Kai-Yuan Tung-Pao

Translated by Mimi

By Freakjoy

Isn't it rather late to invite me over for a drink?

You mean that rumor? It's not entirely unfounded. Apparently one of my ancestors was buried with a fortune of nail-marked Kai-yuan coins at his death. No, I don't intend to excavate his grave. How could one desecrate an ancestral tomb? You can rest easy. I will not reveal its location either. I know that it would affect your position as a collector in your field. You are my best friend. In all these years, when have I ever done anything to betray your trust?

... This wine is strong. Let me wait a bit before the second cup.

What a curious coin the Kai-yuan Tung-pao is. Look at the crescent-shaped mark on the reverse. According to some accounts, this coin was minted by the emperor Tang Ming-Huang, and the crescent is the nail mark left on the wax mold by his favored concubine Lady Yang. Don't be in such a hurry to correct me. Of course I know that the story is only apocraphal. Because of the word Kai-yuan the ignorant immediately thinks of Tang Ming-Huang, whose reign was also entitled Kai-yuan. But in fact the coins were issued in the fourth year of the emperor Tang Kao-Tsu. Some chronicles write that when the mold was delivered to the court, Empress Wen-t'e pressed her finger into the wax in jest; thus all the coins carried a single nail mark, and came to be known as nail-marked Kai-yuan. But according to other sources, by the fourth year of Kao-Tsu's reign the first empress had already passed away, and the second empress Wen-t'e had not yet been crowned, so the veracity of this theory is questionable.

You have collected the Kai-yuan all your life. Naturally you know its background as well as the back of your hand. Have you ever wondered, who was the person that left the imprint of their nail on the coin?

In fact, the mark belonges to a person of little note. No, no, the drink can wait. The night is long. Why not let me tell you a story from a forgotten page of history?

During the early years of Tang dynasty, there was a youth at the imperial court. He was sent to the emperor as a hostage by a border tribe of the southwest. The emperor was charmed by his simplicity and innocence, and kept him by his side day and night. In his tribe the youth was an important personage. But to the Son of Heaven he was only a country boy who had seen very little of the world. The emperor often took him along to fancy occasions. There in the new surrondings his face would take on an expression of awe and wonderment, which always made the emperor laugh aloud with delight.

One day, he accompanied the emperor to view a wax sample of the Kai-yuan coin just delivered from the mint.

Now, the currency circulating toward the end of the Sui dynasty was the Wushu cash. At that time the country had fallen into great turmoil. Bandits and warlords roamed the land. Counterfeiting was rampant. The counterfeiters profited by skimping on material and labor; the coins became smaller and smaller, lighter and lighter, debasing the currency even further. The livelihood of the ordinary people was already difficult, and the instability of the coinage system only made it more so.

After Tang Kao-Tsu overthrew the Sui dynasty and founded the Tang dynasty, he recalled the Wushu cash and introduced the Kai-yuan coinage. The emperor, concerned by the decline in commerce and trade, saw this new issue as a matter of exceptional importance.

And the boy who accompanied him, witnessing such sophisticated craftsmanship for the first time, was filled with amazement. The Kai-yuan was not only beautifully crafted, it was also well-balanced in size and weight. The face bore calligraphy in three styles, all by the hand of the famous calligrapher O-yang. It is an outstanding example among Tang coins. Few coins minted in later dynasties are made with such attention to detail and careful forethought. The youth admired the sample with something approaching awe, and again his face took on the expression that the emperor so loved. Seized by a sudden whim, the emperor told the youth to leave a mark on the sample. So with some trepidation the boy touched a timid fingertip to the wax.

What are you laughing at? True, there is no such record in the annals, his name is not even mentioned there. He was only an insignificant passerby in the stream of history. He had performed no great deed, committed no great evil. Why should the annals mention him? Later that same year he was quietly put to death. His clan had been ousted from power -- he was no longer a hostage of any value. Perhaps it was just as well, for the emperor was a wise ruler, who would never allow himself to become infatuated with a catamite. Emperor Kao-Tsu was always generous and just in his dealings with others. This was the one time that he willingly sacrificed an innocent life. When was the seed of this idea first planted in the Emperor's heart? When did it turn into a firm resolve? Perhaps it was when he told the boy to press his finger into the wax. No one in this world will ever know for certain.

