190 Chinese Archaeology

Silver currency was minted in the early third century by

the Persian Sassanid empire of the western highlands of

modern day Iran. Due to its fine craftsmanship and

standardization, coupled with the growing strength and

expansion of the Sassanid empire, the currency was not

only legal tender within the country but had gained wide-

spread circulation and use in parts of Central and West-

ern Asia, and even further afield in Europe. Many over-

seas scholars have already carried out various approaches

of research in this area. Starting from the early twenti-

eth century, over 1900 pieces of Sassanid currency–pre-

dominantly silver coins–have been found in parts of

China, including Xinjiang 新疆, Gansu 甘肃, Ningxia

宁夏, Shaanxi 陕西, Shanxi 山西, Henan 河南, Hubei

湖北, Hebei 河北, Inner Mongolia 内蒙古, and

Guangdong 广东. In the 1970s, Xia Nai 夏鼐 had writ-

ten summative works on Sassanid currency found in

China; in recent years, some Chinese and overseas schol-

ars have continued further studies in various approaches.

Based on materials related to Sassanid currency found

within China, this essay seeks to build on the founda-

tion of my predecessors and to arrive at conclusions by

analyzing the currency’s periodization and locations of

the discovery within the framework of archaeological

and historical studies. In combining this approach with

the manner in which the currency surfaced, I hope to

examine the historical background and significance of

its advent into China.

I. The Distribution of Sassanid Currency

in China

Sassanid silver currency found in China can be divided

into twelve (thirteen) reigns of Sassanid rulers (Table

1). Although the distribution of silver currency is rather

broad, and the numbers found vary and date from dif-

ferent times, on the whole they can be divided into three

The Distribution and Significance of SassanidSilver Currency in China

Sun Li

Key words: Sassanid silver currency China archaeological excavation distribution

significance

regions.

1. Xinjiang region

Based on the distribution of Sassanid silver currency

by location, it is possible to establish three small regions

as such.

(1) Gaochang region

Judging by the manner and time of the discoveries,

one location is the ancient Gaochang 高昌 city situated

southeast of Turpan city, in which four caches contain-

ing Sassanid silver currency were found. The caches

were buried around the later part of the existence of

Gaochang commandery. Numbering 130 pieces, the cur-

rency mainly date to the reigns of Shapur II, Ardaser II

and Shapur III. Other locations–yielding 28 pieces,

mostly from the reign of Chosroes II–were situated not

far outside of the city walls, in the Sui–Tang period tombs

of Asitana 阿斯塔那 and Halahezhuo 哈拉和卓, and a

Tang period tomb near the ancient Yaerhu city 雅尔湖古城 (ancient Jiaohe city 交河古城). Additionally, there

were silver coins belonging to the periods of Yazdegerd

III, Peroz, Hormizd IV, and Queen Boran, and other

pieces that are unaccountable. The Gaochang caches

were probably buried at a time of distress and urgency,

possibly related to an incident in the fourth century in

which Qiuci 龟兹, Yanqi 焉耆 and Rouran 柔然 had

launched a surprise attack. The area of the Turpan was

mainly buried in the seventh century, a period in which

the Gaochang Kingdom under the Jus was gradually

transformed into the Tang administration of the Xizhou

西州 Prefecture. Due to Gaochang’s strategic location

for military operations, the vibrancy of the Silk Road

trade is partly reflected in the finds of Sassanid silver

currency. Moreover, the state of the Silk Road trade

directly affected changes in the area’s political situation,

which had an influence on the subsequent cessation of

Sassanid currency.

191Volume 6

(2) Area around Mount Wuqia

In May 1959, a cache of 947 pieces of silver currency

was found in the mountains of Wuqia county, Keerkezi

柯尔克孜 Autonomous Prefecture. Among them were

two coins from the period of Chosroes I, 567 pieces from

Chosroes II, in addition to the 281 Umayyad coins in

the style of Chosroes II. With the annihilation of the

Sassanid empire in 651 by the Arabs, the latter began to

model their currency on Sassanian types, thus the Wuqia

finds should postdate 651. This period in China’s his-

tory –during the reigns of the Tang emperor Gaozong

高宗 and Empress Wu Zetian 武则天– is characterized

by thriving contact with foreigners. Recovered together

with the silver currency are gold bars of a large quantity,

suggesting that they were likely to have been buried by

a passing merchant in a hurry, possibly from Sogdiana.

