Item: i100222

Authentic Coin of:

China – Ten Kingdoms – Southern 
Tang (937-975 AD)
Emperor Wang Shenzhi (909-945 AD)
Lead Kai Yuan Tong Bao Cash Token 38mm, Struck 
909-945 AD
Reference: H# 15.51
Chinese Symbols.
Min, Crescent.

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Wang Shenzhi (Chinese: 王審知; 862 – December 30, 925), courtesy name Xintong (信通) or Xiangqing (詳卿), formally Prince Zhongyi of Min (閩忠懿王) and later further posthumously honored as Emperor Taizu of Min (閩太祖), was the founder of Min Kingdom on the southeast coastal province of Fujian province in China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He was from Gushi in modern-day Henan.

Wang Shenzhi was born in 862, during the reign of Emperor Yizong. His fifth-generation ancestor Wang Ye (王曄) served as the magistrate of Gushi County (固始, in modern Xinyang, Henan) in Guāng Prefecture (光州), and because the people loved him, he settled his family in Gushi. Wang Shenzhi hailed from a long line of illustrious administrators and military officers feted by historians. After the family settled in Gushi, they subsequently became known for their family business. His father’s name was Wang Nin (王恁), and his mother was a Lady Dong. He had two older brothers, Wang Chao and Wang Shengui (王審邽).

Early reign

Meanwhile, also in 909, after Wang Shenzhi felt slighted by Zhang Zhiyuan (張知遠), the emissary from Hongnong (predecessor state to Wu, then ruled by Yang Wo the Prince of Hongnong, who did not recognize the Later Liang emperor), Wang decapitated Zhang and broke off diplomatic relations with Hongnong.

As prince, Wang was said to be frugal, often wearing hemp shoes, with his mansion remaining small and unexpanded. His criminal penalties were relaxed and tax rates were low; these policies were said to lead to both the government and the people becoming wealthy, and his realm to be calm. He submitted yearly tributes to the Later Liang emperor by sea route, via Later Liang’s Deng (登州) and Lai (萊州, both in modern Yantai, Shandong) Prefectures, but the sea route was said to be so treacherous that 40–50% casualties were common.

In 916, Wang Shenzhi gave a daughter to Qian Chuanxiang (錢傳珦, later known as Qian Yuanxiang (錢元珦)), the son of Qian Liu, the prince of Min’s neighbor to the north, Wuyue, in marriage. Qian Chuanxiang personally went to Min for the marriage, and it was said that after the wedding, the relationship between Min and Wuyue became more friendly. Also in 916, Wang Shenzhi began to make lead coins, and thereafter, lead coins were circulated along with the traditional copper coins.

Late reign

In 917, Wang Shenzhi took Liu Hua, a niece of Liu Yan, the emperor of Min’s southwestern neighbor Yue (which would later be known as Southern Han), whose title was Princess of Qingyuan, as the wife of his second son Wang Yanjun. (Written historical accounts indicated that she was a daughter of Liu Yan’s, but her tombstone was subsequently discovered, revealing that she was actually the daughter of Liu Yan’s older brother and predecessor, Liu Yin.

In 918, Wu, which was then ruled by Yang Wo’s brother and successor Yang Longyan, launched a major attack, commanded by the general Liu Xin (劉信), on Tan Quanbo the military governor of Baisheng Circuit (百勝, headquartered in modern Ganzhou, Jiangxi), who was ruling the circuit in independence but whose nominal allegiance had vacillated between Wu and Later Liang. Tan sought aid from Min, as well as Wuyue and Chu. Min forces advanced to Yudu (雩都, in modern Ganzhou) to try to aid Tan, while Wuyue and Chu also sent troops. After Liu then defeated Chu troops, Min and Wuyue forces also withdrew. Subsequently, Liu captured Tan’s capital Qian Prefecture (虔州), allowing Wu to directly take over Baisheng Circuit.

Apparently sometime after Wang Shengui’s death (the date of which was not recorded in traditional histories, but appeared to be 903), Wang Shenzhi allowed Wang Shengui’s son Wang Yanbin (王延彬) to take over governance of Quan Prefecture, and later bestowed on him the title of military governor of Pinglu Circuit (平盧, whose territory was not under Min control, being headquartered in modern Weifang, Shandong). Wang Yanbin initially governed the prefecture well. However, later, after he received a white deer and a purple lingzhi, he became arrogant, believing in the prophecies of the Buddhist monk Haoyuan (浩源) that he would become prince in the future. He further secretly sent emissaries to Later Liang, seeking to be a Later Liang vassal independently of Wang Shenzhi. When Wang Shenzhi discovered this in 920, he had Haoyuan and his associates executed and removed Wang Yanbin from his posts, sending him back to his mansion.

