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Chinese yuan — late Qing and ROC mainland continuity: research record

Evidence coverage: 1910–1949. This is the span of collected observations, not the currency’s lifetime.

This record includes associated currencies and earlier interpretations. The article selects the evidence relevant to its own history.

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Currency continuity

Chinese yuan — late Qing and ROC mainland continuity

T-FTM000456 · Research draft

Fabi, gold-yuan rescaling and silver-certificate reform are monetary-standard, scale and instrument epochs, not currency species created by paper or metal backing. Source review establishes a continuing account unit; local issues and naming epochs remain profile evidence. Extend the retained yuan profile through late-Qing and Republic of China mainland accounting. Earlier regional dollar traditions supply ancestral evidence; they are not all treated as one eighteenth-century national unit.

One scoped currency identity. Changes to subdivisions, scale, standard, instruments or issuers do not by themselves create children. A distinct account unit can remain a successor.
Dated observations: 1910–1949; this does not establish the entire lifetime.

Parents / predecessors

Shanghai taelabsorbed into existing currency · 1933 · later absorption or contribution
↗
Spanish real / peso de a ochoregional currency continuity · qualified · 1750–1910
↗

Children / successors

Mongolian tögrögaccount unit replacement · 1925–1927 · later absorption or contribution
↗
Jinan yuanaccount unit replacement · 1941–1942
↗
Harbin dayang — regional silver-dollar accountingterritorial currency separation · 1919–1925
↗
Names and unit scales 4 records

These stages belong to this profile, not separate branches.

Fabi1935–1948 · source record T-FTM000456
Gold yuan1948–1949 · source record T-FTM000457
1949 silver-yuan reform1949–1949 · source record T-FTM000458
Chinese yanchaan accounting in MongoliaUndated–Undated · source record CUR-V22-MONGOLIA-YANCHAAN
Unit and issue records 4 records

Evidence within this identity, not separate currencies.

FabiFTM000456 · C109, C110
Gold yuanFTM000457 · C110, C111
1949 silver-yuan reformFTM000458 · C111, C112
Earlier national yuan witness · C2006

Latest research

Historical account research

Shanghai actually redeemed ROC gold-yuan instruments for first-series RMB during28May–5June1949 at100000:1. This scoped redemption does not establish nationwide account termination.

Sources and qualifications →
Historical account research

Chinese silver yuan, called yanchaan locally, denominated Mongolian treasury and enterprise accounts before togrog replacement. Contemporary proclamation explicitly identifies Chinese silver yuan as preceding money.

Sources and qualifications →
Modern account-unit review

Mongolian yanchaan accounting was displaced by togrog in institutional budgets, financial statements, tax returns and prices by1927. Exact Chinese identity of scoped yanchaan parent is a root uncertainty; it does not weaken the explicitly described local account transition.

Sources and qualifications →
Earlier account evidence

The Nanjing provisional government military public loan was denominated as100million yuan in1912, with subscriptions and sale handled by Bank of China. This establishes early Republican yuan obligations within the existing mainland yuan continuity profile; it does not establish a new unit or nationwide exclusive use.

Sources and qualifications →
Earlier account evidence

The promulgated National Currency Law named yuan as national unit; its regulations prescribed converting tael public accounts and private debts/contracts to yuan. This is explicit legal account-unit recognition. Regional enforcement required subsequent orders, so nationwide accomplished conversion is not asserted.

Sources and qualifications →
Unit-of-account identity review

The mainland Republican yuan is a supported account-unit identity: yuan public debt is documented in1912, and the1914 law expressly defines yuan accounting for public receipts/expenditure and private obligations. Preserve existing supported reform-continuity claims C110/C111. The former Mongolian yanchaan association claim C1139 addresses identification of a geographically scoped1925–1927 usage, not existence or identity of the mainland Republican yuan itself. Keep C1139 on its local observation and in retained claim history, but remove it from the global identity_claim_ids governing all mainland yuan paths. This does not upgrade the uncertain Mongolian association or establish nationwide1914 implementation.

Sources and qualifications →
Late-Qing and ROC continuity

Extend the retained yuan profile through late-Qing and Republic of China mainland accounting. Earlier regional dollar traditions supply ancestral evidence; they are not all treated as one eighteenth-century national unit.

Sources and qualifications →
Earlier national yuan witness

Wang identifies the silver yuan as China’s official monetary unit during 1910–1935, discussing the 1910, 1914 and 1933 standards within that account history.

