中國花錢 / Chinese Numismatic Charms

中國花錢 鄭培凱	Chinese Numismatic Charms Pei-kai Cheng
中國古代錢幣，有各種各樣的形制，有貝狀的，有鏟狀的，有刀狀的，但是通行最久、流傳最廣的則是圜狀的錢幣。海貝作爲交換貨品的錢幣使用，源自遠古，商代的墓葬與遺址中時有出土。古文字的“貨”字從貝，不僅指的是貨品，也指的是可以進行物品交易的代替媒介，是反映貨品價值的貨幣。在春秋戰國時期，銅錢開始普遍使用，中原三晉地區主要用鏟狀的布錢。鏟狀布錢的來源，是剷地用的農具“鎛”，“布”字則是“鎛”字的同音假借字。«辭海»解釋布幣的發展，簡明扼要：“初期布幣還保留鎛的形狀：首空可以納柄，形如今之鏟，故又稱‘鏟幣’或‘空首布’。”在齊國和燕趙地區，流行的是刀幣，顯然是由實用的刀具轉為交換的貨幣。至於圜狀的錢幣，有學者(如千家駒)指出，是從紡輪演變而來，因此體圓有孔，先是圓孔，後來變成方孔，或許與戰國時期逐漸流行的“天圓地方”觀念有關。	COINS in ancient China existed in various shapes and forms – some resembling seashells, spades, and knives – but those in the widest circulation for most of history were the round-shaped coins with a central hole. From time immemorial, seashells had been used as tokens exchangeable for goods, as evidenced by specimens at times unearthed from tombs and ruins of the Shang Dynasty (16th–11th century BC). The Chinese character 貨 (huo) for “goods” was created on the radical of 貝 (bei) for “seashell”, and in ancient usage 貨 did signify not only goods but also the medium in trading, i.e., the currency representing the worth of goods. During the Spring and Autumn Period (770–476 BC) and the Warring States Period (475–221 BC), brass coins came into common use, with the spade-shaped ones found mostly in what is now central China. Their name, 布 (bu), is a near-homonym of 鎛 (bo) denoting spade, a farm tool. Ci-hai (辭海), the standard Chinese encyclopaedic dictionary, has this succinct entry: “The earliest bu-coin was spade-shaped, with a hollow head capable of receiving a handle, resembling a spade of today, hence its name ‘spade-coin’ or ‘hollow-head bu’.” Meanwhile, in east and north China, knife-shaped coins were in circulation, obviously derived from the knife, a serviceable tool. The round-shaped coins, as some authors (e.g., Qian Jiaju 千家駒) pointed out, evolved from the spinning wheel, hence the small disc with a hole in the centre. The hole was round at first, but mutated into a square one later on, possibly reflecting the concept of “the round Sky above the square Earth” that grew popular during the Warring States Period.
秦始皇統一中國，也統一了錢幣，廢除貝幣、布幣、刀幣，發行方孔圓形的半兩錢。中國錢幣形制在後代的發展，除了王莽時期心血來潮式的好古改制，短期間實行“寳貨制”，分金銀銅龜貝五物二十八品，恢復貝幣、布幣、刀幣，製造了混亂之外，一直都沿用方孔圓錢。	The First Emperor of Qin (aka Qin Shi-huang), after bringing the whole of China under his rule in 221 BC, unified the monetary system by abolishing the cowries, spade-coins, knife-coins, etc and issuing the Pan Liang (“half-tael”) coins instead. The latter, circular with a square central hole, set the norm for coins used throughout later dynasties. Exceptions occurred for a short time (AD 8 – 23) only, when the ruler’s whimsical reforms involved a short-lived Bao Huo (“treasured currency”) System with a baffling array of 28 coin types made of five materials (gold, silver, copper, etc), which saw the spade-coins and knife-coins restored briefly.
