page_title: Ban Liang
hierarchical_section_title: Ban Liang
caption_attribution_description: English: Mold for making banliang coins.
context_page_description: The Ban Liang was the first unified currency of the Chinese empire, introduced by the first emperor Qin Shi Huang around 210 BC. 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 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 Ban Liang corresponds to a "half tael", or twelve zhu. It typically weighs between ten and six grams, roughly corresponding to the Greek stater.
  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. Ban Liang coins continued to be used under the Western Han dynasty until they were finally replaced by the Wu Zhu cash coins in 118 BC.
context_section_description: The Ban  Liang (Traditional Chinese: 半兩 ; Pinyin: bàn liǎng) was the first unified currency of the Chinese empire, introduced by the first emperor Qin Shi Huang around 210 BC (although coins with this inscription already circulated in the State of Qin prior to unification). 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) 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 Ban Liang corresponds to a "half tael" (半兩), or twelve zhu (銖, about 0.68 grams). It typically weighs between ten and six grams, roughly corresponding to the Greek stater.
  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. Ban Liang coins continued to be used under the Western Han dynasty until they were finally replaced by the Wu Zhu cash coins in 118 BC.
caption: Bronze mold for minting Ban Liang coins, Warring States period (475-221 BC), State of Qin, from an excavation in Qishan County, Baoji, Shaanxi province
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