Sources and qualifications →
Qualified inherited ancestry

Chinese yuan money of account developed from Spanish-peso reckoning through regional dollar traditions, later Mexican-dollar predominance and national consolidation. Admit compressed inherited ancestry, not uniform eighteenth-century national currency or a perpetual peso peg.

Sources and qualifications →

Account-unit observations

Dated evidence, not exact birth or extinction dates.

1949supported

Shanghai actually redeemed ROC gold-yuan instruments for first-series RMB during28May–5June1949 at100000:1. This scoped redemption does not establish nationwide account termination.

C1476
1925–1927supported

Chinese silver yuan, called yanchaan locally, denominated Mongolian treasury and enterprise accounts before togrog replacement. Contemporary proclamation explicitly identifies Chinese silver yuan as preceding money.

C1526
1912supported

The Nanjing provisional government military public loan was denominated as100million yuan in1912, with subscriptions and sale handled by Bank of China. This establishes early Republican yuan obligations within the existing mainland yuan continuity profile; it does not establish a new unit or nationwide exclusive use.

C1746
1914supported

The promulgated National Currency Law named yuan as national unit; its regulations prescribed converting tael public accounts and private debts/contracts to yuan. This is explicit legal account-unit recognition. Regional enforcement required subsequent orders, so nationwide accomplished conversion is not asserted.

C1747
1910supported

Wang identifies the silver yuan as China’s official monetary unit during 1910–1935, discussing the 1910, 1914 and 1933 standards within that account history.

C2006

Reforms within this currency

1948Redenominated as

Official August 1948 reform; separate from market depreciation.

3000000 Fabi per 1 Gold yuanV0009 · Official conversion in the cited reform; no perpetual exchange rate.

C110
1949Replaced by

Nationalist July reform sequence; no territory-wide adoption or ratio inferred.

C111
Monetary history 3 events

Includes dated issues, standards, subdivisions and institutional changes. Each event retains the source's date qualifications.

1935Silver replaced by legal-tender notes

The CBC dates the move from silver to legal-tender notes to 4 November 1935.

C109
1948First issue

The CBC describes gold-yuan reform in August 1948 and silver-dollar/certificate reform in July 1949.

C111
1949Silver-dollar and certificate reform

The CBC describes gold-yuan reform in August 1948 and silver-dollar/certificate reform in July 1949.

C111
Evidence & research notes 18 claims

Dated observations, not a proven complete lifespan.

Supported C110

The Archives essay gives the August 1948 reform as three million fabi yuan per gold yuan.

Hsu Feng-yuan; National Archives Administration, Taiwan (2019) · 四萬換一元:新臺幣的發行與流通 Citation S51 · Open source ↗

Paragraph following first archival illustration

Source access and limitations

Archive-based essay; linked original documents not separately audited.

Supported C111

The CBC describes gold-yuan reform in August 1948 and silver-dollar/certificate reform in July 1949.

Central Bank of China, Issue Department (1998) · Guide to Currency Issuance in Taiwan Citation S50 · Open source ↗

English preface, PDF p. 8

Source access and limitations

Historical 1998 catalogue, not current law.

Download contains front matter only; later chapters not inspected.

Downloaded image-only PDF; English preface visually read

Supported C112

The CBC says those silver dollars and certificates did not circulate in Taiwan.

Central Bank of China, Issue Department (1998) · Guide to Currency Issuance in Taiwan Citation S50 · Open source ↗

English preface, PDF pp. 8–9

Source access and limitations

Historical 1998 catalogue, not current law.

Download contains front matter only; later chapters not inspected.

Downloaded image-only PDF; English preface visually read

Supported C109

The CBC dates the move from silver to legal-tender notes to 4 November 1935.

Central Bank of China, Issue Department (1998) · Guide to Currency Issuance in Taiwan Citation S50 · Open source ↗

English preface, PDF p. 7

Source access and limitations

Historical 1998 catalogue, not current law.

Download contains front matter only; later chapters not inspected.

Downloaded image-only PDF; English preface visually read

Supported C126

NMTH attributes fabi note accession 2013.002.0020 to a 1945 1,000-yuan issue.

National Museum of Taiwan History · 中央銀行發行法幣壹仟圓紙鈔 [1,000-yuan fabi note] Citation S60 · Open source ↗

Object date and description

Source access and limitations

1945 object attribution separate from 1935 currency reform.

Supported C1421

Shanghai tael-based payments and contracts were replaced by Republic of China yuan accounting. Shanghai local absorption only; yuan already existed; do not infer all local taels abolished simultaneously.

