“银本位”的中国史——兼议对弗兰克《白银资本》的批评

China's "Silver-oriented" History——Together with the Criticism of Frank's Silver Capital

美国学者弗兰克论述前资本主义时代"中国中心论"的著作《白银资本——重视经济全球化中的东方》曾获得1999年"世界历史学会图书奖头奖",出乎意料的是,多数中国的中青年学者持激烈批评的态度,指责此书凿空立论,缺乏中国资料予以证实。本文试图以"中国史料"作为本证,缕述中国历史上金银货币的来历演变,提出唐宋"银本位"说尚不足服人;元代疆域广大,始以贵金属铸为大锭,也开始了纸币与银两的换算,但仍然与现代"银本位"概念吻合。自中明葡萄牙、西班牙航海大冒险,开通了东西洋贸易,尤其是发现了南美特大银矿,具备了对华贸易充足的支付手段以后,刺激了中国以至全球贸易的迅速增长。而中国史料也记载官员薪俸何时以银支付,以及贸易、商品、纳贿等以银两为基本单位,尤以万历初张居正改革"计亩折银"为银钱使用普遍化的标志。而导致明亡的原因很多,其中英、西战争导致南美白银不能顺利流入北半球,致使中国东南沿海出口贸易锐减,也是明廷财政焦虑的主要原因之一,同时也在中国引发了类于欧洲的通货膨胀。清代以来亦延续了中国长期出超的优势,晋商之功尤多。鸦片战争以后,中国屡次大额赔付列强,将多年出超的白银积蓄尽付外手,不仅丧失了近代化急需的资本,而且以此解决了外敌近代化以觊觎、侵占中国的原始资本。

The USA learner Frank was awarded the 1999 ＂Top Prize of Books of the World Historical Association＂ for his work Silwer Capital to Attach Importance to the Orient in the World Economic Globalization, in which Frank laid out the China - centered view in the pre- capitalist period. Unexpectedly, this book aroused fierce criticism from most young and middle - aged Chinese learners, who claimed that this book was a groundless rumor, for lack of Chinese corresponding data. This paper attempts to narrate the historical change of Chinese currency, taking＂ Chinese Historical data＂ as its basic evidence, and poses that the silver- oriented theory is not convincing. It states that China had a vast area in the Yuan Dynasty and began to coin money with valuable metals and the exchange between paper money and tael also began. However, this is still in tune with the modem ＂silver- oriented＂ concept. Since the Mid - ming Dynasty when the Portuguese and the Spanish adventurous voyage opened the trade between the Orient and the West, esp after the extremely large silver mine was discovered in South America, the paying means for the trade with China was mature, which stimulated the booming of the trade in China even all over the world. And in Chinese historical were recorded when the officials were paid with silver and when the trade, commodities and bribes were done by the unit of tael. ZHANG Ju - zheng＇s reform ＂converting the field with silver＂ at the beginning of the Wanli Period signified the generalization of the use of silver. There were many reasons that led to the destruction of the Ming Dynasty, among which it was the British and Westem wars that prevented the South American silver smoothing into the North Hemisphere, and thus caused the sharp decrease of the experts from Chinese Southeastern coastal area and it was one of the main reasons that caused the financial crisis of the Ming Government, and at the same time, it caused in China the inflation similar to that in Europe. But since the Qing Dynasty, China continued its advantage of the long - term favorable balance of trade, chiefly owing to Shanxi merchants. After the Opium War, China paid the big powers by large sums and took the savings from the long term export surplus to the foreigners, in which China not only lost the capital in urgent need for modernization, but also helped the foreigners solve the problem that they needed capital to conquer and invade China.