The banknotes of the Da-Qing Bank were intended to become the main form of

paper money of the Qing dynasty The paper money of the Qing dynasty (Traditional Chinese: ) was periodically used alongside a Qing dynasty coinage, bimetallic coinage system of Cash (Chinese coin), copper-alloy cash coins and silver sycees; paper money was used during different ...

following the bank's establishment in 1905. The Da-Qing Bank had branches throughout China and many of its branches outside of its headquarters in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

also issued banknotes. These banknotes were stipulated to become the only

legal tender Legal tender is a form of money that Standard of deferred payment, courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment in court for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything ...

paper money in China in 1910, but due to the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911 the Chinese currency system reverted to its original chaotic state during the early Republican era and the Da-Qing Bank would be reorganized as the

Bank of China The Bank of China (BOC; ; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Banco da China'') is a state-owned Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Beijing, Beijing, China. It is one of ...

in 1912, which would continue to produce banknotes in

Mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

until 1942 and its Hong Kong branch is still one of the official note-issuing banks for the

banknotes of the Hong Kong dollar The issue of banknotes of the Hong Kong dollar is governed in the Special administrative region, Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the governmental currency board and central bank of Hong Kong ...

today.

History

The Da-Qing Bank was the first official financial institution in the

history of China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the ...

to fulfill the functions of a

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, national bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the monetary policy of a country or monetary union. In contrast to a commercial bank, a central bank possesses a monopoly on increasing the mo ...

Background and banknotes of the Da-Qing Bank

During the

transition from Ming to Qing The transition from Ming to Qing (or simply the Ming-Qing transition) or the Manchu conquest of China from 1618 to 1683 saw the transition between two major dynasties in Chinese history. It was a decades-long conflict between the emerging Qing ...

the Manchu government issued banknotes to finance its expensive military campaigns, but following their conquest of China they abolished these banknotes. Under the reign of the

Xianfeng Emperor The Xianfeng Emperor (17 July 1831 – 22 August 1861), also known by his temple name Emperor Wenzong of Qing, personal name Yizhu, was the eighth emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China proper. During his re ...

the Great Qing Treasure Note (大清寶鈔)

copper-alloy Copper alloys are metal alloys that have copper as their principal component. They have high resistance against corrosion. Of the large number of different types, the best known traditional types are bronze, where tin is a significant addition, ...

cash coins In economics, cash is money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins. In book-keeping and financial accounting, cash is current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-imm ...

-based banknotes and

Hubu Guanpiao The Hubu Guanpiao (Traditional Chinese: 戶部官票, "Ministry of Revenue Government notes") is the name of two series of government notes produced by the Qing dynasty, the first series was known as the ''Chaoguan'' (鈔官) and was introduced ...

(戶部官票)

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

tael Tael ( ),"Tael" entry
at the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a civil war in China between the Qing dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The conflict lasted 14 years, from its outbreak in 1850 until the fall of ...

, but these banknotes would suffer severe inflation due to mismanagement and were eventually abolished causing the Chinese populace to distrust government-issued paper money once again, though private banknotes would continue to be trusted and to circulate. Following the opening up of many

treaty port Treaty ports (; ) were the port cities in China and Japan that were opened to foreign trade mainly by the unequal treaties forced upon them by Western powers, as well as cities in Korea opened up similarly by the Qing dynasty of China (before the ...

cities of China after its defeat during the

First Opium War The First Opium War ( zh, t=第一次鴉片戰爭, p=Dìyīcì yāpiàn zhànzhēng), also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty between 1839 and 1 ...

during the 1840s, a large number of major foreign banks entered China and started issuing their own banknotes there for local circulation. During this same era provincial governments started setting up their own official banks to enhance their financial resources. The boom of financial institutions during this era meant that various forms of paper money, private banknotes, foreign banknotes, and many different kinds of local coinages circulated concurrently creating a very chaotic Chinese currency system. During the later part of the Qing dynasty era there was a discussion on whether or not the imperial Chinese government would have to establish a national bank which it finally did in 1905. Peng Shu (彭述) stated before the introduction of new banknotes that the national bank would have to keep sufficient reserves in "touchable" money (現金) at all times. The large number of private notes that were being produced all over the empire was to be restricted by introducing a stamp duty (印花稅). The reformer

Liang Qichao Liang Qichao (Chinese: 梁啓超; Wade–Giles: ''Liang2 Chʻi3-chʻao1''; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Lèuhng Kái-chīu''; ) (February 23, 1873 – January 19, 1929) was a Chinese politician, social and political activist, jour ...

campaigned for the government of the Qing dynasty to emulate the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

by embracing the

gold standard A gold standard is a backed currency, monetary system in which the standard economics, economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the ...

, unify refractory the currencies of China, and issue government-backed banknotes with a ⅓ metallic reserve. In order to unify the national currency system, in 1905, the government of the Qing dynasty established the "Great Qing Bank of the Ministry of Revenue" (大清戶部銀行) in

, becoming the earliest officially opened national bank in China. The newly established national bank had a dual nature of being both a central bank and a

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make a profit. It can also refer to a bank or a division of a larger bank that deals with whol ...

. The production of the banknotes was entrusted to the prints of the Beiyang Newspaper (北洋報局) in

Northern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture. Extent The Qinling, Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone ...

. In 1906 the government of the Qing dynasty sent students to Japan to be educated about modern printing techniques, with the aim to have the

Shanghai Commercial Press The Commercial Press () is the first modern publishing organization in China. The Commercial Press is known for its academic publishing and translation work in humanities and social sciences, as well as the ''Xinhua Dictionary''. History In 1 ...

