Item number: A4726

Reference number: Yu#249; Zheng#571

Year: AD 1644-1912

Material: Brass

Size: 22.4 x 22.1 mm

Weight: 5.5 g

Provenance: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2026

This is a Chinese numismatic charm cast during the Qing dynasty, likely produced within the Lingnan region.

Its typology follows the traditional round coin with a square central aperture common to the Sinographic cultural sphere. The seal-script inscription reads Shuilu ping’an (“Safe Journey Through Land and Water”), read crosswise from right to left and from top to bottom. Flanking the square central aperture on the reverse, a broadsword appears on the left and a trident on the right. Such martial iconography typically symbolises the warding off of evil influences, the averting of misfortune, and the expulsion of malevolent spirits. Above the aperture lies the constellation of the Northern Dipper, traditionally believed to govern mortal destiny, whilst below it is the Kan trigram (☵) from the Eight Trigrams (Bagua). In the Zhouyi (Book of Changes), Kan signifies water and perilous obstacles; as the Commentary on the Judgments (Tuanzhuan) observes: “Water flows on without overflowing; it traverses perils without forfeiting its trust; the heart achieves penetration, for it remains firm and central.” This denotes that although water flows through perilous depths, it does not inundate beyond measure; similarly, when traversing hazards, holding fast to good faith and resolute central integrity ensures unhindered passage. The Kan trigram thus embodies the wish to transform peril into safety and to protect the traveller during their journeys.

In earlier studies, eminent numismatists such as Ma Dingxiang hypothesised that this piece was not merely a conventional apotropaic charm, but may have been connected to the “Kan” Boxer unit in Tianjin during the Boxer Uprising, perhaps even serving as a special token of credence or badge of faith (pingxin qian) commissioned or worn by its members.

Historically, the employment of coins as tokens of credence can be traced back to the reign of Wang Mang, who decreed that officials and commoners passing through checkpoints must carry spade coins alongside official tallies. By the early Southern Song dynasty, General Liu Guangshi specially cast Zhaona Xinbao (“Tokens of Credence for Enlisting Defectors”) in gold, silver, and bronze to serve as credentials for defecting Jurchen Jin soldiers, establishing what has since been recognised as a quintessential example of token coinage. By the Qing period, tokens of credence were widely adopted by secret societies and popular religious organisations. For example, during the Xianfeng reign, the “Gold Coin Society” (Jinquan Hui), an offshoot of the Heaven and Earth Society (Tiandihui), cast coins inscribed Jinquan Yiji (“Righteous Mark of the Gold Coin”). Similarly, the Zhejiang Tiandihui cast coins bearing encrypted characters on their reverses, such as Yong (Perpetual), Sheng (Sacred), Wen (Civil), and Wu (Martial)—exemplified by the Tianchao Tongbao with Yong on the reverse and the Huangdi Tongbao with Sheng on the reverse—which served to authenticate members’ identities and convey clandestine instructions. It was precisely on these historical grounds that certain earlier numismatists linked the Boxer “Kan” unit in Tianjin during the Boxer Uprising with the “Safe Travels by Water and Land” charm, postulating that it belonged to this genre of identification tokens.

The Righteous and Harmonious Fists (Yihequan) originated within the Eight Trigrams Sect (Baguajiao), emerging in Tangyi County, Shandong Province, under the earlier appellation of the “Righteous and Harmonious Society” (Yihehui). Confronted by rigorous surveillance and arrests by the Shandong provincial authorities, the Boxers went underground, dispersing into Hejian Prefecture, Jingzhou, and Xian County within Zhili Province. During this evolution, the Qian Boxers initiated the insurrection, followed promptly by the Kan Boxers. In terms of lineage, the Kan Boxers were regarded as remnants of Lin Qing’s Heavenly Principle Sect (Tianlijiao, a branch of the Eight Trigrams Sect) from the Jiaqing reign, whereas the Qian Boxers were descended from Gao Shengwen’s Li Trigram Sect; both factions initially favoured the colour red. The Kan Boxers spread predominantly across the region between Cangzhou and Jinghai County. Their pedagogical and ritual practices were distinctive: after burning incense and performing prostrations, initiates were required to fall flat on their faces from a standing posture, instantly leap upwards, and dance whilst brandishing martial weapons. This contrasted sharply with the Qian Boxers’ rituals, in which adherents lay prone on the ground with tightly closed mouths, foamed at the mouth, and invoked spirit possession.

The paramount leader of the Kan Boxers was Zhang Decheng, a native of the Baigou River area. Zhang had originally earned his living as a boatman plying the waters between the Yu and Xi Rivers. Later, in the town of Duliu in Jinghai County, he awed the local peasantry through sorcerous arts, such as pasting paper over sorghum stalks. Acclaimed as a “True Divine Master”, he established an altar known as the “First Altar Under Heaven” at Duliu, which became the principal source of the Boxer upheaval in Tianjin. At the time, Cao Futian, another Boxer chieftain in Tianjin who styled himself “Acting Commander of the Righteous Divine Boxers in the Jinghai-Tianjin Region”, likewise deferred to Zhang Decheng as supreme leader. Rather than proscribing his activities, Yulu, the Viceroy of Zhili, received Zhang into his official yamun with the high ceremony of an eight-bearer sedan chair, and petitioned the imperial court to confer upon him a first-rank button, a peacock feather, and the imperial Yellow Riding Jacket. Consequently, the Kan unit proliferated throughout the Tianjin prefecture, establishing numerous altars, extorting military provisions, and burning down churches and foreign establishments at the zenith of its power.

