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China – Zhou Dynasty. Spring-Autumn Period 771-476 B.C.
‘Yu Pi’ BRONZE FISH MONEY
Principality of Ch’i
Bronze Yü Pi (fish money or fish token) 105mm x 10mm (15.70 grams) Cast circa 771-476 B.C.
Reference: Coole, 6927-6930 var.; Mitch., ATC, 4923-4924 var.
These are mentioned in Coole, Jen, and other references with ambiguous statements regarding their possible use as money. Fish are “lucky,” and there are rituals involving the throwing of fish effigies into water to bring that luck, so there is the possibility that they might have been purely religious. ‘Yu’ Fish series, some with detailed rib type in copper, odd shaped medium of exchange, these fish may have been thrown into water. (3.95, 9.35, 14.65, 15.12, 20.04, 25.26 g), length 60, 68, 83, 86, 98 and 108mms, (cf.Coole 6920-6934, Vol.5 p.559-563, Not in Sch).
Provenance: From private collection in the United States of America.
Ownership History: From private collection in the United States, bought in private sale in the United States of America.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
Fish are an important motif in Chinese mythology. There are various myths involving fish. The word for “fish”, yu, is a homophone for “abundance” and “affluence”. (Eberhard, 1983: 106). Chinese mythology refers to those myths found in the historical geographic area of China. The geographic area of “China” is of course a concept which has evolved of changed through history. Fish in Chinese mythology include myths in Chinese and other languages, as transmitted by Han Chinese as well as other ethnic groups (of which fifty-six are officially recognized by the current administration of China).(Yang 2005:4) The Chinese dragon is the head of the fish clan.
 Qi, or Ch’i in Wade–Giles romanization, was a state of the Zhou dynasty-era in ancient China, variously reckoned as a march, duchy, and independent kingdom. Its capital was Yingqiu, located within present-day Linzi in Shandong.
Qi was founded shortly after the Zhou overthrow of Shang in the 11th century BC. Its first marquis was Jiang Ziya, minister of King Wen and a legendary figure in Chinese culture. His family ruled Qi for several centuries before it was replaced by the Tian family in 386 BC. In 221 BC, Qi was the final major state annexed by Qin during its unification of China.
During the Zhou conquest of Shang, Jiang Ziya served as the chief minister to King Wu. After Wu’s death, Jiang remained loyal to the Duke of Zhou during the Three Guards’ failed rebellion against his regency. The Shang prince Wu Geng had joined the revolt along with the Dongyi states of Yan, Xu, and Pugu. These were suppressed by 1039 BC and Jiang was given the Pugu lands in what is now western Shandong as the march of Qi. Little information survives from this period, but the Bamboo Annals suggest that the native people of Pugu continued to revolt for about another decade before being destroyed a second time c. 1026.
In the mid-9th century BC, King Yi (r. 865–58 BC) attacked Qi and boiled Duke Ai to death. Under the reign of King Xuan (r. 827–782), there was a local succession struggle. During this time, many of the native Dongyi peoples were absorbed into the Qi state.
Spring and Autumn period
In 706 BC, Qi was attacked by the Shan Rong. Qi rose to prominence under Duke Huan of Qi (685–643 BC). He and his minister Guan Zhong strengthened the state by centralizing it. He annexed 35 neighboring states including Tan and brought others into submission. In 667 BC, Duke Huan met with the rulers of Lu, Song, Chen and Zheng and was elected leader. Subsequently, King Hui of Zhou made him the first Hegemon. He attacked Wei for supporting a rival of the Zhou king and intervened in the affairs of Lu. In 664 BC, he protected Yan from the Rong people. In 659 BC, he protected Xing and in 660, Wei, from the Red Di. In 656 he blocked the northward expansion of Chu. After his death, a war of succession broke out among his sons, greatly weakening Qi. The hegemony consequently passed to Jin.
In 632 BC, Qi helped Jin defeat Chu at the Battle of Chengpu. In 589 BC, Qi was defeated by Jin. In 579 BC, the four great powers of Qin (west), Jin (center), Chu (south) and Qi (east) met to declare a truce and limit their military strength. In 546 BC, a similar four-power conference recognized several smaller states as satellites of Qi, Jin and Qin.
Warring States period
Early in the period, Qi annexed a number of smaller states. Qi was one of the first states to patronize scholars. In 532 BC, the Tian clan destroyed several rival families and came to dominate the state. In 485 BC, the Tian killed the ducal heir and fought several rival clans. In 481 BC, the Tian chief killed a puppet duke, most of the ruler’s family, and a number of rival chiefs. He took control of most of the state and left the Duke with only the capital of Linzi and the area around Mount Tai. In 386 BC, the House of Tian fully replaced the House of Jiang as rulers of Qi. In 222 BC, Qi was the last of the warring states to be conquered by Qin, thereby putting an end to the wars and uniting China under the Qin Dynasty.
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