Item number: A3776

Reference number: SNMC#2-26

Year: AD 1111-1120

Material: Bronze

Size: 22.1 x 21.6 mm

Weight: 3.9 g

Provenance:

1. Spink 2023

2. Dr. Werner Klaus Burger Collection

This is the Tianqing Yuanbao, cast under the second reign title, Tianqing (AD 1111–1120), of Emperor Tianzuo of the Liao dynasty, Yelü Yanxi, the ninth ruler of the dynasty. From the Dakang era of Emperor Daozong of the Liao dynasty onward, the coin names were uniformly designated as Yuanbao.

The coin follows the traditional Han cultural-sphere form of a round coin with a square central perforation. The obverse inscription, Tianqing Yuanbao, is read from the top and then clockwise to the right. The script is approximately clerical in style. The character qing is rendered disproportionately large, with a heavy and forceful final downward stroke, giving the calligraphy a plain and somewhat unrefined appearance. In the character yuan, the secondary strokes at both the beginning and the end are executed as rising strokes, a form known as the “double-rising yuan,” resembling one of the variants found on Tang Kaiyuan Tongbao coins. The reverse field is plain and uninscribed.

One of the reign titles of Emperor Huanzong of Western Xia, Li Chunyou, was also Tianqing (AD 1194–1206), during which Tianqing Yuanbao coins were likewise cast; however, their calligraphic style differs from those of the Liao dynasty.

According to Liao institutional practice, coinage was mostly cast by the Directorate of Revenue in the Eastern Capital Circuit, which was subordinate to the Southern Administration Grand King, and the minting location was probably the administrative centre at Liaoyang Prefecture. In addition, agencies responsible for money and textiles were also established in regions such as the Liaoxi Circuit, Pingzhou Circuit, Changchun Prefecture, and Yuzhou, which likely possessed mining and metallurgical facilities as well.

The Liao dynasty, also known as the Khitan, originated from a nomadic tribal confederation in northeastern China; the term Khitan is also associated with the meaning “iron.” In AD 907, when the tribal leader Yelü Abaoji proclaimed the founding of the state, the Liao rapidly became a dominant power on the northern Asian steppe and exerted substantial pressure on the Han Chinese regimes to the south.

Emperor Tianzuo, Yelü Yanxi, was the ninth and final emperor of the Liao dynasty, reigning from AD 1101 to AD 1125. Shortly after his accession, he continued the political purges arising from the Luan River incident, during which Yelü Yixin had sought to assassinate Yelü Yanxi while he was still crown prince’s heir. Power struggles persisted among the Xiao clan of imperial in-laws, the remnants of Yelü Yixin’s faction, and the supporters of the crown prince. Amid these internal conflicts, one of the Jurchen chieftains, Wanyan Aguda, gradually unified the various Jurchen tribes and rose in rebellion against the Liao beginning in AD 1114. As warfare dragged on unresolved, members of the imperial clan and military commanders in multiple regions also defected. Emperor Tianzuo personally led campaigns but suffered decisive defeats, severely undermining central authority. Ultimately, in AD 1125, all five Liao capitals fell, the last emperor Tianzuo was captured, and the Great Liao dynasty came to an end. Remnant forces under figures such as Yelü Dashi fled westward into Central Asia, where they established the Western Liao.

Werner Klaus Burger (AD 1936–2021), a German numismatist, was renowned for his pioneering research on Qing dynasty coinage. Born in Munich, he completed his studies in Sinology at the University of Munich in AD 1962. In 1963, he went to teach German at Fudan University in Shanghai. However, during the Cultural Revolution in 1965, after the closure of academic institutions, he was reassigned to tend sheep in Suzhou. Subsequently, he relocated to Hong Kong, where he devoted himself entirely to numismatic research. In AD 1974, he completed the first doctoral dissertation on Chinese numismatics, which was later expanded into his magnum opus, Ch’ing Cash, a chronologically organised catalogue of Qing dynasty coinage. His collection encompassed a comprehensive range of Qing coins and related archival materials. Burger passed away in Hong Kong in 2021 at the age of 85. His contributions to the field of numismatics remain profoundly influential.

物件編號: A3776

參考書目編號: SNMC#2-26

年代: 公元 1111-1120 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 22.1 x 21.6 mm

重量: 3.9 g

來源:

1. 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

2. 布威納博士舊藏

這是遼朝第九任皇帝遼天祚帝耶律延禧，以其使用的第二個年號「天慶」(公元1111至1120年)，所鑄造的「天慶元寶」。自遼道宗大康年間後，錢名均為「元寶」。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。正面錢文「天慶元寶」，自上而右旋讀。字體約為隸書。「慶」字獨大，末捺筆粗重，字體樸拙；「元」字次劃首尾均為挑筆，稱「雙挑元」，似唐「開元通寶」之其中一型。錢幕光素無文。

西夏桓宗李純祐的年號之一亦為天慶(公元1194-1206年)，同時亦鑄有「天慶元寶」，唯字體不同。

依遼朝制度，錢幣多鑄於東京道戶部司，為南院大王所屬，鑄地可能為治所遼陽府。此外，遼西路、平州路、長春州、蔚州等地另設有錢帛司，應亦有坑冶。

遼朝又稱作契丹，為發源於中國東北的遊牧民族部落，契丹一詞又有「鐵」的意思。公元907年，部落首領耶律阿保機宣布建國伊始，遼朝成為北亞草原的霸主並且對於南方的漢人政權構成巨大的壓力。

遼天祚帝耶律延禧為第九任，也是末任皇帝，於公元1101至11125年在位。其甫即位，便繼續清算灤河之亂，當時耶律乙辛意圖謀殺還是皇太孫的耶律延禧。后族蕭氏、耶律乙辛餘黨、太子黨政爭不斷。無暇他顧之下，女真酋長之一的完顏阿骨打逐漸吞併女真各部，並於公元1114年起兵反遼。戰事未平，多處宗室、將領亦叛，耶律延禧親征大敗，中樞權威大為動搖。最終於公元1125年，遼五京全部淪陷，末帝天祚帝遭俘，大遼滅亡。殘部耶律大石等則向西遁逃至中亞，成立西遼。

布威納(Werner Klaus Burger，生卒年公元1936-2021年），德國錢幣學家，以研究清代中國錢幣聞名。他生於德國慕尼黑，公元1962年於慕尼黑大學完成漢學學業，公元1963年赴上海復旦大學教授德語。公元1965年，因文化大革命學校關閉，被派往蘇州牧羊。因此移居香港，專注錢幣學研究，最終於公元1974年完成中國錢幣學首篇博士論文，後增補為其代表作《清錢編年譜》(Ch’ing Cash)。其收藏涵蓋清代錢幣及相關文獻。布威納於2021年在香港逝世，享年85歲，其對錢幣學的貢獻影響深遠。