清代銀銭二貨制の構造とその崩壊 (<第五十九回大会特集号>徳川期貨幣の経済史 : 小額貨幣を中心として)

抄録

Agricultural societies always have large seasonal fluctuation of money demand. Harvest seasons need large amount of small value currencies which are handed to scattered peasants, while much of these currencies are hoaded within regions during the farmers' slack seasons. So that, currencies had two inconsistent functions before managed monetary system appeared. One is as local currency which circulates and stagnates in corresponding with local money demand fluctuation. The other is as interregional currency which persistently guarantees universal value. Monetary system of the Qing dynasty splited two functions into silver bullion as inter-regional currency and copper cash as local currency. They dindn't set up any fixed exchange ratio between two currencies. This swaying system played a role in preventing emergence of autonomous local mints. Moreover, considerable supply of official copper cash under the divided system in the 18th century guided Chinese society to overvalue local products and local currency against silver. Undervalue of silver purchasing power, led local economy to refrain from forming trade surplus oriented structure. Continuous silver influx following the 16th century incured pro-trade bias over China. Then Chinese empire selected a way of stabilizing local economy by disuniting internal and external liquidity. But world-wide appreciation of raw material after 1890's provoked exessive demand of peasant products and local currency to an unknown extent, so that gradually transformed the divorced monetary system into united one which consisted of silver dollar and bank note.