Item number: A920

Year: AD 1102-1106

Material: Bronze

Size: 34.8 x 34.7 x 2.2 mm

Weight: 13.3 g

Provenance:

1. Noonans 2022

2. D.L.F. Sealy Collection

This is the “Chongning Chungbao” coin minted during the reign of Emperor Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty, using his second era name. Emperor Huizong ruled for 25 years and employed a total of six era names during his reign.

The term “Chongning,” meaning “to honour the way of Xining,” reflects Emperor Huizong’s intention to emulate his father, Emperor Shenzong, who had adopted the New Policy reforms led by Wang Anshi during the Xining era.

The coin follows the typical square-holed design. The obverse features the inscription “Chongning Chungbao” in clerical script, engraved in the order of top, bottom, right, and left. It is said that the characters were penned by the powerful minister Cai Jing, known for their neatness and robust strength. The reverse side is plain, without any inscription or design. At the time, one “Chongning Chungbao” coin was equivalent to ten One-Cash coins.

Cai Jing, a student of the New Policy advocate Wang Anshi, managed to gain approval from both the New and Old Factions during the politically turbulent Northern Song Dynasty, leading to his appointment as chancellor on four separate occasions.

After assuming the position in the first year of the Chongning era, Cai Jing, inspired by the I Ching, advocated for the court to take the lead in increasing consumption and inflation, believing that this would stimulate economic production and reduce the issue of displaced people. His thinking foreshadowed ideas later articulated by the renowned Western economist John Maynard Keynes nearly a millennium later.

However, Cai Jing’s lack of adequate regulations and support measures led to the suppression of political opponents and widespread social unrest. Ultimately, Cai Jing was exiled and died in transit, earning infamy among the public as one of the “Six Villains.”

Emperor Huizong of Song, whose personal name was Zhao Ji. He had a profound interest in tea culture and calligraphy, and authored a book titled “Treatise on Tea in the Daguan Era,” which describes the tea art of the Song Dynasty, including tea appreciation and tea competitions. This book is the only tea monograph written by a reigning emperor in history.

Despite Emperor Huizong’s exceptional artistic accomplishments, his reign was marked by flawed diplomatic policies. These missteps ultimately facilitated the rise of the emerging Jin Dynasty. Following the Jin’s conquest of the Liao Dynasty, they breached the northern Song capital in AD 1127, capturing Emperor Huizong, then acting as a retired emperor, along with his recently enthroned successor, Emperor Qinzong, and other members of the imperial family. This event, known as the Jingkang Incident, compelled the Song court to flee southward, marking a dark chapter in Chinese history.

During the Song Dynasty, in addition to bronze coins, one notable feature was the widespread circulation of iron coins, a phenomenon rarely seen in other dynasties. This practise arose primarily for two reasons: first, the domestic shortage of copper resources; and second, the need to prevent copper coins from flowing into the hands of northern rival states, such as the Western Xia, Liao, and Jin. As a result, the Song court initially began minting iron coins, and later introduced early forms of paper money, such as Jiaozi and Huizi, as alternative currency.

物件編號: A920

年代: 公元 1102-1106 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 34.8 x 34.7 x 2.2 mm

重量: 13.3 g

來源:

1. 諾南斯 2022

2. 大衛.萊斯利.福布斯.西利舊藏

這是北宋第八任皇帝徽宗，以其使用的第二個年號鑄造的「崇寧重寶」。宋徽宗在位25年，先後使用六個年號。

「崇寧」意指「追崇熙寧之道」，表達徽宗意圖仿效父親神宗於熙寧年間採納王安石為首的新黨改革。

錢幣形制為典型的方孔錢。錢幣正面按上、下、右、左順序，以隸書書法鐫刻「崇寧重寶」四字，據傳出自權臣蔡京之手，字體工整和渾厚有力。錢幣背面為光背，沒有任何文字或圖案。按照當時的兌換，一枚崇寧重寶得以兌換十枚小平錢。

蔡京為新黨王安石的學生，但在黨爭紛擾的北宋朝廷中，他又得到新舊兩黨的認可，故先後四度出任宰相一職。蔡京於崇寧元年出任宰相後，以《易經》為靈感提倡朝廷帶頭消費和通貨膨脹，方能鼓勵民間經濟生產減少流民問題，其思想和西方千年後的著名經濟學家凱因斯不謀而合。然而蔡京缺乏妥善的配套措施和規範，成為打擊異己和造成民間動盪的惡果。最終蔡京被貶死於路途，並且在民間留下「六賊」之一的惡名。

宋徽宗，本名趙佶，對茶學、書法頗有研究，他曾寫下一本《大觀茶論》，描述宋代人觀茶、品茶，甚至「鬥茶」等茶藝術。《大觀茶論》除了描述宋代飲茶的現象外，更是世上唯一一位由帝王撰寫的茶葉專著。

即便徽宗擁有高超的藝術造詣，身為皇帝卻因錯誤的外交政策，導致新興崛起的金國在消滅遼國後，於公元1127年攻破北宋首都，擄去時任太上皇的徽宗和繼位不久的欽宗等皇室貴冑，使得宋室被迫南渡史稱「靖康之禍」。

兩宋時期的錢幣以青銅為材料外，其特色尚有大規模的鐵幣流通，為其他朝代少見的現象。之所以如此，一來是國內的銅礦資源缺乏；二來是防止銅錢流入競爭對手，諸如西夏、遼和金等北方政權，使得兩宋朝廷先是鑄造鐵錢，後來更出現紙幣雛形的「交子、會子」作為貨幣。