There were many monetary units in ancient China, and each dynasty was different, especially before Qin and Han Dynasties. Only three basic units are discussed here:
A penny (that is, a standard square hole copper coin)
An ounce or two of silver.
An ounce or two of gold.
Although the above-mentioned units are different in different dynasties and generations, at least there is little difference after the Tang and Song Dynasties, so relatively stable and reliable data can be obtained.
commutation relation
The exchange ratio between copper coins, silver and gold, just like the current foreign exchange price, is constantly changing, unlike 1 yuan is equal to 100. According to the following description:
"The price of gold and silver rose from 1600 to 1: 8 in the middle and late 20th century, and doubled to 1: 20 by the end of 18."
It is known that 1 gold can be exchanged for about 8~ 1 1 silver. Once again:
"In the early years of Daoguang, one or two pieces of silver were exchanged for money, that is, one thousand articles; By the time of the Opium War in the 20th year of Daoguang, one or two pieces of silver could be exchanged for sixteen thousand seven hundred pieces of silver. Since Xianfeng, the price of silver has soared, and one or two pieces of silver can be exchanged for as much as 22,300 pieces of silver. "
It is known that under normal circumstances, 1 silver can be exchanged for about 1000~ 1500 copper. Ancient 1 penetration money or 1 hanging money was 1000 copper coins.
2 metal price
Because money made of gold, silver and copper has its own value, in theory, the value of money should be equal to the price of metal, so we can answer "how much is a silver?"
In the Tang Dynasty, each Kaiyuan Bao Tong copper coin was 8 cents in diameter, 10 pieces weighed 1 2 pieces, and 1,000 pieces weighed 6 Jin 4 liang. During the reign of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty, each copper coin weighed one yuan and twenty-five cents, and then increased to one yuan and four cents, so it weighed eight catties and twelve ounces per thousand articles. In ancient times, although the weight units of "two" were different, they were all about 40 grams, while "Jin" was about 700 grams. The average weight of each copper coin is 5g.
The current prices of gold, silver and copper (RMB) are as follows:
Gold: 100 yuan/gram
Silver: 2 yuan/gram
Brass: 0.02 yuan/gram
The calculation result is: 1 two gold: about 4000 yuan 1 two silver: about 1 copper coin 80 yuan (1 paper money): about 0. 1 yuan.
The purchasing power of ancient money (gold, silver and copper coins) has always been an interesting topic. But it is obviously impossible to completely and accurately convert it into today's RMB value. Only a rough estimate can be given here according to the survey, so that everyone can have a basic concept. (RMB and other present values are based on April 2006)
How much is a silver in ancient times? There were many dynasties in ancient times. The value of silver in different dynasties is different. Take the Song Dynasty as an example:
Gold, silver and copper coins were the main currencies in ancient times. Different from the silver bit system implemented in Ming and Qing Dynasties, the copper bit system was implemented in Song Dynasty, in which copper coins were the main currency and gold and silver were not used as currency. The basic units of copper coins are Wen and Guan (Jin), and the sum of them is 1000 Wen.
When discussing ancient money, we usually adopt the following assumption: 1 two gold = 10 two silver = 10 copper = 10000 copper.
To discuss the purchasing power of money, we must first mention the methods of two famous experts. In his Great History of China, Mr. Huang Renyu basically used the price of gold as the benchmark for conversion. He basically calculated the value of today's 1 copper coin based on the assumption that 1 two gold coins = 10 two silver coins = 10 two copper coins. Wu Si's book Hidden Rules gives two figures based on rice price and silver price.
Then, according to the method of the two gentlemen, let's see how much RMB the Song Dynasty has been consistent with today (as of April 2006).
1) The international benchmark price of gold. Recently, the price of gold has fluctuated around $550 per ounce. Let's take $550 an ounce as an example. One ounce is equal to 28.3 grams. In the Song Dynasty, the Jin of 1 was 640 grams ("1975, the bronze ruler of Jia Diao unearthed in Xiangtan, Hunan, weighed 100 Jin, 64 kg"). 1 Jin has 16 Liang, so 1 Liang in Song Dynasty is 40 grams today. In this way, one or two ounces of gold in the Song Dynasty is equivalent to 750 dollars, which is equivalent to 5,640 yuan at today's 8.00 dollars. According to the assumption that 1 gold is 10 silver, that is, 10 money, the copper coins in the Song Dynasty have always been equivalent to 564 yuan.
2) Silver is the benchmark international quotation. Recently, the price of silver basically fluctuates around $0/0 per ounce. Similar to the conversion of gold price, one or two pieces of silver will always be copper coins, equivalent to 98 yuan RMB.
3) The benchmark price of rice in Song Dynasty was 1 kg, which was 640g. 1 stone was 92.5kg in Song Dynasty (Shen Kuo's "Meng Qian Bi Tan" has three volumes, "Every stone man takes 92kg and a half as the method, and the Han scale is 34 1 kg"). Therefore, a stone of rice has 59,200 grams, or 59.2 kilograms. If special famine years or bumper harvest years are not considered, the rice price is about 300-600 Wen per stone in the early Northern Song Dynasty, 600-700 Wen in the middle period (Renzong period) and 2.5 in the early Southern Song Dynasty. Therefore, it should be reasonable that the penetration of each stone is about 1 in Song Huizong in the late Northern Song Dynasty. According to the current rice price per kilogram of 2.5 yuan, a stone of rice in the Song Dynasty is 59.2 kilograms, which is 148 yuan, which is 1 copper coin, which is 148 yuan.