Why did the five baht money that began in the Western Han Dynasty circulate for more than 700 years?

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Five baht money originated from Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty. It was abolished after Xin Mang, the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms, the two Jin dynasties, the Southern and Northern dynasties, the Sui Dynasty, and the early Tang Dynasty. It circulated for 739 years and became the oldest currency in Chinese history. 

Why can a small piece of five baht money last for a long time through eight dynasties? 

In the late Qin and early Han Dynasty, political unrest, social chaos, governments at all levels and businessmen scrambled to cast money, the money was mixed, the currency was overinflated, the purchasing power shrank sharply, and the Qin and half of the two were on the verge of collapse. 

Western Han Yuan hunting five years (118 BC), Emperor Wu "half two dollars, five baht money", each county according to the shape of half two, cast five baht money, history known as "county country five baht". 

Three years later, the Western Han Dynasty had to carry out currency reform again and carry out the "red five baht" because "the county has many traitors to cast money, but how light the money is". 

"the public secretary asks the capital to cast the bell on the red side, one when five, and the official is not allowed to use the non-red side." 

In other words, one official cast "red five baht" can be worth five "county five baht". 

Although the copper content of "Chichi five baht" is more than that of "prefecture five baht", its currency value is higher than its real value and soon depreciates. 

In the fourth year of Yuan Ding (113 BC), Emperor Wu ordered that "there is no casting money in the county state, and specially ordered the three officials of Shanglin (the three officials of Shanglin refer to the central department in charge of casting money)." 

Since there is a lot of money, and the money is not allowed to be made by the three officials in the world, all the money cast in front of the counties and states has been scrapped and lost to their bronze officials. " 

"Shanglin Sanguan five baht" as a result, Emperor Jing Zhao and Emperor Xuan still used its style, which was deeply recognized by all strata of society. 

The circulation of five baht money was centered on the Guanzhong Plain, the political center of the Western Han Dynasty, and radiated outward. 

It covers a wide range, facing the sea in the east, the western region in the west, the South China Sea in the south, and the Great Wall in North Vietnam, covering the whole territory of the Western Han Dynasty. 

Not only that, but five baht money has also been unearthed in North Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Iran, Turkey, and other countries, which shows its popularity. 

Five baht money follows the shape of Qin half two, round square hole, with a circumference on the back, money face seal script "five baht", beautiful and slender, regular and simple style, coin diameter 2.5 cm, thickness 2 mm, standard weight 3.5 grams, casting standard, moderate weight, beautiful and practical, deeply welcomed by the merchants, the Western Han Dynasty established a monetary income and expenditure system based on five baht money. 

It is recorded in the Chronicles of Food and goods in Han Shu: "from the beginning of the five years of the three officials in Xiaowu Yuan Dynasty to the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty of Pingdi, it became more than 28.00001 billion clouds of money." 

There are two views on this in academic circles: the first is that "hundreds of millions" equals hundreds of millions, which is also 28 billion. 

The second argument holds that "100 million" is 100, 000, which is equivalent to 280 billion. 

According to archaeological materials and literature records, the average copper consumption of the five baht cast in the Western Han Dynasty is 2.82g. According to 28 billion pieces, it needs 78960 tons of copper, equivalent to 652.6 tons per year, and according to 280 billion pieces, it consumes 6526 tons of copper per year. 

During the great and middle years of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the annual output of copper in the country was 3903 tons. Obviously, in the Western Han Dynasty hundreds of years ago, the output of copper would not exceed this output. According to this calculation, the first statement is more reasonable. 

After seven centuries of casting, the five baht money has been revised several times, and the quantity is getting larger and larger. 

Five baht money has been revised twice, and the monetary standard has been established by "Shanglin Sanguan five baht", which is popular all over the world. 

The whole coin is rigorous in writing, neat in shape, and fine in workmanship. 

After scientific determination, it is found that its coin color is red, the content of copper is more than 70%, the content of lead is about 20%, the proportion is reasonable, and the physical performance is stable. 

In the sixteenth year of Jianwu (AD 40), Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu, at the suggestion of Ma Yuan, implemented a slightly different font of "the five baht of the Eastern Han Dynasty". 

At the end of the Han Dynasty, the "five baht on the edge" appeared to grind off the edge and part of the money and meat. 

In the first year of Chuping (190 AD), the "five baht" made by Dong Zhuo not only had no internal and external outline but also the money was vague and difficult to identify.