Southern Song Huizi Paper Money

Timeline

1. 1161Lin'an Prefecture · Lin'anIn the third month of the 31st year of Shaoxing, the court formally established the Imperial Huizi Office; the Ministry of Revenue issued official huizi paper money, denominated in copper coins, with face values of one, two, and three guan as well as 200, 300, and 500 wen, permitted to circulate alongside copper coins inside and outside the city.
2. 1162–1166The imperial capital (Lin'an) and the Liangzhe and Jiangnan circuits · Southeastern circuitsDuring the Song-Jin wars, copper coins were scarce; the government used huizi to cover expenditures and implemented the 'half-coin, half-huizi' system (half of government payments in copper coins, half in huizi). Huizi gradually became popular in Liangzhe, Jiangnan, Hunan, and other regions, becoming the main means of payment.
3. 1166Imperial Huizi Office in Lin'an · Lin'anBy the eleventh month of the second year of Qiandao, cumulative huizi issuance reached approximately 15.6 million guan, far exceeding initial plans, raising concerns about depreciation; the court began drafting a rectification plan to redeem old notes with reserves.
4. 1167–1170Lin'an Prefecture · Lin'anIn the twelfth month of the third year of Qiandao, the court released two million taels of silver from the imperial treasury to redeem old notes with five million guan of new notes and burn them; thereafter a series-based issuance system was established, with three years per series and a cap of ten million guan per series, attempting to restore huizi's credit and curb counterfeiting.