论元代的符牌系列——兼论“圣旨金牌”上的汉字之谜

On the tally system of the Yuan Dynasty——A discussion of the mysterious Han characters on those tallies

元代符制继承前代并有所发展。元代的符牌有长形、圆形以及不同质地、不同级别,不同规格、不同用途,已形成一个庞大系列。牌面更有不同文字。目前发现的元代符牌共计1 1块,包括当前被人们热烈议论的"圣旨金牌"。这块"圣旨金牌"仅是元代符牌中较低级的品类,所以其上才有粗糙的汉字刻画和编号,这是由它的用途和级别所决定的。

Developing on the basis of the previous times,the tally system of the Yuan Dynasty became quite complete and complicated with various shapes,material,levels,standards and functions.There were even different characters on the tallies.The eleven Yuan tallies so far found,including the 'tally of imperial edict',are actually rather low in standard as there are rough Han characters and serial numbers on them.That is decided by their functions and levels.