Chinese currency
Encyclopedia
The Renminbi
Renminbi
The Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China . Renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong or Macau. It is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of the PRC...

is the official currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...

of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

(PRC). It is the legal tender
Legal tender
Legal tender is a medium of payment allowed by law or recognized by a legal system to be valid for meeting a financial obligation. Paper currency is a common form of legal tender in many countries....

 in mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...

, but not in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 and Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...

. It is abbreviated as RMB, and the units for the Renminbi are the Yuan
Chinese yuan
The yuan is the base unit of a number of modern Chinese currencies. The yuan is the primary unit of account of the Renminbi.A yuán is also known colloquially as a kuài . One yuán is divided into 10 jiǎo or colloquially máo...

 (元), Jiao
Jiao (currency)
Jiao , or Hou in Cantonese, is a unit of currency used in Greater China, including People's Republic of China , Republic of China , Hong Kong and Macao...

 (角), and Fen (分): 1 Yuan = 10 Jiao = 100 Fen. Fen have almost disappeared, so the coins in circulation are one yuan, five jiao, and one jiao. Banknotes range from one jiao to one hundred yuan, and vary both in size and colour. The distinction between the Renminbi and the Yuan is similar to the distinction between the British Sterling
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

 and Pound
Pound (currency)
The pound is a unit of currency in some nations. The term originated in England as the value of a pound of silver.The word pound is the English translation of the Latin word libra, which was the unit of account of the Roman Empire...

. Renminbi refers to the whole Chinese money system whereas Yuan is the base unit of Renminbi. Yuan is used to denominate bills, and is the unit in which prices are measured.

Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 and Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...

 have their own monetary policies and currencies, the Hong Kong dollar
Hong Kong dollar
The Hong Kong dollar is the currency of the jurisdiction. It is the eighth most traded currency in the world. In English, it is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively HK$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...

 and the Macanese pataca
Macanese pataca
The pataca is the currency of Macau. It is subdivided into 100 avos , with 10 avos called ho in Cantonese. The abbreviation MOP$ is commonly used....

, respectively, that may not necessarily be compatible with the renminbi.

Currency of some type has been used in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 since the New Stone Age
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...

. The Chinese also invented paper money
Banknote
A banknote is a kind of negotiable instrument, a promissory note made by a bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as money, and in many jurisdictions is legal tender. In addition to coins, banknotes make up the cash or bearer forms of all modern fiat money...

 in the 9th century.

Ancient currencies

Cowry
Cowry
Cowry, also sometimes spelled cowrie, plural cowries, is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries...

 shells are definetely believed to be the earliest form of currency used in Central China, about 3000 to 4500 years ago. In the Chinese writing system, the traditional characters
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...

 for 'goods' (貨), 'buy/sell' (買/賣), and 'monger' (販), in addition to various other words relating to 'exchange', all contain the radical
Radical (Chinese character)
A Chinese radical is a component of a Chinese character. The term may variously refer to the original semantic element of a character, or to any semantic element, or, loosely, to any element whatever its origin or purpose...

 '貝', which is the pictograph for shell. (Simplification changed 貝 to 贝.) However, the extent of the circulation of shells as currency is still unknown, and barter trade was supposed to dominate in the market. But copies of these shells made out of bone, wood, stone, lead and copper are common enough to suppose a trade system in them was used.

Bronzed shells were found in the Ruins of Yin
Yinxu
Yinxu is the ruins of the last capital of China's Shang Dynasty. The capital served 255 years for 12 kings in 8 generations.Rediscovered in 1899, it is one of the oldest and largest archeological sites in China and is one of the historical capitals of China and a UNESCO World Heritage Site...

, the old capital of Shang Dynasty
Shang Dynasty
The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...

 (BC 1500-BC 1046). Bronze became a universal currency in the Zhou Dynasty
Zhou Dynasty
The Zhou Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, the actual political and military control of China by the Ji family lasted only until 771 BC, a period known as...

