摘要
本文論證唐人常以錢數來估價,但結賬時,卻又不需要支付開元通寶類銅錢,可以用布帛或他物來付賬。這使人容易把唐代各種估價和定税的錢數,如青苗税錢和兩税錢,誤以爲是須交付實體的銅錢。本文引用敦煌吐魯番文書,以及史書上的其他實例,以發其覆,即論析唐人在多元貨幣環境下,這種特殊的用錢慣例。學界當然知道唐代有所謂"折錢"的做法,但究竟怎樣實際操作計算,卻無深論,細節不明。本文以實例詳細論證唐代錢數的估算(unit of account)功能,遠比結賬(means of payment)功能更爲重要,且兩者經常可以分開:以錢數估價或估税,卻不一定要以銅錢來付賬或交税。唐人善用估價法和湊數的方式,進行各種交易買賣和繳税,解決了銅錢長期短缺的問題。唐代的這種用錢現象,可以在古代世界史上找到許多類似案例。
In Tang China the Kaiyuan tongbao bronze coin often served as a monetary unit of account,but not as a medium of exchange or a means of payment. This meant that prices were frequently stipulated in a given amount of coins,but could be paid in another currency,often textiles. This separation of unit of account from medium of exchange was by no means unique. Such practices could be found,among other places,in Pharaonic Egypt and medieval Europe,where a separation of the different functions of money was the rule rather than the exception. This paper investigates how Tang China, under its multicurrency system, managed its taxation, public finance, and private trade,by separating bronze coin's function as a unit of account from its role as a medium of exchange, thereby solving, at least partially,the problem of its chronic shortage of coins.
出处
《中华文史论丛》
CSSCI
北大核心
2016年第3期61-112,共52页
Journal of Chinese Literature and History