In 922, there was an incident where Liu Yan (whose state had been renamed Han by that point and thereafter was known as Southern Han in traditional Chinese sources), believing in sorcerers who told him that he should go to Meikou (梅口, in modern Meizhou, Guangdong) to avoid a disaster. With Meikou on the border between Southern Han and Min, the Min general Wang Yanmei (王延美), who might have been either a son of Wang Shenzhi’s or Yang Shengui’s, decided to launch an ambush on Liu. However, Liu received news of the ambush and left Meikou before Min forces could attack.

In 923, Li Cunxu the Prince of Jin, whose state was a rival of Later Liang’s to its north, declared himself the emperor of a new Later Tang (as Emperor Zhuangzong), and later that year captured Later Liang’s capital Daliang. The Later Liang emperor Zhu Zhen (son of Emperor Taizu) committed suicide), ending Later Liang. Subsequently, emissaries were exchanged between Min and Later Tang, and Wang Shenzhi recognized Emperor Zhuangzong’s suzerainty.

In 924, Southern Han launched an attack on Min, with Liu Yan himself commanding the troops and reaching the borders of Min’s Ting and Zhang Prefectures. A Min counterattack defeated Southern Han forces, however, and Liu Yan withdrew.

In 925, Wang Shenzhi grew ill, and he put his oldest son Wang Yanhan, then the deputy military governor of Weiwu, in charge of the affairs of the state. (A rumor at that time was that Wang Shenzhi’s illness was due to poisoning by Wang Yanhan’s wife Lady Cui.) Later in the year, Wang Shenzhi died, and Wang Yanhan took over the state, although at that time claiming only the title of acting military governor of Weiwu.

Ten Kingdoms: Unlike the dynasties of northern China, which succeeded one another in rapid succession, the regimes of South China were generally concurrent, each controlling a specific geographical area. These were known as “The Ten Kingdoms” (in fact, some claimed the title of Emperor, such as Former Shu and Later Shu). Each court was a center of artistic excellence. The period is noted for the vitality of its poetry and for its economic prosperity. Commerce grew so quickly that there was a shortage of metallic currency. This was partly addressed by the creation of bank drafts, or “flying money” (feiqian), as well as by certificates of deposit. Wood block printing became common during this period, 500 years before Johannes Gutenberg’s press.

The Ten Kingdoms were:

• Yang Wu (907–937)
• Wuyue (907–978)
• Min (909–945)
• Ma Chu (907–951)
• Southern Han (917–971)
• Former Shu (907–925)
• Later Shu (934–965)
• Jingnan (924–963)
• Southern Tang (937–976)
• Northern Han (951–979)

Only ten are traditionally listed, hence the era’s name. Some historians, such as Bo Yang, count eleven, including Yan and Qi but not the Northern Han, viewing it as simply a continuation of Later Han. This era also coincided with the founding of the Liao dynasty in the north, and the Dali Kingdom in the southwest.

Other regimes during this period include Zhao, Yiwu Jiedushi, Dingnan Jiedushi, Wuping Jiedushi, Qingyuan Jiedushi, Yin, Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom, Guiyi Circuit, and Xiliangfu.

Cash was a type of coin of China and East Asia, used from the 4th century BC until the 20th century AD. Originally cast during the Warring States period, these coins continued to be used for the entirety of Imperial China as well as under Mongol, and Manchu rule. The last Chinese cash coins were cast in the first year of the Republic of China. Generally most cash coins were made from copper or bronze alloys, with iron, lead, and zinc coins occasionally used less often throughout Chinese history. Rare silver and gold cash coins were also produced. During most of their production, cash coins were cast but, during the late Qing dynasty, machine-struck cash coins began to be made. As the cash coins produced over Chinese history were similar, thousand year old cash coins produced during the Northern Song dynasty continued to circulate as valid currency well into the early twentieth century.

In the modern era, these coins are considered to be Chinese “good luck coins”; they are hung on strings and round the necks of children, or over the beds of sick people. They hold a place in various superstitions, as well as Traditional Chinese medicine, and Feng shui. Currencies based on the Chinese cash coins include the Japanese mon, Korean mun, Ryukyuan mon, and Vietnamese văn.