On the Function of Cowries in Shang and Western Zhou China

Dados Bibliográficos

ID6015115
AutoresYung-Ti Li (autor correspondente), Li Yung-Ti
Ano2003
Volume5
Fascículo1
Páginas1-26
Data de publicação2003-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of East Asian Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1387-6813 • E-ISSN: 1568-5233
EditoraBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/156852303776172999
OpenAlexW2041360261
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas19

Cowrie shells are often found in Bronze Age sites in China. The commonly accepted explanation for their function is that they were used as money or currency during the Shang and the Zhou periods, if not as early as the Neolithic. References to shells in Shang and Zhou bronze inscriptions and in received classical texts are often regarded as evidence for such an interpretation. This paper reviews the hypothesis that cowries were money and examines textual evidence commonly cited in support of the hypothesis. It argues that a number of different concepts, such as wealth, value, and are often misleadingly conflated in the discussion of cowrie money, and that some of the textual references to cowries have been misinterpreted. The paper suggests that, on present evidence, cowries began to assume the role of a standard of value only during the Middle Western Zhou period. The main function of cowries in the Shang and Western Zhou periods is more likely to have been ornamental, funerary, or ritual

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Asian studies · Bronze · China · Currency · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Literature · Shang dynasty · Value (mathematics · Western Zhou · Chinese history and philosophy · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History · Mathematics · Philosophy