The Song Dynasty And Currency And Coin Culture

It is commonly believed that the bisected Song Dynasty, content to retain its sovereignty over only a part of the country, saw a quite weak and fragile period in China's feudal history and that little about it deserves any acclaim or celebration. In fact, however, Song Dynasty reached another culmination in the course of Chinese dynasties' alteration and evolution. As a prosperous epoch in economy, culture and technology, the 300-year-old Song Dynasty boasted a stable and affluent livelihood of people, aesthetic achievement to an unprecedented level, flourishing economic and cultural exchange with other countries and between nationalities, and prospering commodity and currency economy. It is deemed as the world economic hub by some western historians. Song Dynasty at that time churned out currency for both China and other Asian countries, such as Southeast Asia, Japan and Korea. In addition to the largest quantity, Song Dynasty's currency system was the most complicated due to its diversified categories. Aside from the basic copper coins, commonly used currency also included iron coins and silvers, let alone paper notes and gold coins. Additionally, Song Dynasty topped in its coin mintage, thus resulting in the largest unearthed and existing currency in this regard. Song Dynasty had 49 coins of reign title, superior in quantity among others. Above all, the currency culture culminated in Song Dynasty. A combination of originality, symmetry and composition,...