Item number: A3649

Year: AD 1285-1294

Material: Bronze

Size: 28.4 x 22.2 x 1.4 mm

Weight: 4.45 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a Zhiyuan tongbao two-cash coin issued under the authority of Kublai Khan, the Shizu Emperor of the Yuan dynasty.

The coin follows the traditional Chinese form of a round piece with a square central hole. The inscription is written vertically from top to bottom and left to right in ’Phags-pa script as “ꡆꡃ, ꡝꡧꡦꡋ, ꡉꡟꡃ, ꡎꡓ,” corresponding sequentially to “Zhiyuan tongbao.” The reverse is plain and uninscribed. The coin is chipped on the left side.

In AD 1284, the twenty-first year of the Zhiyuan era, Kublai Khan, in response to the increasingly severe problem of inflation, authorised his minister of the Central Administration, Sangge (Sengge), to adopt the proposal of the Chinese official Lu Shirong. The following year, Lu, having been appointed Right Chancellor of the Secretariat, began reforming the currency system. Among his measures was the casting of the Zhiyuan coins to balance the value of the existing Zhongtong paper notes. The coins bore the inscription “Zhiyuan tongbao” in two scripts: Chinese regular script and ’Phags-pa script. The former appeared in denominations of xiaoping qian (one-cash), zhe’er (two-cash), and zheshi (ten-cash); the latter in zhe’er and zhesan (two- and three-cash). However, Lu’s reforms were short-lived: possibly due to court opposition or the limited effectiveness of his measures, his policies were in force for only four months before he was impeached, imprisoned, and later executed. In AD 1287, to address the continued depreciation of the Zhongtong notes, the court issued the “Regulations for the Circulation of Zhiyuan Treasure Notes” and introduced the Zhiyuan bao chao (“Zhiyuan Treasure Notes”). One Zhiyuan note was set equivalent to five Zhongtong notes in an effort to withdraw the older currency and restrain inflation. Nevertheless, with heavy military expenditure and insufficient revenue, the government resorted to further issues of paper money, which exacerbated the inflationary pressure.

The ’Phags-pa script had been officially promulgated in AD 1269 (the sixth year of the Zhiyuan era) by the State Preceptor ’Phags-pa, who devised it on the basis of the Tibetan script as a phonetic system for representing the sounds of the Mongolian language. Although it ceased to be promoted by the state after the fall of the Yuan, the script survived in use in certain regions as late as the Qing period.

Kublai Khan (AD 1215–1294), the Shizu Emperor of the Yuan, was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire and the founder of the Yuan dynasty. A grandson of Genghis Khan and the second son of Tolui, Kublai was highly regarded within the imperial lineage and served under Ögedei Khan in his early military campaigns. Later entrusted with the administration of the former Jin territories, he demonstrated a strong interest in Chinese governance and Confucian learning, recruiting scholars such as Liu Bingzhong, Yao Shu, and Zhang Wenqian to advise him on statecraft. He established the Branch Secretariat at Kaiping (modern Duolun, Inner Mongolia), which became the prototype of the Yuan provincial system. After Möngke Khan ascended the throne, Kublai was placed in charge of the regions of Yan and the southern campaigns against the Song. During his tenure, he introduced agricultural colonies, repaired the Grand Canal, and reorganised the taxation system, thereby gaining the support of the northern Chinese populace. Following Möngke’s death during the southern campaign, Kublai proclaimed himself Great Khan at Kaiping in AD 1260. He adopted the dynastic title “Great Yuan” to signify the mandate of Heaven and moved the capital to Yanjing, renamed Dadu (modern Beijing), thereby founding the Yuan dynasty. His administration implemented the provincial system, standardised weights, measures, and currency, and promoted trade throughout the empire. After more than two decades of warfare, he completed the conquest of the Southern Song in AD 1279, unifying China under Mongol rule. He twice launched expeditions against Japan, both of which failed due to storms and supply difficulties, and dispatched envoys to southwestern kingdoms and island polities of Southeast Asia, establishing Yuan suzerainty over much of East and Southeast Asia. Politically, Kublai reconciled Mongol traditions with Chinese institutions, while culturally he advocated the coexistence of Buddhism and Confucianism and adopted a policy of religious pluralism, leading to a period of prosperity and cosmopolitan vibrancy during his reign.

物件編號: A3649

年代: 公元 1285-1294 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 28.4 x 22.2 x 1.4 mm

重量: 4.45 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚由元世祖忽必烈所鑄行之至元通寶折二錢。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統之方孔圓錢。錢文自上而下、自左而右為八思巴文直書字「ꡆꡃ、ꡝꡧꡦꡋ、ꡉꡟꡃ、ꡎꡓ」，依序即「至元通寶」。錢幕則光素無文。左側缺角。

元世祖忽必烈於至元二十一年(公元1284年)，為解決愈趨嚴峻的通貨膨脹問題，時任總制院使的桑哥(Seng ge)，上薦漢官盧世榮奏議，次年盧世榮任中書右丞開始整治鈔法，其中措施便有鑄造至元錢，以與當時發行的中統鈔相權。至元錢名「至元通寶」，錢文有漢文楷書和八思巴文兩種書體，楷書有小平錢、折二、折十錢，八思巴文有折二及折三錢。但不久，或許是因為得罪權貴，也或許因為改革無甚成效，盧世榮的政策僅施行四個月就被劾下獄，後處死。至元二十四年(公元1287年)，為解決此前中統鈔的通貨膨脹問題，頒《至元寶鈔通行條畫》，正式發行「至元寶鈔」。以至元鈔一兩，兌中統鈔五兩，來回收中統鈔並遏制通貨膨脹。並發行。但因軍費浩繁及稅收不足，政府大量增發紙鈔，通貨膨脹進一步惡化。

八思巴文是於至元六年(公元1269)正式頒佈，由時任國師八思巴據藏文所造，作為蒙人官方的漢字標音符號。雖自元亡後不再由官方推動，但在部分地區持續流傳至清代。

元世祖忽必烈，為蒙古帝國第五任大汗、元朝開國皇帝。其早年受成吉思汗之孫、拖雷之子身份所重，曾於太宗窩闊臺時隨軍征伐，後受命監理故金地方政務。忽必烈重視漢文化與儒士，延攬多位漢臣，採納其建言推行中原治理制度，設官分職，興學舉士，並於開平(今內蒙古多倫附近)設行中書省，為後來元朝政制之雛形。蒙哥汗即位後，命忽必烈統治燕地與征宋，忽必烈在任期間實施屯田，修運河，重整賦稅制度，深得漢地民心。蒙哥於南征時殞於合州軍中，忽必烈遂於公元1260年於開平即汗位。定國號「大元」，以順應「承天命而治」之義，遷都於燕京，改稱大都(今北京)，開創元朝之基。其治下推行行省制度，使中央與地方行政更為嚴密；並統一全國度量衡與貨幣制度，促進商業往來。忽必烈歷二十餘年，於公元1279年滅宋。並遠征日本兩次，皆因風濤與補給失利而敗；又遣使西南諸國及東南海島，確立對東亞與東南亞的宗主地位。忽必烈在政治上兼容蒙古傳統與中原制度，在文化上提倡佛、儒並重，兼采多元宗教政策，使元朝一時興盛繁華。