| The objective of this dissertation is to study the economic history of Eastern Zhou China. It is based principally upon a large number of bronze coins excavated archaeologically, and uses analytical methods of—and has implications for—such diverse fields as archaeology, paleography, history, historical geography and economic history.; In Chapter One, the history of numismatics in China is reviewed. Chapters Two and Three deal with the reading of coin inscriptions and the dating of coins. In the final two chapters, the social and economic significance of Eastern Zhou coinage are explored. Besides a reconstruction of the relation between coins and people, issues such as coin production, usage, debasement, buying power and circulation are discussed in detail. Moreover, modern economic theories and comparisons with the history of Western coinage are applied to the study.; The dissertation demonstrates a core-periphery Eastern Zhou commodity economy. Patterns of coin circulation and monetary systems varied in different states. Currencies of the Han, Zhao and Wei states were used also outside of their state of production, while those of the Qin, Chu, Qi and Yan states were used only locally. Han, Zhao and Wei had an open monetary system, while Qin, Chu and Qi had a closed one. These differences indicate the core and periphery of the Eastern Zhou commodity economy and reflect the relative economic power of the different states. In order to understand the causes of these differences, economic resources such as land, labor, and capital in different states are analyzed. I discuss, from an economic viewpoint, how Qin as a state with a less developed commodity economy was able to achieve the unification of China. |
