Gutenberg and the Koreans: The Spread of Paper Currency

Currency

Block with image reversed for printing, for a Mongol-period bank note, 1264–1340.

Printed paper currency was developed in China in the eleventh century, in part to compensate for a shortage of copper coin in Szechwan, where the printing industry flourished.¹³ The Mongol emperor Khubilai Khan had a sophisticated understanding of paper currency. Rather than invalidate the existing Sung currency—which would have devastated the Chinese economy—he allowed it, for a period of ten years, to be converted to a new currency that he standardized throughout his empire. “To facilitate trade and to promote the welfare of the merchants, Khubilai initiated the use of paper currency throughout his domains,” notes Morris Rossabi, adding that “Khubilai was the first Mongol ruler to seek a countrywide system of paper currency.”

The earliest existing European report of paper currency is a mention from 1255 by William Ruysbroeck, a French missionary to the Mongol court.¹⁴ The accounts of Marco Polo include a detailed description of the Chinese currency, which was briefly adopted by the Persian Ilkhanate. The Persian version was clearly based on the Chinese model, for it was called by the Chinese word chao, and it even included words printed in Chinese.¹⁵ In the case of paper currency, as in other aspects of printing, the route of transmission was from China to the West.

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Notes

13 Twitchett, 43. By the end of the century problems of inflation and currency devaluation resulted from overprinting of currency. [return]

14 Tsien, 293. [return]

15 Morgan, 165. [return]

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	Did East Asian Printing Traditions Influence the European Renaissance? Thomas Christensen

home search sitemap blog daybook contact	Currency Block with image reversed for printing, for a Mongol-period bank note, 1264–1340. Printed paper currency was developed in China in the eleventh century, in part to compensate for a shortage of copper coin in Szechwan, where the printing industry flourished.¹³ The Mongol emperor Khubilai Khan had a sophisticated understanding of paper currency. Rather than invalidate the existing Sung currency—which would have devastated the Chinese economy—he allowed it, for a period of ten years, to be converted to a new currency that he standardized throughout his empire. “To facilitate trade and to promote the welfare of the merchants, Khubilai initiated the use of paper currency throughout his domains,” notes Morris Rossabi, adding that “Khubilai was the first Mongol ruler to seek a countrywide system of paper currency.” The earliest existing European report of paper currency is a mention from 1255 by William Ruysbroeck, a French missionary to the Mongol court.¹⁴ The accounts of Marco Polo include a detailed description of the Chinese currency, which was briefly adopted by the Persian Ilkhanate. The Persian version was clearly based on the Chinese model, for it was called by the Chinese word chao, and it even included words printed in Chinese.¹⁵ In the case of paper currency, as in other aspects of printing, the route of transmission was from China to the West. continue ... Notes 13 Twitchett, 43. By the end of the century problems of inflation and currency devaluation resulted from overprinting of currency. [return] 14 Tsien, 293. [return] 15 Morgan, 165. [return] continue ...	A print version of this essay will appear in Arts of Asia magazine in 2007 * Introduction Print Technology and Society The Devlopment of Printing in China and Its Transmission to the West Paper >>Currency<< Playing cards Woodblock Books Movable Type Cross-Cultural Currents under the Mongol Empire Cast-Type Printing in Korea's Goryeo Dynasty Selected Reading * *** also of interest: Chinese Jade Taoism and the Arts of China Yi Ching, the Chinese Classic of Changes The Typehead Chronicles How to Publish a Book
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