Item number: A3806

Year: AD 919-924

Material: Bronze

Size: 23.6 x 23.5 x 1.1 mm

Weight: 3.85 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This is a bronze coin bearing the inscription “Qiande Yuanbao,” cast during the period of regional militarised fragmentation known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms following the collapse of the Tang dynasty. It was issued by Wang Yan, the last ruler of Former Shu, whose power base lay in Sichuan, under his second reign title.

The coin conforms to the traditional round cash coin with a square central perforation characteristic of the Han cultural sphere. The obverse inscription reads “Qiande Yuanbao,” executed in regular script tending towards clerical script. The character qian resembles that of the Tang Qianyuan Zhongbao; in the character de, the hook stroke is broken; and yuan is similar to that of the Tang Kaiyuan Tongbao. The calligraphy is relatively fine. On the reverse, above the square perforation, there appears to be a crescent-shaped motif, known as an “upper crescent at the perforation.” The obverse inscription is comparable to that of a misaligned-mould coin excavated at Xindu in Sichuan, while the crescent motif resembles that on an example held in the collection of the National Museum of Chinese History.

Former Shu was a regime established by Wang Jian amid the turmoil of the late Tang period, with Sichuan as its territorial base. Wang Jian originated from a background associated with vagrancy and salt smuggling; during the Huang Chao Rebellion he entered military service and gradually came to control the Sichuan Basin centred on Chengdu. In AD 907, dissatisfied with the manipulation of the Tang imperial house by Zhu Wen, Wang Jian proclaimed himself king. During his reign, he refrained from launching military campaigns and invested heavily in hydraulic works, allowing the population of Sichuan to live in relative peace and stability. After Wang Jian’s death, however, his successor Wang Yan proved decadent and ineffectual, and the state faced invasion by Later Tang forces. Former Shu was ultimately annexed by the Later Tang in AD 925, having existed for only nineteen years.

物件編號: A3805

參考書目編號: DCD#618-2

年代: 公元 919-924 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 23.6 x 23.5 x 1.1 mm

重量: 3.85 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是唐朝滅亡的五代十國豪強割據之際，以四川為根據地的前蜀末代統治者王衍，以使用的第二個年號鑄造的「乾德元寶」青銅錢。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。正面錢文「乾德元寶」，楷書近隸，「乾」字似唐乾元重寶；「德」字鉤劃斷筆；「元」字似唐開元通寶。字體較細。錢幕錢穿上似有一月紋，稱「穿上月」。面文似四川新都出土之背錯範錢，月紋則似中國歷史博物館館藏品。

前蜀為王建在唐朝末年的混亂之際，以四川作為根據地建立的政權。王建出身於無賴和鹽梟，趁著黃巢之亂投身於行伍之中，並且逐漸控制起以成都為中心的四川盆地。公元907年，王建不滿挾持唐皇室的朱溫擺布，自立稱王。其在位期間不發動戰事和大興水利，使得四川一地的百姓得以安養生息。然而王建死後，繼位的王衍荒淫無道並且遭到後唐的入侵，最終前蜀於公元925年遭到後唐併吞，立國僅19年。