Yan Zhuqian at the beginning of the Five Dynasties and the new "Shuntian Cup Money" gilding
Shun Tian yuan Bao Bei Qian
According to historical records, at the end of the Tang dynasty, the war was unbearable, the imperial power fell by the side, and the provinces, cities and towns supported their troops with self-respect. The Central Plains is in an eventful autumn. Li Keyong and Zhu Quanzhong gradually formed two major forces in the north, with Li Keyong occupying Hedong and Zhu Quanzhong owning northern Henan. Liu Rengong, a native of Shenzhou (now Shenxian County, Hebei Province), was originally General Li Kuangwei appointed by Lu Long in our time. Later, the mutiny failed and he joined Taiyuan Li Keyong. In the second year of Tang Zhaozong Ganning (895), Liu Rengong captured Youzhou (now southwest of Beijing) with the help of Taiyuan and Li Keyong, and was appointed as the special envoy of Lulong to get rid of the control of Hedong, thus establishing a separatist regime. Later, Liu Rengong took advantage of the contradiction between the two major forces, became enemies with Li and Zhu, and dominated for a while.
Liu Rengong's father and son are arrogant, luxurious and extravagant, cruel and bossy. In the second year of Guanghua (899), Liu Rengong led more than 100,000 Yan Jun soldiers south to attack Shanxi and Hebei. After attacking Xiazhoubei (now Qinghe, Hebei), everyone in the city was killed and thrown into the river, and the water in Qinghe was blocked. Liu and his son not only regard cruelty as a capable thing, but also are extremely greedy and eager to fill the demand. According to historical records, Liu Rengong used mud as money, collected domestic copper coins, looted property, dug a cave and hid it at the top of Da 'an Mountain. When it was hidden, he killed the craftsmen to kill them. Liu Rengong also built a Taoist temple on Da 'an Mountain (now northwest of Fangshan, Beijing), where beautiful women gathered and lived a luxurious life. He also took alchemy medicine with Taoist priests and studied feathering to live forever. Later, his son Liu Shouguang had an affair with his father and his concubine Roche, and turned against him. Liu Shouguang imprisoned his father and killed his younger brother. In the first year of Hou Liang Ganhua (9 1 1), after Liu Shouguang succeeded to the throne, he called himself Emperor Dayan, changed his name to Yingtian, and made his capital Youzhou. Soon, he sent troops to invade Yiwu Town (now Dingxian County, Hebei Province) and crusaded against the minister of Jin Wang and Li. Li sent Zhou Dewei, a general, out of Daizhou (now Daixian County, Shanxi Province) to the east, and attacked Yan through Guanguan (now Laiyuan, Hebei Province) to save Yiwu. After more than a year of fierce fighting, Jin Jun advanced to the south gate of Youzhou, but Liu Shouguang refused to surrender and fled Cangzhou. He was captured alive on the way and his family was punished in Taiyuan.
Liu's father and son once earned Yongan money from Youzhou. According to documents, after King Jin Hailing seized power by coup, he accepted the suggestions of ministers and ordered the capital to be moved from Huining House in Shangjing (now Acheng South of Heilongjiang) to Yanjing. In the third year of Tiande (1 15 1), Shangshu Youcheng Zhang Hao was ordered to repair the construction project, and the ancient money he earned during the civil excavation was "Wen Yue: Yong 'an 1000, which was considered a good thing at the meeting". During the Qianlong and Jiaqing years of the Qing Dynasty, masons and farmers in the western hills of Beijing got a batch of stones and cultivated land. In the early years of the Republic of China, Yong 'an money began to appear in large quantities. At that time, Yongan Tieqian was unearthed in Xia 'an Village, Dawangshan, northwest of Fangshan, Beijing. "The villagers dug it up, piled it up and smelted it into farm tools." After that, it continued to circulate in the city through the hands of merchants, which attracted the attention of the Spring family. The former sages once discussed and studied the ownership of Yong 'an money, but there were different opinions at one time. During the Republic of China, there were many discussions about the names of Tibetan springs. According to the source and unearthed area of Yong 'an money, the book Yan Qian Lu was cited and traced back to the source, and it was determined that it was cast by Liu in Youzhou in early May. At this point, the group doubts were lifted, and the ownership of the casting master became a conclusion.
Yongan money can be divided into copper and iron, with less copper and more iron; There are ten, one hundred, five hundred and one thousand four kinds. Among them, "Yong 'an 10" and "Yong 'an 500" copper products are the most difficult and precious; "Yong 'an 1000" copper products are also rare, with large, medium and small samples. The details are iron models, which are very valuable; "Yong 'an 100" copper products are rare in the world in both size and sample. Yong' an money is thick in shape and rough in style; Qian Wen's calligraphy style is simple and unique; The word "Yong 'an" is correctly pronounced except "Yong 'an 10".
