October 2011

Laozi and Zhang Daoling Charm

October 30, 2011
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The Chinese have been producing coin-shaped charms and amulets in a variety of themes for more than 2,000 years.  One of the most visually appealing types of charms involves scenes of people. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to interpret what historic or legendary scene is being presented. The charm at the left is frequently referred [...]

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Coins Discovered at Rufu Stone Pagoda

October 28, 2011
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Chinese archaeologists working at an ancient stone pagoda in Hainan Province (海南省) recently made a discovery which will help to establish the date when the pagoda was originally built. An article in the October 27, 2011 edition of the Haikou Evening News (海口晚报) describes the restoration work being done at the Rufu Stone Pagoda (儒符石塔) [...]

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Lu Xun and Chinese Coins

October 26, 2011
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Lu Xun (鲁迅 1881-1936) is recognized as one of the greatest Chinese writers of the 20th Century and the founder of modern Chinese literature. Few people, however, are aware of Lu Xun’s contributions to Chinese numismatics.  He was not only a collector of ancient Chinese coins but he also wrote a manuscript annotating Chinese coins [...]

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“Cassia and Orchid” Charm

October 24, 2011
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An article in “The Oriental Collection” (dongfang shoucang 东方收藏) introduced a rarely seen Chinese charm from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). One side of the charm has the inscription gui zi lan sun (桂子蘭孫). Gui (桂) refers to a plant known as the “cassia” and zi  (子) refers to “seeds”.  Lan (蘭) is the “orchid” and [...]

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Tons of Song Dynasty Iron Coins Discovered

October 21, 2011
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A Chinese newspaper reported today that several tons of iron coins dating from the Song Dynasty were recently discovered in a field near the city of Cangzhou (沧州), Hebei Province in northeast China.  Although the coins protruding through the soil have rusted together, they can still be seen just the way they were arranged in [...]

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