Have you ever wondered why, in period dramas, after finishing a meal, guests simply place a silver ingot on the table and leave without waiting for change? Or what happens if they don’t have enough money? Is this just a fictional detail or does it reflect a historical reality?
This actually relates to the value of ancient silver. If people understood the value of silver during the feudal era in China, there would be no doubt about it.
Firstly, it is important to note that gold and silver were both very rare due to the underdeveloped mining and refining technologies of that time. Common people usually used copper coins for their daily transactions. Only a few noble and wealthy families would spend silver for consumption.
Gold and silver were both very rare due to the underdeveloped mining and refining technologies of that time.
After the Ming dynasty, when European and American colonists discovered large silver mines in the Philippines and the Americas, silver began to flood the Chinese market along the Maritime Silk Road, and people started using it more widely.
How much was silver worth?
In ancient times, to calculate the value of ancient currency, people often used the method of bartering equivalent valued items. The time-honored staple in China was rice; therefore, during peacetime, the price of rice was used as a standard for recording and basic calculations, essentially providing the monetary value of silver.
Records from the Wanli period of the Ming dynasty indicate that one tael of silver could purchase two bags of ordinary rice. At that time, a bag weighed approximately 94.4 kg, meaning one tael of silver could buy 188.8 kg of rice. Nowadays, an average Chinese family consumes about half a kilogram of rice, priced between 1.5 to 2 yuan. Using an average price of 1.75, we can calculate that 1 tael of silver = 660.8 yuan (2.3 million VND).
During the Tang dynasty, the purchasing power of one tael of silver was even greater. In the Zhenguan era under Emperor Taizong of the Tang dynasty, when material wealth was abundant, one tael of silver could buy 200 dou of rice, with 10 dou equating to one bag, totaling 20 bags, with each bag in the Tang dynasty weighing 59 kg. Using the price of 1.75 yuan per half kilogram, 1 tael of silver was equivalent to 4130 yuan (14 million VND).
Regardless of how low the price of silver was, it was still sufficient to cover a meal.
In the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty, inflation occurred, raising the price of rice to 10 coins per dou, thus 1 tael of silver = 2065 yuan (7.2 million VND).
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, silver depreciated further, dropping to around 600-800 yuan, and by the end of the Qing dynasty, the price for one or two taels of silver was only about 200 yuan. While the currency’s value fluctuated, it was still enough to cover a meal.
A typical meal at taverns certainly did not cost that much, even for rare delicacies. In fact, people in ancient times commonly paid with copper coins; paying with silver ingots was not very common and was often exaggerated in television dramas.
