前言中國被稱為“龍的國度”，中國龍的淵源可以追溯到傳說中的黃帝時代，已有超過五千年的歷史，它是我們這個民族最值得珍視的文化遺產之一。龍與中華民族的文化、歷史存在著密不可分的聯繫。關於龍的話題我們永遠說不完道不盡.....很多傳說都認為黃帝是鑄錢的始作俑者，所以在古代人們把那些兒當時還為人說不知的先秦貨幣都歸於黃帝的名下。中國的錢幣文化悠遠而古樸，形制精巧別致，具有一種優雅的藝術氣息。它有與眾不同的方孔形制，華美的文字裝飾，以及令後來者為之痴迷的圍繞著它的無數傳說、趣事。古往今來人們觀賞它、珍藏它，試圖解開這個藏著無數古代秘密的金屬之符，沉浸其中樂而忘返。中華龍的文化與錢幣文化有著相同的淵源，都是傳統華夏文明之中的精粹。它們以各自不同的方式記錄和書寫著同一段歷史——中華五千年文明史。在此我們將通過對比這兩種既相互交織滲透又風格迥異的文化，讓讀者從一個全新的視角，去研讀、品味這些令我們自豪的燦爛古代文明。PrefaceChina is universally known as ' the nation of the dragon ' .Chinese dragon is one of the most precious cultural heritages of our nation with a history of over 5,000 years, and its origin could date back to the period of the Yellow Emperor in ancient Chinese legendary,The dragon is a totem and a belief of Chinese people, a spirit that influenced Chinese people generation by generation. Deeply rooted in the Chinese culture, it tied the national emotions together.Discussions on the dragon by its descendents will never end.It was said that the Yellow Emperor was the ancestor of issuing money,so the ancient people granted the unrecognized coins of the ancient times as works of the Yellow Emperor. Chinese ancient coins are full of elegance and artistry with ingenious form and a long history. People in both ancient and modern times were immersed in fondling sand collecting the coins,trying to discover the old mysteries hidden in these metals.Enjoying the same source ,the cultures of Chinese dragon and Chinese currency are the succinct of the Cinese traditional civilization. Through distinct patterns,they recorded and depicted the same history——the history of Chinese nation of 5,000years.Here you can appreciate and taste these splendid ancient civilizations these two cultures——dragon culture and coin culture.
1 怪異猙獰的夔龍
先秦時期龍被奉為可以感應天地的神獸，傳說黃帝在荊山鑄成九鼎之後，就乘龍登天了，因此龍紋多出現在獻祭的禮器上。商代器物上常有夔龍紋，其造型變化多端，但以神秘、猙獰為基調。秦滅六國使四海歸於統一，秦始皇為神話帝王權威，以祖龍自稱，首創帝王龍生說。自此皇帝便成為受命於天的真龍之身，上天之子。秦代夔龍的形態身如巨蟒而有鰭，頭似猛龍：甲爪尖利，氣勢雄渾威武，戾氣凌人，不正是橫掃六合的秦王的絕佳寫照嗎。 The 'Kui' Dragon In the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the dragon was drawn frequently on the sacrificial urensils as an animal of divinity possessing supernatural powers. The form of the ' Kui' dragon of the Shang Dynasty was various while the main form looked odd and ferocious. After the state of Qin had conquered the other six states and unified China,the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty (Qin Shihuang) called himself the son of the dragon, the descendant of god,.The 'Kui' Dragon in the Qin Dynasty had boa'body, carp's fins, tiger' head and hawk's talons.With a mighty and ferocious appearance, the dragon vividly symbolized the bellicose character of Emperor Qin Shihuang of the Qin Dynasty.
' Ban Liang ' coin was issued from the State of Qin of the late Warring States Period. As the State of Qin was in full development and won the continuous wars against the other six states,' Ban Liang ' coin began to play an important role in the coinage system of the late Warring States. In BC 221,Emperor Qin Shihuang unified the Coinage system withe the square-holed, rounded coin 'Ban Liang 'after he had conquered the other six states. Since then,the form of Chinese currency was standardized till the end of the Qing Dynasty.
The School of Positive and Negative Principles was very popular in the Han Dynasty. The Green
Dragon ,the Scalet Bird, the White Tiger and the Black Warrior symbolized the East,the South, the West and the North in astronomy respectively.The Green Dragon of the Han Dynasty was vividly depicted as a beast with scales and wings on the body. Comparing with scales and wings on the body. Comparing with the ' Kui ' Dragon of the Ming and Qing Dynasties,the Green Dragon looked especially strong and ambitious.
In BC 118 (the 5th year of yuan Shou period, Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty ),' Wu Zhu ' coins began to be issued with the abolition of ' Ban Lang ' coins. As the material of coins varied in local mints, Emperor wu Di established the first national mint ' Shang Lin San Guan ' three years later. ' This was the first national mint in the world. With advanced form, proper size and weight, ' Wu Zhu ' had been in circulation from the Western Han Dynasty to the beginning of the Tang Dynasty for the longest duration-over 700 years.
One of the poems of the greatest poet Li Bai says : In every spring,groups of carps gathered together, trying to jump over the ' Dragon Gate'. The one who had jumped over the gate would turn into a dragon and fly to heaven. ' This folk-tale was widely spread in the Tang Dynasty and the decorative pattern of ' carp dragon ' was very popular among the people.