錢幣的鑄製與使用，本來是爲了順應社會的實際需要，以利貨品流通與交換，作爲價值的媒介與替代。然而，鑄造的精緻與設計的美觀，不但產生了審美的效應，還很容易引發了文化象徵的聯想，因此而有紀念幣、吉祥錢、厭勝錢的出現。這類“非實用性”的錢幣，也就成了有錢幣之形而無錢幣之實的象徵飾物，為人們帶來口彩與精神滿足，甚而成為潛伏在心底、蠢蠢欲動的無明欲望與恐懼的鎮宅至寶。這類錢幣在中國統稱“花錢”，又有“吉祥錢”、“厭勝錢”等名目，大概始自讖緯流行的漢代才大量出現。其實，王莽改朝換代，以“新”作爲朝代的名稱，又鑄造各式各樣的新錢幣，都是爲了討個吉利，希望國運昌隆。	At first, coins were made to meet a practical need of society, used as a medium in exchanges of goods, i.e., as tokens of the worth of goods. Then, as the nice designs and fine craftsmanship began to appeal to people’s aesthetic instinct, coins came to evoke associations with some cultural concepts. Hence the appearance of commemorative coins, lucky coins, and yan sheng coins (i.e., talismanic charms). These “not-for-circulation” small discs, in the form of coins but without the practical functions thereof, were decorative and symbolic objects produced to satisfy people’s emotional needs for auspiciousness. Further still, they became antidotes to some desires and fears lurking and stirring deep in the human heart. In China, such objects are called by the general term “coin-like charms” (花錢) or names like “lucky coins” (吉祥錢) and “talismanic charms” (厭勝錢). Probably they emerged in large quantities during the Han Dynasty (206 BC–AD 220) when mysterious prophecy and divination gained wide acceptance. For a brief interval when the throne was taken by a usurper under his Xin (“New”) Dynasty (AD 8 – 23), coins of various new designs were cast and issued to invite auspiciousness and seek prosperity for his new regime.
宋代王黼的«重修宣和博古圖»卷二十七，收了五枚漢代長方形厭勝錢，錢上有龍有馬並列。他做了一些探討，指出唐朝人就開始收藏，而且多為各種圖像的圜錢，名曰厭勝錢。還由龍馬圖像而引申出錢幣的意義：“且錢謂之泉布，則取其流行無窮之義。而此著龍馬者，蓋行天莫如龍，行地莫如馬，亦泉布流行之謂歟？”漢代的志怪書«洞冥記»中有一則故事，說有三隻青色的野鴨飛入望月台，到晚上變成三個小童，“皆著青綺文繻，各握鯨文大錢五枚，置帝几前，身止影動，因名輕影錢。”這個“輕影錢”顯然沒有貨幣的作用，也沒有標示價值，而是一種充滿神秘意義的象物，可能有魔法的作用。嚴格説來，這樣的錢幣不是錢，而是從“錢”所引發的一切美好而有利的聯想，可以是富貴，可以是權力的掌握，也可以是美夢成真的契機，是福祿壽的引路明燈。有趣的是，在中國文字使用中，因爲好用典故，“青鳧”（青色的野鴨）居然成了錢幣的雅稱。	Five rectangular charms of the Han Dynasty, featuring dragons alongside horses, are recorded in Chong xiu xuan he bo gu tu (重修宣和博古圖) of the Song Dynasty (AD 960–1279). The author Wang Fu (王黼) discussed the designs and noted that people in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907) had started collecting such coins, mostly circular ones with various designs, and referring to them as yan sheng coins (or talismanic charms). He further drew the message from the design: “Coins are called quan bu (泉布, “fountain circulates”) as a metaphor for limitless circulation. The dragons and horses herein are meaningful – none travels in air better than the dragon and none travels on land better than the horse. Isn’t this symbolic of the circulation of coins?” Dong ming ji (洞冥記) of the Han Dynasty, a book of supernatural stories, tells of three green wild ducks which alighted on a platform in the palace. At night, they were transfigured into three little boys “all dressed in green fine silk, each holding five big coins with fish designs. They put [the coins] in front of the low table of the emperor. The bodies were still while the shadows moved. [The coins] were thus named qing ying qian (“weightless shadow coins”).” Obviously, those coins served no real purpose as money and had no value marked on them. They were symbols of mysterious notions, possibly with magic powers. Technically speaking, such coins are not money, but they could evoke associations with all the desirable things related to money – wealth, position, or power; or a catalyst for nice dreams to come true, or an easy path to fortune, honour and longevity. Interestingly, given the Chinese literati’s love for allusions, qingfu (青鳧, “green wild ducks”) has thus become a refined name for coins.
