page_title: Buddhist coin charm
section_title: Zhouyuan Tongbao charms
hierarchical_section_title: Buddhist coin charm / Zhouyuan Tongbao charms
caption_attribution_description: English: A Zhouyuan Tongbao (周元通寶) charm or amulet from Scott Semans.
context_page_description: Buddhist coin charms are a category of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese numismatic charms that depict Buddhist religious imagery or inscriptions. These coin charms often imitate the design of Chinese cash coins, but can exist in many different shapes and sizes. In these countries similar numismatic charms existed for Confucianism and Taoism, and at times Buddhist coin charms would also incorporate symbolism from these other religions.
context_section_description: Zhouyuan Tongbao (Traditional Chinese: 周元通寶; Vietnamese: Châu Nguyên Thông Bảo) charms are a common category of Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhist coin charms that are based on cash coins were issued by Emperor Shi Zong from the year 955 onwards. The pattern is also based on the Kai Yuan coin. They were cast from melted-down bronze statues from Buddhist temples. When reproached for this, the Emperor uttered a cryptic remark to the effect that the Buddha would not mind this sacrifice. It is said that the Emperor himself supervised the casting at the many large furnaces at the back of the palace. The coins have amuletic properties because they were made from Buddhist statues, and are particularly effective in midwifery – hence the many later-made imitations.
caption: A Zhouyuan Tongbao charm (周元通寶花錢) depicting a Buddhist monk on its reverse.
exif: {"Image Tag 0x000B": "Windows Photo Editor", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image Software": "Windows Photo Editor", "Image DateTime": "2018:08:09 15:28:07", "Image Rating": "4", "Image Tag 0x4749": "75", "Image ExifOffset": "2234", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "96", "Thumbnail YResolution": "96", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "4508", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6313", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2018:08:08 22:38:00", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2018:08:08 22:38:00", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "00", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF Padding": "[]"}