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Jiaozi Paper Money

Type Object Region China Time c. 1023–1279

Jiaozi, among the world's earliest official paper currencies, began as merchant exchange notes in Sichuan under the Northern Song and later expanded …

Timeline

  1. c. 1000–1023Yizhou · SichuanEarly Northern Song Sichuan iron coins were cumbersome, so merchants issued jiaozi as exchange certificates; in the first year of Tiansheng the court established the Yizhou Jiaozi Office, making jiaozi officially issued paper money with fixed quotas and reserves.
  2. c. 1171–1180Lin'an · ZhejiangDuring the Qiandao era the Southern Song issued huizi backed by southeastern revenues, circulating widely in Lin'an and Jiangnan; jiaozi experience was inherited, and paper money, copper coins, and silver formed a multi-tier currency system supporting urban commerce and military supply.
  3. c. 1175–1250Circuits of Jiangnan · JiangnanIn the mid-to-late Southern Song, paper-money types such as huizi, guanzi, and gongju multiplied, with printing, withdrawal, and exchange systems gradually perfected; fiscal spending became increasingly tied to issuance, providing precedents and lessons for Yuan and Ming paper-money policies.

Sources