Study On The Coin Of The State Of Qi

Qi is a state located in the east of China during Spring and Autumn Period and Waring States Period,which is divided into two phases,namely,Qi state of Jiang and Qi state of Tian.In the Spring and Autumn Period Duke Huan of Qi appointed his prime minister Guan Zhou to reform such that Qi became rich and strong and thereby the first hegemony in this period.In 386 BCE the House Tian completely replaced the House Jiang as the ruler of Qi.During the reign of King Xuan of Qi and King Min the power of Qi reached its peak again and became one of the Seven Waring States.Within the five hundred years of social chaos and political changes,the fact that Qi became hegemony for twice rests on its solid economic foundation.In order to promote the development of economy,in its captial Linzi Qi forged and released a variety of currency.In this paper the currency in Qi is divided into five kinds: commodity money,metal weighting currency,cowrie,sword-shaped coin,and round coin,which constitutes the characteristic currency system of Qi.The recorded and verifiable cowrie,sword-shaped coin,and round coin are further divided into handed-down ones and unearthed ones,and the relevant information regarding the time and place of unearthing,amount,types and sources of documents is to be spelled out in its completeness.The metal weighting currency,sword-shaped coin,and round coin are the main types of unearthed currency of Qi,and they were forged respectively in the early Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period.The sword-shaped coin of Qi is divided into Qi Big-sword and Qi Ming-sword.The former is big,heavy and finely forged,and it is used for storage by the upper class and powerful merchants of Qi.In order to adapt to the needs of the development of the currency economy,Qi forged the sword-shaped coin and the round coin in the late Warring States Period,which was divided into large,medium,and small types.The forge of the round coin also reflected the development of the currency of the Pre-Qin period.Meanwhile,the commodity money of beads and jades,metal weighting currency,sword-shaped coin,cowrie,and round coin are other forms of currency in market.The latter was forged by Qi as the currency of payment function and monetary circulation function.Cowrie did not withdraw from the market during this period,and it still circulates in the private sector.The ordinary citizens' daily commodity exchange still uses cowrie as the currency in circulation,and the exchange of goods may also be one of the forms of commodity exchange in the State of Qi.The find spot where unearthed the currency of Qi basically reflects the circulation scope of the currency of Qi.According to the distribution of the unearthed currency of Qi,it is divided into five regions.The formation of currency circulation areas is influenced by rivers and oceans.The densely-exposed areas of the Qi State's currency reflect the development of the city and the prosperity of industry and commerce.The land,water,and sea transportation networks that extend in all directions connect the cities of Qi State together,promoting economic development and at the same time constitute the Qi State currency circulation network.The State of Qi vigorously developed agriculture,industry and commerce according to local conditions,provided abundant raw materials and commodities for the development of commerce,and business development was in full swing.As rulers of Qi recognized the importance of foreign trade for their own economic development,they implemented a series of preferential policies to strengthen foreign trade.The large number of currencies from the other countries in the State of Qi reflected the prosperity of Qi's foreign merchandise trade relations at that time.Qi State has a complete range of currencies and has formed a unique currency system.It has played an important role in the history of the currency of the pre-Qin period.It not only reflects Qi's economic development,but also has a solid material foundation.At the same time,it also counteracts the development of Qi's economy and becomes an important part of Qi's economic development.The economic power and political overlord play an indispensable role in the development process of Qi.