The Sung/Jing/Liao Dynasty #2
No.
Su/11
Weight: 450 grams/12.5 taels
Date: N/A
Inscriptions: 京銷滲銀/林宅/京銷滲銀
"Shen" Silver Cast in the Capital City (Hangzhou)
Lin's Household (Silver shop)
Notes:
Cast in the Southern Sung Dynasty
滲 "Shen" means "penetration". "Shen silver" was one of the quality silver ingots in the Southern Sung Dynasty. Its fineness ranged from 99.5% to 98.5% according to the standard of that time.
Collection of Hu Chun Chung
No.
Su/12
Weight: 909 grams/25 taels
Date: N/A
Inscriptions: 煎銷錠銀
Poured Cast Lump Silver
Notes:
Cast in the Southern Sung Dynasty
Collection of Morris Chang
No.
Su/13
Weight: 935 grams/25 taels
Date: N/A
Inscriptions: 什邡縣戶帖銀重貳拾參兩肆錢
Xi Feng County (in Szechuan Province) Household License Silver Weighed 23 Taels and 4 Candareens
Notes:
Household license was a land certificate issued to a landowner by the unit of household since the Northern Sung Government.
Collection of Morris Chang
No.
Su/14
Weight: 12 taels
Date: N/A
Inscriptions: 溫州馬曹頭/謝鋪/重拾貳兩
Wenchou (in Chekiang Province) Ma Chao Tuo (Place name)
Hsieh's Firm (Silver shop)
Weighed 12 Taels
Notes:
Cast in the Southern Sung Dynasty
Collection of Hu Chun Chung
No.
Su/15
Weight: 10 taels
Date: 1226 A.D.
Inscriptions: 大理府呈解春派鹽司花銀十兩/天開二十一年上月
Spring Tax 10 Tael Flowery Silver Submitted with the Salt Administration by Da Li Prefecture
The Upper Month of the 21st Year of Tien Kai
Notes:
Yunnan was not part of China until it was conquered by Kublai Khan in 1253. Before the Yuan Dynasty, The last independent rulers of the region controlled a kingdom named "Later Li"(後理).
Very few artifacts of this kingdom can be found. Tien Kai (天開) was the reign name of its last 3rd to the last king Duan Zi Hsiang (段智祥) who ruled during a period equivalent to the later part of the Southern Sung in China. This piece is the only example of sycee cast by this vanished kingdom known to exist.
Collection of Hu Chun Chung
No.
Su/16
Weight: 456 grams/12.5 taels
Date: N/A
Inscriptions:
By stamping:
霸北街西/重壹拾貳兩半/霸北街西
霸北街西/舊日蘇韓張二郎□/霸北街西
West of Ba Bei Street (Address of the silver shop where was in the capital Ling An (Now, Hangzhou))
Weighed Twelve and a Half Taels
(Successor of) the former Su Firm and Its Smith Han Wu Lang- Silversmith Zhang Er Lang
By engraving:
廣州經制庫銀
Treasury Silver of Canton (Guangzhou) Collected from Jin Ze (A kind financial income since the later time of the Northern Sung which comprises of add-on taxes, increases of rents of official real estates, mark-ups of the selling prices of monopoly goods, such as salt and wine...)
Notes:
Collection of the webmaster
No.
Su/17
Weight: 10 taels
Date: N/A
Inscriptions: 相國寺/相國寺/上花銀/陳二郎
Hsiang Guo Shi (Premier's Temple)
High Standard Flowery Silver
Chen Er Lang (Smith)
Notes:
相國寺 was a renowned Buddhist temple in the Capital KaiFeng during the Northern Sung Dynasty. This temple was one of the major landlords at that time because of worshipers' donations; thus, rents from tenants became an important income of the temple. Its monks and nuns also actively ventured in various business, such as silk weaving, textile and gourmets.
Being active in those business activities, the Temple accumulated tremendous fortunes and might need to treasure them in the form of silver. (Chinese readers may refer to to an essay authored by Professor Chuang Han Shen (全漢昇教授)- 宋代寺院所經營之工商業 (Industrial and Commercial Business Run by the Temples of the Sung Dynasty) for detailed information- http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-AN/an160908.htm.
Seen in trade
No.
Su/18
Weight: 10 taels
Date: 1230 A.D.
Inscriptions: 紹定二年/分鈔解銀/李鋪記
The 2nd Year of Shao Ding
Submitted Silver Collected from Distribution of Salt License
Li's Firm
Notes:
Production and sale of salt, considered an important resource by the ancient Chinese, was without exception, a government monopoly during the entire dynastic period in China. During the Sung Dynasty, merchants were requested to transport daily necessities to rural areas or war fronts before they would be allowed to exchange them for a license permitting the purchase of salt from the government and distribution to customers. This policy, however, was eventually modified to allow merchants to directly purchase salt licenses by payment of gold or silver to the government, which was anxious to increase revenues.
This piece was a payment for purchasing salt license during the Southern Sung.
Seen in Trade
No.
Su/19
Weight: 25 taels
Date: N/A
Inscriptions: 霸西街南/重貳拾伍兩/霸西街南
霸西街南/霸西王二郎/霸西街南
South of Ba Xi Street (Address of the silver shop where was in the capital Ling An, i.e., now, Hangzhou)
Weighed Twenty-Five Taels
Ba Xi (Street), Smith Wang Er Lang
Note:
Seen in trade
No.
Su/20
Weight: 395 grams/10 taels
Date: 1203 A.D.
Inscriptions: 嘉泰三年．大禮銀
The 3rd Year of Jia Tai
The Offering Silver for the Grand Ceremony
Note:
Seen in trade
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