In addition to Yong 'an money, Liu and his son also cast a small amount of iron "Shuntian Yuanbao" with a back of last month 100, "cloth" with a back of last month 1000, and "five baht" with a back of 300. The earliest records of Yingtian Yuanbao, Gansheng Yuanbao and Yingsheng Yuanbao can be found in Honghong's East Asian Currency Annals in Aopingchang, Japan. Textual research by the sages in the spring circle shows that it was made by Liu Shouguang in Youzhou, and it is believed that all the three orphans' money flowed into Japan in the early years, but they were short of thousands of money. In Ma Dingxiang's annotation "Illustration of Ancient Money in Past Dynasties", it is believed that this set of money "should have thousands of money on the back of Tian Yuanbao, but the real thing has not been found." From the unearthed objects, it can be confirmed that there is indeed money in this valuable record, but the name of money is not "dry sky" speculated in the annotation, but "Shuntian".
Looking up the year number, we can know that there are four years in the history of "Yingtian" year number: First, in the second year of Tang Dynasty (759), Shi Siming arrogantly called Prince Dasheng, and the year number should be; Second, in the fourth year of Jian Zhong (783), Zhu established the title when he claimed to be Emperor Daqin; Third, in the first year of Liu Shouguang's sun exposure (9 1 1), Dayan became emperor, and Yuan should be another day; Four, Xixia Xiangzong Zhao An acceded to the throne, change the title should be days (1206). From the analysis of existing physical and historical factors, others can be excluded. The owner of this "Yingtian Yuanbao" with "10,000" money is Liu Shouguang, or it may be a celebration money cast during the founding of the People's Republic of China. In this set of coins, Qian Wen's characters are all right-handed, and the fonts are clumsy and quaint. Although it does not include the old pedigree of "Qian", its Qian Wen, shape and manner are exactly the same as those of "Wan", "Bai" and "Pick", and it belongs to a complete series of varieties.
According to the statistics of existing data and physical knowledge and experience, in recent years, there have been two "ten thousand" copper coins in Yan's hometown, with excellent appearance and two musical instruments. There are three pieces on the back of the money. One handed down from ancient times, its patina bottom rust is good, but it is seriously worn, which leads to Qian Wen drifting; Second, the pit product, unearthed in Henan, looks very good, but unfortunately it fell into the hands of overseas collectors. What is left in China at present is a gold-plated coin with a health pit, which was hidden by the family portrait in Luoyang, Henan Province and has always been regarded as a treasure. In addition to the spectrum of "Hundred Money", according to industry rumors, there was one in Northeast China and one in Henan, all of which are authentic, but collectors are secretive and it is difficult to see the real use of Lushan Mountain. Four pieces were picked up one after another, including a gold-plated coin from Gongyi, Henan Province, which was made more exquisitely. In short, no more than ten pieces can be bought at present.
It is the gold-plated "Shuntian Yuanbao" in Pinshengkeng, with thousands of dollars on the back, which is the most wonderful of the above three pieces; The diameter is 37.5mm, the thickness is 2.7mm, and the weight is 16g (see figure). According to the original collector, 1992 was obtained from Luoyang antique market in Henan province, and the specific land is unknown. The money is embroidered with red dots and green, and there is some white alkali rust on the back. At that time, it was difficult to see the true face because of rust. After soaking in boiling water, the rust was removed with a knife in Qian Wen to make it clear, and then it was known that it was gold-plated money. Its shape is vigorous, the outline is geometric, the casting is completed and the appearance is excellent; Qian Wen Gu Zhuo is free and easy, skillful and fluent, with cursive brushwork, dense and powerful, seemingly childish, but actually quite charming. Although money originated in Luoyang, Henan Province, it has the same name as the moon-patterned coin on the back of "Shuntian Yuanbao" in Shi Siming, but it has a different style and a strong flavor of big money in the Five Dynasties. Judging from the culture behind it, it should be a kind of condom money casting when Liu Shouguang changed his yuan. Presumably, the set of money for Ying Tian, Shun Tian, Gan Sheng and Ying Sheng series is almost the money for commemorating the celebration. Due to the small amount of casting, it is extremely rare to survive in the world. In particular, this kind of "thousand" big money can not only fill the missing varieties of this set of money contained in Qianpu, but also has high historical value. This is one of the rare treasures of Gu Quan.