.

The Chinese seemed to invent the first metal coins before 900 BC, in a tomb near Anyang
Anyang
Anyang is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, People's Republic of China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively....

. At that time, the coin itself was a mock of more earlier used cowry shells, so it was named as Bronze shell.

During the Warring States Period
Warring States Period
The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, or the Warring Kingdoms period, covers the Iron Age period from about 475 BC to the reunification of China under the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC...

, from the 5th century BC to 221 BC, Chinese money was in the form of bronze objects that were of three main types. The Zhou, the Wei (魏), the Han (汉) and the Qin (秦) all used coins shaped like a spade (bu). The Qi (齊) used money in the shape of a knife (dao). The Zhao (趙) and the Yan (燕) used knife money before switching over to spade money roughly half way through the Warring States period. The Chu (楚) used money in the forms of "ant nose" coins (yibi).

Imperial China

As part of the Unification of China, Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang , personal name Ying Zheng , was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC...

  abolished all other forms of local currency and introduced a national uniform copper coin based on the coins previously used by Qin. These coins were round with a square hole in the middle which remained the common design for most Chinese copper coins until the 20th century. Due to the low value of an individual coin, the Chinese have traditionally strung a nominal thousand copper coins onto a piece of string. However government taxes were levied in both coins and in products such as rolls of silk. Salaries were also paid in both the Qin Dynasty
Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring...

 and Han
Han Dynasty
The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

 dynasties in "stones" (石, dàn) of grain.

During the early Song dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...

 (Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

: 宋, 960–1279), China again reunited the currency system displacing coinages from ten or so independent states. Among pre-Song coins, the northern states tended to prefer copper coins. The southern states tended to use lead or iron coins with Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...

 using its own heavy iron coins which continued to circulate for a short period into the Song dynasty. By 1000, unification was complete and China experienced a period of rapid economic growth. This was reflected in the growth of coining. In 1073, the peak year for minting coins in the Northern Song, the government produced an estimated six million strings containing a thousand copper coins each. The Northern Song is thought to have minted over two hundred million strings of coins which were often exported to Inner Asia
Inner Asia
Inner Asia has a range of meanings among different researchers and in different countries. Denis Sinor defined Inner Asia broadly as the homelands of the Altaic peoples and the Uralic peoples .German makes a distinction between "Zentralasien", meaning Mongolia, Tibet, Xinjiang, and...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, and South-East Asia, where they often formed the dominant form of coinage. Song merchants rapidly adopted forms of paper currency starting with promissory notes in Sichuan called "flying money" (feiqian). These proved so useful the state took over production of this form of paper money with the first state-backed printing in 1024. By the 12th century, various forms of paper money had become the dominant forms of currency in China and were known by a variety of names such as jiaozi, qianyin, kuaizi, or guanzi.

The Mongol-founded Yuan dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...

 (Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

: 元, 1271–1368) also attempted to use paper currency. Unlike the Song dynasty, they created a unified, national system that was not backed by silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 or gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

. The currency issued by the Yuan was the world's first fiat currency, known as Chao
Chao (currency)
The Chao , was the official banknote of the Yuan Dynasty in China. Unlike the earlier paper money such as Jiaozi, it was the first paper currency to be used as the predominant circulating medium in the history of China....

. The Yuan government attempted to prohibit all transactions in or possession of silver or gold, which had to be turned over to the government. Inflation in 1260 caused the government to replace the existing paper currency with a new paper currency in 1287, but inflation caused by undisciplined printing remained a problem for the Yuan court until the end of the Dynasty.

