status and value of the golden melon seeds, so gradually higher and higher, itself gold is a valuable item, plus it is the emperor's reward, the meaning is more noble, therefore, in the Qing Dynasty, whether it is the harem concubines, or the princes and ministers, are proud to have the golden melon seeds.
The emperor is also happy to see this kind of result, a small golden melon seed, in his opinion, is nothing, but can play a great role, whether it is to win people's hearts, buy ministers, or show the emperor's grace, in short, golden melon seeds can achieve many other items can not achieve the purpose.
It is more appropriate to say that the person who receives the reward attaches importance to the golden melon seeds, but that receiving the golden melon seeds is equivalent to receiving the emperor's approval.
As the saying goes, if you have food in your hands, you don't panic, and if you have golden melon seeds in your hands, you don't panic either, and others have to respect you for three points, this special role is especially obvious in the harem of the Qing Dynasty.
In the TV series "The Legend of Zhen Huan", Shen Meizhuang received the golden melon seeds rewarded by Emperor Yongzheng, and as soon as Shen Meizhuang changed hands, he grabbed Su Peisheng, which made Su Peisheng suddenly smile, and even said a few words "dare not be".
Is Su Peisheng short of money? Obviously, he is not short of money, but why does he still smile at the golden melon seeds? This is the special role of the golden melon seeds.
As mentioned above, golden melon seeds can only be rewarded by the emperor, and there is no second channel, therefore, golden melon seeds are equivalent to the emperor, and its value is closely related to the emperor.
Although Su Peisheng's golden melon seeds are not directly rewarded by the emperor, they are also of great significance, with golden melon seeds, his position is more stable, which is why he is happy.
Therefore, after that, Su Peisheng will help Shen Meizhuang again and again at any cost, although there is a certain exaggeration in the TV series, it is similar to this situation in history.
In the final analysis, it is not how valuable the gourd seeds themselves are, but because the gourd seeds come from the emperor's reward, so that this already valuable item has more special significance, it symbolizes the emperor's grace, symbolizes recognition, symbolizes status and merit, therefore, it will make many people rush to it, and they are very excited after getting it.