After the Wuchang Uprising broke out, Shaanxi was one of the first provinces in the country to respond. The success of the Shaanxi Uprising dealt a heavy blow to the rule of the Qing government, played a positive role in promoting the successive uprisings in the northern provinces, and strongly supported the newly established revolutionary regimes in the south. The revolutionary uprising in Shaanxi occupied an important position in the national Xinhai Revolutionary Movement. Shaanxi was also the first independent province in the north under the control of the Qing government.
After the news of the Wuchang Uprising spread to Shaanxi, it greatly encouraged the Shaanxi revolutionaries. The leaders of the Xi’an Tongmenhui and Ge Laohui, such as Jing Wumu, Qian Ding, Zhang Feng, Zhang Fenghui, Zhang Yunshan, and Wan Bingnan, launched the uprising on October 22, 1911. , captured Xi’an. Borrowing the name of the Wuchang Uprising Army from “Hunan, Hubei and Henan to restore the Han Dynasty”, the Shaanxi Uprising Army was called the “Qinlong Army to restore the Han Dynasty”. On October 24, the Qinlong Fuhan Army Headquarters was established in Xi’an, and Zhang Fenghui was elected as the commander-in-chief, and Wan Bingnan and Qian Ding were appointed as deputy commanders to take charge of the military and political power of the province. On November 26, 1911, the Shaanxi Military Government was established, changing the commander-in-chief to the governor-general and the deputy commander-in-chief to the deputy governor-general. The Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Transportation were established. After the news of the successful Xi’an Uprising spread, all parts of the province responded. Within a few days, more than 40 counties in Guanzhong successively set up uprising flags and announced the recovery of Shaanxi, and Shaanxi declared independence.
Photo caption: The Yan’an Ge Laohui armed forces responded to the Wuchang Uprising
Finance is the foundation and important support for a regime’s governance. Without strong financial support, it is difficult for a regime, especially a new regime, to consolidate its rule and develop. The newly established Shaanxi military government had no income and was struggling financially. After the liberation of Xi’an, the collection of grain taxes and taxes in each county came to a standstill, and each county had no money to transfer to the provincial treasury. After one or two months of operation, the Shaanxi military government felt that its finances were stretched. As the saying goes, the army needs both food and pay. The Shaanxi military government was initially able to maintain military food supplies, but was in dire straits regarding military pay. According to records, the monthly salary of soldiers at that time was 5 taels for the leader, 4 taels for the soldiers, 18 taels for the platoon leader, and 12 taels for the division chief. The leaders of the Ge Laohui expanded their army at will, from one association (the organizational unit of the Qing Dynasty’s new army) to more than ten associations, and military expenditures increased. Moreover, the military government’s own office expenses are also very huge, and there is nowhere to pay the required funds. At that time, Xi’an’s financial sector was in chaos. On the one hand, there were very few silver and copper coins circulating in the market, and the quality of the silver coins was extremely complex. On the other hand, the Qing Bank was robbed, and commercial money bureaus and banknote banks ceased operations, leaving the market in a state of chaos. It was extremely depressed and trading was at a standstill. Most of the external supplies were in the hands of a small number of landowners and shops. The military government was in vain and could not effectively implement economic unification. Facing such huge financial pressure, the military government must introduce corresponding management measures to adjust finance and stabilize social security.
In order to maintain financial order and win the trust of the people, the military government adopted three policies. The first was to open warehouses and sell grain and try to recover old banknotes; the second was to encourage donations and the issuance of public bonds; the third was to establish the “Qinfeng Bank”. Issue money notes and money notes, and prohibit the circulation and use of all bank notes and money notes issued by the original Daqinguan Bank.
Qinfeng Bank was reorganized on the basis of the former Shaanxi Official Money Bureau. In September of the 20th year of Guangxu (1894), Lu Chuanlin, the governor of Shaanxi Province, issued a decree and was approved to provide a capital of 10,000 taels of gold and silver, establish the Qinfeng Official Silver Coin Account, and issue money notes. Shaanxi Guanyinhao, also known as Qinfeng Guanyinhao and Qinfeng Guanyinhao. In the second year of Xuantong (1910), it was renamed Qinfeng Guanqian Bureau, with a capital of 60,000 taels. Qinfeng Bank is a joint venture between government and businessmen, with a total starting capital of 1 million taels, of which the military government allocated 500,000 taels of silver and recruited 500,000 taels of commercial shares. The purpose of its establishment was to maintain the stability of the market currency value and raise revolutionary military pay. The head office is located in Xi’an, with branches in Sanyuan, Fengxiang and Hanzhong. In addition to general banking services such as deposits, loans, and exchange, Qinfeng Bank also issues bank notes. Qinfeng Bank is the first formal local bank established in Shaanxi and performs the functions of a local bank.