The early Ming dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

  also attempted to use paper currency in the early re-unification period. This currency also experienced rapid inflation and issues were suspended in 1450 although notes remained in circulation until 1573. It was only in the very last years of the Ming dynasty when Li Zicheng threatened Beijing in 1643 and 1644 that printing took place again. For most of the Ming China had a purely private system of currency for all important transactions. Silver, which flowed in from overseas, began to be used as a currency in the Far South province of Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...

 where it spread to the lower Yangzi region by 1423 when it became legal tender for payment of taxes. Provincial taxes had to be remitted to the capital in silver after 1465, salt producers had to pay in silver from 1475 and corvée exemptions had to be paid in silver from 1485. The Chinese demand for silver was partially met by Spanish imports from the Americas, in particular in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

 and Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, after the Spanish became established at Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

 in 1571. However the silver was not minted. It circulated as ingots (known as sycee
Sycee
A sycee was a type of silver or gold ingot currency used in China until the 20th century. The name derives from the Cantonese words meaning "fine silk"...

 or yuanbao) which weighed a nominal liang
Tael
Tael can refer to any one of several weight measures of the Far East. Most commonly, it refers to the Chinese tael, a part of the Chinese system of weights and currency....

(about 36 grammes) although purity and weight varied from region to region. The liang was often referred to by Europeans by the Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...

 term tael.

Late Imperial China maintained both a silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...

 and a copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 currency system. The copper system was based on the copper cash
Chinese cash
Chinese cash has several meanings:*Cash , a type of copper coin used in imperial China*Cash , a Chinese unit of weight equivalent to tael, and a currency equivalent to that weight in silver...

 (wen). The silver system had several units which by the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

 were: 1 tael
Tael
Tael can refer to any one of several weight measures of the Far East. Most commonly, it refers to the Chinese tael, a part of the Chinese system of weights and currency....

 = 10 mace
Mace (measurement)
A mace is a traditional Chinese measurement of weight in East Asia that was also used as a currency denomination. It is equal to 10 candareens and is of a tael or approximately 3.78 grams. A troy candareen is approximately 3.74 grams. In Hong Kong, one mace is 3.779936375 gramme...

 = 100 candareen
Candareen
A candareen is a traditional measurement of weight in East Asia. It is equal to 10 cash and is 1/10 of a mace. It is approximately 378 milligrams. A troy candareen is approximately 374 milligrams....

s = 1000 li (silver cash).

In 1889, the Chinese yuan
Chinese yuan
The yuan is the base unit of a number of modern Chinese currencies. The yuan is the primary unit of account of the Renminbi.A yuán is also known colloquially as a kuài . One yuán is divided into 10 jiǎo or colloquially máo...

 was introduced at par with the Mexican Peso
Mexican peso
The peso is the currency of Mexico. Modern peso and dollar currencies have a common origin in the 15th–19th century Spanish dollar, most continuing to use its sign, "$". The Mexican peso is the 12th most traded currency in the world, the third most traded in the Americas, and by far the most...

 and was subdivided into 10 jiao (角, not given an English name, cf. dime
Dime (United States coin)
The dime is a coin 10 cents, one tenth of a United States dollar, labeled formally as "one dime". The denomination was first authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792. The dime is the smallest in diameter and is the thinnest of all U.S...

), 100 fen (分, cents), and 1000 wen (文, cash). The yuan was equivalent to 7 mace and 2 candareens (or 0.72 tael) and, for a time, coins were marked as such in English.

The earliest issues were silver coins produced at the Kwangtung mint in denominations of 5 fen, 1, 2 and 5 jiao and 1 yuan. Other regional mints were opened in the 1890s producing similar coins. Copper coins in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 wen were also issued. The central government began issuing its own coins in the yuan currency system in 1903. Banknotes were issued in yuan denominations from the 1890s by several local and private banks, along with the "Imperial Bank of China" and the "Hu Pu Bank" (later the "Ta-Ch'ing Government Bank"), established by the Imperial government.