(3) Other regions

To the north of the old city of Bogedaqin 博格达沁in Yanqi, a single Hephthalite coin in the Peroz-style

was found. At the old Kuchesubashe 库车苏巴什 city

was found a single Taibolisitan 太伯里斯坦 coin minted

in the style of Chosroes II.

2. Xi’an, Luoyang and surrounding areas

In the areas along the Silk Road beyond Xinjiang,

Sassanid currency finds cluster in the Sui–Tang cities

of Chang’an 长安 and Luoyang. According to the dif-

ferent type and manner of deposit of the currency, we

can further identify the finds in two main areas: the cit-

ies of Chang’an and Luoyang, and the west of Xi’an.

(1) Chang’an and Luoyang

A wide variety of currency surfaced from these cities,

with the 574 Peroz period coins constituting the highest

at 98% of the finds. There were also twelve Chosroes II

coins, as well as coins dating to the reigns of Yazdard

II, Shapur II, Kavad, Chosroes I, Queen Boran, and Arab-

Sassanid type coins. The deposits postdate the fifth

century, during the Sui and Tang periods, and were

mostly located in Chang’an and Luoyang. Smaller finds

were found particularly in the eastern part of Chang’an,

and in other areas beyond like Shaanxi, Henan, Hebei,

Shanxi, and Inner Mongolia. The silver coins were re-

covered from tombs, pagoda foundations, caches and

other contexts; some of them were obtained through

announcements.

Table 1 Excavated Sassanid silver currency in China

No. Reign name Period Number Primary location Notes

of coins

1 Shapur/Sapur II 309–379 14

2 Ardashir/Ardaser II 379–383 14

3 Shapur III 383–388 6

4 Yazdegerd/ Yazdard II 438–457 4

5 Peroz 459–484 468

6 Jamasp/Zamasp 497–499 1

7 Kavadh/Kavad 488–497 2

499–531

8 Chosroes/Khosro/ 531–579 5

Xusro I

9 Hormizd IV 579–590 1

10 Chosroes II 590–628 1328

11 Ardaser III 628–629 2

12 Boran/Buran (Queen) 630–631 2

13 Yazdegerd III 632–661 3

Ancient Gaochang city, Xinjiang

Ancient Gaochang city, Xinjiang

Ancient Gaochang city, Xinjiang

Dingxian 定县 county, Hebei

Luoyang 洛阳, Henan; Xining 西

宁, Qinghai

Tomb of Asitana , Xinjiang

Yaoxian 耀县 county, Shaanxi;

Huhehaote 呼和浩特, Inner

Mongolia

Liujiaqu 刘家渠 and Yaoxian

county, Shaanxi; Wuqia, 乌恰

Xinjiang

Tomb of Asitana, Xinjiang

Wuqia and tomb of Asitana,

Xinjiang

?

Chang’an, Shaanxi; tomb of

Asitana, Xinjiang

Tomb of Asitana, Xinjiang

Arranged according to

quantity found

Approximately the same

number from each place

The former location

yielded a much higher

number

192 Chinese Archaeology

(2) West of Xi’an

This area is located between Xinjiang and the Cen-

tral Plains, that is, in Qinghai, Gansu and Ningxia. All

of the ninety over silver coins that surfaced in this re-

gion belong to the Peroz era. They were basically de-

posited in the ground during the fifth century, and were

similarly recovered from tombs, caches and by

solicitation.

3. Guangdong area

Silver coins were discovered in Suixi 遂溪, Hanguang

光 Town in Yingde 英德, and Nanhua Temple 南华寺 in Qujiang 曲江. Although coins from Yingde and

Qujiang came from burial contexts, while those in Suide

surfaced from caches, the deposits in all three locations

are dateable to the late Southern Dynasties period. The

coins predominantly date to the reign of Peroz, but there

are also a few examples of Shapur III and Yazdard II

coins from Suixi. In Shaanxi some pieces of silver coins

are too fragmentary and hence difficult to identify. The

difference between finds here and those from the pre-

ceding two areas lies in their entry into China via the

sea Silk Route.

