The relationship between the ownership of Bao Tong coins in southern Tang Dynasty and Bao Tong coins in Tang Dynasty

Up to now, there are only two masterpieces left, namely "Four-Eye Masterpiece" by Jiangxi numerologist and "Missing Corner Masterpiece" worn by famous calligrapher and Tibetan Spring Family in Qing Dynasty. In the past, this was quite controversial. In the old genealogy, it is believed that it was cast by the founding of the People's Republic of China when Huang Chao, the leader of the peasant uprising army in the late Tang Dynasty occupied Chang 'an. According to the research of experts in the Spring Dynasty, it is generally believed that Xu Zhimo, the powerful minister of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, abolished Yang Pu, the emperor of Wu, because the emperor of Wu once named him King of Qi, so the name of the country was Daqi, which was cast when the Yuan Dynasty was reformed and upgraded. In the five generations of Ding's Dictionary of Ancient Money, the numismatist Zhang? A passage about the currency of the Southern Tang Dynasty in Bo's Textual Research on the Currency of the Five Dynasties and Ten Countries records: "Dabao is the same as that of the Tang Dynasty. When the fierce ancestor had no surname, the title of Daqi was unknown, but when the fierce ancestor made money, he copied it privately. " From this analysis, Zhang not only thinks that Datang was written by Li Bian, but also thinks that Dabao was earlier. Later, however, he was busy making up "Datang Bao Tong". This money is used for production test, but it is later in Bitang. "... What is the reason for this inconsistent and ambiguous language? Obviously, it is to conform to the historical materials mentioned in Ma Ling, so as not to contradict them.

The Concise Dictionary of Coins in China, edited by Sun Zhonghui and others, also said, "Only two real coins were found, because their characters are similar to those of Bao Tong in the Tang Dynasty, which was cast by Xu Zhimo, the founding emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty when the country was founded in 937." The author appreciates and compares the second-class masterpiece with the Tang money recorded in the catalogue, which proves to be true. No matter from the aspects of diameter, caliber, Qian Wen's calligraphy and outline, it has the same style and the same breath. However, what is intriguing is that these spring scholars dare to use the form of Datang Bao Tong to verify that Daqi Bao Tong was cast by Xu Zhimo, but dare not use Daqi Bao Tong to disprove that Datang Bao Tong was cast by Li Bian (Xu Zhimo). Why? I'm afraid this is also the reason that prevents Maling from casting the aforementioned Tang after the Tang Dynasty.

In addition, inferring from the History of Celebrities in the Spring Dynasty, Ding quoted Robert, a famous scholar and connoisseur of ancient coin collection, as saying: "In the Spring and Autumn Period of the Ten Kingdoms, Emperor Wu (Yang Pu) was changed to Tian Zuozuo (935), and Xu Zhigu, a Chinese secretary, was added as his father, a grand scholar and a grand marshal of all the military forces in the world, and he was given the title of King Qi for promotion. In the last three years (937), knowing that the patent usurped the position of Wu, he called himself emperor, and the title of the country was Daqi, and the yuan was changed to Yuan. At this time, Daqi was cast. " This inference accords with the real development of history. Although there is no written record of casting money in historical materials, it has been eloquently proved that Bao Tong in Daqi was cast by Xu Zhimo, the founding emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty, rather than by Huang Chao when he entered Chang 'an. As mentioned above, in the second year after the founding of the Great Qi Dynasty, Xu Zhimo regained his surname Li and changed his name to Yu and Datang, which was called Nantang in history. At that time, under the condition of constant world war and long-term chaos, Li Bian implemented the policy of "protecting the environment and protecting the people" and the policy of peace and good neighborliness. During the six years of Southern Tang Dynasty (937-943), the society was stable, showing a scene of economic prosperity and cultural prosperity. The author thinks that Bao Tong in the Tang Dynasty should be cast at this time. There are six reasons for this:

First, the name "Datang" and the name "Datang Bao Tong" are worthy of the name, which shows that the name "Datang" in Shi Xue is credible, which is by no means accidental coincidence. Therefore, Xue (9 12—98 1) was born in the Five Dynasties and the early Song Dynasty. He was born in Hou Liang in the second year of Ganhua. He was a scholar in the later Tang Dynasty and an official in the later Jin, Han and Zhou Dynasties. In the Song Dynasty, he was transferred to the position of assistant minister of the Ministry of Housing, and later he entered the Senate to understand political affairs. When Taizong was in power, it became commonplace. After his death, he was posthumously awarded as Qiu and Zhong Shuling. Because he spent most of his life in the whole process of the Five Dynasties and held a high position, he had a better understanding of the historical events at that time. When he was entrusted to supervise the revision of the History of the Five Dynasties (the Old History of the Five Dynasties), he would never forget to change the name of Nantang, a big country in the south of the Yangtze River, would he?