Silver coins

The Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

 was founded after the Xinhai Revolution
Xinhai Revolution
The Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, also known as Revolution of 1911 or the Chinese Revolution, was a revolution that overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing , and established the Republic of China...

 toppled the Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

. The Nanjing Provisional Government urgently needed to issue military currency for use in place of the previous Qing currency. Successively, each province declared independence from the Qing and issued their own military currency. In 1914, the National Currency Ordinance established the Silver Dollar as the national currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...

 of the Republic of China. Although designs changed compared with Imperial era coins, the sizes and metals used in the coinage remained mostly unchanged until the 1930s. The majority of regional mints closed during the 1920s and 1930s, although some continued until 1949. From 1936, the central government issued copper ½, 1 and 2 fen coins, nickel (later cupro-nickel) 5, 10 and 20 fen and ½ yuan coins. Aluminium 1 and 5 fen pieces were issued in 1940.

Unfortunately, the 1920s and 1930s saw the price of silver appreciate in the international market. This led to a massive efflux of silver out of China and the looming prospect of the collapse of the national currency. It became evident that China could not retain the Silver Standard
Silver standard
The silver standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed weight of silver. The silver specie standard was widespread from the fall of the Byzantine Empire until the 19th century...

. The situation was exacerbated by the multitude of commercial, provincial and foreign banks issuing currencies all at different values.

Legal tender

In 1935, the Central Government enacted currency reforms to limit currency issuance to four major government controlled banks: the Bank of China
Bank of China
Bank of China Limited is one of the big four state-owned commercial banks of the People's Republic of China. It was founded in 1912 by the Government of the Republic of China, to replace the Government Bank of Imperial China. It is the oldest bank in China...

, Central Bank of China
Central Bank of China
The Central Bank of the Republic of China , known in English from 1924 to 2007 as the Central Bank of China, is the central bank of the Republic of China . Its legal and common name in Chinese is literally translated as the "Central Bank"...

, Bank of Communications
Bank of Communications
Bank of Communications Limited , founded in 1908, is one of the largest banks in China.-Before 1949:The Bank of Communications was founded in 1908 and emerged as one of the first few major national and note-issuing banks in the early days of the Republic of China...

 and later the Farmers Bank of China
Farmers Bank of China
The Farmers Bank of China was one of the largest banks in China and later in Taiwan.-History:The Farmers Bank of China was founded on April 1, 1933 in Hankou from the amalgamation of provincial agricultural banks in Henan, Hubei, Anhui and Jiangxi...

. The circulation of Silver Dollar coins was prohibited, and private ownership of silver was banned. A new currency issued in its place was known as 法幣 (Pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...

: fǎbì) or "Legal Tender
Legal tender
Legal tender is a medium of payment allowed by law or recognized by a legal system to be valid for meeting a financial obligation. Paper currency is a common form of legal tender in many countries....

".

Customs gold units

Customs Gold Units (關金圓, pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...

: guānjīnyuán) were issued by the Central Bank of China
Central Bank of China
The Central Bank of the Republic of China , known in English from 1924 to 2007 as the Central Bank of China, is the central bank of the Republic of China . Its legal and common name in Chinese is literally translated as the "Central Bank"...

 to facilitate payment of duties on imported goods. Unlike the National Currency which suffered from hyperinflation, the CGUs were pegged to the U.S. Dollar at 1 CGU = US$0.40.

Unfortunately, the peg was removed in 1935 and the bank allowed CGUs to be released for general use. Already awash with excessive paper currency, the CGUs only added to rampant hyperinflation.

1945–1948

After the defeat of Japan in 1945, the Central Bank of China
Central Bank of China
The Central Bank of the Republic of China , known in English from 1924 to 2007 as the Central Bank of China, is the central bank of the Republic of China . Its legal and common name in Chinese is literally translated as the "Central Bank"...

 issued a separate currency in the northeast to replace those issued by puppet banks. Termed "東北九省流通券" (pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...

:Dōngběi jiǔ shěng liútōngquàn), it was worth approximately 10 times more than fǎbì circulating elsewhere. It was replaced in 1948 by the Gold Yuan. Northeastern Provinces Yuan was an attempt to isolate certain regions of China from the hyperinflation that plagued the fǎbì currency.

