The cash ( Chinese : 文 ; pinyin : wén ) was a currency denomination used in China in imperial times. It was the chief denomination until the introduction of the yuan in the late 19th century.
64-520: The Hongwu Tongbao ( simplified Chinese : 洪武通宝 ; traditional Chinese : 洪武通寶 ; pinyin : Hóngwǔ tōng bǎo ; lit. 'vastly martial circulating treasure' Japanese : Kōbu Tsūhō) was the first cash coin to bear the reign name of a reigning Ming dynasty Emperor bearing the reign title of the Hongwu Emperor . Hongwu Tongbao cash coins officially replaced the earlier Dazhong Tongbao ( Chinese : 大中通寶 ) coins, however
128-443: A component—either a character or a sub-component called a radical —usually involves either a reduction in its total number of strokes , or an apparent streamlining of which strokes are chosen in what places—for example, the ⼓ ' WRAP ' radical used in the traditional character 沒 is simplified to ⼏ ' TABLE ' to form the simplified character 没 . By systematically simplifying radicals, large swaths of
192-434: A conversion table. While exercising such derivation, the following rules should be observed: Sample Derivations : The Series One List of Variant Characters reduces the number of total standard characters. First, amongst each set of variant characters sharing identical pronunciation and meaning, one character (usually the simplest in form) is elevated to the standard character set, and the rest are made obsolete. Then amongst
256-407: A few revised forms, and was implemented for official use by China's State Council on 5 June 2013. In Chinese, simplified characters are referred to by their official name 简化字 ; jiǎnhuàzì , or colloquially as 简体字 ; jiǎntǐzì . The latter term refers broadly to all character variants featuring simplifications of character form or structure, a practice which has always been present as
320-404: A large Hongwu Tongbao charm may feature a lamb and an ox on its left side symbolising how Zhu Yuanzhang was born into a very poor family of peasants, a Buddhist monk seated on a lotus throne above the square center hole symbolising how he lived in a Buddhist monastery in his youth, next to this Buddhist monk are other Buddhist symbols such as "auspicious clouds" (祥雲) and a bodhi tree , which
384-539: A large number of imported Ming dynasty cash coins (明銭) started circulating as Shichūsen (私鋳銭) from the sixteenth century. On the island of Kyushu a village named Kajiki in the Satsuma Domain produced a large quantity of cash coins between the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries as Satsuma had a very active trade with the Ryukyu Kingdom , these imitations of Ming dynasty cash coins bore
448-610: A newly coined phono-semantic compound : Removing radicals Only retaining single radicals Replacing with ancient forms or variants : Adopting ancient vulgar variants : Readopting abandoned phonetic-loan characters : Copying and modifying another traditional character : Based on 132 characters and 14 components listed in Chart 2 of the Complete List , the 1,753 derived characters found in Chart 3 can be created by systematically simplifying components using Chart 2 as
512-573: A part of the Chinese writing system. The official name tends to refer to the specific, systematic set published by the Chinese government, which includes not only simplifications of individual characters, but also a substantial reduction in the total number of characters through the merger of formerly distinct forms. According to Chinese palaeographer Qiu Xigui , the broadest trend in the evolution of Chinese characters over their history has been simplification, both in graphical shape ( 字形 ; zìxíng ),
576-412: A size of 43 millimeters in diameter and weighs 29.2 grams depicts a less detailed scene where the reverse features a little boy playing a flute riding either an ox or a water buffalo , in this case the young boy represents Zhu Yuanzhang (or Emperor Taizu) in his youth while the flute he is playing is a symbol associated with a care free life while it is also both a Buddhist and a Taoist symbol. In Taoism
640-440: Is actually more complex than eliminated ones. An example is the character 搾 which is eliminated in favor of the variant form 榨 . The 扌 'HAND' with three strokes on the left of the eliminated 搾 is now seen as more complex, appearing as the ⽊ 'TREE' radical 木 , with four strokes, in the chosen variant 榨 . Not all characters standardised in the simplified set consist of fewer strokes. For instance,
704-454: Is derived. Merging homophonous characters: Adapting cursive shapes ( 草書楷化 ): Replacing a component with a simple arbitrary symbol (such as 又 and 乂 ): Omitting entire components : Omitting components, then applying further alterations : Structural changes that preserve the basic shape Replacing the phonetic component of phono-semantic compounds : Replacing an uncommon phonetic component : Replacing entirely with
