← Explore on the interactive map

Jiaozi / Paper Money

Type Object Region China Time c. 995

Jiaozi, among the earliest paper currencies in China and the world, originated as private commercial notes in early Northern Song Sichuan.

Timeline

  1. 1011–1020Yizhou (Chengdu Prefecture) · ChengduIn the early Zhenzong era, sixteen wealthy Sichuan merchants jointly issued jiaozi, paper certificates backed by iron coins, stamped with shop marks and codes, circulating and transferable in the market, solving the problem of heavy iron coins hindering Sichuan trade.
  2. 1015–1020Yizhou · ChengduSome jiaozi shops suffered runs and credit crises from over-issuance or poor management, and local authorities began to intervene in regulation. By the late Zhenzong reign the court was already attentive to the jiaozi issue, laying the institutional groundwork for the shift to official issuance in the Tiansheng era.
  3. 1011–1018Sichuan Circuit · SichuanIron coins circulated in Northern Song Sichuan due to scarce copper ore, with large transaction values and high transport costs. Jiaozi, backed by iron coins and using paper as the medium, had by the early eleventh century acquired the basic functional features of modern paper money.

Sources