Gold Yuan

The onset of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 saw a sharp devaluation of the fǎbì currency. This was largely due to unrestrained issuance of the currency to fund the war effort. After the defeat of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and the return of the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

 Central Government, a further reform was instituted in August 1948 in response to hyperinflation. The Gold Yuan Certificate replaced the fǎbì at the rate of 1 Gold Yuan = 3 million Yuan fǎbì = US$0.25. The Gold Yuan was nominally set at 0.22217g of gold. However, the currency was never actually backed by gold and hyperinflation continued.

1949–2000

Finally, in 1949, the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

 again announced a reform with the introduction of the Silver Yuan Certificate, returning China to the Silver Standard
Silver standard
The silver standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed weight of silver. The silver specie standard was widespread from the fall of the Byzantine Empire until the 19th century...

. The Silver Yuan would be exchanged at 1 Silver Yuan = 100 million Gold Yuan and was backed by Silver Dollars minted by the Central Mint of China
Central Mint of China
The Central Mint of China is a subsidiary of the Central Bank of China in the Republic of China . The major activities of the mint are minting and melting circulation and commemorative coins, and producing commemorative medals and other kind of casting products for government institutions and...

.

This currency was short-lived, as the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

 soon gained control of the Mainland provinces. It was replaced by currency issued by the People's Bank of China
People's Bank of China
The People's Bank of China is the central bank of the People's Republic of China with the power to control monetary policy and regulate financial institutions in mainland China...

 which was less prone to inflation.

After the retreat of the Kuomintang to Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, the Silver Yuan remained the de jure
De jure
De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....

 legal currency of account of the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

. This was despite the fact that only Taiwan Dollars issued by the Bank of Taiwan
Bank of Taiwan
The Bank of Taiwan is a bank headquartered in Taipei, Republic of China . It is administered and owned by the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China.-History:...

 were circulating in areas controlled by the ROC. After a currency reform in 1949 created the New Taiwan Dollar
New Taiwan dollar
The New Taiwan dollar , or simply Taiwan dollar, is the official currency of the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar...

, the statutory exchange rate was set at 1 Silver Yuan = NT$3.

An amendment was passed in 2000 to make the New Taiwan Dollar
New Taiwan dollar
The New Taiwan dollar , or simply Taiwan dollar, is the official currency of the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar...

 the official legal currency of the Republic of China.

Taiwan Dollar

The Bank of Taiwan
Bank of Taiwan
The Bank of Taiwan is a bank headquartered in Taipei, Republic of China . It is administered and owned by the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China.-History:...

 was originally established by the Japanese in 1899 whilst Taiwan was under Japanese administration. The Bank issued Taiwanese Yen which was pegged to the Japanese Yen
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...

. After the retrocession of Taiwan to the Republic of China
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

, the new Bank of Taiwan
Bank of Taiwan
The Bank of Taiwan is a bank headquartered in Taipei, Republic of China . It is administered and owned by the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China.-History:...

 was allowed to continue issuing its own currency. Called "Taiwan Dollar", it replaced the Taiwanese Yen at par. This was an attempt by the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

 to prevent hyperinflation affecting Fǎbì from affecting Taiwan.

However, mismanagement by the Governor-General Chen Yi
Chen Yi (Kuomintang)
Chen Yi and later Gongqia , sobriquet Tuisu ; 1883 – June 18, 1950) was the Chief Executive and Garrison Commander of Taiwan after it was surrendered by Japan to the Republic of China, which acted on behalf of the Allied Powers, in 1945...

 meant that the Taiwan Dollar also suffered depreciation. It was replaced by the New Taiwan Dollar
New Taiwan dollar
The New Taiwan dollar , or simply Taiwan dollar, is the official currency of the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar...

 in 1949 at the rate of 40,000 to 1.

