Item number: A3772

Reference number: DCD#196、Hartill#13.27

Year: AD 553-577

Material: Bronze

Size: 25.2 x 24.8 x 1.2 mm

Weight: 2.55 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a Changping Wu Zhu coin, first cast in the fourth year of the Tianbao reign under Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi, that is, AD 553.

The coin conforms to the traditional Han cultural sphere format of a round coin with a square central perforation. The obverse bears the seal-script inscription “Changping Wu Zhu,” read vertically from top to bottom and from right to left. All four characters are connected to both the central perforation and the outer rim, and the script is bold and robust. The inscription is engraved in yu zhu seal script. In the character ping (平), the initial horizontal stroke is merged with the inner border below the central perforation, while in the character wu (五), the intersecting strokes curve gently. The obverse has an outer rim, whereas the reverse has both an outer rim and an inner border. Yu zhu seal script derives from Qin seal script and is so named for its rounded strokes and even thickness, and is typically written in a rectangular form. The term changping originates from the Western Jin practice of state-operated “ever-normal granaries” (changping cang), established to stabilise market prices; its use on the coin conveys the notion that this currency was sufficient to serve as a standard. Official minting regulations required a full weight of five zhu, corresponding to approximately 3.8–4 grams or more by modern standards. Surviving lightweight and thin specimens are attributable not only to the rampant private minting of the late Northern Qi period but also possibly to later imitations, since changping could be interpreted as “constantly preserving peace and safety,” an auspicious meaning that encouraged subsequent copying.

In the late Northern Wei period, repeated external threats and unrest in the frontier garrisons facilitated the rise of Erzhu Rong, who suppressed rebellions on multiple occasions and came to exercise arbitrary power over imperial deposition and enthronement. After Erzhu Rong was lured into an ambush and killed by the Wei emperor, a struggle for power ensued between Gao Huan, one of Erzhu Rong’s subordinates, and Erzhu Zhao, Erzhu Rong’s son. Gao Huan ultimately prevailed and installed Emperor Xiaowu. Dissatisfied with Gao Huan’s dominance, Emperor Xiaowu relocated westward to Chang’an and sought the protection of Yuwen Tai, who was based in the Guanzhong region and gradually formed an anti–Gao Huan power bloc. Gao Huan therefore installed Yuan Shanjian as emperor, later known as Emperor Xiaojing, and the division between Eastern and Western Wei was thereby formalised in AD 535.

Warfare between Eastern and Western Wei was incessant, with victories alternating between the two sides. After Gao Huan’s death, his son Gao Cheng succeeded him as chief minister. At the same time, the Eastern Wei general Hou Jing, who had long harboured rebellious intentions, defected to the Southern Liang, triggering a war in which Liang suffered a major defeat, while Hou Jing established himself as an autonomous power between the two states. In AD 541, Gao Cheng re-established the official weight standard of the Yong’an Wu Zhu, known as the “suspended-scale Wu Zhu.” In AD 549, Gao Cheng was assassinated by his kitchen servant Lan Jing, and his younger brother Gao Yang succeeded to the ministerial position. In AD 550, Gao Yang deposed Emperor Xiaojing of Wei and founded the state of Qi, becoming Emperor Wenxuan of Qi. In the fourth year of the Tianbao reign (AD 553), Gao Yang abolished the old Eastern Wei coinage and cast the Changping Wu Zhu. As Gao Yang’s rule descended into excess and disorder in its later years, private and illicit minting flourished accordingly, producing a great variety of local types. In the capital Yecheng alone, varieties known as chishu, qingshu, ximei, and chisheng were recorded, while Qing, Qi, Yan, Liang, and Yu provinces each had their own distinct issues; in the Henan region, lightweight lead–tin coins were particularly prevalent. By the fall of Qi, prohibitions proved ineffective. After Gao Yang’s death, political turmoil followed, with five emperors ascending the throne within twenty years, until the dynasty was ultimately destroyed by the Northern Zhou, which had arisen in succession to Western Wei.

物件編號: A3772

參考書目編號: DCD#196、Hartill#13.27

年代: 公元 553-577 年

材料: 青銅

尺寸: 25.2 x 24.8 x 1.2 mm

重量: 2.55 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是一枚常平五銖，始鑄於北齊文宣帝天保四年(公元553年)。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。正面錢文篆書「常平五銖」，由上至下，由右至左對讀。四字均接穿連輪，字體粗壯。錢文以玉箸篆鐫銘。「平」字首橫與錢穿下方內廓合一；「五」字交筆緩曲。錢面具外輪，錢背則外輪內廓俱全。玉箸篆源於秦篆，因筆劃圓潤、肥瘦均勻而得名，多寫為長方形。「常平」源於西晉起，朝廷用以平準市場的「常平倉」，取此錢足以成為標準之寓意。官鑄法重應足五銖，約合今3.8至4克以上。存世輕薄錢幣除因北齊晚期私鑄猖獗外，也可能是因為「常平」可解為「常保平安」，寓意美好，後世因而仿鑄之故。

北魏末年，外患與邊鎮變亂頻仍，使多次平亂的爾朱榮崛起，至擅行廢立。爾朱榮遭魏帝誘殺後，爾朱榮旗下高歡與爾朱榮之子爾朱兆相互爭權。高歡勝出後，立孝武帝。孝武帝因不滿高歡擅權，西遷長安，投靠以關中為中心，逐漸形成反高歡勢力的宇文泰。高歡因此另立元善見為帝，後稱孝靜帝，東西魏於此分裂(公元535年)。

東西魏交戰不斷，互有勝負。高歡死後，其子高澄繼之為相。同時，早有叛意的東魏大將侯景轉投南梁，引發戰爭，梁大敗，侯景則割據於兩國之間。公元541年，高澄曾重定永安五銖之法重，稱為「懸稱五銖」。公元549年，高澄死於廚奴蘭京之手，其弟高洋繼任相位。公元550年，高洋廢魏孝靜帝，建國號齊，是為齊文宣帝。天保四年(公元553年)，高洋廢東魏舊錢，鑄行「常平五銖」。隨高洋執政晚期逐漸荒悖，私鑄、盜鑄也隨之盛行，各地品類雜多，僅都城鄴中便有赤熟、青熟、細眉、赤生等名目，青、齊、兖、梁、豫州又各有不同，河南地去更是有輕薄的鉛錫錢。至齊亡，禁不能止。高洋死後，政治紛亂，二十年間五帝繼位，最終為代西魏而起之北周所滅。