Cast_Coinage_of_the_Ming_Rebels.pdf

CAST COINAGE OF THE MING REBELS

John E. Sandrock

Collecting China's ancient coins can be a very worthwhile and

rewarding experience. While at first glance this endeavor may appear

overwhelming to the average Westerner, it is in reality not difficult once

you master a few guidelines and get the hang of it. Essential to a good

foundation of knowledge is a clear understanding of the chronology of

dynasties, the evolution of the cash coin from ancient to modern times, the

Chinese system of dating, the Nien Hao which identifies the coin to emperor

and thus to dynasty, and the various forms of writing (calligraphy) used to

form the standard characters. Once this basic framework is mastered,

almost all Chinese coins fall into one dynastic category or another,

facilitating identification and collection. Some do not, however, which

brings us to the subject at hand.

The coins of the Ming Rebels defy this pattern, as they fall between

two dynasties, overlapping both. Thus they do not fit nicely into one

category or another and consequently must be treated separately. To put

this into historical perspective it is necessary to know that the Ming dynasty

lasted from 1368 to the year 1644 and that its successor, the Ch'ing dynasty,

existed from 1644 to its overthrow in 1911. Therefore our focus is on the

final days of the Ming and beginning of the Ch'ing dynasties.

The Ming era was a period of remarkable accomplishment. This was

a period when the arts and craftsmanship flourished. Administration and

learning soared to new heights. The Grand Canal, China's principal north-

south navigation route was improved and extended as were the Great Wall

defenses against the northern barbarians. The architecture produced at this

time remains unsurpassed, as does the fine porcelain, painting and textiles

representative of the period. This was a time of learning - as the country

was at peace-, for exploration (as far away as the Persian Gulf and Africa),

and for advancement in such arts as military science, medicine and

literature. After three hundred years, due in part to less than able emperors,

the dynasty set into decline. Having no enemies to conquer, the banner

armies became lazy and fell into disuse.

In contrast to this the barbarian tribes to the north were uniting and

becoming stronger. They long coveted the riches which lay to the south of

the Great Wall. All that was needed was a leader they could follow. Such a

man was Dorgon, a Manchu prince who was also a brave and effective

soldier. His early successes included raids on some forty northwestern

Chinese cities. Seeing the Ming dynasty on the point of collapse, Dorgon

turned his armies southward in 1644, conquering Peking and thus putting an

end to the Ming dynasty.

The final days of the Ming dynasty and the emergence of Ch'ing rule

is a somewhat difficult and complex period, often confusing for

numismatists. After all, the Ming Rebels who issued cash coinage in their

own name were ten in number. These men have been referred to, by various

authors of books on coinage of this period, as "pretenders", "scions", and

"rebels". I prefer to call them all rebels, as their collective goal was to

overthrow the newly established Manchu authority. The difference in

terminology is explained by the fact that the pretenders and scions among

them were direct descendents of former Ming emperors whose avowed

purpose was to perpetuate the Ming dynastic line. The others were ex-

generals and adventurers who, for one purpose or another, wished to

overthrow the Manchu invaders (the Ch'ing) and were content to perpetuate

the old Ming line for their own self-serving purposes. All this activity was

compressed into a forty year time frame - commencing shortly before the

downfall if the Ming dynasty and ending with the defeat of the last of the

rebels by the Manchu bannermen in the year 1683.

This is the story of ten men with odd sounding names - princes,

generals and bandits among them - who, being Chinese, all shared the same

common hatred of the foreign barbarian invaders from the north. Their

common goal was to drive the Manchus from China's borders. Who were

these nobles and brigands who left their imprint on numismatics and their

coins behind as part of China's heritage? How successful were they? What

happened to them? This paper is an attempt to shed some light on these

matters. Lastly, we will examine the coinage used to sustain their various

endeavors.

Li Tzu-Ch'eng

Corruption within the government in the late Ming period had led to

economic depression and popular revolt. At the same time the nomadic

tribes north of the Great Wall were becoming increasingly restless.

Widespread famine was rampant due to successive years crop failure. To

raise money to suppress internal and external insurrection, the Ming court

levied increased taxes on anyone they could lay their hands on as well as

laying off government employees in the more populated areas. Li Tzu-

Ch'eng, as a post station attendant in Shansi province, was one of those

dismissed. He was skilled in both riding and archery and had a quarrelsome

disposition, which led him eventually into banditry among an army of the

disaffected. He soon proved himself a skilled tactician ascending to

leadership of his bandit army. His bandit career was successful due in part

to his skill at eluding the Ming armies sent to crush him. Li styled himself

the "Dashing King" designating Sian, in Shensi his capital. From here he

conquered and controlled large areas of Shansi and Honan provinces. By

the year 1643 Li, having roamed over most of Northern and Central China

competing for terrain and followers, felt strong enough to take on the Ming

seat of government in Peking.