Japanese Occupation Money

The Japanese Imperial Government
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

 issued currency through several means during their occupation of China.

Manchuria

At the time of invasion of China's northeast in 1931, multiple currencies were circulating. These included local provincial issues, the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

 fabi and Yen currencies issued by the Bank of Chosen and the Bank of Taiwan
Bank of Taiwan
The Bank of Taiwan is a bank headquartered in Taipei, Republic of China . It is administered and owned by the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China.-History:...

.

After the puppet state of Manchukuo
Manchukuo
Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...

 was created, the Japanese founded the Central Bank of Manchou on July 1, 1932 in Changchun
Changchun
Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin province, located in the northeast of the People's Republic of China, in the center of the Songliao Plain. It is administered as a sub-provincial city with a population of 7,677,089 at the 2010 census under its jurisdiction, including counties and...

 (長春), then known as Hsinking (新京). While the bank provided commercial functions, it also acted as a central bank
Central bank
A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a public institution that usually issues the currency, regulates the money supply, and controls the interest rates in a country. Central banks often also oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries...

 and issuer of currency. The Manchukuo yuan
Manchukuo yuan
The Manchukuo yuan was the official unit of currency of the Empire of Manchukuo, from June 1932 - August 1945.The monetary unit was based on one basic pure silver patron of 23.91 grammes...

 was initially set at 1 Manchukuo yuan = 23.91g silver, but became pegged to the Japanese Yen
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...

 at 1:1 in 1935 after Japan left the gold standard
Gold standard
The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed mass of gold. There are distinct kinds of gold standard...

. The currency lasted until the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. It was replaced by the Northeastern Provinces Yuan issued by the Central Bank of China
Central Bank of China
The Central Bank of the Republic of China , known in English from 1924 to 2007 as the Central Bank of China, is the central bank of the Republic of China . Its legal and common name in Chinese is literally translated as the "Central Bank"...

.

Inner Mongolia

Prior to Japanese occupation, the predominant bank of China's northern provinces (including Suiyuan, Chahar and Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....

) was the Charhar Commercial Bank. When the Japanese invaded, the bank evacuated the area taking all of its capital and all unissued currency. The Japanese military government quickly established the Channan Commercial Bank to replace its note issuing functions.

With the formation of Mengchiang puppet state, the authorities established the Bank of Mengchiang which amalgamated the Channan Commercial Bank with three other smaller regional banks. The Bank of Mengchiang issued Mengchiang Yuan from 1937 which was pegged to the Japanese Military Yen and Japanese Yen at par.

Collaborationist Governments

The Japanese managed to establish two collaborationist regimes during their occupation in China. In the north, the "Provisional Government of China" (中華民國臨時政府) based in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

 established the Federal Reserve Bank of China (中國聯合準備銀行, pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...

: Zhōngguó liánhé zhǔnbèi yínháng). The FRB issued notes in 1938 at par with Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

 fabi. Although initially equivalent, the Japanese banned the use of Nationalist currency in 1939 and set arbitrary exchange rates in favour of the FRB Yuan. The FRB Yuan was replaced by Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

 fabi in 1945 at 1 FRB Yuan = 0.2 fabi.

The Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei
Wang Jingwei , alternate name Wang Zhaoming, was a Chinese politician. He was initially known as a member of the left wing of the Kuomintang , but later became increasingly anti-Communist after his efforts to collaborate with the CCP ended in political failure...

 government in Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

 established the collaborationist Nanjing Reformed Government (南京維新政府) in 1938. This was later reorganised into the Nanjing National Government
Wang Jingwei Government
In March 1940 a puppet government led by Wang Jingwei was established in the Republic of China under the protection of the Empire of Japan. The regime officially called itself the Republic of China and its government the Reorganized National Government of China...

 (南京國民政府) in 1940. They established the Central Reserve Bank of China (中央儲備銀行, pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...