Qinfeng Bank Five Liang Silver Ingots
The banknotes issued by Qinfeng Bank are divided into old banknotes and new banknotes. The old-style silver notes were stamped with the stamp of “Qinfeng Bank” and then reissued from the stock of the former Shaanxi Official Bank and Money Bureau (i.e., “Qinfeng Brand”); the new-style silver notes are exchange notes of Shaanxi Qinfeng Bank, which were issued in the second half of the Republic of China. It was issued on January 15, 2011 and was printed by the Kyoto Press. At this time, one million taels of military banknotes were also issued for the Shaanxi and Longfu Han armies. The military and civilians were not happy to use them, and the issuance stopped after less than 500,000 taels.
Shaanxi Qinfeng Bank Exchange Notes One Liang
Shaanxi Longfu Han Army Military Banknote Two Liang
Because time was tight at that time, the conditions for printing Qinfeng Bank notes immediately were not met. For this reason, the military government decided to stamp the original blank Shaanxi official silver coins with the stamp of “Qinfeng Bank” and put them on the market to participate in circulation, and successively issued two million taels. Because the silver coins are printed with colorful dragon patterns, they are called “Shaanxi Colorful Dragon Banknotes”.
Shaanxi official silver coins are made of five-color stone seals. The double dragons are majestic and dignified. The overall composition is novel, the colors are bright and exquisite. The Shaanxi official silver coins were printed by the Donghua Lithography Bureau in the north of Tianjin Palace entrusted by the governor of Shaanxi. The front of the tickets has a pattern of two dragons playing with beads and clouds and waves. The words “Shaanxi official silver coins” are printed in the middle, and “Shaanxi official silver coins” are printed on the front. “By virtue of the provincial Yi Ping Yin” and “Yi Ping 1 or 24 are divided into 1 liang of Ku Ping”. Different denominations are printed in the middle. The right is the font size, and the left is the words “Guangxu Year, Month, Day”. The back of the ticket is printed with the inscription “In the 34th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu”, “The first rank wears the Minister of the Ministry of War and the envoy of the Metropolitan Procuratorate to the governor of Shaanxi and other places to supervise military affairs and manage food and salary (longevity)”. The words “Tianjin Gongbei Donghua Lithography Bureau Lithography” are printed on the bottom. Donghua Lithography Bureau was founded by Japanese merchants in August of the 30th year of Guangxu (1904). Its address is Gongbei Street, Tianjin. The bureau has strong printing power. , printing many banknotes for financial institutions in Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi and other places.
Shaanxi Colorful Dragon Silver Ticket Thirty Liang (Xinhai)
Enshou, a native of Xiangbai Banner in Manchuria, was transferred to the governor of Shaanxi in the 33rd year of Guangxu’s reign in the Qing Dynasty (1907). Based on the Xi’an Patrol Battalion, Enshou established the Army’s 39th Mixed Association, which was called the “Shaanxi New Army” at the time. It was a standing army with mobile combat functions. Later, there were more and more revolutionary officers and soldiers in the New Army. Published on the back of Shaanxi’s official banknotes is Enshou’s edict in the 34th year of Guangxu’s reign. The full text is as follows:
“In order to organize the currency system, the first priority is to facilitate the people, revitalize the market, and use it to show great trust. Since I took office, I have continued to promote all things that can benefit the country and facilitate the people. In recent years, there have been new additions to the general government, and railways will also be opened one after another, superimposed on the Secretary. The bureau is planning to prepare principal for Qin Feng’s official money store and issue banknotes on a trial basis. All officials, merchants, and common people must be informed that they will not be given cash in cash, and they are allowed to use it to pay grain, taxes, corvee services, and all miscellaneous items, both public and private. Those who use the banknotes for exchange during the business period, regardless of whether they are officials or merchants, have any excuses to deduct money, arbitrarily make money, or create counterfeit bills in an attempt to deceive them, and they will be charged and severely punished. , but should not be particularly picky and do not want to be investigated. In addition to complying with the general instructions, the instructions should be printed and attached to the general notice. For this reason, farmers, industrialists, and merchants should be aware of them and follow them. It should be noted that banknotes are more valuable than cash. Firstly, there is no trouble of carrying a heavy load, and secondly, there is no disadvantage of short color and lack of flatness. Everyone obeys the special instructions and looks up to inform them. “
There are many marks on the silver notes stamped with “Qinfeng Bank”. On the front of the denomination, there is a red seal of “Qinfeng Bank” in seal script. The design is exquisite and refined. The seal is in the shape of a rhombus, with the four characters “Qinfeng Bank” read in opposite directions, and a Tai Chi figure in the middle, symbolizing continuous vitality and endless life. A red stamp with the word “keeping the promise” is added to the font size, which means to abide by the promise.
