Item number: A3785

Reference number: Hartill#18.109、SNMC#3-20

Year: AD 1211-1223

Material: Bronze

Size: 23.5 x 23.3 mm

Weight: 3.8 g

Provenance:

1. Spink 2023

2. Dr. Werner Klaus Burger Collection

This is a Guangding Yuanbao coin cast during the Guangding reign by Emperor Shenzong of Western Xia, Li Zunxu.

The obverse bears the regular-script inscription “Guangding Yuanbao”, to be read from the top and then clockwise. The coin surface is plain and uninscribed.

The Western Xia state was founded by Li Yuanhao of the Tangut Tuoba clan, who proclaimed himself emperor in the third year of the Daqing reign of Emperor Jingzong of Western Xia, corresponding to the fifth year of Jingyou of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song, that is, 1038 AD. Its capital, Xingling, was located in present-day Ningxia. The regime established its own Tangut script and a full set of administrative institutions. The Tuoba clan had earlier been granted imperial surnames through tributary and kinship relations with the Tang and Song dynasties; after the founding of the state, the ruling house adopted the clan name Weiming. Western Xia subsequently formed a tripartite balance of power with the two Song dynasties, the Liao, and later the Jin.

Emperor Shenzong of Western Xia, Li Zunxu—also known as Weiming Zunxu or Zhao Zunxu—deposed Emperor Xiangzong in a palace coup and proclaimed himself emperor, adopting the reign title Guangding. After ascending the throne, he abandoned the long-standing policy, maintained since the reign of Emperor Huanzong, of alliance with the Jin dynasty, instead aligning with the Mongols in attacks against Jin. These campaigns resulted in more defeats than victories, leaving Western Xia forces exhausted. When the Mongols attacked the Khwarazmian Empire, they again demanded that Western Xia provide troops in support. Owing to repeated levies, both soldiers and civilians had grown weary of warfare, and Western Xia did not dispatch forces. In the same year, the armies of Genghis Khan besieged the capital Zhongxing; Emperor Shenzong fled elsewhere and sent envoys to submit. Thereafter, prioritising mere survival, Western Xia alternated between alliances with Jin against the Mongols and with the Song against Jin. By the eleventh year of Guangding (1221 AD), under pressure from the southward advance of the Mongol forces led by Muqali, the state again submitted to the Mongols. Over more than a decade, continuous warfare against both the Mongols and the Jin produced no tangible gains, while famine caused by prolonged drought further inflamed popular resentment. Diplomatic vacillation likewise tried the patience of Genghis Khan. In the thirteenth year of Guangding (1223 AD), under mounting Mongol pressure, Emperor Shenzong abdicated in favour of his second son, who ascended the throne as Emperor Xianzong of Western Xia. The dynasty continued until its last ruler, Li Xian, who, after failing to resist the Mongols, surrendered in the second year of Baoyi (1227 AD) and was subsequently executed.

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: A3785

參考書目編號: Hartill#18.109、SNMC#3-20

年代: 公元 1211-1223 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 23.5 x 23.3 mm

重量: 3.8 g

來源:

1. 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

2. 布威納博士舊藏

這是一枚由西夏神宗李遵頊，於光定年間所鑄之「光定元寶」。

錢幣正面錢文為「光定元寶」楷書，自上而右旋讀。錢幕光素無文。

西夏為党項拓跋氏李元昊於西夏景宗大慶三年(北宋仁宗景祐五年)，即公元1038年，建國稱帝，首府興靈位於今寧夏。並制備西夏文與典章制度。拓跋氏先後因與李唐、趙宋的宗藩關係而得賜國姓，建國後則改姓嵬名。先後與兩宋、遼、金成鼎足之勢。

夏神宗李尊頊，或稱嵬名尊頊或趙尊頊，於宮廷政變中廢黜夏襄宗，自立為帝，年號光定。即位後，一改桓宗以來，以夏金同盟為主的國策，附蒙攻金，但敗多勝少，夏軍疲憊。蒙古攻花剌子模時，再度要求西夏出兵隨附。由於徵調頻繁，軍民厭戰，西夏並未出兵。同年，成吉思汗兵圍都城中興府，神宗則逃奔他處，遣使請降。此後，改以圖存為先，時而連金抗蒙，時而連宋抗金。至光定十一年(公元1221年)，在蒙古木華黎部南下的威壓下，又改附蒙古。十數年間，持續對蒙、金作戰，無功而返，加以旱災所導致的饑荒，使西夏民怨沸騰，外交上的反覆無常也使成吉思汗不耐。光定十三年(公元1223年)，在蒙軍的逼迫下，夏神宗傳位予次子，是為夏獻宗。傳至末主李睍，不敵蒙古後，於寶義二年(公元1227年)投降見殺。

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。