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#1732772141356768-813: Is now discouraged. A State Language Commission official cited "oversimplification" as the reason for restoring some characters. The language authority declared an open comment period until 31 August 2009, for feedback from the public. In 2013, the List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters was published as a revision of the 1988 lists; it included a total of 8105 characters. It included 45 newly recognized standard characters that were previously considered variant forms, as well as official approval of 226 characters that had been simplified by analogy and had seen wide use but were not explicitly given in previous lists or documents. Singapore underwent three successive rounds of character simplification , eventually arriving at
832-623: Is referred to as the " big seal script ". The traditional narrative, as also attested in the Shuowen Jiezi dictionary ( c. 100 AD ), is that the Qin small seal script that would later be imposed across China was originally derived from the Zhou big seal script with few modifications. However, the body of epigraphic evidence comparing the character forms used by scribes gives no indication of any real consolidation in character forms prior to
896-547: Is used instead of 叠 in regions using traditional characters. The Chinese government stated that it wished to keep Chinese orthography stable. The Chart of Generally Utilized Characters of Modern Chinese was published in 1988 and included 7000 simplified and unsimplified characters. Of these, half were also included in the revised List of Commonly Used Characters in Modern Chinese , which specified 2500 common characters and 1000 less common characters. In 2009,
960-670: The Chinese language , with the other being traditional characters . Their mass standardization during the 20th century was part of an initiative by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to promote literacy, and their use in ordinary circumstances on the mainland has been encouraged by the Chinese government since the 1950s. They are the official forms used in mainland China and Singapore , while traditional characters are officially used in Hong Kong , Macau , and Taiwan . Simplification of
1024-696: The Da Ming Baochao banknotes. From this point the government of the Ming dynasty did not produce any copper coinage at a large scale until the Yongle Tongbao (永樂通寳) was cast for foreign trade between 1408 and 1410, while the production of copper cash coins for domestic circulation didn't resume until the introduction of the Hongzhi Tongbao (弘治通寶) in 1503 by the Beijing mint. In Japan
1088-459: The Republic of China in 1912, this was because casting or having in one's possession a "coin" which showed the life of a Chinese emperor during the imperial period would lead to them facing almost certain death. However, as the threat of punishment for circulating these charms disappeared in 1912 they became more commonplace. The reason why Hongwu Tongbao charms and amulets became very popular with
1152-685: The "Dot" stroke : The traditional components ⺥ and 爫 become ⺈ : The traditional component 奐 becomes 奂 : Chinese cash (currency unit) The English word " cash ", meaning "tangible currency", is an older word from Portuguese caixa or Middle French caisse ("box", or "case"). The term was first used on coins issued in Guangdong Province in 1900. It did not appear on paper money until later. The plural forms "cash" and "cashes" were both used. The Chinese character wen (Chinese: 文 ; pinyin: wén ) has several other meanings in modern Chinese. The wen
1216-459: The "external appearances of individual graphs", and in graphical form ( 字体 ; 字體 ; zìtǐ ), "overall changes in the distinguishing features of graphic[al] shape and calligraphic style, [...] in most cases refer[ring] to rather obvious and rather substantial changes". The initiatives following the founding of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) to universalize the use of their small seal script across
1280-482: The 1986 General List of Simplified Chinese Characters , hereafter the General List . All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Chart 1 and Chart 2 in the 1986 Complete List . Characters in both charts are structurally simplified based on similar set of principles. They are separated into two charts to clearly mark those in Chart 2 as 'usable as simplified character components', based on which Chart 3
1344-520: The 1986 mainland China revisions. Unlike in mainland China, Singapore parents have the option of registering their children's names in traditional characters. Malaysia also promulgated a set of simplified characters in 1981, though completely identical to the mainland Chinese set. They are used in Chinese-language schools. All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Charts 1 and 2 of
