The birth of paper money in China

The Chinese invented paper money at the end of the eighth century, the beginning of the 9th century AD. At first it was called non-money because it was so light that the wind could blow away from its hands. The first banknote, rather than a "draft" now, is not really money. Traders can deposit their money at the capital and receive a certificate written on paper to exchange for money in the provinces. The imperial court quickly took hold of the money-trading business, which was privately held right from the year 812. Meanwhile, taxes and other revenues were transferred from the localities to the capital by this method. The "draft" is still used but now issued by court officials in the capital and can be brought back to localities in exchange for goods such as salt, tea, .

The paper money is actually used as a means of exchange and secured by a deposit of money shaped like it was born in the early X century in the southern province of Sichuan, the result of a private initiative that brought to the top the 11th century of the court allowed 16 private businesses, "banks" to issue bills of exchange. But by 1023, the court had taken this self-employment activity and established a office to issue paper money of various values ​​and secured with deposits. Paper notes issued by the bank clearly state that it is only valid for 3 years, together with the issue date and withdrawal date. In 1107, paper money was printed with many wood carvings with at least 6 colors.

Court notes issued by the government accounted for a large proportion of the monetary fund. In 1126 there were 70 million "cigarettes" (one " one " in a thousand coins) was officially released, most of them had no guaranteed deposit, thus gave birth to quite serious inflation. .

Another problem that quickly arises is the issue of counterfeit money. Because anyone can use paper to print money, the authorities must find ways to make the paper money production process complicated, so that others are hard to fake. A number of sophisticated technical methods were quickly adopted in making paper money such as multi-color use, extremely complex drawings and mixing fibers into paper. Basic materials make even more silk. It is possible to take bills with dirty or messy wires in exchange for a new one, but pay a small amount of the cost of printing the bill.

When the Mongols ruled China, they issued a type of banknote called currency ti . The deposit to make sure this currency value is not precious metal but silk bales. In 1294, Chinese silk money was consumed as far away as Persia. In 1965, archaeologists found two "silk money".

Later, during the reign of Ming Dynasty, the role of paper money was lowered. The Ming Dynasty released in 1375 a new type of banknote called "Dai Minh informed". For a period of up to 200 years, this type of banknotes is issued only in each value and is considered a legal money. That of course causes a lot of difficulties for commercial activities, although there are still coins circulating and used as small money used in daily activities. But due to inflation, this "informed" money gradually lost its value, then replaced with silver coinage.