[Song] The History of Wu Yue has three years: "In the spring and February of four years, it was a month, and it was falsely known that it changed its surname to Li and its name was Tang." Who's Yan Qian? He is the grandson of Zhong, the founder of wuyue, and the 14th son of Wenmu Wangqian (937- 1003). When wuyue was in charge of Qu and Huzhou, he returned to Suizhou and Jinzhou after the Song Dynasty to be a judge. In his later years, he took sorting out wuyue's documents as his responsibility and compiled the History of Wu Yue. According to wuyue's national historical archives, he recorded in detail Qian's political, economic, military, diplomatic actions and personnel changes during his pioneering work in the Ten Kingdoms and the reign of the Five Kings. The author is not only a senior official of the royal family, but also a contemporary who has experienced almost the whole process of five dynasties and ten countries. He is a historian. His records further confirmed that the title of Nantang was "Datang".

Secondly, after Li's surname was restored, the name of the country was changed from "Daqi" to "Datang". Although there is no clear record of casting Datang Bao Tong in history, the country became stronger after his ancestral home was changed to "Datang". Its name "Daqi" is only a few years old, and even the words "Daqi Bao Tong" are cast. Is it just a "Datang" with a long history? The existence of "Datang Bao Tong" currency (figure 1) eloquently proves this point. Imagine that before Li Bian changed his name, he would not only use "Daqi Bao Tong" with limited casting capacity.

Third, it is no accident that Xu Zhigong changed his surname to Li and his country name to "Datang". The analysis of adding the word "da" before "Tang" is not only different from the former Tang Dynasty, but also aims to revive the banner of the former Tang Dynasty. The so-called "Southern Tang Dynasty" is just a historical title. If the "Tang" mentioned in "European History" fights with the previous "Tang", it is appropriate to call it "Datang". From this, it is associated with Li Bian's casting of not only "Bao Tong of Tang Dynasty", but also "Tang Zhen Ku" (Figure 2) and "Tang Chong Bao" (Figure 3), which shows that Li Bian has formed a complete "Tang" currency system in coin casting, further indicating that he not only has the ambition of unifying the world before the restoration, but also reflects the monetary economy during Li Bian's reign from one side.

Fourthly, through the textual research on the shape of Datang Bao Tong, the family portrait recognizes the fact of Daqi Tongbao, but why can't it be verified that Datang Bao Tong was cast by Li Bian (Xu Zhimo)? Whether it is "Daqi" money or "Datang" money, it is not only the national name money, but more importantly, the founders of both countries are Li Bian. It is an indisputable fact that the choice of national name and the shape and calligraphy of coins come down in one continuous line.

Fifth, when Li Bian, the fierce ancestor, was dying, he said to his eldest son, Li Jing, "Dechang Palace Spring is full of military forces, so I can be good at repairing my neighbors when I die, and the north will lose something." It is not difficult to see that the so-called "spring cloth" does not refer to the ancient currency spring cloth, but refers to the coins minted at that time, such as "Daqi Bao Tong", "Datang Bao Tong", "Kaiyuan Bao Tong" and "Wan Mao" refers to the abundant currency stocks in the Southern Tang Dynasty at that time. After his son Li Jing succeeded to the throne, he was renamed Baoda (943-957). During 15, only Baoda ingots were cast. Judging from the spectrum of this coin, it is priceless, and the casting year of Baoda Yuanbao is very small. Because the word "Tian" was cast later, I'm afraid this money will only be used for nine years in Nantang Baoda (95 1).

Sixth, although "Tang Bao" and "Datang" are both state-owned currencies, the momentum of their names has obviously changed subtly. According to historical records, Li Bian died in the seventh year of Shengyuan (943), and his son Li Jing succeeded to the throne. The following year, Li Jing violated his father's established national policy and started a war, destroying Fujian in the east and Chu in the west. Although it occupied more than 20 states, due to years of war, the internal affairs were more corrupt and the treasury was empty. Especially after Chai Rong of Zhou Shizong expropriated Huainan, north of Nantang, it was a fatal threat and blow to the regime of Nantang, just as the country declined day by day. In 19961year, he stayed in Jinling prison and moved to Nanchang town, and soon died of depression. Tang Bao was cast in the second year (959) and renamed Tang Shu Zhou. If Ma Ling said that Tang Bao's money was cast after Tang Bao, what was it? At this time, does Jing Li still have the courage and courage to vote for Tang? If Ma Ling's statement is true, isn't he going to be accused of trying to restore the "Datang" against Da Zhou? Excavate would never be stupid enough to bring about my own destruction. It goes without saying that if we want to broaden our horizons and uncover the puzzling mystery of coin history caused by Ma Ling, we must further explore the historical materials about food during Li Jing's administration. Therefore, it is particularly necessary to refer to other books and related historical materials.

(1) Liu Shu was quoted as saying in the Ten Kingdoms, "Yuan Zong took the south, ceded territory and paid tribute, and his family was surrounded by four walls, and his wealth and goods were less beneficial, so he voted for Tang Bao. Money two when kaiyuan money one. According to these five coins, the size of the system varies: those with a diameter of nine points and a weight of three baht; The diameter of seven points weighs two baht; Words and texts are the same as money in the Tang Dynasty ... ".