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#17327721413561408-540: The 19th century during the Qing dynasty . In 1853, Great Qing Treasure Note banknotes were introduced in denominations of 500, 1000 and 2000 wén. 5000 wén notes followed in 1856, with 10,000, 50,000 and 100,000 wén notes added in 1857. The last of these notes were issued in 1859. Early Korean , Japanese , Ryukyuan , and Vietnamese currencies, the Korean mun , Japanese mon , Ryukyuan mon , and Vietnamese văn (where it
1472-470: The Chinese government published a major revision to the list which included a total of 8300 characters. No new simplifications were introduced. In addition, slight modifications to the orthography of 44 characters to fit traditional calligraphic rules were initially proposed, but were not implemented due to negative public response. Also, the practice of unrestricted simplification of rare and archaic characters by analogy using simplified radicals or components
1536-458: The Chinese masses is because these amulets represented the hope that those who come from less than fortunate beginnings may grow up to become the Emperor , this was because Zhu Yuanzhang was born to an impoverished peasant family, his parents died while he was very young, became a beggar , later found employment as a shepherd boy, and eventually moved to live in a Buddhist monastery . As he saw
1600-731: The Hongwu period is because Dazhong Tongbao cash coins with mintmarks from Fuzhou , Fujian have been produced despite the Fuzhou mint only opening its doors in 1394, other Dazhong Tongbao cash coins without any reverse mint marks are presumed to have been cast in either the Jiangxi , Shaanxi , Sichuan , or Yunnan mints when these mints were in operation. Mints were established in various cities and provinces including Nanjing, Beiping , Henan , Jinan , Zhejiang , Fujian , Hubei , Guangdong , and Guilin . From 1375 each Chinese provincial mint (寶泉局)
1664-660: The Minting Department of the Board of Works (寶源局) was set up in Ying Tian Fu ( Nanjing ) by Zhu Yuanzhang who at the time ruled under the title of "Prince of Wu" and created the mint before the Yuan dynasty was driven out of China. The first cash coins issued by Zhu Yuanzhang actually bore the inscription " Dazhong Tongbao " (大中通寶) because he wanted to name his name country the "Great Zhong dynasty" (大中朝) but eventually
1728-512: The appropriate number of 1 wén coins strung together. In the 19th century, foreign coins began to circulate widely in China, particularly silver coins such as the Mexican peso . In 1889, Chinese currency began to be denominated in the yuan and its subdivisions. The cash or wén was retained in this system as 1 ⁄ 1000 yuan. Traditional style, cast 1 wén coins continued to be produced until
1792-428: The character set are altered. Some simplifications were based on popular cursive forms that embody graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms. In addition, variant characters with identical pronunciation and meaning were reduced to a single standardized character, usually the simplest among all variants in form. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification and are thus identical between
1856-407: The chosen variants, those that appear in the "Complete List of Simplified Characters" are also simplified in character structure accordingly. Some examples follow: Sample reduction of equivalent variants : Ancient variants with simple structure are preferred : Simpler vulgar forms are also chosen : The chosen variant was already simplified in Chart 1 : In some instances, the chosen variant
1920-421: The coins to be strung together to create higher denominations, as was frequently done due to the coin's low value. The number of coins in a string of cash (simplified Chinese: 一贯钱 ; traditional Chinese: 一貫錢 ; pinyin: yīguàn qián ) varied over time and place but was nominally 1000. A string of 1000 wén was supposed to be equal in value to one tael ( liǎng ) of pure silver . Each string of cash
1984-473: The country's writing system as a serious impediment to its modernization. In 1916, a multi-part English-language article entitled "The Problem of the Chinese Language" co-authored by the Chinese linguist Yuen Ren Chao (1892–1982) and poet Hu Shih (1891–1962) has been identified as a turning point in the history of the Chinese script—as it was one of the first clear calls for China to move away from
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2048-426: The early 20th century. In 1909, the educator and linguist Lufei Kui formally proposed the use of simplified characters in education for the first time. Over the following years—marked by the 1911 Xinhai Revolution that toppled the Qing dynasty , followed by growing social and political discontent that further erupted into the 1919 May Fourth Movement —many anti-imperialist intellectuals throughout China began to see
