Item number: A3764

Year: AD 1044-1048

Material: Bronze

Size: 37.6 x 37.7 x 1.5 mm

Weight: 7.9 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This coin is likely a Qingli Zhongbao of zhe shi, cast between the fifth and eighth years of the Qingli reign of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song (AD 1044–1048). The term zhe shi denotes a nominal conversion value equivalent to ten standard small cash coins.

The coin conforms to the traditional square-holed round form of the East Asian cultural sphere. Both obverse and reverse are furnished with an outer rim and an inner border, and the coin is of comparatively large diameter. The obverse bears the regular-script inscription Qingli Zhongbao, read from top to bottom and from right to left. The character Zhong is relatively short in form. The reverse is plain and uninscribed. Both sides exhibit thick green copper corrosion, and the inscription is worn and indistinct, suggesting burial in acidic soils of southern regions or in a comparable depositional environment.

During the middle years of the Qingli reign, continued border conflicts between the Northern Song and the Western Xia and Liao states led to the continued casting of copper and iron coins with a nominal value of ten, intended to “support military expenditures in the Guanzhong region”. These dang shi coins weighed less than two standard cash coins, effectively reducing their statutory weight to one fifth of the nominal standard and thereby causing inflation. Toward the end of the Qingli period, because “unscrupulous persons engaged in illicit casting, and their use grew ever lighter”, coins originally valued at ten were revalued as zhe san.

Emperor Renzong of Song, Zhao Zhen (reigned AD 1022–1063), was the fourth emperor of the Northern Song. His reign was characterised by stable state power and relative social prosperity, traditionally referred to as the “flourishing governance of Renzong”. Politically, he promoted civil administration and appointed eminent officials such as Fan Zhongyan, Bao Zheng, Han Qi, and Ouyang Xiu, advancing reforms of the civil service examinations and state institutions. Although these initiatives repeatedly encountered opposition from conservative factions, they laid the groundwork for the later Xining reforms. Renzong was noted for his magnanimous and benevolent character, his tolerance toward officials, and his receptiveness to remonstrance. Despite recurrent factional strife, the overall political order remained stable. During his reign he personally adjudicated cases of wrongful conviction on multiple occasions and advocated Confucian learning and frugality. In foreign affairs, he ultimately chose to maintain peace agreements with Liao and Western Xia, avoiding large-scale warfare and securing frontier stability through the payment of annual subsidies, thereby establishing a stable situation in the middle period of the Northern Song.

物件編號: A3764

年代: 公元 1044-1048 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 37.6 x 37.7 x 1.5 mm

重量: 7.9 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

此錢應為「慶曆重寶」折十。於北宋仁宗慶曆五年至慶曆八年(公元1044至1048年)間鑄造。「折十」意即可折十枚小平錢。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢，錢面錢幕均具外輪及內廓，錢體較大。錢面錢文為楷書「慶曆重寶」，自上而下、自右而左對讀。「重」字較短。錢背光素無文。面背有銅綠厚鏽，錢文漫漶，疑出土於南方酸性土壤或相近的埋藏環境。

慶曆年中，由於北宋與西夏、遼國的邊境衝突，故續鑄當十大銅錢、鐵錢，「助關西軍費」。當十錢不如二錢重，等於法重減為五分之一，造成通貨膨脹。慶曆末，由於「奸人盜鑄，其用日輕」，以折十錢改值折三。

宋仁宗趙禎，公元1022–1063年在位，為北宋第四位皇帝。仁宗統治時期國力穩定，社會相對繁榮，史稱「仁宗盛治」。政治上，他推崇文治，重用范仲淹、包拯、韓琦、歐陽修等名臣，推動科舉與制度改革，雖屢遭保守勢力反對，但為後世熙寧變法奠定基礎。仁宗性格寬厚仁慈，對臣下多寬容，善於納諫，儘管治下黨爭時起，但整體政局安定。他任內多次親自裁決冤獄，並提倡儒學與節儉。在外交上，最終決定與遼、西夏維持和議，避免大規模戰爭，透過歲幣換取邊境和平，形成北宋中期的穩定局面。