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where is Jiangnan?

Started by Harald, August 26, 2012, 03:22:17 PM

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Harald

The Chinese empire issued coins in the name of the Jiangnan (Kiang-nan) province. The point is now
that there apparently was no such province, at least not in the late 19th century. so, were the coins
supposed to circulate in both Jiangsu and Anhui provinces (which together once formed Jiangnan)?
but if so, why was Jiangnan referred to as "province (省)"?

Even more mysterious are the Qingjiang coins (then spelled Ching-kiang and Tsing-kiang). There
is a river of that name, but a rather small one, so probably no connection. Qingjiang is not referred
to as province, just the name, like for Beiyang (Pei-yang).

anyone knows?

cheers
--
Harald
http://www.liganda.ch (monetary history & numismatic linguistics)

akona20

Jiangnan

Cháng Jiāng is the dialect name for the Yangtze River. So we add nan which means south so we have south of the Yangtze. I guess from memory more towards the nouth and including at least the southern part of the delta. Very rich area. Broadly Shanghai is the major town and Nanjing was a dynastic capital from time to time. The old province was the base for the Taiping Rebelling in the 18th century.

Huai'an is the city (modern name) probably referred to by Qingjiang.  This was at one time certainly a prefecture at least.

Harald

That was a very good hint.  :)
Qingjiang indeed is related to Huai'an, which lies north to the Yang-tse. This explains why the abbreviation "huái (淮)" is used.

The other question remains, where did the Jiangnan coins circulate? -
Maybe the Nanjing mint did produce both silver and copper coins for the entire area of Anhui and Jiangsu, while the 3 smaller
mints did produce copper coins smaller regions: Anhui (Anqing), Northern Jiangsu (Huai'an), and Southern Jiangsu (Suzhou).

No evidence for this, just speculation...

cheers
--
Harald



http://www.liganda.ch (monetary history & numismatic linguistics)

charlesgao

Jiangnan Province was established in the 6th year (1667) of the Emperor Kang Xi, but forfeited in 1723 by the Emperor Yong Zheng.

Jiangnan Province administratively consisted of two provinces, that is, Anhui and Jiangsu.

Chinasmith

Kiangnan (pinyin Jiangnan; wade-giles Chiangnan) was a province during late Ming and early Qing times. In the 1720's it was broken up into Kiangsu (Jiangsu; Chiangsu) and Anhwei (Anhui). During the Qing, some provinces were administered by a governor. Other provinces or groups of provinces were administered by a Governor-General or Viceroy. Kiangnan (also known as Liang Chiang) even after the breakup was administered by a Governor General, whose seat was at Nanking. The province of Kiangsu was administered by a governor, located at Soochow (Suzhou; Suchou), and Anhui was administered by a governor at Anking (Anching). During 1895-1905, modern mints were opened in these provinces. The one at Nanking was under the control of the Governor General, and so its coins contain the name of his administrative area: Kiangnan Province. The Soochow mint was under the control of the governor of Kiangsu, so its coins are marked Kiangsu Province. The Tsingkiang or Chingkiang coins are a little harder to explain. The mint was located at Ch'ing Chiang (Qingjiang), a city north of the Yangtze River, on the Grand Canal. It was an important administrative center, where the general in charge of the Grand Canal was located. In 1905 there was a plan to divide Kiangsu province into two provinces -- the southern part with its capital at Soochow, would be called Sunan, and the northern part, centered at Ch'ing Chiang, would be called Supei. The mint there was probably for the use of the new province, but the plan never materialized.
Researcher on coins, paper money and tokens of China.