Paper money in China

Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2004 14:54:49 -0800 (GMT-08:00) From:
rainesco@earthlink.net

[[This is a fascinating overview, and much of the information has
relevance to other periods, particularly the Manchurian Qing.]]

Kublai Khan
http://www.carmensandiego.com/products/time/marcoc06/kublaikhan.html

[....]

"Kublai is celebrated, mainly because of Marco Polo's account, for his
use of paper money. Paper money had, however, been in use in China under
the Sung, and Kublai's innovation was merely to make it the sole medium
of exchange. Toward the end of the dynasty, an incapable financial
administration stimulated inflation by the overissue of paper money, but
in Kublai's time the use of banknotes was essential." ===

[[I read somewhere last year that the inflationary pressure had a lot to
do with all the folks around Kublai pushing for more wars -- against
Japan, IIRC.]] ===

[[The section on China here is brief, with some good bits.]]

http://www.jmu.edu/history/lembright/gupta.htm

Pattern of Chinese history after HAN.

Corruption of government led to overthrow by a general or peasants. Good
government for 150 years or so then corruption would take over. A new
leader would emerge to overthrow old regime. ==

About silver coinage--

Chinese Silver Sycee http://www.charm.ru/library/syceelist.htm

 Paper Money in China

Date: Sat, 17 Jan 2004 10:36:34 +0800 From: "Max" <Max@mailstar.net>

There is not evidence that Chinese have first invented paper money but
they did invent promissory notes and paper itself. Printing was invented
much later.

The old Chinese religious habit to burn 'paper money' when people die is
meant to burn 'promissory notes' if any at all would have been issued,
and even in modern societies will only 'death void debt'.

All great empires who had gold based currencies expanded faster than
their reserves could support. Gold was a resource and like all resources
considered finite till modern days. The idea of an enlarged empire was
to acquire more resources. The example of the Romans showed that they
had to soon dilute their money with the creation of bronze coins as
their gold and silver coinage was spread and lost over the large
expanded empire. The US have a printing press and overlooked the simple
rule that printing of new paper tokens is limited to their own GDP and
not to the worlds. The problem of a metal-based currency are subject to
the same economical laws. ...

 Chinese paper money

Date: Sat, 17 Jan 2004 23:05:24 +0800 From: "Max" <Max@mailstar.net>

> But the Chinese were the inventors of paper money, 1000 years or so
ago; and
> I don't think it was gold-backed.

Found a link that confirms us both;) You with the Chinese money, me with
'metal backed promissory notes'

http://www.askasia.org/frclasrm/lessplan/l000019.htm

it says:

4. Paper Money: China, Ninth Century AD. Its original name was 'flying
money' because it was so light it could blow out of one's hand. As
'exchange certificates' used by merchants, paper money was quickly
adopted by the government for forwarding tax payments. Real paper money,
used as a medium of exchange and backed by deposited cash (a Chinese
term for metal coins), apparently came into use in the tenth century.
The first Western money was issued in Sweden in 1661. America followed
in 1690, France in 1720, England in 1797, and Germany not until 1806.

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