In 1644, having given the name "Region of Grand Obedience" to his

new kingdom and taking the reign title "Yung-ch'ang" Li turned his army

north, capturing Peking in April. This drive involved hundreds of

thousands of troops who sacked the towns resisting them, incorporating into

their own army those that surrendered. This army entered Peking without a

fight, the city gates having been treacherously opened to them from within.

The city then felt the horror of extortion, rape and murder. The last of the

Ming emperors, Chuang Lieh-ti, had called his ablest general, Wu San-kuei

(of whom we will hear more of later) to the rescue, however, being

preoccupied with the invading Manchurian barbarians, he arrived too late.

Emperor Chuang Lieh-ti, hearing that the rebels had entered Peking,

summoned his ministers. When none of them appeared he hanged himself

in the imperial garden beneath the walls of the Forbidden City. Soliciting

the aid of the invading Manchu armies to help restore the dynasty, Wu San-

kuei joined forces with them. Their combined might was then turned

against Li. Being defeated, Li fell back upon Peking for one last round of

pillaging before abandoning the city to the oncoming Manchu army. On

June 6th the Manchus entered Peking, seized the country for themselves,

and established their (Ch'ing) dynasty. The Ch'ing forces pursued Li and

his ever diminishing army all the way to Hupeh where, in 1646, it is

believed he was killed while plundering the countryside for forage for his

horses.

Li Tzu-Ch'eng had coins cast between 1637-1644 at Sian (Hsi-an Fu)

in Shensi under the reign title "Yung ch'ang". They were few in number.

Of the three bronze coins cast two were one cash pieces; one with plain

reverse, the other with the character "Yih" above the hole on the reverse.

The larger specimen, a value five, was well executed. All bear the

legend"Yung-ch'ang t'ung-pao" (currency of the Yung Ch'ang reign) on the

obverse.

Yung-ch'ang t'ung pao of the brigand Li Tzu-ch'eng. The cash coins were of two

varieties, plain reverse and with the cyclical character “yih” above the center hole. The

value five specimen is shown at right. All were cast in Hsian Fu (Sian) in Shensi

province.

Chang Hsien-chung

Chang Hsien-chung has been described as one of the most murderous

ruffians ever to have disgraced the annals of China. Like Li, he was the

bandit leader of an army of disaffected peasants who roamed northern China

plundering and pillaging as they went. Shifting from base to base, never

staying in one place long enough to be caught, they occasionally cooperated

with one another against the common enemy. Chang maintained his capital

at Ch'eng-tu in Szechuan province. There in the winter of 1644 he set up

his "Great Western Kingdom" taking the reign title "Ta-shun" as his own.

In Ch'eng-tu he established a civilian bureaucracy, held civil service

examinations, minted coins and set up an elaborate system of military

defenses. Suddenly, however, he acquired a mania for grandiose

undertakings. He laid long range plans for the conquest of southern and

eastern China as well as the Philippines, Korea and present day Vietnam.

He became paranoid about betrayal, inflicting grotesque punishments upon

those that stood in his way. Abandoning the city of Ch'eng-tu in 1646, he

burned it to the ground adopting a scorched earth policy as his army swept

eastward. In the end Chang did not last much longer that Li had done, being

killed by Manchu troops in January 1647.

The whole of Chang's coinage consists of four specimens all bearing

the inscription "Ta-shun t'ung-pao". The cash coins are identical except for

their reverses, which are plain, with "Hu"(Board of Revenue) and with

"I"(Board of Works) appearing below the square center hole for their

respective mints. The fourth coin, a value two, bears an "erh" (two) below

the hole. Schjoth reports that these coins were highly sought after by

seafaring men for use as charms.

Ta-shun t'ing pao coins constituted the money of Chang Hsien-chung, a murderous rouge

who plundered western China from his base in Szechuan. His three cash coins had a

plain reverse, “Hu” for Board of Revenue and “I”, the mint mark of the Board of Works.

Sun K'o-wang

Sun K'o-wang was the adopted son of the bandit Chang Hsien-chung.

Fighting in north China in 1644, first against the Ming and later against the

Manchus, Sun so impressed Chang Hsien-chung that he made him his

adopted son. He was then given the command of the Eastern army,

whereupon he changed his name to Chang. After his "father" was killed,

Sun K'o-wang led his troops south to Hunan where many of the rebels were

killed in 1653. Rallying his remaining forces Sun fought a prolonged

delaying action until he could join forces with the Ming insurgents in

southwestern China. Arriving in Kweichow province he was proclaimed

"Tung P'ing Wang" or Prince Pacifier of the East. It was at Kuei-yang in

Kweichow province that he attempted to establish his seat of government.

Before this could be carried out Sun was driven further south, finally

crossing the mountains into Yunnan. There he cast his "hsing-chow"

coinage. Hsing-chow in this instance was the name of the cash, not a reign

name.

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