Item number: A3830

Year: AD 955-960

Material: Bronze

Size: 23.3 x 23.3 x 0.6 mm

Weight: 2.4 g

Provenance: Spink 2023

This coin, known as the “ Zhouyuan Tong Bao” (周元通寶), originates from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Chinese history. It was issued under the reign of Chai Rong, the second ruler of the Later Zhou dynasty, who is historically recognised for his infamous policy of destroying Buddhist statues to melt them down for coinage.

The coin conforms to the traditional square-holed round form of the Han cultural sphere. The obverse bears the inscription “Zhou Yuan Tongbao,” read vertically from top to bottom and from right to left. The characters are relatively small. In the clerical-script form of the character tong (通), the three strokes on the left side that resemble a crescent motif are rendered instead as three dots, suggesting an imitation issue. On the reverse, above the square hole, there is a crescent-shaped mark, commonly described as an “upturned crescent.”

The Zhouyuan Tong Bao coins were first minted in the second year of the Xiande era (AD 955). Faced with the severe copper shortage that plagued the late Tang Dynasty, Emperor Zhou Shizong took several measures. He sought to acquire copper ore from the neighbouring country of Goryeo while also instituting a nationwide ban on private possession of copper artefacts. Additionally, he focused on expanding the production of coins through the flourishing Buddhist temples. Since the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism, which originated from India, had gradually become a mainstream religious belief in the Central Plains. However, Buddhism’s foreign origins and its considerable economic and political influence led to several periods of repression by the court.

Emperor Zhou Shizong’s intention to confiscate the assets of Buddhist temples and convert copper Buddhist statues into coins faced opposition from devout Buddhist ministers and officials within the court. Zhou Shizong cleverly employed the Buddhist parable of “offering Buddha’s body to feed the tiger,” which emphasises the spirit of prioritising the welfare of others. According to the parable, the Buddha was willing to sacrifice his own body to save a tiger, so why should he be concerned about the fate of his own copper statue? This reasoning was used to allay the concerns of the officials.

After gaining the support of his ministers, Emperor Zhou Shizong placed great importance on the minting of coins. He even established several large furnaces within the palace to oversee the coinage process personally. Emulating the Tang Dynasty’s Kaiyuan Tongbao, the Zhouyuan Tongbao coins were among the highest quality of their time. Due to their origin from Buddhist statues, the Zhouyuan Tongbao became surrounded by magical legends among the populace, with claims that they could cure difficult ailments. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, people would even specifically purchase Zhou Yuan Tongbao as amulets for protection. For this reason, imitation castings appeared repeatedly throughout later generations.

物件編號: A3830

年代: 公元 955-960 年

材質: 青銅

尺寸: 23.3 x 23.3 x 0.6 mm

重量: 2.4 g

來源: 斯賓克拍賣行 2023

這是中國歷史上的五代十國時期，後周的第二位統治者周世宗柴榮，命令以摧毀佛像鑄造錢幣而出名的「周元通寶」。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。正面錢文「周元通寶」，自上而下，由右至左對讀。字體較小，隸書「通」字左側三道類似月紋的筆劃改為三點，疑為仿鑄。錢幕錢穿上方有一仰月。

周元通寶為顯德2年(公元955年) 起鑄造，周世宗面對唐朝末年以來，銅錢缺乏的困局，一面向鄰國高麗購買鑄造錢幣所需的銅礦，另一方面，在國內下令禁止民間私藏銅器，並且將目光轉向大肆發展的佛寺。自從南北朝以來，來自印度的佛教逐漸成為中原主流的宗教信仰，然而佛教的外來根源以及強大的經濟和政治力量，使得佛教也曾多次面對朝廷的打壓。

周世宗意圖沒收佛寺財產和把銅製佛像鑄造為錢幣的打算，在朝廷內面對篤信佛教的親信和大臣的反對。周世宗機靈地以佛教「捨身飼虎」典故，即佛教提倡以造福眾人為重的精神，佛祖為了拯救老虎願意捨去肉身，那麼怎麼會在意自己的銅像，以此去打消大臣們的顧忌。

周世宗得到大臣的支持後，對於錢幣的鑄造非常重視，甚至就在宮廷內設立幾十座大爐灶，親自督導錢幣的鑄造過程。周世宗仿效唐朝的開元通寶鑄幣，為同時期品質最為上等的錢幣。而周元通寶以佛像鑄造的背景，在民間被冠上能醫治難症的神奇傳聞，甚至在明清兩代會有人特意購買周元通寶作為護身符配戴。也因此，歷代均有仿鑄。