Bamboo tally
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Bamboo tallies (
Traditional Chinese A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...
: 錢籌;
Simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one, that is simpler (usually shorter), for example * Simplification of algebraic expressions, ...
: 钱筹;
Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: ''qián chóu''), alternatively known as ''bamboo tokens'' or ''bamboo money'', were a type of
alternative currency A complementary currency is a currency or medium of exchange that is not necessarily a national currency, but that is thought of as supplementing or complementing national currencies. Complementary currencies are usually not legal tender and thei ...
that was produced in
Eastern China East China () is a geographical and a loosely defined cultural region that covers the eastern coastal area of China. A concept abolished in 1978, for economical purposes the region was defined from 1949 to 1961 by the Chinese Central Governme ...
(primarily in the provinces of
Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...
,
Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
, and
Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...
often around the cities of
Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...
and
Wuxi Wuxi (, ) is a city in southern Jiangsu province, eastern China, by car to the northwest of downtown Shanghai, between Changzhou and Suzhou. In 2017 it had a population of 3,542,319, with 6,553,000 living in the entire prefecture-level city ar ...
) from the 1870s until the 1940s and were used to supplement Chinese cash coins and other small denomination Chinese currencies in a manner similar to
paper money A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued ...
. Some bamboo tallies were issued in denominations of '' wén'' (文) or " strings of cash coins" (串), some bamboo tallies were denominated in ''qián'' (錢), ''tóngyuán'' (銅元, machine-struck coins of 10 wén), ''jiǎo'' (角), and ''yáng'' (洋, foreign silver coins), other than in money bamboo tallies could also be dominated in
tea bag A tea bag, or the compound teabag, is a small, porous, sealed bag or packet, typically containing tea leaves or the leaves of other herbs, which is immersed in water to steep and make an infusion. Originally used only for tea ('' Camellia si ...
s. During the same time as bamboo tallies were issued other local businesses manufactured paper money denominated in '' fēn'' (分) while others used either copper tokens or money made from bones in a similar fashion.


Emergency money

Bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
tallies were used due to the loss of authority by the
Qing 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-speaki ...
government that caused a shortage in currency and a loss of trust in the government. They continued to be used during the turbulent period of the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
, as many local private banks at the time suffered from shortages of coinage. These banks consequently issued their own currencies as a provisional measure. Bamboo tallies continued to be used in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
up until the 1960s. In addition to local private banks, bamboo tallies were also issued by local business and trading firms, exchange-offices, merchant guilds or associations, as well as playhouses. Other producers included the Jiheyi Society (a local producer of rice), the Deyuan Society (a local mat manufacturer), and the Xuyichang candy shop. The first bamboo tallies from this region were actually manufactured during the
Southern Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...
, but modern bamboo tallies were only produced in the aftermath of the
Taiping rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It lasted fr ...
as it had devastated the local economy. They were originally produced by mat-manufacturers of Xushuan in 1877 under the
Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign lasted from 1875 to 1908, but in practice he ruled, wi ...
as "emergency money", and had a nominal value of 100 wén. These early bamboo tallies were initially meant to be used between their suppliers and customers from the countryside, but they began to circulate on the entire market, a practice which was not prohibited by local authorities due to the contemporary economic situation of the region. From 1895 onwards, local governments of these regions began to officially condone and later issue these bamboo tallies themselves.Albert R. FREY: A dictionary of numismatic names. AJN. Several factors such as the Kuomintang takeover of China and subsequent
Japanese invasion of China The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Thea ...
meant that these tokens would remain a popular medium of exchange as these events negatively affected the local economy.


Manufacture

Bamboo tallies were manufactured from bamboo from coastal China; to make these tallies, the skin of the bamboo was removed and then the stalk would be cut into rectangles that would have a hole drilled at the top. On the obverse side the denomination of the bamboo tally was placed and in uncommon cases the date of issue using the
sexagenary cycle The sexagenary cycle, also known as the Stems-and-Branches or ganzhi ( zh, 干支, gānzhī), is a cycle of sixty terms, each corresponding to one year, thus a total of sixty years for one cycle, historically used for recording time in China and t ...
while on the reverse side an inked
serial number A serial number is a unique identifier assigned incrementally or sequentially to an item, to ''uniquely'' identify it. Serial numbers need not be strictly numerical. They may contain letters and other typographical symbols, or may consist enti ...
(sometimes using
Chinese numerals Chinese numerals are words and characters used to denote numbers in Chinese. Today, speakers of Chinese use three written numeral systems: the system of Arabic numerals used worldwide, and two indigenous systems. The more familiar indigenous sy ...
and sometimes using
Arabic numerals Arabic numerals are the ten numerical digits: , , , , , , , , and . They are the most commonly used symbols to write Decimal, decimal numbers. They are also used for writing numbers in other systems such as octal, and for writing identifiers ...
) along with the name of the issuing bank of merchant would be placed. The sides of the bamboo tallies would often be inscribed with the manufacturing company and anti-counterfeit measures such as the statement "not compensated if lost" (失去不補, ''shī qù bù bǔ'') and warranty marks are known as ''shing hao''. After the tally was fully inscribed the bamboo would be lacquered in transparent light red to improve the durability of the tally.


See also

*
Bamboo and wooden slips Bamboo and wooden slips () were the main media for writing documents in China before the widespread introduction of paper during the first two centuries AD. (Silk was occasionally used, for example in the Chu Silk Manuscript, but was prohibit ...
* Chinese token (alternative currency) *
Qing dynasty coinage Qing dynasty coinage (; Manchu: ; Möllendorff: ''Daicing jiha'') was based on a bimetallic standard of copper and silver coinage. The Manchu-led Qing dynasty was established in 1636 and ruled over China proper from 1644 until it was overthro ...
*
Tally stick A tally stick (or simply tally) was an ancient memory aid device used to record and document numbers, quantities and messages. Tally sticks first appear as animal bones carved with notches during the Upper Palaeolithic; a notable example is the ...


References

{{Chinese currency and coinage Exonumia of China Alternative currencies Chinese numismatics