南宋時期的洪遵著有«泉志»一書，專門記載研究錢幣資料，其中就說到晉代曾出土“百當千千當萬”錢。還有石勒所鑄的“豐貨”錢，“文曰豐貨，世人謂之‘富錢’，言收此錢令人豐富。”南北朝時期為求祥瑞而鑄造吉祥錢的例子很多，如北齊文宣帝即位，就有廣宗郡獻祥瑞錢，“文曰歸于聖帝”。南齊世祖則得有“太平百嵗”大錢，錢上有北斗七星圖樣，又有人形帶劍。«泉志»所載花錢，除了祝願政權的祥瑞之外，也有些是祝願生兒育女，旺丁旺財的，如“永安五男”錢、“五男二女”錢、“五男二女、叁公玖卿”錢。最有意思的是一種針書文的“布泉”錢，“世人謂之男錢，言佩之則生男也。”有些錢的厭勝辟邪意義明顯，如一面是“去殃除凶”四字，另一面是“辟兵莫當”；有的是幸福財富都要，一面是“長毋相忘”，另一面是“日入千金”；有“天下太平”錢，背面是五男二女圖案的，或是人形舞蹈，或是人形龍形舞蹈的；也有七夕錢，穿左為牛郎，穿右為織女，穿上為花，穿下為草。形形色色，不一為足。«清稗類抄»記光緒時期的錢幣收藏家葉奐彬，在北京隆福寺“得小錢三品，一面文曰‘子丑寅卯’，一面文曰‘辰巳午未’，一面文曰‘申酉戌亥’，背皆有屬蟲，其龍形如犬猴，四足伏地，不作立狀，與漢碑畫像合，六朝厭勝品也。”	Hong Zun (洪遵) of the Song Dynasty devoted his Quan Zhi (泉志, A Record of Coins) to studies of coins. It tells of a coin unearthed in the Jin Dynasty (AD 265–420) inscribed with the phrase bai dang qian qian dang wan (“Hundred used as thousand; thousand used as ten thousand”). It also says that, in a northern kingdom then, the founding ruler Shi Le (石勒) had coins cast with the inscription Feng Huo (豐貨, “bumper goods”), which “people called ‘rich coins’, saying they make the receivers rich”. As the book indicates, the Northern and Southern Dynasties period (AD 420–589) saw many such instances of “lucky coins” made to invite happy omens. In another northern kingdom, when the founding ruler came to the throne, he received from some subjects a “lucky coin” inscribed with the characters “gui yu sheng di” (歸于聖帝, “Submit to the sage-king”). In a southern dynasty, the founding monarch received a big coin inscribed with “Peace for a hundred years”, with a design featuring the seven North Pole Stars and a human figure bearing a sword. Besides those inviting good omens for kingdoms, Quan Zhi has records of charms wishing for fertility and riches for the ordinary family. There were coins inscribed with “Five boys”, “Five boys plus two girls”, and “Five boys plus two girls; many become dukes and ministers”. Most noteworthy were coins inscribed with “布泉” (bu quan, “circulating money”) in needle-point seal script (針書文), which “people called ‘boy coins’, as [women who] wore them would give birth to boys”. Some charms carried strong amulet-like messages. One specimen, for instance, had “Warding off disasters and evils” on one side and “Invulnerable to weapons” on the other. Some had wishes for both fortune and wealth, like the piece with “Bear each other long in mind” on one side and “Earn thousand gold daily” on the other. There were coins with “Peace under heaven” on one side and the other side showing five men plus two women, or human figures dancing, or humans and dragons dancing. There was a Qi Xi (the seventh night of the seventh lunar month, or the “Chinese Valentine”) coin featuring the cowherd and the weaver-girl on each side of the central hole, with flowers above and grass below the hole. According to Qing bai lei chao (清稗類抄, Unofficial Records of the Qing Dynasty), numismatist Ye Huan-bin (葉奐彬) obtained three small coins at a Buddhist temple in Peking, each on one side featuring four characters from the Chinese zodiacal signs and on the other side the corresponding four animals, thus forming a complete set of the 12 signs. Among the animals, the Dragon resembled a dog or monkey with four legs, prostrating on the ground, not standing. This tallied with the images found on stone tablets of the Han Dynasty. So those coins must be talismanic charms of the Six Dynasties (AD 220–589) period, concludes the record.
這種花錢的鑄造，一直沿襲到後代，宋元明清時期更爲興盛，不止是祝願朝廷與家族，更加入了佛教與道教的信仰與傳説，變得多姿多彩。本書所收花錢，如龜鶴齊壽、龜齡鶴壽、長生不老、福如東海壽比南山、長命富貴、金玉滿堂、狀元及第、五子登科、平安吉慶、一本萬利、天賜金錢等，都是民間口彩俗語，同具吉祥厭勝的作用。有些咒語符籙花錢，則屬道教性質，有強烈的厭勝作用。	Charms like these kept rolling out of the mint down through later centuries, particularly during the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties (AD 960–1911). Over time, well-wishing for royal governments or ordinary families was joined by Buddhist and Taoist beliefs and legends, which lent those coins even richer diversity and significance. Some of the specimens featured in this book bear auspicious phrases believed to have a talismanic power, like “Live as long as the tortoise and the crane”, “Live for ever, and get old never”, “Fortune as vast as the East Ocean; longevity as great as the South Maintain”, “Longevity, wealth, and honour; a hall full of gold and jade”, “Come out first in the highest civil examinations”, “All five sons succeed in the highest civil examinations”, “Peace, joy, and happiness”, “Invest one and reap a return of ten thousand”, and “Heaven-sent gold coin”. Others show magic formulas or spells in Taoist beliefs, purportedly carrying a strong amulet-like force.
