Item number: A3784

Reference number: Hartill#18.108、SNMC#3-19

Year: AD 1210-1211

Material: Bronze

Size: 24.6 x 23.5 mm

Weight: 4.5 g

Provenance:

1. Spink 2023

2. Dr. Werner Klaus Burger Collection

This is a Huangjian Yuanbao coin cast by Emperor Xiangzong of the Western Xia, Li Anquan, during the Huangjian reign period.

The obverse bears the regular-script inscription “Huangjian 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 era of Emperor Jingzong of Western Xia, corresponding to the fifth year of Jingyou of Emperor Renzong of the Northern Song, that is, 1038 AD. The capital Xingling was located in present-day Ningxia. The regime established its own Tangut script and administrative institutions. The Tuoba clan had earlier been granted imperial surnames through tributary and marital 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 Northern and Southern Song, the Liao, and later the Jin.

Emperor Xiangzong of Western Xia, Li Anquan—also known as Weiming Anquan or Zhao Anquan—deposed Emperor Huanzong in a palace coup and proclaimed himself emperor, adopting the reign title Yingtian. His accession was facilitated by military setbacks suffered by Western Xia following incursions led by the Mongols under Temüjin, who in 1205 AD entered the Hexi Corridor and devastated the prefectures of Gua and Sha. In response to intermittent Mongol attacks, Emperor Xiangzong initially pursued a policy of alignment with the Jin dynasty to resist the Mongols. However, in the fourth year of Yingtian (1209 AD), when the Mongols launched a southern invasion, Western Xia forces collapsed in succession and the capital Zhongxing was besieged. Emperor Xiangzong appealed to the Jin dynasty for assistance, but Emperor Zhangzong of Jin, seeking to profit from the situation, refused to dispatch troops. Ultimately, Emperor Xiangzong offered his daughter in marriage to secure peace. After the Mongol withdrawal, and seeking retaliation, Emperor Xiangzong attacked Jiazhou in the first year of Huangjian (1210 AD), thereby rupturing the Western Xia–Jin alliance. In the second year of Huangjian, a separate Mongol force invaded Western Xia; Emperor Xiangzong personally led a campaign, was defeated, and submitted as a vassal. In the same year, he was deposed in another palace coup by the Prince of Qi, who ascended the throne as Emperor Shenzong of Western Xia. The dynasty was transmitted down to its final 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: A3784

參考書目編號: Hartill#18.108、SNMC#3-19

年代: 公元 1210-1211 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 24.6 x 23.5 mm

重量: 4.5 g

來源:

1. 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

2. 布威納博士舊藏

這是一枚由西夏襄宗李安全，於皇建年間所鑄之「皇建元寶」。

錢幣正面錢文為「皇建元寶」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。

夏襄宗李安全，或稱嵬名安全或趙安全，於宮廷政變中廢黜夏桓宗，自立為帝，年號應天。其上位得益於蒙古族鐵木真，於公元1205年，攻入河西走廊，蹂躪瓜、沙諸州所造成的軍事挫折。為應對蒙古的間斷入侵，夏襄宗上位之初，行附金抗蒙之策。但應天四年(公元1209年)，面對蒙古南侵，夏軍一路潰敗，首都中興府城被圍。夏襄宗向金朝告急，但金章宗因欲坐收漁利，而拒出兵，最終夏襄宗獻女求和。蒙古撤兵後，為圖報復，夏襄宗於皇建元年(公元1210年)攻取葭州，夏金盟約破裂。皇建二年，蒙古別部入侵西夏，夏襄宗親征，兵敗，稱臣請降。同年，於宮廷政變中，齊王廢夏襄宗，即位為帝，是為夏神宗。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。