In the seventh lunar month of the Gengzi year (AD 1900), the Eight-Nation Alliance captured Tianjin, causing Boxer power to collapse rapidly. Fleeing to Wangjiakou with a vast hoard of extorted wealth, Zhang Decheng incurred the deep indignation of the local salt merchants and villagers on account of his overbearing arrogance and his demands for lavish hospitality. The incensed villagers banded together to seize him; mocking his supposed invulnerability to blade and spear, they surrounded and hacked him, ultimately putting him to death in a gruesome manner. His surviving followers fled to the Baigou River and elevated his younger brother, Zhang San (“Third Master”), in an attempt to re-establish the First Altar Under Heaven. However, they were soon driven out by the concerted efforts of the local populace, and the remnants of the Kan unit were utterly scattered and crushed.

In truth, the iconography and symbols on the “Safe Travels by Water and Land” charm appear to predate the late Qing period and were almost certainly not created by the Boxer Kan unit; judging from its brass alloy composition and casting craftsmanship, numismatists generally ascribe its manufacture to the Lingnan region. At present, there remains no definitive archaeological artefact or documentary evidence to substantiate any direct association with the Boxer movement.

物件編號: A4726

參考書目編號: Yu#249; Zheng#571

年代: 公元 1644-1912 年

材質: 黃銅

尺寸: 22.4 x 22.1 mm

重量: 5.5 g

來源: Stephen Album Rare Coins 2026

這是一枚清代所鑄花錢，可能為嶺南地區所鑄。

錢幣形制為漢文化圈傳統的方孔圓錢。篆書錢文「水陸平安」，由右至左，由上而下對讀。背面方穿左側為刀，右側為叉。該類兵器圖案通常象徵著辟邪禳災、驅逐凶煞。方穿上方則為北斗七星，主吉凶禍福。下方為八卦中的坎卦，《周易》中代表水與險阻，易傳曰「水有流而不盈，行險而不失其信，維心亨，乃以剛中也」，意指水流雖險但不致溢陷，行於險境只要持守誠信與剛中之道即可亨通無阻，坎卦於是寄託了化險為夷、保佑行旅安全的寓意。

著名錢幣學家馬定祥等學者早期曾提出推測，認為此錢不僅僅是厭勝錢，而可能與庚子拳變期間天津義和團「坎」字團有所牽連，甚至是坎字團所特別鑄造或佩戴的憑信錢。

歷史上，以錢為信物，或可追溯到王莽年間令「吏民出入，持布錢以副符傳」。至南宋初年，將領劉光世為了招納歸附的金兵，特別鑄造金、銀、銅三色的「招納信寶」錢作為投誠信物，成為後世公認典型的憑信錢。到了清代，憑信錢更被秘密結社與民間組織廣泛運用，例如咸豐年間天地會支派「金錢會」所鑄之「金錢義記」，以及浙江天地會所鑄背加「永」、「聖」、「文」、「武」等暗號字樣的錢幣（如「天朝通寶」背「永」、「皇帝通寶」背「聖」等），皆是用以辨認會友身分與傳達密令的信物。正因如此，過去部分錢幣學者才會將庚子拳變時期天津義和團「坎」字團與「水陸平安」花錢聯繫起來，認為其亦屬於憑信錢的一類。

義和拳最早源於八卦教，起於山東堂邑縣，舊稱為「義和會」。因山東地方官府嚴加查捕，拳民遂隱匿轉入直隸河間府、景州與獻縣一帶。在此過程中，乾字拳率先發難，坎字拳隨後響應。從派系淵源來看，坎字拳被視為嘉慶年間天理教（八卦教）林清的餘部，而乾字拳則為離卦教郜生文的餘部，兩派最初皆尚紅色。坎字拳主要蔓延於滄州至靜海縣一帶。其傳習儀軌相當特殊：弟子在焚香叩拜後，需直立而撲倒，撲倒後隨即躍起，跳躍手持兵械而舞；這與乾字拳閉口伏地、口吐白沫呼喊神降的儀式截然不同。

坎字拳的核心領袖為白溝河人張德成。張德成原本在玉河與西河之間操舟為業，後在靜海縣獨流鎮以「秫秸粘紙」等符術震懾鄉民，被推為真神師並設壇，創立了號稱「天下第一壇」的獨流壇口，成為天津義和團禍亂的源頭。當時天津另一拳匪魁首曹福田自署「署理靜津一帶義和神團」，亦尊張德成居首。直隸總督裕祿對其非但不加禁絕，反而以八人大轎禮迎張德成進入節署，並奏保朝廷賞賜頭品頂戴、花翎與黃馬褂。坎字團遂在津郡廣設壇口、強索軍械、焚毀教堂與洋店，極盛一時。

庚子年（公元1900年）七月，八國聯軍攻陷天津，義和團勢力迅速崩潰。張德成攜帶巨額資財逃奔至王家口，因對當地鹽商與鄉民態度極其傲慢、索要高規格接待，引發村人強烈憤慨。憤怒的鄉民合力將張德成抓獲，嘲諷並圍砍圍觀其能否「避刀劍」，最終將張德成砍死，血肉糜爛。其餘眾逃至白溝河推舉張德成之弟張三（三師父）企圖重立天下第一壇，但隨後遭村人聯合驅逐，坎字團餘眾徹底四散潰敗。

至於水陸平安錢的圖符或要早於清末，恐非義和團坎字團所創製，依其銅質與鑄工，多認為出自嶺南地區。目前暫無確鑿的考古實物或文獻證據能證明其與義和團有直接關聯。