The Numismatic Chronicle 171 Offprint - Royal Numismatic Society
The Numismatic Chronicle 171 Offprint - Royal Numismatic Society The Numismatic Chronicle 171 Offprint - Royal Numismatic Society
372 FRANÇOIS THIERRY CATALOGUE OF COINS This section lists 55 coins with moral maxims of the Minh Mạng, Thiệu Trị and Tự Đức eras, where there can be no doubt that these types existed. Bibliographic references are given in the footnotes. Each coin entry gives the characters in the inscription, the Vietnamese and Chinese transliterations, an English translation, the era(s) in which it was issued, and notes relating to the source of the inscription. The four-character inscriptions are presented fi rst, in chronological order, followed by the eight-character inscriptions, also in chronological order. 1. The four-character moral maxims on coins of the Minh Mạng era 1. 元亨利貞 Nguyên hanh lợi trinh Ch. Yuan heng li zhen // The primordial exerts his infl uence, propicious and virtuous. Inscription found on coins of the Minh Mạng 26 (Fig. 3) and the Thiệu Trị 27 eras. Fig. 3: Type 1, Minh Mạng thông bảo, diameter 51.7 mm, 29.65 g., Wanxuanzhai 2930 (萬選齋, private collection, Paris) This is the fi rst sentence in the Book of Changes (Yijing) and is a commentary on the hexagram qian 乾. The meaning is not clear and there are various interpretations. Gao Heng, in his version of the text, punctuates the sentence as 元亨。利貞。, which could then be translated as ‘the primordial exerts his infl uence; propicious and virtuous’. 28 Philastre and Sung read the sentence as four individual characters, and translate it as ‘cause, freedom, goodness, perfection’ and ‘that which is great and originating, penetrating, advantageous, correct and fi rm’. 29 With its six unbroken (Ch. yang) lines, qian is the most positive hexagram in the Yijing, and the inscription 26 Lacroix, Numismatique annamite, no. 411; Schroeder, Annam. Etudes numismatiques, no. 151; CMV, no. 1515; Barker, Historical cash coins of Viêt Nam, no. 159. 27 Barker, Historical cash coins of Viêt Nam, no. 178. 28 Yijing, I, p. 53. 29 Philastre, Le Yi-King p. 13; Sung ZD, Qian, p. 1.
THE CONFUCIAN MESSAGE ON VIETNAMESE COINS 373 can be read as a wish that these four attributes be realised. Indeed, there are many Chinese amulets which have these four characters in the inscription. 30 2. 福履綏將 Phúc lý tuy tướng Ch. Fu lü sui jiang // Happiness and success, peaceful and assured. Inscription found on coins of the Minh Mạng, 31 Thiệu Trị 32 and Tự Đức 33 (Fig. 4) eras. These four characters are a contraction of the end of the fi rst two verses of the poem Jiumu 樛木 in the Book of Odes (Shijing). They are good wishes intended for Princess Tai Si 太姒, wife of King Wen 文 of Zhou 周: ‘In the South the trees push out their branches that hang, the climbing plants cling to them; our princess brings us joy, may her happiness and success be peaceful! In the South the trees push out their branches that hang, the climbing plants wrap themselves around them; our princess brings us joy, may her happiness and success be assured!’ (Nan you jiumu ge lei lei zhi; le zhi junzi, fulü sui zhi. Nan you jiumu ge lei huang zhi; le zhi junzi, fulü jiang zhi 南有 樛木葛藟纍之,樂只君子,福履綏之 南有樛木葛藟荒之,樂只君子,福履 將之). 34 Fig. 4: Type 2, Tự Đức thông bảo, diameter 50 mm, 34.59 g., BnF, CMVS no. 488 30 ACV, no. 69; CAC, no. 50. Note also the choice of the fl ying dragon (飛龍 Viet. phi long, Ch. fei long) as the iconographic symbol on the fi rst silver piastres of the Minh Mạng era (CMV, no. 1557), which is also linked to the hexagram qian. The commentary of the hexagram qian says in effect a dragon fl ying in the sky, will help us to see a great man (fei long zai tian, li jian da ren 飛龍在天,利 見大人), as Zhu Xi remarked in ‘a prince gifted with great virtue’, see Yijing, I, pp. 58–9. 31 Lacroix, Numismatique annamite, no. 414; Schroeder, Annam. Etudes numismatiques, no. 152; AS, III, p. 15; CMV, no. 1516; Barker, Historical cash coins of Viêt Nam, no. 160. 32 CMV, no. 1605; Barker, Historical cash coins of Viêt Nam, no. 179. 33 Lacroix, Numismatique annamite, no. 464; CMVS, no. 488. 34 Shijing, Guofeng–I-4, p. 9. Arthur Waley (The Book of Songs, p. 173, no. 163) translates this as ‘In the south there is a tree with drooping boughs;/The cloth-creeper binds it./Oh, happy is our lord;/ Blessings and boons secure him.// In the south there is a tree with drooping boughs;/The cloth-creeper covers it./Oh, happy is our lord;/Blessings and boons protect him.’
