Knife money Ancient Chinese coinage

yan state knife money (燕国刀币)



six-word knife money

knife money same shape actual knives in use during zhou period. appear have evolved in parallel spade money in north-east of china.

qi knives: these large knives attributed state of qi, , found in shandong area. not appear have circulated outside of area. although there has been considerable controversy concerning date of issue, archaeology shows them products of warring states period. known 3 character knives, 4 character knives , on, according number of characters in inscriptions. consider 3 horizontal lines , mark below on reverses part of inscription. inscription refers establishment of state of qi. have been in 1122 bc, 894 bc, 685 bc, or 386 bc, depending on how 1 interprets histories. 2 later dates introduction of these coins. alloy of 3 character knives contains around 54% copper, 38% lead, , 8% tin. 4 , 5 character knives contain 70% copper.
needle tip knives: type of knife money distinguished long, pointed tip. unknown until 1932, when hoard unearthed @ chengde in hebei province; later hoards have been found in area. has been suggested such knives produced trade between chinese , xiongnu (huns) occupied northern area @ time. type merely local variation of pointed tip knives, or original type became modified inconvenient use. fifty inscriptions have been recorded, consist of numbers, cyclical characters, , other characters, many of have not been deciphered.
pointed tip knives: end of blade curved lacks long pointed tip of needle tip knives. find spots of type of knife money in north-east of china associate state of yan. in recent years, hoards of 2,000 of these knives have been made, tied in bundles of 25, 50, or 100. on 160 different inscriptions have been recorded. inscriptions represent numbers or cyclical characters, many have not been deciphered. unlike hollow handle spade money, characters have not been associated known places names. sizes , weights (11 16 grams) variable, leading various sub-types being proposed various authorities.
ming knives: ming knives smaller pointed tip knives, , tips approximately straight. type of knife money takes name character on obverse, has traditionally been read ming (chinese: 明; pinyin: míng). other proposals have been yi (chinese: 易; pinyin: yì), ju (chinese: 莒; pinyin: jǔ), ming (chinese: 盟; pinyin: méng), , zhao (chinese: 召; pinyin: zhào). mint ming knives unearthed @ xiadu, south west of peking. site of yi, capital of state of yan 360 bc, reading of yi has found favour recently. moulds have been discovered in shandong. these coins have been found, in great quantities, in provinces of hebei, henan, shandong, shanxi, shaanxi, manchuria, , far afield korea , japan. found pointed , square foot spade money.


two different shapes of ming knife found. first, presumably earlier, curved pointed tip knives. second has straight blade , pronounced angled bend in middle. shape known 磬 qing, chime stone. alloy contains around 40% copper; weigh around 16 grams.


a wide range of characters found on reverses of ming knives. single characters or numerals, similar found on pointed tip knives. 2 large groups have inscriptions begin characters (chinese: 右; pinyin: yòu; literally: right ) or zuo (chinese: 左; pinyin: zuǒ; literally: left ), followed numerals or other characters. has subsidiary meaning of junior or west; zuo can mean senior or east. (the excavations @ xiadu revealed in inner city zuo gong left-hand palace, , gong right-hand palace.) similarities between other characters in these 2 groups show determined same system. smaller group has inscriptions beginning wai (chinese: 外; pinyin: wài; literally: outside ), other characters not have in common , zuo groups. fourth group has inscriptions beginning unclear character, , other characters similar found in , zuo groups. analogy wai, unclear character has been read nei (chinese: 内; pinyin: nèi; literally: inside ) or zhong (chinese: 中; pinyin: zhōng; literally: centre ).


state of qi ming knives (boshan knives): general appearance similar ming knives. ming character large , angular. have extensive reverse inscriptions. hoard of these knives unearthed in jiaqing period (1796–1820) in boshan in eastern shandong. later finds have been made in same area. area part of state of qi; , legends refer qi. between 284 , 279 bc, state of yan occupied of territory of qi, , accepted these coins come time. otherwise, reverse inscriptions, appear refer place names, have not been satisfactorily deciphered. 1 reading gives first character ju (chinese: 莒; pinyin: jǔ) ju city.
straight knives: these smaller knives, , blades not curved or curved. issued few places in state of zhao. category includes other smaller knives of various shapes. found in hoards ming knives.




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