Banliang
Encyclopedia
The banliang was the first unified currency
Chinese currency
The Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China . It is the legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong and Macau. It is abbreviated as RMB, and the units for the Renminbi are the Yuan , Jiao , and Fen : 1 Yuan = 10 Jiao = 100 Fen. Fen have almost disappeared, so...

 of the Chinese empire, introduced by the first emperor Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang , personal name Ying Zheng , was king of the Chinese State of Qin from 246 BC to 221 BC during the Warring States Period. He became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC...

 around 210 BCE. It was round with a square hole in the middle. Before that date, a variety of coins were used in China, usually in the form of blades (knife money
Knife money
Knife money is the name of large, cast, bronze, knife-shaped coins produced by various governments and kingdoms in what is now known as China, approximately 2500 years ago. They had holes on the end to be easily strapped onto belts or rings. Known as jin cuo dao in Chinese, knife money circulated...

) or other implements, though round coins with square holes were used by the state of Zhou before it was extinguished by Qin in 249 BCE.

The banliang corresponds to a "half tael
Tael
Tael can refer to any one of several weight measures of the Far East. Most commonly, it refers to the Chinese tael, a part of the Chinese system of weights and currency....

" (半兩), or twelve zhu(銖 about0.67grams). It typically weighs between ten and six grams, roughly corresponding to the Greek stater
Stater
The stater was an ancient coin used in various regions of Greece.-History:The stater is mostly of Macedonian origin. Celtic tribes brought it in to Europe after using it as mercenaries in north Greece. It circulated from the 8th century BC to 50 AD...

.

The standardization of currency with this round coinage was part of a broader plan to unify weights, measures or axle width during the Qin empire.
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