United States Department of Commerce · Monetary Use of Silver in 1933 Citation S541 · Open source ↗

Bratterprinted39; BOCparagraphApril5

Source access and limitations

Not a complete origin, lifespan or current-status audit.

Bank of China · Bank of China, The Choice for Silver Dollar in the Currency Reform 1932–1933 Citation S697 · Open source ↗

Bratterprinted39; BOCparagraphApril5

Source access and limitations

Not a complete origin, lifespan or current-status audit.

Limits: Original decree not inspected; article supports payment/contract transition, not universal enforcement across every Chinese locality.

Supported C1476

Shanghai actually redeemed ROC gold-yuan instruments for first-series RMB during28May–5June1949 at100000:1. This scoped redemption does not establish nationwide account termination.

Bank of China · Stabilizing finance and prices 1949–1950 Citation S744 · Open source ↗

Section1

Source access and limitations

Not a complete origin, lifespan or current-status audit.

Supported C1526

Chinese silver yuan, called yanchaan locally, denominated Mongolian treasury and enterprise accounts before togrog replacement. Contemporary proclamation explicitly identifies Chinese silver yuan as preceding money.

Herbert M. Bratter / US Department of Commerce · Herbert M. Bratter, The Monetary Use of Silver in 1933, US Department of Commerce, Trade Promotion Series 149 Citation S709 · Open source ↗

Commerce pp82–83; bank accounting paragraphs

Source access and limitations

Not a complete origin, lifespan or current-status audit.

Limits: Reports the 1923 monetary law; original Danzig gazette not independently inspected.

Bank of Mongolia · History of Bank of Mongolia Citation S308 · Open source ↗

Commerce pp82–83; bank accounting paragraphs

Source access and limitations

Compare the original act and issue notice; do not transcribe the garbled quantity in the English page or borrow unrelated ancient-money claims.

Supported C1698

In the Jinan/Taihang jurisdiction, compulsory Jinan-denominated trade and public accounts displaced fabi use. The1942 rule required fabi conversion into Jinan before local dealings. This is scoped local replacement, not all-China succession or an assertion that every old debt was uniformly converted.

Wang Mingqian 王明前 · 晋冀鲁豫抗日根据地的货币战争, 党的文献; reproduced 2022 Citation S866 · Open source ↗

Subsections(一),(三), quoted orders February1941 and September1942

Source access and limitations

Not a complete origin, lifespan or current-status audit.

Supported C1699

Harbin dayang developed as a regional Chinese silver-yuan reckoning: initially national-yuan instruments admitted for taxes, then a multi-issuer local account system with a differentiated currency value. This is regional adoption and differentiation, not ancestry from silver weight alone.

Heilongjiang provincial historical records office · Gazetteer: Section 2, Guangxin Company currency Citation S867 · Open source ↗

Gazetteer 哈大洋票; Mitter pp59–61

Source access and limitations

Not a complete origin, lifespan or current-status audit.

Rana Mitter · The Manchurian Myth: Nationalism, Resistance, and Collaboration in Modern China (2000) Citation S868

Gazetteer 哈大洋票; Mitter pp59–61

Source access and limitations

Not a complete origin, lifespan or current-status audit.

Inference C1139

Mongolia’s togrog displaced Chinese yanchaan in budgets, accounts, prices and domestic transactions by 1927. The predecessor is scoped to this local accounting use; its exact Chinese currency identity remains qualified.

Corrected interpretation: Revision 27 supplies a new evidence basis for R-V22-037. Exact Chinese identity of scoped yanchaan parent is a root uncertainty; it does not weaken the explicitly described local account transition. Replacement evidence: C1615.

Bank of Mongolia · History of Bank of Mongolia Citation S308 · Open source ↗

Monetary reform act and first togrog issue paragraphs

Source access and limitations

Compare the original act and issue notice; do not transcribe the garbled quantity in the English page or borrow unrelated ancient-money claims.

Supported C1615

Mongolian yanchaan accounting was displaced by togrog in institutional budgets, financial statements, tax returns and prices by1927.

Bank of Mongolia · History of Bank of Mongolia Citation S308 · Open source ↗

1925–27 reform paragraphs

Source access and limitations

Compare the original act and issue notice; do not transcribe the garbled quantity in the English page or borrow unrelated ancient-money claims.

Supported C1746

The Nanjing provisional government military public loan was denominated as100million yuan in 1912, with subscriptions and sale handled by Bank of China. This establishes early Republican yuan obligations within the existing mainland yuan continuity profile; it does not establish a new unit or nationwide exclusive use.