In conclusion, it is evident that the influx of silver

currency into China was closely related to the overland

and sea Silk Roads. The use and cessation of such cur-

rency in China reflect both the nature of trade along the

commercial routes as well as the changing political situ-

ation in and beyond China. Taking into consideration

the number and variety of coins and the locations of their

deposit, it can be surmised that their primary route into

China was via the overland Silk Road, a possibility in

view that their circulation was often connected to an

important agent on the trade route –the Sogdian mer-

chants from Central Asia. The earliest finds of Sassanid

coins in Xinjiang were located in the old Gaochang city,

and they can be attributed to the three Persian rulers of

the middle period. Thereafter, deposits of Sassanid coins

gradually moved eastward, and were widely distributed

in areas located along the Silk Road. Although there

was great variety in the finds, the coins generally do not

date to the three rulers of the early period. With the

decline of the Sassanid empire, the circulation of its sil-

ver currency in China was confined to two main areas –in

the old Gaochang city that had functioned as an impor-

tant center along the Silk Road, and in Chang’an owing

to its diplomatic relations with the Sassanid court –be-

fore it was ultimately terminated upon the fall of the

empire.

II. The Significance of Sassanid Silver

Currency

Based on the location and manner in which Sassanid

silver currency was found in China, coupled with their

evidence in historical sources, the following section ad-

dresses the significance of the presence of the coins in

the various locations.

1. Circulation as legal tender

Historical sources relating to the Northern Dynasties

and the Sui document the use of gold and silver cur-

rency in the area around Gaochang. The cache finds of

Sassanid silver coins at the old Gaochang city was con-

siderably large but at this point, their significance can

only be speculated. However, based on the Turpan tomb

finds situated on the outskirts of the old Gaochang city,

the notion that such currency gained acceptance in the

western regions of China has been widely embraced by

scholars. The Turpan coins showed significant signs of

damage and use, and written works buried in the tombs

also mention local use of a type of silver currency. The

circulation of this currency occurred just around the time

when Gaochang came under Tang control, and multiple

sources also mention the use of silver currency as a form

of payment. However, due to the tightening control of

the Tang central government, the promotion of copper

currency, and demise of the Persian empire (together

with the source of the currency), Sassanid silver coins

eventually stopped circulating at Turpan. Based on his-

torical sources, silver currency did not circulate after 710.

The use of foreign silver and gold currency

(Byzantine) in the area around Turpan has a unique his-

torical background. First, the region was located along

the important east-west communications corridor teem-

ing with foreign merchants participating in a flourish-

ing international trade. Second, although the area was

governed by a Chinese administration, monetary policy

remained relatively autonomous from central authority.

Third, the local authorities did not mint their own

currency.

2. Silver currency as burial goods

The use of precious metals in the currency circulated

in the Gaochang area meant that they could be subject

to several uses. After its withdrawal from circulation,

the coins could have been converted into silver vessels,

and a small quantity has been found in tomb burials.

The latter have been found mostly positioned in the

deceased’s mouth, whereas in a few cases, the coin was

placed under the eyelids; as such each tomb usually

193Volume 6

yielded 1–2 coins, and did not exceed three. The place-

ment of money here differs from the practice observed

in tombs from other parts of China, where they were

found in larger quantities and deposited in boxes. Thus

the custom of burying the dead with a silver coin in his

or her mouth represented a central burial practice in

Turpan. Seventeen out of the 25 tombs that yielded sil-

ver coins were found to have contained a coin in the

tomb occupant’s mouth; due to disturbed contexts, it was

not possible to ascertain the original position of the coins

in the remaining tombs.

There are two ways of explaining the aforementioned

burial practice in China. One way is in considering it as

part of a continuum of a burial custom dating to early

China, beginning with the use of cowry shells and later

on, bronze coins. Another way is to explain it as a prac-

tice originating from Central Asian peoples that has en-

dured in the burial practice of their descendants or among

people who had close relations with them. As the ma-

jority of tomb occupants and the style of burial in Turpan

were ethnically Han, this type of burial custom should

be taken to be traditionally Chinese. That the local cur-

rency consisted of Sassanid coins, and very few instances

of bronze currency, should explain why all the coins

found in the mouths of the deceased were foreign gold

or silver coins. Hence, those coins that were found near

the head of the deceased were probably originally put in

the mouth. This practice would have had something to

do with the deceased’s status, which would be a matter

related to Central Asian customs.

