jiao zi

Paper money was a by-product of Chinese block printing. Although the production of paper money started in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), it did not become institutionalized as a governmental policy until the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

Many factors led to the appearance of paper money. For one thing, in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), with the economic boom and the development of commerce, the iron coin gradually showed its disadvantages, such as being small in value and heavy to carry. Also, the printing technology was mature and widely used; it could satisfy the request for massive duplication and its paper products were convenient to carry. Hence the paper money emerged according to the specific demands of the times.

The earliest paper money was called jiao zi, which appeared in the 10th century in the Northern Song Dynasty. Besides jiao zi, the government published many other kinds of paper money, like, qian yin, xiao chao, guan zi, gong ju, hui zi, and so on.

Among them, jiao zi had the longest circulation time, while hui zi had the biggest circulation; jiao zi, chao yin, and xiao chao were released in the Northern Song Dynasty, and guan zi, gong ju, and hui zi were released in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279).