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Late Yuan baochao collapse

Type Object Region China Time 1350–1368

The late Yuan baochao collapse refers to hyperinflation and the de facto death of the currency system caused by overissue of Zhongtong and Zhiyuan no…

Timeline

  1. 1350–1360Dadu · North ChinaDuring the Zhizheng era the Yuan court repeatedly reformed the currency and increased Zhizheng jiaochao printing to cover fiscal deficits, only worsening market disorder. By the late 1350s one guan of baochao could no longer be exchanged for the specified silver, note values plummeted, merchants refused paper notes, and the currency system's credit completely broke down.
  2. 1360–1370Yingtian Prefecture · East ChinaAfter Zhu Yuanzhang controlled Jiangnan in the 1360s, Yuan baochao was banned, copper coin circulation restored, and silver ingots and grain used as media for military pay and taxes. In the first year of Hongwu the Ming court issued Great Ming Baochao to replace the collapsed late Yuan currency system, though Yuan notes had become as good as waste paper in remnant Yuan forces in North China.

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