The Zhengde Tongbao (;

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

: Chính Đức Thông Bảo / Chánh Đức Thông Bảo) is a fantasy cash coin,

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

, and

Vietnamese numismatic charm Vietnamese numismatic charms ( Vietnamese: Bùa Việt Nam; Hán tự: 越南符銭; Chữ Nôm: 符越南), also known as ''Vietnamese amulets'', ''Vietnamese talismans'', or simply ''Vietnamese charms'', refer to a family of cash coin-like and ...

bearing an inscription based on the reign title of the

Zhengde Emperor The Zhengde Emperor (; 26 October 149120 April 1521) was the 11th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1505 to 1521. Born Zhu Houzhao, he was the Hongzhi Emperor's eldest son. Zhu Houzhao took the throne at only 14 with the era name Zh ...

of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

. The Zhengde Emperor reigned from the year 1505 until 1521, however during this period no circulating cash coins were minted. There were a large amount "cash coins" bearing the Zhengde era name are minted from the late Ming to early

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

periods as superstitious "lucky coins" with auspicious depictions and instructions (making them Chinese numismatic charms), as this inscription remained popular for charms modern reproductions of the Zhengde Tongbao are also very common. A popular saying in imperial China was "If a household has a Zhengde coin, there will be material wealth and honour for ten thousand years" (家有正德錢富貴萬萬年, ''jiā yǒu zhèng dé qián fù guì wàn wàn nián'').

Overview

It is generally believed that there were no cash coins minted by the government of the Ming dynasty under the reign of the Zhengde Emperor, however it has been claimed that a small number of cash coins were cast there doesn't seem to be any evidence supporting this claim. A common belief was that there were two and a half genuine cash coins in China which is what made these amulets lucky objects. Despite the fact that no Zhengde Tongbao were ever officially cast by the Ming dynasty a very large amount of them do exist today in the form of Chinese numismatic charms and amulets which is likely due to the fact that the inscription Zhengde Tongbao (正德通寶) could be translated as "currency of correct virtue" or "Coinage of True Virtue". Another possible reason why such a large number of Chinese numismatic charms with the inscription "Zhengde Tongbao" were cast is because it was believed m by many people during the Ming dynasty that the Zhengde Emperor was the reincarnation of a "swimming" dragon which gave the rise to the belief that carrying a Zhengde Tongbao amulet will protect its wearer from big waves while crossing a body of water such as the sea or a river. Other superstitions surrounding Zhengde Tongbao coins included that they protected pregnant women and their unborn offspring and that these coins would also help its carriers win

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

games. During Chinese new year Zhengde Tongbao cash coins were also given as "new year's lucky money" (壓歲錢, ''yā suì qián''). Zhengde Tongbao charms commonly feature the image of a dragon and a

fenghuang ''Fènghuáng'' (, ) are mythological birds found in Sinospheric mythology that reign over all other birds. The males were originally called ''fèng'' and the females ''huáng'', but such a distinction of gender is often no longer made and ...

on their reverses, when a Chinese dragon and fenghuang are shown together they often symbolise the union of a man and a woman meaning that these Zhengde Tongbao charms were used as Chinese marriage charms. Although Gary Ashkenazy claims that the dragon and fenghuang symbolises matrimony, it is argued by Edgar J. Mandel in his book ''Metal Charms and Amulets of China'' that the dragon and fenghuang actually represent the power of the imperial Chinese government where the dragon represents the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

and the fenghuang the Empress. Another variant of the Zhengde Tongbao has two dragons on its reverse chasing after the wish-granting pearl. Another variant of the Zhengde Tongbao charm only contains the Hanzi character ''wén'' (文) on its reverse which is usually used as a measure word for counting cash coins but could also mean "obverse". These coins were also exclusively used as charms and amulets and were not meant for circulation. Edgar J.Mandel's book ''Metal Charms and Amulets of China'' lists 41 variants of the Zhengde Tongbao charm.

References

Sources

* Edgar J.Mandel. ''Metal Charms and Amulets of China''. {{Asian numismatic charms Amulets Chinese numismatic charms Chinese numismatics Cash coins by inscription

Overview

See also

References

Sources