Chinese Silver Ingots (Yuanbao)

Timeline

1. c. 1591–1595Suzhou · Suzhou PrefectureIn the early 1590s, after the Single Whip Reform commuted labor service to silver in Jiangnan, farming households and silk merchants paid land tax and commuted labor service in silver ingots to local treasuries; silver shops assayed fineness according to the 'fine silver' standard, cutting ingots or accepting them whole, making silver ingots the basic physical currency of daily local fiscal operations.
2. 1596–1600Yuegang, Zhangzhou · Zhangzhou PrefectureBetween 1596 and 1600, Spanish silver coins and Southeast Asian silver goods flowing in through ports like Yuegang were melted and recast into silver ingots meeting domestic standards, then entered the Jiangnan and North China markets, making silver ingots a key physical link between overseas silver imports and the Ming domestic tax system.