2112-729: The end of the Chinese Empire in 1911. The last coins denominated in cash were struck in the early years of the Republic of China in 1924. The term is still used today in colloquial Cantonese ( mān ), but written as 蚊 to represent Hong Kong dollars . Numerous authorities issued coins denominated in wén in the nineteenth century, including departments of the Imperial government (The Board of Revenue and Board of Public Works ) together with provincial authorities. Most coins were 1 wén denominations, but denominations of 4, 5, 10, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 wén were also issued. After
2176-634: The first official list of simplified forms was published, consisting of 324 characters collated by Peking University professor Qian Xuantong . However, fierce opposition within the KMT resulted in the list being rescinded in 1936. Work throughout the 1950s resulted in the 1956 promulgation of the Chinese Character Simplification Scheme , a draft of 515 simplified characters and 54 simplified components, whose simplifications would be present in most compound characters. Over
2240-463: The first round—but was massively unpopular and never saw consistent use. The second round of simplifications was ultimately retracted officially in 1986, well after they had largely ceased to be used due to their unpopularity and the confusion they caused. In August 2009, China began collecting public comments for a revised list of simplified characters; the resulting List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters lists 8,105 characters, including
2304-583: The flute is associated with the immortal Lan Caihe while in Buddhism it is used in meditation which alludes to Zhu Yuanzhang's life in a Buddhist monastery. Meanwhile, not all larger Hongwu Tongbao charms feature more complex scenery as there is an example which only features an ox or water buffalo on the reverse alluding to the humble beginnings of the first Ming dynasty emperor. Simplified Chinese characters Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized character sets widely used to write
2368-475: The following decade, the Script Reform Committee deliberated on characters in the 1956 scheme, collecting public input regarding the recognizability of variants, and often approving forms in small batches. Parallel to simplification, there were also initiatives aimed at eliminating the use of characters entirely and replacing them with pinyin as an official Chinese alphabet, but this possibility
2432-459: The founding of the Qin. The Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) that inherited the Qin administration coincided with the perfection of clerical script through the process of libian . Eastward spread of Western learning Though most closely associated with the People's Republic, the idea of a mass simplification of character forms first gained traction in China during
2496-466: The increased usage of 朙 was followed by proliferation of a third variant: 眀 , with 目 'eye' on the left—likely derived as a contraction of 朙 . Ultimately, 明 became the character's standard form. The Book of Han (111 AD) describes an earlier attempt made by King Xuan of Zhou ( d. 782 BC ) to unify character forms across the states of ancient China , with his chief chronicler having "[written] fifteen chapters describing" what
2560-553: The injustices the Chinese people were suffering under the rule of the Yuan dynasty he joined the red turban rebellion and through his own ability managed to lead the rebellion and restore Chinese independence from foreign rule establishing the Ming dynasty with himself as its Emperor Taizu. This story inspired many commoners to believe that they and their offspring could amount to become successful despite their own humble beginnings, for this reason Chinese charms and amulets that carried
2624-435: The inscription "Hongwu Tongbao" became very popular and many of these usually depict either a part of or the entire aforementioned story. Usually these Hongwu Tongbao charms and amulets are a lot bigger than actual Hongwu Tongbao cash coins for example being 69 millimeters in diameter. However many of these charms and amulets need to be big because they depict very complex scenes of symbolism on their reverse sides. For example,
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2688-582: The inscription "Kōbu Tsūhō" but had the Kanji character "治" (Ji) on its reverse to indicate that it was struck in Kajiki. List of mint marks on Hongwu Tongbao cash coins: Chinese numismatic charms with the inscription "Hongwu Tongbao" (洪武通寶) are common however those with graphic depictions of the life of Zhu Yuanzhang only began to appear after the Xinhai revolution overthrew the Qing dynasty and established
