Item number: A2880

Year: AD 220-589

Material: Bronze

Size: 28.8 x 21.8 x 1.6 mm

Weight: 3.3 g

Provenance: Fuchin Coin 2020

This is a coin without inscription and featuring branching extensions, likely a form of burial money (mingqian), and possibly a component of a funerary artefact known as a “money tree”.

The coin conforms to the traditional design of the Han cultural sphere: a round coin with a square central hole. Both obverse and reverse sides appear to exhibit outer rims and inner borders, resembling the style of coins from the Six Dynasties period. The coin bears vine-like branches similar to casting sprues, though due to the angular bends at their tips, it is unlikely they functioned as actual sprue remnants. Since the Qin dynasty, archaeological evidence from tombs indicates that smaller, inscription-less coins were frequently cast specifically for burial, rather than circulation. It is therefore plausible that this coin represents such a post-Han example of burial money.

In numismatics, the term “money tree” refers to two distinct concepts. The first pertains to a by-product of the coin-casting process. In traditional coin production, molten bronze is poured into moulds and allowed to cool. Upon opening the moulds, the resulting structure includes the coins still attached to the sprues — the solidified metal channels through which the bronze was poured. This entire structure, before the coins are cut from the sprues, resembles a tree, with a main trunk feeding into many smaller branches, each terminating in a coin. Hence, it has been termed a “money tree”. The “direct-flow branch casting” and “central-flow branching casting” methods used from the Han period onwards rarely feature curved casting channels, as such curves would impede the flow of molten bronze and risk producing coins of inconsistent thickness.

The second type of “money tree” refers to deliberately crafted tree-shaped artefacts, produced either as funerary goods or ornamental objects for domestic display. These items, while not documented in ancient texts, may be traced back to earlier “sacred tree” traditions and are deeply rooted in ancient religious beliefs surrounding “tree worship”. Tree worship was a widespread form of natural veneration in early human societies, wherein trees were believed to possess divine power or serve as the dwellings of deities, acting as intermediaries between heaven and earth. This belief is attested across cultures and time periods. The “Strategies of the Warring States” records: “Lush trees are favoured by spirits; thus, ancient altars and shrines were often built beside trees.” In “The Golden Bough”, the Miao people of southwest China are described as revering sacred groves: “Near their villages there are often patches of forest which no one dares disturb. Even fallen twigs are not moved until a sacrificial ritual is held and permission is granted by the tree spirit.”

This form of belief was particularly prominent in the southwest region of China. Mythical trees such as Fusang, Ruomu, and Jianmu, all of which connect the terrestrial and celestial realms, exemplify the concept of the “cosmic tree” or “heavenly ladder”. The bronze sacred trees excavated from the Sanxingdui site, dating to the Shang dynasty, are among the earliest and most elaborate archaeological manifestations of tree worship. Their towering trunks, coiled dragons, nine perching birds, and sacred fruits reflect veneration of the divine, the sun, and the cycles of life. These features formed the aesthetic and symbolic prototype for the later development of money trees, encapsulating ancient views on nature, the cosmos, and reincarnation.

A passage in the “Biography of Bing Yuan” records that in the late Eastern Han dynasty, after being summoned by Cao Cao, Bing Yuan once found a lost coin and tied it to a tree branch. Others followed suit, and soon many coins adorned the tree. When asked, locals referred to it as a “divine tree”. Displeased that his actions had led to idolatry, Bing Yuan explained the situation and persuaded the villagers to collect the coins as offerings for the communal altar. This anecdote indicates that the practise of tying coins to trees and offering them in veneration was already widespread.

In the southwest during the Han and Wei periods, particularly in the legacy region of ancient Shu, the custom of interring money trees with the dead became prevalent. These artefacts typically feature a mountain-shaped base made of pottery or stone, a cast bronze trunk with branching limbs, and decorative elements including coin-shaped leaves, deities, beasts, and Buddhist or Daoist iconography. The fusion of “tree” and “money” manifests a complex cultural vision of ascension to immortality, inexhaustible wealth, and blessings for the afterlife. From the Eastern Han onwards, as Daoist, shamanistic, and Buddhist beliefs merged, money trees came to symbolise not only cosmic ladders and sacred trees, but also altars and tutelary deities. According to archaeological records, the use of money trees in burials declined by the Six Dynasties period. However, examples with significant formal variation but retaining the core concept occasionally appear in Song dynasty tombs.

From the Tang dynasty onward, the concept of the “money tree” gradually shifted in popular consciousness to become a metaphor for material prosperity, akin to the “treasure basin”. Tang poets used the term “money tree seedling” to satirise the economic exploitation between courtesans and their madams. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, amid the flourishing of a commodity economy, the money tree had largely shed its funerary connotations and emerged as a folk symbol of wealth and good fortune in this life. New Year prints and screens featured depictions of money trees with auspicious inscriptions such as “May your halls be filled with gold and jade” or “Longevity and wealth”. In some households, money trees were physically constructed as decorative objects. Fu Cha Dunchong, in his “Record of Seasonal Customs in Beijing” (published in AD 1906), notes a custom among Beijing residents: “Large pine or cypress branches are placed in vases and adorned with ancient coins, silver ingots, and pomegranate blossoms. This is called a ‘money tree’.” This practise bears a striking resemblance to the Western custom of decorating Christmas trees.

