Explain the ancient definition of gold first. Many people think that ancient gold was made of copper and was called gold because of its yellow appearance. This statement is more appropriate in the Spring and Autumn Period, because the "gold" in the Spring and Autumn Period was mostly about copper, and gold was not popular at that time. But from the Warring States to the Eastern Han Dynasty, "gold" was already real gold. It should be noted that most of the gold at that time was made into horseshoes and cakes, each weighing "one catty".
The weight of gold cakes and horseshoe gold unearthed now is about 258 grams, which is the weight of one catty in Han Dynasty. A golden cake is almost a catty, which is also a gold.
To give two examples: in ancient times, Han Xin gave his mother a thousand gold cakes. If it is interpreted as a thousand gold coins, Han Xin is embarrassed to take out his hand; There is also Shang Yang's letter of moving wood, which stipulates that "whoever can move to the north gate will be rewarded with 50 yuan", that is, 50 gold cakes. If you say that a gold is actually copper, it is estimated that Shang Yang will kill you.
But in some places, a catty of gold is called "one gold", which is twenty taels, much higher than "one catty".
After the Eastern Han Dynasty, less gold was used in the market. According to historical records, if there is gold as a reward, it will basically be clear that there must be a unit in this sentence. But if there is money in the "reward of 100 thousand", this is our usual copper coin, which is mainly promoted by the government. Then let's look at "rice is expensive, 1 million dollars" and "jewelry is worth 700 thousand dollars" Here, a dollar equals a penny, which is a copper coin.
A thousand words (money) are the same, also called cranes. After the Yuan Dynasty, silver became popular, and it could be exchanged with each other. When you hang money, you can exchange one or two pieces of silver.
"Li Lang Feng Qiu is the richest man in the family. He bought his wife a Hosta worth 700,000 yuan." This 700,000 yuan will be shocking at first glance, but it is actually a silver 720 yuan. One or two ounces of gold and one or two ounces of silver can be exchanged for four or five ounces, sometimes for a dozen ounces. If it is strictly converted, twelve taels of silver can probably be exchanged for one tael of gold.
Li Zicheng wanted to arrest Emperor Chongzhen, and the informer offered a reward of 200 yuan. This "200 yuan" is the unit of measurement, but what he didn't bring was silver. On the other hand, Li Zicheng wanted to catch Emperor Chongzhen, and he was stingy and wouldn't just reward people with 1,200 coppers.
Focus on the Qing Dynasty. If you only say "gold", it is silver, which is recorded in the notes of literati. For example, how much gold something is worth means how much it is worth, such as:
"Customs clearance notes": broken leaves mixed with flower dew are worth tens of gold, which is a gift for nobles. The dozens of gold mentioned in it are dozens of taels of silver, not gold, let alone copper coins. If it is bought by dozens of coppers, the nobles will not regard it as a heavy gift.
To sum up, it is wrong to say that ancient "gold" is copper. The "gold" in the Spring and Autumn Period can be interpreted as copper, but it is actually gold in the Qin and Han Dynasties. After the Han Dynasty, gold with "two" as the unit of measurement must be gold. If it's 25 yuan's reward, it's silver. "Gold" here refers to silver. Later, from the late Qing Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, "one gold" refers to a silver dollar.
Therefore, ancient gold must add archaeology and literature analysis. Many books say that the "gold" in the Qin and Han Dynasties was actually copper, but I beg to differ.
Moreover, in ancient times, the "Thousand Liang" units made great contributions. When the emperor is happy, he will give gold two thousand two hundred, two thousand two hundred. But in ancient times when productivity was low, how could there be so much gold to reward?
Let's take a look at the ancient weight evolution:
Qin and Han dynasties: a catty is about 258.24 grams, and a couple is about16,438+04 grams.
Eastern Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties: 222.73 grams per catty, each pair 13.92 grams.
Sui and Chu: a catty is about 668. 19 grams, and a couple is about 4 1.76 grams.
At the end of Sui Dynasty: a catty is about 222.73 grams, and a couple is about 13.92 grams.
Tang Zhiqing: A catty is about 596.82 grams, and a couple is 37.30 grams.
Can be converted by the above weight, if the emperor's reward is 22 thousand, what is the concept.
Under such productivity in ancient times, the national income of a year was only a little. With so much gold on TV, the emperor always gave 222,000 gold. There are very few people who offer a reward of 2000 yuan in history, let alone 2000 yuan. Few emperors are so extravagant, and not many people have this honor.
Basically, emperors use copper or silver to reward people who have made meritorious deeds, which is not as exaggerated as it is on TV. There may have been two kinds of gold in ancient times, but those emperors on TV just rewarded 1,200 pieces of gold to set off the film and television atmosphere.
In a word, let's not be fooled by TV.