: Zhōngyāng chǔbèi yínháng) which began issuing CRB Yuan in 1941. Although initially set at par with the Nationalist fabi, it also was arbitrarily changed to equal 0.18 Japanese Military Yen. In 1945, it was also replaced by the Nationalist fabi at 1 CRB Yuan = 0.005 fabi.

Japanese Military Yen

The Japanese Military Yen
Japanese military yen
Japanese Military Yen , commonly abbreviated as JMY, was the :currency issued to the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy as a salary. The Imperial Japanese government first started issuing the military yen during the Russo-Japanese War in 1904...

 was distributed in many regions throughout East Asia under Japanese occupation. Initially, these were issued as payment to soldiers. The intention was the pay out an infinite amount of Military Yen which could not be converted into Japanese Yen and therefore could not cause inflation in Japan. However, the destructive effects on local East Asian economies was not a major concern.

The currency became legal tender in China commencing in 1937. It was later replaced by issues from puppet banks. However, the currency remained in force in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

 between 1941 and 1945. Initially set at HK$2 = JMY1, the Hong Kong Dollar
Hong Kong dollar
The Hong Kong dollar is the currency of the jurisdiction. It is the eighth most traded currency in the world. In English, it is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively HK$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...

 was largely preferred by locals and hoarded away. In order to address this, the Japanese government made possession of Hong Kong Dollar
Hong Kong dollar
The Hong Kong dollar is the currency of the jurisdiction. It is the eighth most traded currency in the world. In English, it is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively HK$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...

 illegal in 1943 and required a conversion to JMY at 4 to 1.

Renminbi

The Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

 gained control of large areas of the northeast of China during 1948 and 1949. Although several regional banks were established, they were united in December 1948 as the People's Bank of China
People's Bank of China
The People's Bank of China is the central bank of the People's Republic of China with the power to control monetary policy and regulate financial institutions in mainland China...

. Established in Shijiazhuang
Shijiazhuang
Shijiazhuang is the capital and largest city of North China's Hebei province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about south of Beijing...

, the new bank took over currency issuance in areas controlled by the Communist Party.

After the promulgation of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

, there was a brief period where 100,000 Gold Yuan could be exchanged for 1 Yuan Renminbi
Renminbi
The Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China . Renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong or Macau. It is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of the PRC...

.

Renminbi notes were issued in 12 denominations: 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 5000, 10000, and 50000 yuan. These denominations were subdivided into 62 styles. After adjusting the currency value with ratio 1:10000 in March 1955, the second edition of Renminbi were issued in 12 denominations, including 1 fen, 2 fen, 5 fen, 1 jiao, 2 jiao, 5 jiao, 1 yuan, 2 yuan, 3 yuan, 5 yuan and 10 yuan.

The People's Republic of China began issuing aluminum coins in December 1957, in denominations of 1, 2 and 5 fen. From 1961, China outsourced the printing of 3, 5 and 10 yuan notes to the Soviet Union.

The fifth and latest editions of the currency of the People's Republic of China have been produced since 1 October 1999. Notes have been produced in 8 denominations: old types of 1 fen, 2 fen and 5 fen, as well as new issues depicting Mao Zedong: 5 yuan, 10 yuan, 20 yuan, 50 yuan and 100 yuan. In 2004, a 1 yuan note depicting Mao Zedong first came into production. Since 1999, coins have been produced in denominations of 1 fen, 2 fen, 5 fen, 1 jiao, 5 jiao and 1 yuan.

Foreign Exchange Certificates

The Bank of China
Bank of China
Bank of China Limited is one of the big four state-owned commercial banks of the People's Republic of China. It was founded in 1912 by the Government of the Republic of China, to replace the Government Bank of Imperial China. It is the oldest bank in China...

 on the Mainland was chartered as the main foreign trade and exchange bank. Foreign visitors to China were required to conduct transactions with Foreign Exchange Certificates
Foreign exchange certificate
A foreign exchange certificate, sometimes abbreviated to FEC, is a type of currency. Foreign exchange certificates are sometimes used by governments as a surrogate for a national currency, where the national currency is usually subject to exchange controls or is not convertible...

 issued by the Bank of China between 1979 and 1994. These have been abolished, and all transactions now occur in Renminbi.

