试论中国古代黄金的作用

On the Fucntions of Gold in Ancient Times of China

在中国古代,黄金除了作为货币和装饰品,还资赏赐、送礼、贿赂、助祭、进贡、平贾、买卖官爵、打造佛器之用,在不同时期,黄金的作用各异。在殷商及西周时期,黄金主要作为装饰品;春秋战国时期,黄金的作用多样;秦朝至西汉,黄金作为货币日益盛行;东汉魏晋南北朝至隋,黄金主要用于贮藏和装饰;唐宋时期,黄金的货币作用又上升;元朝以后,黄金的货币作用消失。

In ancient China,gold not only was regarded as money and decoration, but also paid many roles, such as awarding, giving present,sacrifice,bribery,paying tribute, buying and selling official position. In shang Dynasty and XiZhou Dynasty,gold was used to decorate.In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period,gold had many functions.In the Qing Dynasty and the Western Han Dynasty, gold was increasingly regarded as money.From the Estern Han Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty,gold was mainly used to store and decorate. In the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, the money function of gold rose again.After the Yuan Dynasty,gold wasn't regarded as money.