Item number: A3781

Reference number: SNMC#2-25

Year: AD 1101-1110

Material: Bronze

Size: 24.5 x 24.2 x 1.5 mm

Weight: 4.75 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a Qian Tong Yuanbao coin cast under the reign of Emperor Tianzuo of the Liao dynasty, Yelü Yanxi, the ninth Liao emperor, using his first reign title Qian Tong (1101–1110 AD). From the Da Kang period of Emperor Daozong onward, the denomination name of Liao coinage was uniformly rendered as Yuanbao.

The coin conforms to the traditional square-holed round format of the Sinosphere. The obverse bears the clerical-script inscription “Qian Tong Yuanbao”, to be read from the top and then clockwise. The calligraphy is broadly in clerical style. The character Qian is written in the variant form “乹”, while in the character Yuan the initial stroke of the second stroke slants leftwards, resembling one of the Tang-dynasty variants of Kaiyuan Tongbao. The coin surface is plain and undecorated. An off-centre perforation may be described as a “flowered hole” (hua chuan).

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.

物件編號: A3781

參考書目編號: SNMC#2-25

年代: 公元 1101-1110 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 24.5 x 24.2 x 1.5 mm

重量: 4.75 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是遼朝第九任皇帝遼天祚帝耶律延禧，以其使用的第一個年號「乾統」(公元1101至1110年)，所鑄造的「乾統元寶」。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「乾統元寶」隸書，自上而右旋讀。字體約為隸書。「乾」字作「乹」；「元」字次劃首筆左挑，似唐「開元通寶」之其中一型。錢幕光素無文。錢穿不正，可稱「花穿」。

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。