See also

  • Ancient Chinese coinage
  • Chinese Silver Panda
    Chinese Silver Panda
    The Chinese Silver Panda is a series of silver bullion coins issued by the People's Republic of China. The design of the panda is changed every year, and these are minted in different sizes and denominations, ranging from 0.5 troy oz...

  • Economic history of China
    Economic history of China
    China's economic system before the late-1990s, with state ownership of certain industries and central control over planning and the financial system, has enabled the government to mobilize whatever surplus was available and greatly increase the proportion of the national economic output devoted to...


English

  • Chang, H.: The Silver Dollars and Taels of China. Hong Kong, 1981 (158 pp. illus.). Including Subsidiary Notes on “The Silver Dollars and Taels of China” Hong Kong, 1982 (40 pp. illus.).
  • Cribb, Joe: A Catalogue of Sycee in the British Museum. Chinese Silver Currency Ingots c. 1750–1933. British Museum Press, London, 1992.
  • Dong Wenchao: An Overview of China's Gold & Silver Coins of Past Ages – the Gold and Silver Coins and Medals of Modern China. Beijing 1992,
  • Kann, Edward: Illustrated Catalog of Chinese Coins. Second edition. Mint Productions, Inc., New York, 1966 (476 pp. and 224 plates).
  • Lu, W.H. (editor): Paper Money Catalogue of the People's Republic of China (1948–1998). Paper Money Catalogue of Macau (1907–1998). International Stamp and Coin Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur, n.d. (50 plus 32 pp., colour illus.).
  • Peng Xinwei: A Monetary History of China (Zhongguo Huobi Shi). Translated by Edward H. Kaplan. Two volumes. Western Washington University, Bellingham, 1993.
  • Shanghai Museum: Chinese Coin Gallery. Shanghai, n.d. (1990s). In Chinese and English.
  • Shanghai Museum: Chinese Numismatic Gallery. Shanghai, n.d. (1990s). In Chinese and English (44pp., colour illus.)
  • Smith, Ward D. and Matravers, Brian: Chinese Bank Notes. Shirjeh Publications, Menlo Park, California, 1970.
  • Ting Fu-Pao: A Catalog of Ancient Chinese Coins (Including Japan, Forra & Annan). Taipei, n.d. (no pagination, illus.).
  • White, Byron R. and White, Marjorie: A Comprehensive Finding List of Chinese Cash 618 AD to 1912 AD. Together with Lochhart's Listing of the Chinese Dynasties. Bai Publications, USA, n.p., 1976. (no pagination).

French

  • Thierry, François: Monnaies d´extrême Orient, I Chine. Administration des Monnaies et Médailles. Les Collections Monétaires. Paris, 2002.

German

  • Staack, Herbert: Die Lochmünzen Chinas. Published by the author, Berlin, 1988.
  • Schlösser, Richard: Chinas Münzen. Erläutert an der Sammlung im Missions-Museum des Franziskanerklosters zu Dorsten in Westfalen. Franziskus-Druckerei, Werl (Westfalen), 1935 (114 pp. and 20 plates).
  • Patalas, Wilhelm: Chinesische Münzen. Von ihrem Ursprung bis 1912. Ein Bestimmungsbuch. Klinkhardt & Biermann, Braunschweig, 1965 (156 pp, illus.).

Spanish

  • Cossio, José L.: Monedas Antiguas de China. Publicaciones de la Sociedad Numismática de México, Mexico City, 1963. (16 pp. and 53 plates).

Romanized Russian

  • Bykow, Alexeji Andrevich.: Monety Kitaja. Leningrad, 1969 (78 pp. and 23 plates).

External links

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