The denomination is printed on the upper side of the back of the silver note and is stamped in red. In the lower left corner, there is a four-character “Qinfeng Bank” stamped in vertical script and regular script. In the upper left corner, there is a red stamp with the words “Civilized banknotes are accepted by all walks of life, and buried words and imprints are not allowed”, read vertically, in two columns. It indicates the nature of the silver notes, which can be circulated anytime and anywhere, and it is prohibited to make alterations on the face of the notes. The red seal of “Shaanxi Qinfeng Bank” is stamped on the right side seam in seal script. The text of the Xiaoyu is stamped with corrected boldface characters.
Shaanxi official silver coins (stamped with the stamp of “Qinfeng Bank”) have two versions: “Xinhai” and “Renzi” due to different years. Among them, the Xinhai edition was issued in 1911. The main feature is that the word “Guangxu” on the left side of the front of the ticket, which indicates the time, is stamped with the red character “Xinhai”; on the back, the name of Enshou’s official title before Xiaolu was changed to “Qinlong Fuhan” “Zhang, Commander of the Army”, the text “Headquarters Yuan Ren” was changed to “Commander the Uprising”, “Qin Feng Official Money Shop” was changed to “Qin Feng Official Bank”; the year of the original ticket “Guangxu Thirty-fourth Year” was changed to “Huangdi” Era 4609″ year.
The Renzi edition was issued in 1912. The main feature is that the red character “Renzi” is stamped on the left side of the front of the ticket to indicate the time “Guangxu”; on the back, the name of Enshou’s official title before the decree was changed to “Qin Jun of the Republic of China” “Capital Governor Zhang of the branch government”, the text of the decree “Hebu Yuan came to appoint” was changed to “Captain Uprising”, “Qin Feng Guan Qian Shop” was changed to “Qin Feng Guan Bank”; the year of the original bill was changed to “the 34th year of Guangxu” to ” The 4600th year of the Yellow Emperor’s reign.” After the establishment of the Nanjing Provisional Government, the original Shaanxi Military Government was changed to the “Qin Military Branch Government of the Republic of China”, and Zhang Fenghui continued to serve as the governor.
Shaanxi Colorful Dragon Silver Ticket Thirty Liang (Renzi)
The “Zhang” in “Zhang, the commander-in-chief of the Qinlong Fuhan Army” and “Zhang, the commander-in-chief of the Qinjun branch government of the Republic of China” on the back of these two editions of silver tickets refer to Zhang Fenghui, the first governor-general of Shaanxi during the Revolution of 1911. Zhang Fenghui (1881-1958) was born in Xi’an. He studied in Japan and studied military affairs. He joined the Tongmenghui in 1906. He was popular, adaptable, and courageous. During the recovery of Xi’an, he successfully led the Shaanxi New Army uprising, destroyed the Qing government’s ruling order, and contributed to the creation of a democratic republic. He was known as “the first person to launch the Revolution of 1911 in Xi’an.” gun” man. During his tenure as the governor of Shaanxi, Zhang Fenghui was committed to restoring local social order, focusing on developing production and doing a good job in economic construction. He attached great importance to education and talent training, founded Northwest University, the first university in Northwest China, and did a lot for the development of Shaanxi. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Zhang Fenghui successively served as vice chairman of the People’s Government of Shaanxi Province and deputy governor of Shaanxi Province, and did a lot of work to consolidate the new political power.
Qin Long restored the Han army to the commander-in-chief Zhang Fenghui
Because the market attaches great importance to cash and despises banknotes, the price difference between banknotes and cash transactions is too far, and bank runs often occur. Although the military government issued timely orders to ensure exchanges and even sent troops to suppress the situation, it still could not calm down. In order to ensure the circulation of banknotes and maintain the stability of currency value, the military government decided that both cash and banknotes should be used for payment of debts and transactions. Because when the colorful dragon banknotes were issued, the overall political situation in Shaanxi was uncertain and the social order was still unstable. Therefore, the general public had a skeptical and wait-and-see attitude towards the use of banknotes, so it had little effect.
According to the files of the Ministry of Finance of the Beiyang Government, “Letter from the Inspection and Collection Agency Committee to the Department of Currency on the Shaanxi Currency System” records: Shaanxi Colorful Dragon Banknotes are divided into one liang, two liang, three liang, five liang, Shiliang, and five Shiliang. , one hundred and two seven denominations. From October 1, 1911, to December 13, 2011, a total of 954,000 taels of old-style silver notes were issued. The face values of Shaanxi official silver coins (stamped with “Qinfeng Bank”) so far found include one tael, two taels, three taels, five taels, and ten taels. There are no physical objects for other face values.
Because of the special social conditions and historical background at that time, the Shaanxi Colorful Dragon Banknotes were both Qing Dynasty banknotes and Xinhai Revolution military notes. They have extremely special historical significance and have very different styles among the many Xinhai Revolution currencies. Although it has been over a hundred years, The color is still extremely bright, representing the highest level of printing technology at that time, and has always been loved by numismatic researchers and collectors.
Statement: This article is reproduced from the “Qian Fatang” WeChat public account, author: Wang Jijie
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