Richard von Glahn is Distinguished Research Professor of History at the University of California, Los Angeles. His is the author of The Economic History of China from Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century (2016) and co-editor of The Cambridge Economic History of China (2022).

'Von Glahn's valuable new book brings not only clarity and first-rate scholarship to the study of Chinese paper money, but also boldness, imagination and sensitivity. He offers a masterclass in monetary history, showing how it illuminates the nature of the Chinese state and economy, and demonstrating how paper money invites productive comparisons between widely separated geographical regions. A splendid book.' Rory Naismith, University of Cambridge

• Introduction; Part I. Theoretical and Institutional Antecedents: 1. Classical Chinese monetary theory and the foundations of fiat currency; 2. Debt, contracts, and financial transactions; 3. Negotiable bills in the Tang-Northern Song era. Part II. Invention of Paper Money in Song China: 4. Northern Song monetary policy and the advent of Jiaozi paper currency; 5. Formation of multiple currency regions in the Song ecumene; 6. Emergence of a paper currency monetary standard; 7. Visualizing paper money; Part III. Transition to the silver economy: 8. The Yuan paper currency regime and the transition to the silver standard; 9. Triumph of the silver economy in the Ming period; Conclusion.

Richard von Glahn is Distinguished Research Professor of History at the University of California, Los Angeles. His is the author of The Economic History of China from Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century (2016) and co-editor of The Cambridge Economic History of China (2022).

'Von Glahn's valuable new book brings not only clarity and first-rate scholarship to the study of Chinese paper money, but also boldness, imagination and sensitivity. He offers a masterclass in monetary history, showing how it illuminates the nature of the Chinese state and economy, and demonstrating how paper money invites productive comparisons between widely separated geographical regions. A splendid book.' Rory Naismith, University of Cambridge

• Introduction; Part I. Theoretical and Institutional Antecedents: 1. Classical Chinese monetary theory and the foundations of fiat currency; 2. Debt, contracts, and financial transactions; 3. Negotiable bills in the Tang-Northern Song era. Part II. Invention of Paper Money in Song China: 4. Northern Song monetary policy and the advent of Jiaozi paper currency; 5. Formation of multiple currency regions in the Song ecumene; 6. Emergence of a paper currency monetary standard; 7. Visualizing paper money; Part III. Transition to the silver economy: 8. The Yuan paper currency regime and the transition to the silver standard; 9. Triumph of the silver economy in the Ming period; Conclusion.

Richard von Glahn is Distinguished Research Professor of History at the University of California, Los Angeles. His is the author of The Economic History of China from Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century (2016) and co-editor of The Cambridge Economic History of China (2022).

'Von Glahn's valuable new book brings not only clarity and first-rate scholarship to the study of Chinese paper money, but also boldness, imagination and sensitivity. He offers a masterclass in monetary history, showing how it illuminates the nature of the Chinese state and economy, and demonstrating how paper money invites productive comparisons between widely separated geographical regions. A splendid book.' Rory Naismith, University of Cambridge

• Introduction; Part I. Theoretical and Institutional Antecedents: 1. Classical Chinese monetary theory and the foundations of fiat currency; 2. Debt, contracts, and financial transactions; 3. Negotiable bills in the Tang-Northern Song era. Part II. Invention of Paper Money in Song China: 4. Northern Song monetary policy and the advent of Jiaozi paper currency; 5. Formation of multiple currency regions in the Song ecumene; 6. Emergence of a paper currency monetary standard; 7. Visualizing paper money; Part III. Transition to the silver economy: 8. The Yuan paper currency regime and the transition to the silver standard; 9. Triumph of the silver economy in the Ming period; Conclusion.