This page serves as the editing history of Zhengde Tongbao and is preserved for the historical record.
Original draft
edit[[File:Cheng Te T'ung Pao charm (Phoenix and Dragon) - John Ferguson 02.jpg|thumb|right|A Zhengde Tongbao marriage charm.]] The '''Zhengde Tongbao''' ({{zh|t=正德通寶|s=正德通宝| hp=Zhèngdé tōng bǎo| l=Coinage of True Virtue| links=yes}}) is a fantasy [[Cash (Chinese coin)|cash coin]] and [[Chinese numismatic charm]] bearing an inscription based on the reign title of the [[Zhengde Emperor]] of the [[Ming dynasty]].<ref>A.A.Remmelts. ''Chinese Charms and Amulets''. [[Amsterdam]], 1968.</ref><ref>Sportstune.com [http://sportstune.com/chinese/charms/1/chengte.html Section 1.83: "Charms with coin inscriptions: Cheng Te T'ung Pao"] by John Ferguson. Retrieved: 25 July 2018.</ref> The Zhengde Emperor reigned from the year 1505 until 1521, however during this period no circulating cash coins were minted. There were a large amount "cash coins" bearing the Zhengde era name are minted from the late Ming to early [[Qing dynasty]] periods as [[superstition|superstitious]] "lucky coins" with auspicious depictions and instructions (making them Chinese numismatic charms), as this inscription remained popular for charms modern reproductions of the Zhengde Tongbao are also very common.<ref> Numis' Numismatic Encyclopedia. [https://en.numista.com/numisdoc/a-reference-list-of-5000-years-of-chinese-coinage-97.html A reference list of 5000 years of Chinese coinage. (Numista)] Written on December 9, 2012 • Last edit: June 13, 2013 Retrieved: 25 July 2018.</ref> A popular saying in imperial China was "If a household has a Zhengde coin, there will be material wealth and honour for ten thousand years" (家有正德錢富貴萬萬年, ''jiā yǒu zhèng dé qián fù guì wàn wàn nián''). == Overview == It is generally believed that there were no cash coins minted by the government of the Ming dynasty under the reign of the Zhengde Emperor, however it has been claimed that a small number of cash coins were cast there doesn't seem to be any evidence supporting this claim. Despite the fact that no Zhengde Tongbao were ever officially cast by the Ming dynasty a very large amount of them do exist today in the form of Chinese numismatic charms and amulets which is likely due to the fact that the inscription Zhengde Tongbao (正德通寶) could be translated as "currency of correct virtue" or "Coinage of True Virtue". Another possible reason why such a large number of Chinese numismatic charms with the inscription "Zhengde Tongbao" were cast is because it was believed m by many people during the Ming dynasty that the Zhengde Emperor was the reincarnation of a [[Chinese dragon|"swimming" dragon]] which gave the rise to the belief that carrying a Zhengde Tongbao amulet will protect its wearer from big waves while crossing a body of water such as the sea or a river. Other superstitions surrounding Zhengde Tongbao coins included that they protected pregnant women and their unborn offspring and that these coins would also help its carriers win [[gambling]] games. During [[Chinese new year]] Zhengde Tongbao cash coins were also given as "new year's lucky money" (壓歲錢, ''yā suì qián''). Zhengde Tongbao charms commonly feature the image of a dragon and a [[fenghuang]] on their reverses, when a Chinese dragon and fenghuang are shown together they often symbolise the union of a man and a woman meaning that these Zhengde Tongbao charms were used as [[Chinese numismatic charm#Chinese marriage and sex education charms|Chinese marriage charms]]. Although Gary Ashkenazy claims that the dragon and fenghuang symbolises matrimony, it is argued by Edgar J. Mandel that the dragon and fenghuang actually represent the power of the imperial Chinese government where the dragon represents the [[Emperor of China|Emperor]] and the fenghuang the [[List of consorts of rulers of China|Empress]]. Another variant of the Zhengde Tongbao has two dragons on its reverse chasing after the [[Eight Treasures|wish-granting pearl]]. Another variant of the Zhengde Tongbao charm only contains the [[Hanzi]] character ''wén'' (文) on its reverse which is usually used [[Chinese cash (currency unit)|as a measure word for counting cash coins]] but could also mean "obverse". These coins were also exclusively used as charms and amulets and were not meant for circulation.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://primaltrek.com/coinlegend.html#zheng_de_tong_bao|title= Chinese Charms with Coin Inscriptions 錢文錢 § Zheng De Tong Bao.|date=16 November 2016|accessdate=25 July 2018|work= Gary Ashkenazy / גארי אשכנזי (Primaltrek – a journey through Chinese culture)|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= http://elogedelart.canalblog.com/archives/2009/09/15/15077354.html|title= About Zheng De charms.|date=15 September 2009|accessdate=25 July 2018|work= by Alain Truong for Canalblog (Eloge de l'Art par Alain Truong) |language=en}}</ref> Edgar J.Mandel's book ''Metal Charms and Amulets of China'' lists 41 variants of the Zhengde Tongbao charm. == See also == * [[Ming dynasty coinage]] == References == {{Reflist}} == Sources == * Edgar J.Mandel. ''Metal Charms and Amulets of China''. {{Commonscat|Zhengde Tongbao}} {{Chinese exonumia}} {{Chinese currency and coinage}} {{Asian numismatic charms}} [[:Category:Amulets]] [[:Category:Chinese numismatic charms]] [[:Category:Chinese numismatics]] .
Redirects
edit#REDIRECT [[Zhengde Tongbao]]
- 正德通寶.
- 正德通宝.
- 正德通寳, factually correct contemporary spelling that for some reason is only used by the Japanese today.
Other stuff
editWhy I wrote this article.
editWhile feeding my youngest son soup I had the idea to write an article about the Zhengde Tongbao, as far as I'm aware of there are no articles about fantasy Asian coins on the English Wikipedia, and hopefully by writing this I will set a trend to create articles of Chinese numismatic charms by inscription. --Donald Trung (talk) 10:13, 25 July 2018 (UTC)
Notes
editFor a long time I simply didn't have the desire to tackle the badly written Ming dynasty coinage article, but seeing how it actually lists a fantasy coin as a "real" cash coin makes me realise all the more how quickly I need to supersede that horrible article. It has always been a bane, the article is older than David Hartill's wonderful donation to Wikipedia and the fact of how bad it was inspired me to write the Southern Song dynasty coinage and "related articles", this only proves how right I was about that article. Although I still prefer to simply tackle that article by writing a full list of Chinese cash coin inscriptions and addressing the fantasies and hoaxes there than fixing an article I consider to (almost) be "broken beyond repair". --Donald Trung (talk) 10:34, 25 July 2018 (UTC)
Standard reference templates
edit- July 2018.
- <ref>{{cite web|url= |title= |date=16 November 2016|accessdate= June 2018|work= Gary Ashkenazy / גארי אשכנזי (Primaltrek – a journey through Chinese culture)|language=en}}</ref>
- <ref>{{cite web|url= |title= |date=|accessdate= June 2018|work= Vladimir Belyaev (Charm.ru - Chinese Coinage Website).|language=en}}</ref>
- <ref>{{cite web|url= |title= |date=|accessdate= July 2018|work= |language=en}}</ref>