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THE CONFUCIAN MESSAGE ON VIETNAMESE COINS 373<br />
can be read as a wish that these four attributes be realised. Indeed, there are many<br />
Chinese amulets which have these four characters in the inscription. 30<br />
2. 福履綏將 Phúc lý tuy tướng<br />
Ch. Fu lü sui jiang // Happiness and success, peaceful and assured.<br />
Inscription found on coins of the Minh Mạng, 31 Thiệu Trị 32 and Tự Đức 33 (Fig. 4)<br />
eras.<br />
<strong>The</strong>se four characters are a contraction of the end of the fi rst two verses of the poem<br />
Jiumu 樛木 in the Book of Odes (Shijing). <strong>The</strong>y are good wishes intended for Princess<br />
Tai Si 太姒, wife of King Wen 文 of Zhou 周: ‘In the South the trees push out their<br />
branches that hang, the climbing plants cling to them; our princess brings us joy, may<br />
her happiness and success be peaceful! In the South the trees push out their branches<br />
that hang, the climbing plants wrap themselves around them; our princess brings us<br />
joy, may her happiness and success be assured!’ (Nan you jiumu ge lei lei zhi; le zhi<br />
junzi, fulü sui zhi. Nan you jiumu ge lei huang zhi; le zhi junzi, fulü jiang zhi 南有<br />
樛木葛藟纍之,樂只君子,福履綏之 南有樛木葛藟荒之,樂只君子,福履<br />
將之). 34<br />
Fig. 4: Type 2, Tự Đức thông bảo, diameter 50 mm, 34.59 g., BnF, CMVS no. 488<br />
30 ACV, no. 69; CAC, no. 50. Note also the choice of the fl ying dragon (飛龍 Viet. phi long, Ch. fei<br />
long) as the iconographic symbol on the fi rst silver piastres of the Minh Mạng era (CMV, no. 1557),<br />
which is also linked to the hexagram qian. <strong>The</strong> commentary of the hexagram qian says in effect a<br />
dragon fl ying in the sky, will help us to see a great man (fei long zai tian, li jian da ren 飛龍在天,利<br />
見大人), as Zhu Xi remarked in ‘a prince gifted with great virtue’, see Yijing, I, pp. 58–9.<br />
31 Lacroix, Numismatique annamite, no. 414; Schroeder, Annam. Etudes numismatiques, no. 152; AS,<br />
III, p. 15; CMV, no. 1516; Barker, Historical cash coins of Viêt Nam, no. 160.<br />
32 CMV, no. 1605; Barker, Historical cash coins of Viêt Nam, no. 179.<br />
33 Lacroix, Numismatique annamite, no. 464; CMVS, no. 488.<br />
34 Shijing, Guofeng–I-4, p. 9. Arthur Waley (<strong>The</strong> Book of Songs, p. 173, no. 163) translates this as<br />
‘In the south there is a tree with drooping boughs;/<strong>The</strong> cloth-creeper binds it./Oh, happy is our lord;/<br />
Blessings and boons secure him.// In the south there is a tree with drooping boughs;/<strong>The</strong> cloth-creeper<br />
covers it./Oh, happy is our lord;/Blessings and boons protect him.’
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