物件編號: A2880

年代: 公元 220-589 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 28.8 x 21.8 x 1.6 mm

重量: 3.3 g

來源: 福君錢幣 2020

這是一枚帶有枝蔓的無文錢，或為瘞錢(冥錢)，可能為隨葬明器搖錢樹的一部分。

錢幣為漢文化圈傳統之方孔圓錢。正背面皆似有外輪及內廓，形制較接近六朝錢。帶有類似鑄柄之枝蔓，因其末段有折角，故為鑄柄的可能性較低。而自秦以降，從出土墓葬觀察，隨葬時常另鑄較當時行用錢略小的無文錢以殉，故此錢可能為兩漢以降之瘞錢。

錢幣學中，常稱「錢樹」者有二，一為錢幣鑄造過程中之副產物。合範澆鑄銅液後，待其冷卻而開範，此時錢幣連同鑄道中間凝固的流銅，或稱鑄柄，一起成整體自鑄範中取出，而還未分別剪下錢幣時，因其形狀為一主澆道連結著眾多分支澆道，再連結錢幣，外觀似樹，因此以「錢樹」名之。漢以降通行許久之「直流分鑄法」與「中流散鑄法」，其鑄範鑄支道彎曲的情況皆相當罕見，因為技術上會阻礙銅液流通，可能使得最後成品錢幣厚薄不均。二為專門鑄造出來的樹型工藝品，作為供隨葬的明器，或供家宅賞玩的擺飾，稱為「錢樹」或「搖錢樹」。

錢樹明器不見於古籍記載，但或許可追溯至更早的「神樹」信仰，並深植於古代「樹崇拜」的宗教觀念中。「樹崇拜」是人類早期普遍存在的自然信仰之一，無論古今中外，早期人類常認為樹木具有神靈的力量或作為神祇的居所，能連通天地、溝通人神。《戰國策》中便提到：「蓋木之茂者，神所憑，故古人之社稷，恆依樹木」。《金枝》中亦載有中國西南部的苗族風俗：「村子附近有時會有一片聖林，沒人敢動那裡的樹木。即使枯萎的枝條掉了一地，在舉行過祭祀儀式並得到樹神的允准之前，人們都不會挪動那些枝條。」在西南地區，此類信仰表現尤為顯著。傳說中的扶桑、若木、建木皆為能通天達地的神樹原型，構成「宇宙樹」或「天梯」的觀念核心。三星堆遺址出土的商代青銅神樹，是迄今所知最早、體量最大、裝飾最繁的樹崇拜實物，其通天的高大主幹、盤繞的巨龍、九枝立鳥與仙果等元素，不僅反映對神靈、太陽與生命的崇拜，也構成後來錢樹造型的基礎母型，體現古人對自然、宇宙與生命輪迴的理解。

《邴原别傳》有載，東漢末年，被曹操所徵辟的邴原，「…嘗行而得遺錢，拾以繫樹枝，此錢既不見取，而繫錢者愈多。問其故，答者謂之神樹。原惡其由己而成淫祀，乃辨之，於是里中遂斂其錢以為社供。」可見當時以錢繫樹、以錢祀樹的情況已相當普遍。而在漢魏時期西南地區，或承古蜀地風俗，以「錢樹」陪葬的習俗盛行。錢樹的造型以陶或石製山形基座為根基，銅鑄主幹為體，枝葉繁複，錢葉生發，加以神獸仙佛等裝飾，將「樹」與「錢」結合為一，綜合呈現祝願羽化升仙、財富無竭與祈福來生的複雜文化想像。東漢以降，道教、巫覡與佛教信仰交融，錢樹更具備天梯、宇宙樹、祭壇與社神象徵等多重意涵。從當代出土紀錄來看，至六朝時期，錢樹的隨葬情況逐漸減少，但宋墓考古時，仍偶然能發掘形制甚異，但仍以「錢樹」為核心概念之明器。

而自唐以來，搖錢樹於民俗觀念中，逐漸成為一種如同聚寶盆一樣，象徵性的財富之源。唐人便以「錢樹子」，借喻妓女與鴇母之間的經濟掠奪關係。明清時期，或許是因為商品經濟發達，搖錢樹這一概念一改漢魏時期作為死後寄託的象徵，反而成為追求現世美好生活的想像。以繪有搖錢樹的年畫、屏風，錢文「金玉滿堂」、「長命富貴」等等以祈福，或直接製作搖錢樹置於家中。清人富察敦崇，於光緒三十二年(公元1906年)付梓的《燕京歲時記》便有提到，北京人家有製作搖錢樹以祈年的舊俗：「取松柏枝之大者，插於瓶中，綴以古錢、元寶、石榴花等，謂之『搖錢樹』。」倒是與歐美「聖誕樹」風習，有異曲同工之妙了。