150175 PS MA-PS PR: Chinese Monetary History (2011S)

China is a country with a very long and unique monetary history from ancient times to the present: China's ancient monetary economy had been maintained with different types of money, materials and methods during the Chinese civilization, and it could reflect the rise and fall of dynasties. In the 20th century, China's monetary system played an important role for economic development, technological progress, social change and the integration with the global economy.

This course will be divided in four main parts:

Part 1: Money theories
Part II: Money in ancient China (from the beginning of the Chinese civilization to the Zhou dynasty, 5000 B.C. to 218 B.C.)
Part III: The Monetary system in the imperial period (from Qin dynasty to the late Qing dynasty, 200 B.C. end of the 19th century)
Part IV: The establishment of the modern monetary system in the 20th century

Topics and schedule:

1. Introduction to money theories
2. From barter economy to the monetary economy with manifold and miscellaneous money in the ancient period
3. The economic features of the imperial period: from Qin dynasty to the later Qing dynasty
4. Copper coins and iron coins during the imperial period
5. Gold bullion during the imperial period
6. Silver bullion during the imperial period
7. Paper money during the imperial period
8. Financial institutions during the imperial period
9. A brief review of China's economy in the 20th century
10. Silver standard, silver dollar and copper coins from 1904 to 1933
11. Paper money from 1935 to 1949: Fabi and other paper currencies
12. Paper money after 1949: Renminbi
13. The evolution of financial institutions in the 20th century
14. Key issues of the monetary economy and the financial system in contemporary China