3. Silver coins as treasure

Outside Turpan, Sassanid coins were deposited in con-

tainers together with other precious items or scattered

around the body among valuable items. Some of the

tombs yielded coins that had been pierced through, indi-

cating that they were portable items. A “qianjia lock”千家锁, found in Gansu, had a single silver coin strung

through it. Many silver and gold coins that had been

used as precious offerings were found under temple foun-

dations around Xi’an and Luoyang. As such, the occur-

rence of silver coins in these contexts obviously points

to their use as prized objects for burial.

Kuwayama Shoshin wrote that the Sassanid currency

found in the tombs of China’s Central Plains was re-

lated to females. This view is supported by the archaeo-

logical data– such as the tombs of Li Jingxun 李静训 of

the Sui Dynasty, the Tang concubine Wu 吴王妃, as

well as the joint husband-and-wife tomb of Liu Wei 刘伟, and similar ones found in Jinsheng 金胜 Village in

Taiyuan 太原, and Mount Beimang 北邙山 in Luoyang

–in which the coins were found around the deceased

female. People at that time had taken foreign currency

as treasures to be carried around with them or collected,

and used as grave goods together with gems, pearls and

jewelry. In Turpan, there is little disparity between the

use of Sassanid silver coins around male and female

corpses.

The silver coins that surfaced in Guangdong arrived

from trade along the sea Silk Road. Although there is

mention of the circulation of Lingnan 岭南 white silver

in some historical records in China, we have yet to con-

clude any significance of the coins found in Guangdong.

The first reason is due to the small sample size available.

Also, the coins were deposited in a container, as in the

examples in Xi’an and Luoyang, or placed together with

other items of gold and silver. Third, many of the coins

from Suide had been pierced, indicating that they were

meant to be portable items. Finally, historical literature

clearly mentions the use of gold and silver as currency

during the Tang Dynasty. In the twilight years of the

Southern Dynasties, although it had been fashionable to

use gold and silver as currency in the Guangdong area,

they could have still been calculated based on China’s

system of weights and measures, and deemed to be a

category of valuables to be collected.

4. Silver coins as tribute

The influx of Sassanid silver coins into China arrived

primarily through the conduit of trade, and some could

have come from the context of diplomatic exchanges.

Historical documents record multiple embassies from

the Sassanid empire, of which there were no less than

five during the Northern Wei Dynasty. Silver coins have

been unearthed at the Northern Wei temple foundations

in Dingxian County, Hebei. On the surface of the stone

container in which the coins were deposited were inscrip-

tions that record the establishment of the pagoda by the

Empress Wenming 文明, hence, some of the coins and

objects found in that container could have been contrib-

uted by Emperor Xiaowen 孝文 and Empress Wenming.

Among the coins that were brought over by envoys from

the Sassanid court is a single example that imitated the

Yazderd II style, but is traceable to Hephthalite origins.

During the eleventh month of the second year of the Tai’an

太安 period (456), the Hephthalite ruler dispatched a

mission to the Northern Wei court bearing tribute, thus

this coin could have been one of the items presented to

the Chinese. This is also probably the explanation for

the relatively late appearance of Sassanid silver currency

194 Chinese Archaeology

in Xi’an and Luoyang vis-à-vis Dingxian County, since

it would have taken a longer time for currency circu-

lated via trade from the west (compared to its influx via

diplomatic missions) to arrive in China.

Reference Works

1. Kuwayama Shoshin (1982).“Tôhô ni okeru Sâsân

shiki ginka no saikentô 东方におけるサ一サ一ン式银货の再检讨” (A Re-examination of Sassanid Silver

Currency in the East). Tôhô gakuhô 东方学报 1982.3,

No. 54.

2. Xia Nai (1957). “Zhongguo zuijin faxian de Bosi

Sashan chao yinbi 中国最近发现的波斯萨珊朝银币”(Recent Discoveries of Sassanid Silver Currency in

China). Kaogu Xuebao 考古学报 1957.2.

3. Xia Nai (1974). “Zongshu Zhongguo chutu de

Bosi Sashan yinbi 综述中国出土的波斯萨珊银币” (A

Summary of Sassanid Silver Currency Excavated in

China). Kaogu Xuebao 1974.1.

Note: The original paper, published in Kaogu Xuebao 2004.1: 35–54, with nine tables and two plates, is written by

Sun Li 孙莉. This summary is prepared by the original author and English-translated by Han-Peng Ho 何汉平.