2752-459: The introduction of the yuan, coins were struck in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 cash or wén. The world's first paper money , issued in China between the 7th and 15th centuries, was denominated in wén. The notes carried depictions of coins, sometimes in strings of ten. The notes of the Yuan dynasty suffered from hyperinflation due to over production without sufficient coins to back them and were withdrawn. Chinese paper money reappeared in
2816-465: The left, with the 月 'Moon' component on the right. Li Si ( d. 208 BC ), the Chancellor of Qin, attempted to universalize the Qin small seal script across China following the wars that had politically unified the country for the first time. Li prescribed the 朙 form of the word for 'bright', but some scribes ignored this and continued to write the character as 明 . However,
2880-402: The most prominent Chinese authors of the 20th century, stated that "if Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die" ( 漢字不滅，中國必亡 ). During the 1930s and 1940s, discussions regarding simplification took place within the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party. Many members of the Chinese intelligentsia maintained that simplification would increase literacy rates throughout the country. In 1935,
2944-583: The name was settled on the "Great Ming dynasty " (大明朝) and the Hongwu period was proclaimed and the introduction of the Hongwu Tongbao (洪武通寶). Despite the new coinage being issued the Dazhong Tongbao would continue to be cast as reconquering China from the Mongols would take several years, one of the reasons why it is confirmed that the production of the Dazhong Tongbao was continued well into
3008-497: The production of the latter did not cease after the Hongwu Tongbao was introduced. The government of the Ming dynasty placed a greater reliance on copper cash coins than the Yuan dynasty ever did, but despite this reliance a nationwide copper shortage caused the production of Hongwu Tongbao cash coins to cease several times eventually leading to their discontinuation in 1393 when they were completely phased out in favour of paper money . In
3072-430: The public and quickly fell out of official use. It was ultimately formally rescinded in 1986. The second-round simplifications were unpopular in large part because most of the forms were completely new, in contrast to the familiar variants comprising the majority of the first round. With the rescission of the second round, work toward further character simplification largely came to an end. In 1986, authorities retracted
3136-465: The recently conquered parts of the empire is generally seen as being the first real attempt at script reform in Chinese history. Before the 20th century, variation in character shape on the part of scribes, which would continue with the later invention of woodblock printing , was ubiquitous. For example, prior to the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) the character meaning 'bright' was written as either 明 or 朙 —with either 日 'Sun' or 囧 'window' on
3200-481: The same set of simplified characters as mainland China. The first round was promulgated by the Ministry of Education in 1969, consisting of 498 simplified characters derived from 502 traditional characters. A second round of 2287 simplified characters was promulgated in 1974. The second set contained 49 differences from the mainland China system; these were removed in the final round in 1976. In 1993, Singapore adopted
3264-467: The second round completely, though they had been largely fallen out of use within a year of their initial introduction. That year, the authorities also promulgated a final version of the General List of Simplified Chinese Characters . It was identical to the 1964 list save for 6 changes—including the restoration of 3 characters that had been simplified in the first round: 叠 , 覆 , 像 ; the form 疊
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#17327721413563328-497: The traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies. The Chinese government has never officially announced the completion of the simplification process after the bulk of characters were introduced by the 1960s. In the wake of the Cultural Revolution , a second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977—largely composed of entirely new variants intended to artificially lower the stroke count, in contrast to
3392-833: The traditional character 強 , with 11 strokes is standardised as 强 , with 12 strokes, which is a variant character. Such characters do not constitute simplified characters. The new standardized character forms shown in the Characters for Publishing and revised through the Common Modern Characters list tend to adopt vulgar variant character forms. Since the new forms take vulgar variants, many characters now appear slightly simpler compared to old forms, and as such are often mistaken as structurally simplified characters. Some examples follow: The traditional component 釆 becomes 米 : The traditional component 囚 becomes 日 : The traditional "Break" stroke becomes
