宋明时期货币分区流通的形成与运行机制比较——以四川、北边为例

A Comparison of the Formation and Operation Mechanism of Currency Partition Circulation in Song and Ming Dynasties--A Case Study of Sichuan and Northern China Area

宋明两代均形成了多元货币分区行用的格局,两宋在中央政府主导调控下先后形成了四川、西北以及江北等特殊货币区;除北边货币区外,明代国家在货币制度长期缺失下主要由市场主导衍生出“行钱之地”“非行钱之地”“行银之地”等货币区。宋明货币区的衍生与运行机制存在重要差异,以四川、北边为例可得以说明。在四川地区,宋朝为建立货币缓冲地带、掠夺川地财富,依靠政策将四川由铜铁兼行区转变为铁钱区;明朝在四川则形成了以“茴银”为主的多元实物货币区,背后更多的是市场力量所致。在北方边境地区,面对巨量军事需求,宋明两朝虽然都通过投放大量货币形成特殊货币区,但维系与运行的机制存在重要差异。宋朝在西北地区积极引入市场机制与信用制度维持本地铸行的铁钱的信用,并将铁钱嵌入区域内外的货币信用体系中,形成相对稳定的循环机制;明朝在北方边镇地区并没有形成内部稳定的货币循环机制与信用机制,而是通过单向而持续的外部白银注入来维持白银和多元实物货币分层行用的格局。宋明货币分区运行机制的差异折射出宋明王朝社会经济运作理念与运行方式的差异。

Under the unified framework,the Song Dynasty and Ming Dynasty formed a pattern of multi-currency areas while currencies were divisional used.In the Song Dynasty,special currency areas such as Sichuan,northwest towns and the north bank of the Yangtze River were formed successively under the guidance and regulation of the center government.In the Ming Dynasty,except the northern currency area,the long-term absence of national monetary system led to the emergence of special monetary areas such as"circulation copper money area"(行钱之地),"non circulation copper money area""and"circulation uncoined silver area"(行银之地)under the guidance of the market.There were some important differences in the formation and maintenance mechanism between government guidance and market guidance,which can be well illustrated by the cases of Sichuan and northern China.In the Sichuan area,in order to establish a monetary buffer zone and plunder the wealth of Sichuan,the Song Dynasty relied on government policies to transform Sichuan from a copper and iron currencies area to a single iron currency area,while the multi-currency area dominated by"hui silver"(银)in Sichuan in the Ming Dynasty was mainly due to the spontaneous force of the market.In the northern border area,although the Song and Ming dynasties formed a special currency area by investing a lot of money and materials under the huge military demands,there are important differences in their maintenance and operation mechanisms.The Song Dynasty actively introduced market mechanisms and credit system in the northwest of China to maintain the credit of the local-casted iron money,and embedded the iron coins into the currency circulation and material transportation systems both inside and outside the region to form a stable circulation mechanism.In the northern border towns area in the Ming Dynasty instead of forming an internal stable currency circulation mechanism and credit mechanism,it maintains the layered use of silver and multiple commodity currencies through unidirectional and continuous external silver injection.The differences in the operating mechanism of the Song and Ming special currency areas reflected the differences in the ideas and modes of the social economic operation between the two dynasties.