近代天津行化银两制度研究

The Study of Hanghua Tael System in Modern Tientsin

天津“行化银”是近代中国具有代表性的区域银两制度,它产生于19世纪60年代并在银两市场的整合中取得优势,行用范围不断扩大。经过庚子事变冲击后,行化银两制度在政府、商会、银行、炉房等多方力量的博弈下不断调整,其实银基础化宝银逐步退出货币市场,但其价值尺度和记账货币功能不断强化并在20世纪10年代发展成为天津的标准虚银两。行化银在近代天津货币兑换市场、国内外汇兑市场和商业清算市场中发挥了重要的功能与作用,为天津贸易及其商业覆盖区域提供重要的交易媒介和信用工具。然而,由于清末民初以来银元势力的扩大,南京国民政府强力推行以银元为主导的货币政策,导致以行化银为代表的虚银两制度处于危机之中,最终完全被银元取代而退出历史。

Hanghua Tael(行化银)in Tientsin,which is the representative regional tael system in modern China,originated in the 1860s.It gained advantages in the integration of the tael market and since then its range of use had expanded continuously.After the impact of Gengzi Incident,Hanghua Tael system had been adjusted constantly due to the game playing of different negotiators such as the government,the Tientsin commercial guild,the foreign commercial guild,the foreign banks and melting shops.Huabao Sycee(化宝银),the solid tael foundation of Hanghua Tael system,withdrew from the currency market gradually.Meanwhile,the function of measure value and bookkeeping of Hanghua Tael had been strengthened persistently and finally evolved into the standard virtual tael in the 1910s.Hanghua Tael,which provided important medium of exchange and credit tools for trade and its commercial coverage areas,had played an essential role in the currency exchange market,domestic and foreign exchange market and commercial clearing market in modern Tientsin.However,due to the expansion of the influence of silver dollar since the end of Qing dynasty and the beginning of Republic of China,the Nanking national government strongly implemented the monetary policy dominated by silver dollar.Consequently,the tael system represented by the Hanghua Tael was in great crisis and completely replaced by the silver dollar in the end.