Bank of China / China Finance magazine · 民族金融的旗帜——中国银行在1912-1949 (12 March 2012) Citation S895 · Open source ↗

Founding section, fourth enumerated activity: public debt sale

Source access and limitations

Not a complete origin, lifespan or current-status audit.

Supported C1747

The promulgated National Currency Law named yuan as national unit; its regulations prescribed converting tael public accounts and private debts/contracts to yuan. This is explicit legal account-unit recognition. Regional enforcement required subsequent orders, so nationwide accomplished conversion is not asserted.

Republic of China government; translation transmitted by Paul S. Reinsch · National Currency Law and enforcement regulations, promulgated 7 February 1914; FRUS 1914 document63 Citation S896 · Open source ↗

Law art2; enforcement regulations arts6,8,11

Source access and limitations

Not a complete origin, lifespan or current-status audit.

Supported C1804

The mainland Republican yuan is a supported account-unit identity: yuan public debt is documented in 1912, and the1914 law expressly defines yuan accounting for public receipts/expenditure and private obligations. Preserve existing supported reform-continuity claims C110/C111. The former Mongolian yanchaan association claim C1139 addresses identification of a geographically scoped1925–1927 usage, not existence or identity of the mainland Republican yuan itself. Keep C1139 on its local observation and in retained claim history, but remove it from the global identity_claim_ids governing all mainland yuan paths. This does not upgrade the uncertain Mongolian association or establish nationwide1914 implementation.

Bank of China / China Finance magazine · 民族金融的旗帜——中国银行在1912-1949 (12 March 2012) Citation S895 · Open source ↗

BOC founding section public debt paragraph; National Currency Law art2 and regulations6,8,11

Source access and limitations

Not a complete origin, lifespan or current-status audit.

Republic of China government; translation transmitted by Paul S. Reinsch · National Currency Law and enforcement regulations, promulgated 7 February 1914; FRUS 1914 document63 Citation S896 · Open source ↗

BOC founding section public debt paragraph; National Currency Law art2 and regulations6,8,11

Source access and limitations

Not a complete origin, lifespan or current-status audit.

Supported C2005

Extend the retained yuan profile through late-Qing and Republic of China mainland accounting. Earlier regional dollar traditions supply ancestral evidence; they are not all treated as one eighteenth-century national unit.

Yeh-chien Wang · Secular Trends of Rice Prices in the Yangzi Delta, 1644–1935 Citation S1045 · Open source ↗

Printed pp. 339–340; especially p. 340, silver yuan 1910–1935; Abstract and sections 5–6; dollar accounts and Shanghai tael

Source access and limitations

Not a complete origin, lifespan or current-status audit.

Richard von Glahn · The Changing Significance of Latin American Silver in the Chinese Economy, 16th–19th Centuries, RHE 38/3 (2020), 553–585 Citation S1044 · Open source ↗

Printed pp. 339–340; especially p. 340, silver yuan 1910–1935; Abstract and sections 5–6; dollar accounts and Shanghai tael

Source access and limitations

Not a complete origin, lifespan or current-status audit.

Supported C2006

Wang identifies the silver yuan as China’s official monetary unit during 1910–1935, discussing the 1910, 1914 and 1933 standards within that account history.

Yeh-chien Wang · Secular Trends of Rice Prices in the Yangzi Delta, 1644–1935 Citation S1045 · Open source ↗

Printed pp. 339–340; especially p. 340, silver yuan 1910–1935

Source access and limitations

Not a complete origin, lifespan or current-status audit.

Qualified C2011

Chinese yuan money of account developed from Spanish-peso reckoning through regional dollar traditions, later Mexican-dollar predominance and national consolidation. Admit compressed inherited ancestry, not uniform eighteenth-century national currency or a perpetual peso peg.

Richard von Glahn · The Changing Significance of Latin American Silver in the Chinese Economy, 16th–19th Centuries, RHE 38/3 (2020), 553–585 Citation S1044 · Open source ↗

Abstract and sections 5–6; dollar accounts and Shanghai tael; Printed pp. 339–340; especially p. 340, silver yuan 1910–1935

Source access and limitations

Not a complete origin, lifespan or current-status audit.

Yeh-chien Wang · Secular Trends of Rice Prices in the Yangzi Delta, 1644–1935 Citation S1045 · Open source ↗

Abstract and sections 5–6; dollar accounts and Shanghai tael; Printed pp. 339–340; especially p. 340, silver yuan 1910–1935

Source access and limitations

Not a complete origin, lifespan or current-status audit.

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