Events

Fiscal Innovation and the Origins of Paper Currency in Song China (960-1276)

Since the pioneering research of Japanese scholars in the 1920s the invention of paper currency in China in the eleventh century has long been regarded as a signal feature of China’s “medieval economic revolution,” marking the triumph of a market economy over the command economy of early imperial times. In recent years, however, some Chinese and Japanese scholars have questioned this “rise of the market” narrative, arguing that paper bills essentially served as a means of “fiscal circulation” organized by the state rather than as market money. In this Quantitative History Webinar, Richard von Glahn of the University of California, Los Angeles, will explain how his study reaffirms the crucial role of paper currency in the Song market economy. He will also emphasize that the success of the Song state in maintaining a viable paper currency is derived from the interrelationship between state finance and private commerce. Paper currencies thus were an integral part of what he calls the “synergistic fiscal state” in Song times, in which the state sought to harness market forces for its own fiscal ends.

Discussant: William Guanglin Liu (Lingnan University)

Live on Zoom on Thursday, February 8, 2024
10:00 Hong Kong/Beijing/Singapore
11:00 Tokyo | 13:00 Sydney
Previous Day 18:00 Los Angeles | 21:00 New York on Wednesday, February 7

The Quantitative History (QH) Webinar Series aims to provide researchers, teachers, and students with an online intellectual platform to keep up to date with the latest research in the field, promoting the dissemination of research findings and interdisciplinary use of quantitative methods in historical research. The QH Webinar Series, now entering its fourth year, is co-organized by Centre for Quantitative History at the HKU Business School and International Society for Quantitative History in partnership with Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences. The Series is now substantially supported by the Areas of Excellence (AoE) Scheme from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Project No. [AoE/B-704/22-R]). 量化歷史網上講座系列由香港大學陳志武和馬馳騁教授聯合發起，旨在介紹前沿量化歷史研究成果、促進同仁交流，推廣量化方法在歷史研究中的應用。本系列講座由香港大學經管學院量化歷史研究中心和國際量化歷史學會承辦，及香港人文社會研究所全力支持。從2023年開始，系列得到中國香港特別行政區研究資助局卓越學科領域計劃的重要資助 (項目編號[AoE/B-704/22-R])。

Conveners:
Zhiwu Chen
Chicheng Ma