Book Review: Shunju Sengoku jidai seido kahei no seisei to tenkai [Genesis and development of bronze currencies in the spring and autumn and Warring States periods]; Chugoku kodai kahei keizai shi kenky [Historical studies of the monetary economy in ancient China]

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Shunju Sengoku jidai seido kahei no seisei to tenkai [Genesis and development of bronze currencies in the spring and autumn and Warring States periods] . By Emura Haruki . Tokyo : Kyuko shoin , 2011. 6, 472 pp. ¥15,000 (cloth).

Chugoku kodai kahei keizai shi kenky [Historical studies of the monetary economy in ancient China] . By Kakinuma Yohei .... Tokyo : Kyuko shoin , 2011. viii, 433, 71 pp. ¥13,000 (cloth).

Book Reviews--China

The earliest use of metallic money in China, as in the Mediterranean world, dates back to c. 600 BCE. Although numismatic evidence abounds, contemporary documentary sources are virtually silent about money use, and historical writings from the Han dynasty have proven unreliable for tracing the origins of money. Fortunately, archaeological research has not only greatly enriched the numismatic record, but also yielded important new documentary sources. Legions of Chinese scholars--most notably Wu Liangbo, Chen Longwen, and above all Huang Xiquan--have done pioneering work in assembling and analyzing the wealth of new numismatic data. Two new books by Japanese scholars--building on a long tradition of outstanding Japanese scholarship on Chinese monetary history--offer fresh and insightful syntheses based on these new sources that greatly advance our understanding of the origins and development of the money economy in ancient China.

Emura Haruki's study provides us with the most comprehensive and authoritative survey and analysis of pre-Qin bronze coinage. As is well known, four distinct regions of monetary circulation emerged in the Warring States period: spade-shaped currencies in the Central Plain; knife-shaped currencies in the eastern states of Qi and Yan; round coins in Qin in the west; and a mix of currencies, including gold pieces, spade currencies, and bronze imitation cowries, in Chu in the south. The new evidence shows that by the late Warring States era, a greater variety of types appeared in all regions except Qin. Archaeological findings now make possible the typological classification and approximate dating of nearly two dozen types of currency. In addition, the inscriptions on these currencies supply key clues for determining who issued them. Perhaps the most striking feature of Emura's analysis is his hypothesis that bronze currencies were first issued not by rulers but rather by private agents for purposes...