The Da-Qing Bank (, ,

Wade–Giles Wade–Giles ( ) is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from the system produced by Thomas Francis Wade during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert Giles's '' A Chinese–English Dictionary'' ...

romanization Ta-Ching Bank), also known as the Great Qing Bank, or previously Hubu Bank (or Hupu Bank), was a state-controlled entity established by the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

in 1905 to serve as Imperial China's first

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 ...

. It issued

banknotes A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commer ...

that were intended to unify the Qing dynasty's currency system. In 1912 following 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 ...

, 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 ...

was created to take over the role of the Da-Qing Bank, which was liquidated in an orderly manner.

Name

The bank's name "Da Qing yinhang" literally translates as "Great Qing Bank" or "Bank of the Great Qing", with "Great Qing" being synonymous with the

Chinese Empire Chinese Empire (), or Empire of China, refers to the realm ruled by the Emperor of China during the era of Imperial China. It was coined by western scholars to describe the Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasties (or imperial Dyna ...

under the Qing dynasty. Western scholars commonly use the name Da-Qing Bank or Great Qing Bank. From 1905 to 1908, the bank's full name was name was "Great Qing Bank of the Ministry of Revenue" (Da Qing hubu yinhang, zh, 大清戶部銀行), also sometimes referred to in English as "Hubu Bank" or (in Wades-Giles romanization) "Hupu Bank".

History

Debates about the establishment of a national bank became increasingly vivid in the late Qing period, with advocating for a bank that would 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). 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 moving from the

silver standard The silver standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed weight of silver. Silver was far more widespread than gold as the monetary standard worldwide, from the Sumerians 3000 BC until 1873. Following t ...

to 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 the currencies of China, and issue government-backed banknotes with a ⅓ metallic reserve. In 1904, the Ministry of Revenue officially authorised the creation of a central bank, with the primary intent to help finance government deficits by issuing paper money. The Da-Qing Bank opened its first office in the capital city of

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 ...

on ( Guangxu 31). The new 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 banknotes was entrusted to 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 print the cheques of the Ministry's Bank. The Da-Qing Bank soon opened a branch at 3–5, Hankou Road in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. Another branch opened in

Jinan Jinan is the capital of the province of Shandong in East China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is one of the largest cities in Shandong in terms of population. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of ...

in 1907. In 1912 the Da-Qing Government bank was liquidated with its operations transferred to the

, newly formed by government charter of the Republican government.

Banknotes

The Da-Qing Bank issued two different types of banknotes, one series was denominated in "

tael Tael ( ),"Tael" entry
at the

The other series was denominated in "yuan" and were known as Yinyuan Piao (銀元票) and were issued in the denominations of 1 yuan, 5 yuan, 10 yuan, 50 yuan, and 100 yuan. In the year 1907 the Bank of the Ministry of Revenue was renamed to the Da-Qing Bank (大清銀行), accordingly the inscription on all banknotes had to be changed to reflect this. 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.孙浩. 美钞公司档案中李鸿章像大清银行兑换券承印始末中国钱币, 2013(6):9-12. (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 ...

). 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 of this era; some banknotes showed the portrait 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 ...

, and others depicted that of the emperor's father,

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 ...

, who was the sitting regent of the infant monarch. At the eve of the

in 1911, there were 5,400,000 tael worth of Yinliang banknotes circulating in China, and 12,400,000 yuan in Yinyuan banknotes.

References

{{Qing dynasty topics Economy of the Qing dynasty Banks established in 1905 Economic history of China Banking in China Bank of China Chinese companies established in 1905

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Name

History

Banknotes

See also

References