中国古代纸币的产生及其兴衰

The Production and the Prosperity and Decline of Chinese Ancient Paper Money

中国是世界上发明纸币最早的国家，较欧洲要早600多年。纸币的发明极大地方便了商品交换，降低了交易成本，促进了商品流通，曾在宋元两朝盛极一时。可是由于封建王朝的集权统治，统治阶级违反纸币的发行和流通规律，把纸币当成榨取百姓的工具，使纸币走向衰落，没能使纸币的作用得到充分的发挥。本文阐述了中国古代纸币产生的历史渊源，产生过程及其兴衰，并对其衰落作了简要评说。

China is the earliest country in the world that had the paper money, and China invented it 600 years earlier than Europe. The paper money invention has enormously facilitated the commodity exchange, reduced the transaction cost, promoted the circulation of commodities, and prevailed in Song and Yuan Dynasty. But because of the feudal centralization rule, the ruling class violated the rule of releasing and circulating rule of it and regarded it as a tool to squeeze out of the common people. This brought the paper money go to the decline and failed to exert the full function of the paper money. This article elaborates on the historical origin of the paper money in ancient China, the generating process and its prosperity as well as the decline, and have made a brief comment on it.