This five-volume work traces the history of Chinese currency from its origin to the Fifth Series Renminbi, spanning 3,000 years. Itprovides an accurate, comprehensive, and systematic analysis and account of the monetary systems, currencyforms, production, circulation, related figures and events, monetary thought, and the impactof money on society, politics, and the economy from the pre-Qin era to the present day. 

This volume examines the transformation of Chinese currency from the late Qing dynasty through the Republican period, highlighting the coexistence of silver, copper cash, banknotes, and foreign currencies, as well as the gradual transition from a traditional monetary order to a modern national monetary system.

Yao Shuomin is a monetary historian, numismatist and executive director of the Chinese Numismatic Society. He was deputy secretary-general of the Chinese Numismatic Society, deputy director of the Chinese Numismatic Museum, and editor-in-chief of Chinese Numismatics. He has edited and published four volumes of The History of Chinese Currency, etc. He has published more than 20 papers, including “The Role of the Traditional Great Migration and Seasonal Movement of Nomadic Peoples on the Formation of Ancient Commercial Roads in Central Asia”, and “The Turkestan and their Coinage”.