3456-522: The use of characters entirely. Instead, Chao proposed that the language be written with an alphabet, which he saw as more logical and efficient. The alphabetization and simplification campaigns would exist alongside one another among the Republican intelligentsia for the next several decades. Recent commentators have echoed some contemporary claims that Chinese characters were blamed for the economic problems in China during that time. Lu Xun , one of
3520-421: The weight of the 1 wén Hongwu Tongbao cash coins was increased to 1.2 qián . It was also officially stipulated by law that the Hongwu Tongbao cash coins would be made from 100% copper and that 160 of the 1 qián cash coins would be made from one jin (斤) of copper. The complete production of Chinese copper cash coins was suspended in the year 1393 when the usage of copper coinage was also made illegal in favour of
3584-404: The year 1368, bronze cash coins were cast in five denominations which included 1 wén (小平), 2 wén (折二), 3 wén (折三), 5 wén (折五), and 10 wén (當十), however in 1371 the production of larger sized Hongwu Tongbao and Dazhong Tongbao cash coins were discontinued due to the fact that people didn't accept them for their nominal value on the market. Between the years 1375 and 1376 the production of cash coins
3648-600: The year 1393 there were a total of 325 furnaces in operation in all provincial mints of China which had an annual output of 189,000 strings of cash coins (or 1,890,000 cash coins annually) which was merely 3% of the average annual production during the Northern Song dynasty . Japanese Kōbu Tsūhō cash coins continued to be manufactured well into the seventeenth century as a result of trade with China which caused Ming dynasty era cash coins to circulate in Japan. In 1361
3712-464: Was abandoned, confirmed by a speech given by Zhou Enlai in 1958. In 1965, the PRC published the List of Commonly Used Characters for Printing [ zh ] (hereafter Characters for Printing ), which included standard printed forms for 6196 characters, including all of the forms from the 1956 scheme. A second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977, but was poorly received by
3776-485: Was both used for cash coins and as a currency unit ), were derived from the Chinese wén and written with the same character. In 1695, the Shogunate placed the character gen (Chinese: 元 ; pinyin: yuán ) on the obverse of copper coins. Vietnam gained independence from China in 938 and merely carried on the tradition of using cash. The first Vietnamese cash was issued in 968. The smallest unit of
3840-497: Was completely stopped but was later resumed, however a national shortage of copper forced the government of the Ming dynasty to completely suspend the manufacture of cash coins in 1387 for a period of two years, after the mintage of Chinese cash coins was resumed in 1389 the standard weights were set where copper Hongwu Tongbao coins of 1 wén would weigh 1 qián , 2 wén weighed 2 qián , 3 wén weighed 3 qián , 5 wén weighed 5 qián , and 10 wén weighed 1 liǎng , while in 1390
3904-511: Was divided in ten sections of 100. The person who strung the cash into a string took one, two, or three cash per hundred, depending on local custom, as payment for his effort. So, in fact, an ounce of silver could vary in exchange from 970 to 990 cash (or more) between two places fairly close together. In places in the North where there was a shortage of coinage a string of 500 exchanged for an ounce of silver. Paper money sometimes showed pictures of
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#17327721413563968-414: Was one of the chief units of currency in China and was used to denominate both coins and paper money. Other denominations were used, including various weights, based on the tael system, for sycee silver and gold ingots. Until the 19th century, coins denominated in wen were cast, the most common formation being the round-shaped copper coin with a square or circular hole in the centre. The hole enabled
4032-410: Was required by the government to mark the reverse side of each cash coin with both its value and place of casting. In Jiangxi there were 115 furnaces in operation for the production of cash coins while in provinces where copper was less abundant the government ordered the people to hand in their copper for the production of cash coins. The production of the Hongwu Tongbao cash coins itself was started in
4096-466: Was the tree under which Gautama Buddha claimed to have found spiritual enlightenment. Another symbol included on this coin charm is a horse located right of the square center hole which symbolises the Mongols whose culture is strongly associated with the horse, the Mongol Yuan dynasty was overthrown by a rebellion of which Zhu Yuanzhang was a part. Another example of a Hongwu Tongbao charm with
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