Is this story cruel? I don't think so. The emperor was an uncommonly wise ruler. The emperor -- was not a common man. And even for an ordinary man, there are times when he is forced to make choices and sacrifices. So the boy did not hate the emperor.

How could I know all this so well? What do you think?

Why am I telling you this? What do you think?

You have collected the Kai-yuan since your youth, until you have amassed the largest collection of Kai-yuan tung-pao in the world. You are a legend in the field of numismatology. But in truth you have been poisoned by it. You seem possessed, driven by your desire to own each and every piece.

Did the emperor regret what he did? Did he feel sorrow? Did he feel a touch of guilt? I only know that the emperor buried thousands upon thousands of nail-marked coins in the boy's tomb. And he often carried a piece of Kai-yuan with him, even though an emperor never has any need for cash.

Look at my finger resting on this coin. Doesn't it fit the mark well?

Look into my eyes, let your heart answer for you.

...

Hahaha. I'm sorry. I was only joking. Did I scare you? I am sorry.

Now let me drink this last cup.

Do you, do you really want me to drink it? ...... well then, let it be so.

Once again he stepped on the Naihe bridge -- the passage to the nether world. The ancient demon who guarded the bridge had seen it all, but still sighed. All coins cast from the same mold are perfectly alike, no matter where they were struck, no matter the number made. Like the Kai-yuan coins of Emperor Gao-Tsu, all of which carry exactly the same nail mark. But this stubborn soul never understood. No matter how many times he was reborn, his heart was always that of the country boy who had seen very little of the world.

The demon asked him if he wanted to wait for the other so they might be reincarnated together. He nodded. And the draught of forgetfulness, this time -- would he drink or not? He shook his head, no.

He said that he must know the answer.

Didn't you learn the answer a long time ago?

He said yes. But it was not the answer he wanted.

Translator's Notes:

Naihe Bridge

in Chinese mythology, Naihe bridge is the bridge between the world of the living and the bridge of the dead. When a person dies, he crosses this bridge to go to the court of the netherworld, where he will be judged by the lord of the underworld, and then reincarnated. The Naihe bridge has special significance for lovers. One popular lovers' oath goes thus: "We can not be born on the same day, but we ask to die at the same time. If one of us leaves a year early, three years on the Naihe Bridge we promise to wait."

Because one year in the world of the living is equivalent to three years on the Naihe bridge, it is also a sign of the lovers' resolve to stay together.

The Draught of Forgetfulness (Mengpo's Soup)

After a person dies, and before he is reincarnated, he is asked to drink the Mengpo soup, which will allow him to forget everything in his previous life, and be reincarnate with a blank slate.

Chinese Coinage

Wushu cash - This Sui dynasty cash was minted to the traditional weight standard of five shu, where one shu is roughtly .5 grams. Thus the name wushu ( five shu) cash.

Kai-yuan Tung-p'ao - Literally, General Cirulating Cash of the Founding Era. The Kai-yuan coinage, usually attributed to Tang Kao-Tsu, was cast almost continuously throughout the 300 years of T'ang rule, with the only major change the addition of mint marks in AD 841. Although Wu (5) Shu was no longer expressed on the coins, Kai-yuans are Wushus by another name, cast to the official weight standard of 0.65 grams per shu rather than the coinage standard of 0.50 grams. This was an enlightened move as, with no profit in casting full weight coins, counterfeiting was only profitable when light-weight coins were cast, which are more difficult to pass. The experiment must have worked as light-weight examples are seldom encountered. The economic stability thus created probably contributed greatly to the success of the T'ang Dynasty.

The Kai-yuan displays several variations of crescent marking on the reverse. Because they appear with some regularity, it is speculated that they were used to indicate the minting year, though their exact significance have not yet been deciphered.

For more information on Chinese coins, visit Calgary Coins Chinese Reference Page And http://www.charm.ru/links.htm