(2) According to Lu You's Book of Southern Tang Dynasty, Volume II, Biography of Yuan Zong, "In 959, in the sixth year of Xiande, Tang Guotong made money, and the second was one of Kaiyuan Springs".

(3) The article about Bao Tong in the Tang Dynasty in the Dictionary of China History explains that "there are two kinds of copper and iron, which were cast in Yuan Zong in the Southern Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, and copper coins were cast in Xiande six years in the later Zhou Dynasty (959), with five kinds of products and different sizes. Second, be a' Kaiyuan (Tong) Money'.

(4) According to the thirty-ninth volume of "Shuoba", "Jiang Biao Zhi" says: "Lee in the south of the Yangtze River has been dedicated to China for more than ten years, and his capital will be scarce. Stegosaurus was banned from bronze at the beginning, with ten pieces of spring goods; He also cast Tang Baoquan, and the second article of Baoquan is the first article of Kaiyuan Money.

The reason why the author took pains to list all kinds of historical materials about Tang Zhubao is because it is not difficult to see the following problems:

A Among these important historical materials, except that Ma Ling's Book of Southern Tang Dynasty mentioned that Tang was cast after Tang, all other historical materials did not mention casting the phrase Tang.

B Among them, it is mentioned in Tang Baozhu that "the diameter is nine points and the weight is three baht; The words "the diameter is divided into seven minutes and two baht, and the words are similar to those of the Tang Dynasty" undoubtedly show that "Bao Tong in the Tang Dynasty" was cast before "Tongbao in the Tang Dynasty". Gao Hanming, published by Jiangsu Ancient Books Publishing House, also pointed out that "Tang and Tang Zhunian have different opinions, and there are doubts to be tested". In particular, Mr. Xue Bing raised the following questions about the ownership and casting of coins in the Southern Tang Dynasty in the article "The Moral of the Money God: A Big Country on the Money Surface": ① If all three kinds of Xiaoping coins in the Southern Tang Dynasty were owned by Li Jing of Yuan Zong, what currency was used during the six years when Li Bian, the fierce ancestor, was in power? ; (2) "However, Li Bian has already cast Daqi money in a short period of one year (937), so it is natural for him to cast Datang after he changed his name to Tang." They (numerologists) originally classified Daqi Bao Tong as the money department of Southern Tang Dynasty. I don't know why they can't go further, overturn the old saying in Ma Ling's Book of Southern Tang Dynasty and make this money Li Bian's. It can be seen that the author is not the only one who is skeptical about "being driven out of the Tang Dynasty after the Tang Dynasty".

C Until the Stegosaurus period of Song Taizu, the Southern Tang Dynasty recast "Bao Tong, the Tang Kingdom", and there was no mention of casting "Datang Bao Tong".

From the above questions, we can't help but think about the origin of Lu You's rewriting of the Book of Southern Tang Dynasty. He believes that "Ma Ling's book is not perfect, and the style and content are not complete, so it was compiled." In the Encyclopedia of China History and the Dictionary of China History, it is considered that Lu You's book is "simple in narration", "textual research on many historical materials" and "supplemented with many historical materials", and "trivial and absurd things in Maling should be deleted", so it is highly praised by future generations. Through the above evaluation of Lu You's Book of Southern Tang Dynasty, it shows that Ma Ling's book does have many shortcomings. From another perspective, two points deserve special attention.

From the perspective of price, the casting sequence is broken.

Generally speaking, the price recorded in the coin catalogue not only conveys the price information, but also reflects the number of coins and the length of casting time. Therefore, the more coins there are in the world, the longer the casting time will be and the lower the price will be. The world is small, the casting time is short, and its price is bound to be high. Therefore, from the analysis of coin price, we can judge the length of coin casting time. As far as the price of coins in Southern Tang Dynasty is concerned, the price of "Daqi Bao Tong" is higher than that of "Datang Bao Tong" and that of "Datang Bao Tong" is higher than that of "Tang Guotong Bao", which shows the number of coins in the three countries and the length of casting time.

Judging from the volume of the world, the order of casting has been broken.

Daqi was cast when Xu Zhigu deposed Wu Pu as emperor, and its title was changed to Daqi (65438+9371Oct-Feb, 939). The Daqi regime has only one year and four months left, and its cost is the highest because of its small existence.

The following year, Xu Zhimo resumed his surname Li, changed his name to Zhang, and changed his country name to "Datang" (March 939-February 943). After the Tang Dynasty changed its name, Li Bian was in power for nearly five years, so his survival was slightly richer than that of Daqi, and his cost was inevitably lower than that of Daqi Bao Tong.

Although "Tang Guo Tong Bao" is also the national name money, it did decline in the Southern Tang Dynasty. Li Jing proclaimed himself emperor in the Shang Dynasty, and became a vassal in the following week, renamed Tang (May 958-June 975,165438+1October). It was cast for seventeen years and six months, which is almost the same as the "ten" in "Speaking of cymbals".

By analyzing the coins of the Southern Tang Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms, the author proves that "Datang Bao Tong" was not coined by Li Bian. This is my personal inference based on historical data and historical development analysis, and I hope the experts can correct me.