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Book Cover
E-book
Author Cheung, Sui-Wai

Title Copper Coins and the Emperor's Wallet
Published Boston : BRILL, 2023

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Description 1 online resource (185 p.)
Series Brill's Series on Modern East Asia in a Global Historical Perspective Series ; v.09
Brill's Series on Modern East Asia in a Global Historical Perspective Series
Contents Intro -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Figures, Tables, and Maps -- Figures -- Tables -- Maps -- Ming Dynasty Emperors -- Ming Weights and Measures -- Introduction: Currency and Taxation in Ming China, 1368-1644 -- 1 How Precious was a Precious Note? State Currency in the Early Ming, 1368-1435 -- 1 The Value of Paper -- 2 Managing an Empire without Money -- 2.1 Household Registration for Goods and Services -- 2.2 Moving the Capital South -- 2.3 Eunuchs: the Emperor's Servants and Gatekeepers -- 2.4 Labor Services and In-Kind Taxes -- 2.5 The Lijia -- 3 From Copper to Rice to Precious Notes
4 Civil War, a New Capital, and a Surfeit of Precious Notes -- 4.1 Moving the Capital to Beijing -- 4.2 Precious Notes for Capital Officials -- 4.3 Taking Precious Notes out of Circulation: the Salt Tax and Crime Restitution Fees -- 5 Reopening China to Trade -- 5.1 The Treasure Fleet -- 5.2 Building the New Capital in Beijing -- 6 Retrieving Precious Notes: Commercial Fees and Charges -- 7 Conclusion -- 2 From Illegal to Official: Copper and Silver, 1400-1487 -- 1 Recession, Piracy, and Foreign Trade -- 2 Reopening China: Silver in the Market
2.1 Feeding the Capital: Tribute Rice and the Grand Canal -- 2.2 Commuting the Grain Tax: the Gold Floral Silver Reform -- 2.3 Silver and the Precious Note -- 3 Copper Coins in a "Filthy" Reign -- 3.1 Government Taxes and Fees in Copper Cash -- 4 Counterfeit Coins and Gresham's Law -- 5 Conclusion -- 3 Household Registration, Foreign Trade, and the Emperor's Table, 1444-1566 -- 1 Maritime Merchants and Household Registration -- 2 The Emperor's Table -- 3 The Emperor's Coffers -- 4 An End to Extravagance? -- 5 Copper Coins as Income -- 6 Prodigal Emperors
6.1 The Zhengde Emperor (1505-1521): Extortion and Government Charges -- 6.2 The Jiajing Emperor (1521-1566): Brass Coins -- 7 Closing the Baoyuan Mint -- 8 Conclusion -- 4 Coins for the Government, 1567-1644 -- 1 Coins for the Country and the People -- 1.1 Coins for the Ministries -- 1.2 Provincial Mints -- 1.3 "Golden Backs" for the Taicang Treasury -- 1.4 Renting Furnaces at the Nanjing Mint -- 2 Back into the Emperor's Wallet -- 3 Conclusion -- 5 Conclusion: Small Change and State Administration in Ming China -- Works Cited -- Glossary -- Index
Summary In this book, Sui-Wai Cheung unmasks the murky story of copper coins in Ming China, revealing how emperors and statesmen perceived and used the copper coins at their disposal, and exposing the impecunious reality of the Sons of Heaven
Notes Description based upon print version of record
Genre/Form Electronic books
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9789004687530
900468753X