Kai Yuan Tong Bao was issued from AD 621 (the 4th year of Wu De period, Emperor Gao Zu of the Tang Dynasty ). 'The characters ' Kai Yuan Tong Bao ' on the coin were writren by the famous calligrapher Ouyang Xun. ' Kai Yuan ' means the founding of the dynasty while ' Tong Bao' circulated currency. The calligraphy of this coin profoundly influenced the coins of the other dynasties.
The appearance of the dragon was gradually unified in the Song Dynasty.The figure of the Yellow Dragon was slender and winding, like a spiraling boa.A famous artist of the Song Dynasty, Guo Ruoxu,once pointed out that the pattern of drawing a dragon should be ' three pauses and nine similarities '. ' Three pauses' means three turning points at the neck, waist and tail of the dragon while 'nine similarities 'pointe to the appearance of the dragon: the ox' s heard, the donkey ' mouth, the shrimp ' s eyes, the deer ' s horns,the elephant's ears, the carp's scales.,the man's palpus, the snake's abdomen and the phoenix's paws.
Issued in yuan Feng period of Emperor Shen Zong of the Song Dynasty. During that period, the social economy and culture were in full development. There were totally twenty-six mints in the country and more than seven million guan copper or iron coins were cast. It was the most prosperous period in ancient China.
In Chinese legendary, one of the dragons' s supernatural powers is being in charge of raining. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties,the dragon was worshipped as the god og water,which ruled the seas and other water bodies. During the Da Guan reign of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Dragon King was taken into the palace from the coutryside by Emperor Hui Zong and was conferred on the title of royalty. The temple of five dragons was builts in the capital. Thereafter, the five Dragon Kings in the folk changed their identities to official gods,enjoying the sacrifices from every quarter.
Issued in Chong Ning period of Emperor Hui Zhong of the Song Dynasty. Emperor Hui Zhong was intelligent and good at calligraphy. He created the form of calligraphy ' Shou Jin script ' by himself, which was outstanding among the calligraphy of the ancient emperors. On the other hand, Emperor Hui Zhong was so fatrous in politics that he trusted five treacherous court officials such as Cai Jing, Tong Guan and Gao Qiu, who amassed wealth for themselves by heavy taxation on peple. The masses had no means of livelihood. However, coins issued during his reign were elegant and remarkable with characters of ' Shou Jin script ' written by Emperor Hui Zhong.
In Chinese legendary, a dragon gave birth to nine young dragons with different dispositions and appearances: ' Qiu Niu was fond of music, his portrait is now on the head of huqin (a folk instrument);Ya Zi was fond of fighting, his portrait is now on the handles of knives... The others named Chao Feng, Pu Lao,Suan Ni, Ba Xia ,Bi An, Xi Bi and Chi Wen had different hobbies respectively.' this is the most popular version of statement of the dragon ' s nine descendants.
Minted in the Chong Zhen reign of Emperor Si Zong of the Ming Dynasty. During this period, the peasants ' uprisings and the aggression by the Qing troops made the whole country dissipated. In the third year of the Chong Zhen reign, the lighter coins were minted. Later the currencies were very complex in monetary standards and calligraphy styles.
The emperors in Chinese feudal societies called themselves ' the son of the dragon were everywhere in their palaces,especially on their clothes. For instance,in the Qing Dynasty, on the most splendid dress of the emperor - the ceremonial robe, there were totally forty-four dragons embroidered.
Issued in Kang Xi reign of Emperor Sheng Zu of the Qing Dynasty (AD1662-1722.ascending the throne in his childhood,Emperor Kang Xi was a bright and intelligent leader. During his regin, the economy was well developed and the society was stable and prosperous. The quality of coins was better than before as well.
in the Cinese dynasties,every emperor standardized the pattern and color of his dress to show his dignified identity. As the god and symbol of imperial power, the dragon was always used in decorative design for the royalty. Emperor Shi Zu of the Yuan Dynasty once promulgated a decree that common people were forbidden to wear clothes with the dragon pattern. Since the decorative pattern of dragon had been prevalent in the folk for a long-period, this decree made no use. Then the empire. From then on, the five-toed dragon had been the distinguished symbol of the emperors till the end of the Chinese feudal society.
Minted in the first year of the Qian Long reign of Emperor Gao Zhong of the Qing Dynasty .The 60 years of Qian Long reign was the most flourishing period in the Qing Dynasty. At the beginning he aroused his all efforts to make the country prosperous,but later his military policy and hobby of traveling made the whole country weaker and weaker. His misuse of ministers on his late years accelerated the ruin of his reign. During this period there appeared a lot of currency bureaux all over the country and various kinds of coins were minted.
The yellow dragon flag was the first national flag of China appeared at the end of the Qing Dynasty.In the 7th year of the Tong Zhi reign of the Tong Zhi reigon of the Qing Dynasty (1868),the yellow dragon flag was brought out to Europe and America by the first diplomatic mission. Henceforth, this dragon flag became the symbol of the Qing Empire. In 1900,when the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded Peking, Zai Feng, the younger brother of Empire Guang Xu, surrendered to the arms with a large yellow dragon dragon flag on behalf of the Qing emperor. Being witness of that humiliating history,this flag of 18m large is now displayed in the Forbidden City.
In the 26th year of Guang Xu reign of the Qing Dynasty (AD1900),' Guang Xu Yuan Bao ' ,the copper coins without square hole, were cast in Guangdong Province. They were the first machine-made copper coins in Chinese history and were welcomed for their stable quality and fashionable design. Thereafter, machine-made copper coins replaced the square holed, rounded coins that had been circulated for over two thousand years and became the pri