有人指出，花錢的定義明確，應該不同於吉祥錢或厭勝錢，應該只是指“以金屬鑄造、以鏤空工藝表現吉祥內容、用以佩掛的古錢型飾物”。換句話說，只有鏤空花錢才是花錢，有文字的不算。這樣的狹義界定，排除一切不符合鏤空圖案花樣的錢幣，固然可以自圓其説，但卻製造了更多的問題。首先，如何給“非實用性”的錢幣一個通稱？不准用“花錢”二字，難道要叠牀架屋，學那些後現代的盲從追隨者，稱作“吉祥/厭勝/（鏤空）花錢”嗎？再者，說花錢需要以“鏤空工藝”製成，其實是誤導的説法，因爲所謂的“鏤空工藝”只是鑄造工藝使用鏤空圖案而已，與其他一切錢幣的鑄造工藝，沒有什麽不同。再次，說必須“用以佩掛”就更不通了。鏤空花錢固然便於佩掛，但是也可以珍藏匣内或作爲擺設，並非不佩掛就不是“花錢”了。何況，鑄造鏤空花錢的本意，是取其圖案的美觀與吉祥，或取其厭勝的神秘審美聯想，不是專門爲了佩掛的用途。因此，鏤空花錢只是花錢的一種，不能壟斷“花錢”這一通稱。	It has been suggested that “numismatic charms” (花錢), as a clearly defined category, should exclude auspicious or talismanic charms. “Numismatic charms”, it is claimed, should only comprise the “ancient coin-like metal-cast decorative objects, made with openwork craft to convey auspicious messages, meant for wearing or hanging”. In other words, only “openwork charms” (鏤空花錢) without language characters fit the term “numismatic charms”. Such a narrow definition excludes all the coins without openwork designs. Plausible as it sounds, the description would create more problems than it could solve. First, what can be a generic term for all the “not-for-circulation” coins, if not “numismatic charms”? Should we adopt such a cumbersome term like “auspicious/talismanic/(openwork) charms”, as would do those ardent disciples of postmodernism? Secondly, the must-be feature of “made with openwork craft” is misleading. In reality, the craft of casting is the same for making all kinds of coins, regardless of whether the products show openwork designs or not. And then, the required purpose – “for wearing or hanging” – is unreasonable. Openwork charms are fit for a gem casket or a display shelf just as well as for human bodies. Moreover, they were originally made for the attractive designs and auspicious messages they convey, or the talismanic power and mysterious aesthetic associations they conjure up, rather than for the sole purpose of being worn or hung on human bodies. Therefore, although “openwork charms” form a distinct set among the objects called “numismatic charms”, the specific items cannot monopolise the generic term.
方稱宇先生收藏花錢多年，頗有珍品，此次願意公諸同好，將收藏作爲展品，讓公衆都能一瞻究竟，以廣見聞，實在是莫大功德。作爲這次展覽的策劃人，我非常高興能夠提供城市大學藝廊作爲展覽場地，同時配合城市大學中國文化中心十周年活動，作爲慶祝的項目之一，也算是充分發揮了花錢吉祥喜慶的作用。	Having collected and studied Chinese charms for years, Mr Alex Chengyu Fang has built up a wealth of treasured specimens. Now, thanks to his generosity, the collection will be kindly put on display so that the general public can enrich their knowledge by taking a nice and close look at those curios. On my part, as planner of the exhibition, I will be glad to see CityU Gallery serve as the venue of the Chinese charms show and the show, coincident with the 10th anniversary of the Chinese Civilisation Centre, add lustre and merriment to the celebrations. And this, incidentally, will bring into full play the originally intended function of those coins for such a joyous occasion.
祝願國泰民安，天下太平，富貴康寧，吉慶平安。	Hence, let us wish that Peace be upon the Earth all under Heaven, that Health and Wealth be to all Humans, and that Bliss and Happiness be here and to stay – for ever. (Translated by Allen Zhua
[源文是作者為方稱宇博士著《中國花錢與傳統文化》一書寫的序；書由北京商務印書館出版(2008年6月，中英對照版)。方氏收藏的花錢於2008年7至8月在香港城市大學的城大藝廊展出。]	[The source text is the author’s preface to Chinese Charms: Art, Religion, and Folk Belief by Alex Chengyu Fang; Beijing: The Commercial Press, 2008; this English version also appears therein. Dr Fang’s collection was on display at CityU Gallery, City University of Hong Kong, July 15 to Aug 24, 2008. ]