Origin And Extinction:the Vicissitude Of Java’s "Sinicization" Currency

From the beginning of the Qin and Han dynasties,China’s monetary system and cultural connotation spread with the trade,and blended with Western currencies when the overland trade was being conducted,resulting in the birth of Han-Kharosthi,Kucha Wu Zhu and sogdiana copper coins,when these ideas spread along the Maritime Silk Road,as a result of the birth of Wadōkaichin,Joseon Tongbo,and so on.In this system,the main metal used for minting coins is copper,but occasionally silver or gold coins.Furthermore the coins that used as auxiliary currency such as iron,lead,and tin appeared.In Java,copper coins from the China were used as currency directly.Then coins with square hole made of tin and lead alloy imitating Chinese coin inscriptions emerged.This currency that was known as Javanese Sinicized currency was included in the Chinese numismatic system.From the perspective of the history what Javanese coins,Java also experienced the Indianisation of currency era before the Sinicization of currency.The Indianisation of currency in Java has its roots in Hinduism which was brought by the maritime trade in jewelry.When the gradual spread of Hinduism influence in Southeast Asia,Java presented the first currency.At the same time,the Maritime Silk Road,which had developed for several centuries,was officially formed under the name of "Guangzhou tonghai yidao" in the Tang Dynasty.Then Chinese merchants and travelers came to Java.And the records of Java using gold and silver coins appeared in ancient Chinese books.With the progress of navigation technology and the wave of trade where at sea of Arab merchants,a tremendous amount of copper coins minted by the reform method of Wang Anshi of the Northern Song Dynasty flowed to Southeast Asia,that Southeast Asia has a variety of cultural integration.As in the era of Indianisation,Java turned to copper coins which minted in China for direct use as currency.Nevertheless,since the Southern Song Dynasty,the war and gradual depletion of copper mining led to a sharp decline in the amount of copper coins minted,and maritime prohibition policy in successive dynasties severely restricted the outflow of copper coins,thus the external transmission of copper coins dried up,and new coins began to emerge.This new currency used Chinese copper coins mixed with tin and lead,and maintained its "square hole round money" style.The currency which from Java began to switch from copper coins to this type of currency which mainly composed of tin and lead.The opening of new shipping routes provided convenient conditions for Dutch colonists to go to Java.With the deepening of trade and colonization,the currency which mainly composed of tin and lead brought inconvenience for colonial plunder.The original Dutch attempt to use silver to convert the concept from pepper growers in Java,but the silver was not replaced by the entrenched use of Sinicization coins,which led to higher purchase costs and an exodus of silver.Subsequently,the Dutch chose to control the local Chinese coinage traders,which effectively controlled the price of spices,but the consequence was a sharp depreciation of currency triggered chaos in the Javanese trading market.Finally,after more than a century of cultural assimilation and exploration of the small denomination of gold and silver coins,the "Duit" copper coins minted in the Netherlands stood out among all the auxiliary coins,ending the circulation history of "Chinese" coins in the Java market.Java’s currency shifts are a microcosm of the political and cultural authority in Southeast Asia,but they cannot simply be attributed to shifting political factors or the manipulation of economic instruments.The expansion of trade along the Maritime Silk Road,the transformation of major trade items in various markets,the decline of ports triggered by the peasant uprising in the late Tang Dynasty,and the monetization of silver in southern Fujian region should be considered as reasons for Javanese currency turnover.Innovative trade modes have been replacing old ones,just as Sinicization coins entered and affected Southeast Asia with trade,replaced the original Indianisation coins,and were eliminated by Dutch copper coins in the wave of colonization.