(上海商務印書館) print the cheques of the Ministry's Bank. The Da-Qing Bank issued two different types of banknotes, one series was denominated in "

tael Tael ( ),"Tael" entry
at the

Banknotes of the Da-Qing Bank

In 1908, the Great Qing Bank of the Ministry of Revenue changed its name to the Da-Qing Bank (大清銀行) and the inscriptions of the banknotes issued by it had to be changed to reflect its new name. The banknotes issued before the name change were all printed by the Beiyang Newspaper. Because there is no advanced engraving technology for banknotes in China at the time and the banknotes that were printed by the Beiyang Newspaper's commercial press were both expensive to make and easy to imitate, the government of the Qing dynasty had later commissioned the

American Bank Note Company American Banknote Corporation (parent to American Bank Note Company), trading as ABCorp, is an American corporation providing contract manufacturing and related services to the authentication, payment and secure access business sectors. ABCo ...

to print new banknotes for the Da-Qing Bank. The banknotes produced by the Da-Qing Bank printed by the American Bank Note Company featured an image of

Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; February 15, 1823 – November 7, 1901) was a Chinese statesman, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in importan ...

on their obverse sides and were subsequently known as "Li Hongzhang notes" (李鴻章像券) to the Chinese public. However, due to the turbulent situation that arose after the death of the

Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), also known by his temple name Emperor Dezong of Qing, personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China ...

and the miscommunications the "Li Hongzhang notes" were printed in various forms and the circulation was chaotic. During this period, several employees of the Da-Qing Bank were sent to

to study modern printing technology and after these people returned to China, they would propose to the imperial court to adopt the Japanese method of copper engraving and some trial banknotes were made, but the proposition was ultimately not adopted by the government of the Qing dynasty. Following the Chinese tradition of issuing new money in a new reign, the

Xuantong Puyi (7 February 190617 October 1967) was the final emperor of China, reigning as the eleventh monarch of the Qing dynasty from 1908 to 1912. When the Guangxu Emperor died without an heir, Empress Dowager Cixi picked his nephew Puyi, aged tw ...

administration had the design of the official Da-Qing Bank paper notes somewhat changed to herald in the new emperor. The new design was inspired by the designs of the

banknotes of the United States dollar From 1775 to 1779, the Continental Congress issued Continental currency banknotes. Then there was a period when the United States just used gold and silver, rather than paper currency. In 1812, the US began issuing Treasury Notes, although the ...

of this era. In the year 1910, the government of the Qing dynasty issued a new law to solve the chaotic currency situation of China at the time, this law made the banknotes issued by the Da-Qing Bank the only

paper money in China. The law further stipulated that only the Da-Qing Bank can issue paper money and that its banknotes can be used for all payment activities and financial transactions across the country. The government of the Qing dynasty hired the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

sculptor L. J. Hatch and several American technicians to train the banknote printing staff and they were set out to design a new version of Da-Qing Bank banknotes.顾慧. 一套没有完成社会使命的大清纸币——大清银行兑换券的诞生始末艺术市场, 2009(4):82-83. (in

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

). The obverse of these newly designed banknotes featured the face of

Zaifeng, Prince Chun Zaifeng (12 February 1883 – 3 February 1951), also known as Tsai Feng, Prince of Ch'ün, formally known by his title Prince Chun, was a Manchu prince and regent of the late Qing dynasty. He was a son of Yixuan, the seventh son of the Dao ...

and were popularly known as "Da-Qing Dragon banknotes" (大清龍鈔) because they incorporated a

Chinese dragon The Chinese dragon or loong is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture generally. Chinese dragons have many animal-like forms, such as Bixi (mythology), turtles and Chiwen, fish, but are most commonly ...

in their designs. The Da-Qing Bank had commissioned eighth trial banknotes based on these designs, they were in the denominations of 1 yuan, 5 yuan, 10 yuan, and 100 yuan. Ultimately, the trial notes all featured a black obverse side and their reverse sides in different colours with the 1 yuan being green, the 5 yuan being purple, the 10 yuan being blue, and the 100 yuan being yellow, they were all printed by a branch of the Da-Qing Bank. Printing of the "Da-Qing Dragon banknotes" began on 1 March 1911. China also became one of the few countries in the world to adopt the technique of steel engraving. These banknotes did not see circulation as in 1911 the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...

broke out which overthrew the Qing dynasty and only a handful of trial banknotes were ever printed. At the eve of the Xinhai Revolution, there were 5,400,000 tael worth of Yinliang banknotes circulating in China, and 12,400,000 yuan in Yinyuan banknotes.

Aftermath

In the year 1912, the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

was established, and the Da-Qing Bank was reorganized into the

. In order to alleviate the financial crisis, a large number of "Li Hongzhang notes" were overstamped and changed to "Bank of China notes" (中國銀行兌換券) for circulation. The Bank of China would continue producing Chinese banknotes until 1942. After the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

ended in 1949, the Bank of China effectively split into two operations. Part of the bank relocated to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

with the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

(KMT) government, and was privatised in 1971 to become the International Commercial Bank of China (). In 2002, it merged with Chiao Tung Bank () to become the Mega International Commercial Bank. The Mainland operation is the current entity known as the Bank of China. The Hong Kong branch of the Bank of China still issues its own banknotes in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

today.

List of banknotes

1906

1907

1908

1909

1910

1911

References

{{Authority control Banknotes of China Economy of the Qing dynasty Chinese numismatics