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Chinese yuan — late Qing and ROC mainland continuity

The CBC says those silver dollars and certificates did not circulate in Taiwan.1

Years
Under research
Where
East & Southeast Asia
Family
Spanish real / peso
Status
Under research

The Archives essay gives the August 1948 reform as three million fabi yuan per gold yuan.2

The CBC describes gold-yuan reform in August 1948 and silver-dollar/certificate reform in July 1949.3

The CBC says those silver dollars and certificates did not circulate in Taiwan.1

A fuller story is under research.

Timeline

  1. Wang identifies the silver yuan as China’s official monetary unit during…

    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.4

  2. The promulgated National Currency Law named yuan as national unit; its…

    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.5

  3. Chinese silver yuan, called yanchaan locally, denominated Mongolian treasury and…

    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.6

  4. Silver replaced by legal-tender notes

    The CBC dates the move from silver to legal-tender notes to November 4, 1935.7

  5. Redenominated as

    Official August 1948 reform; separate from market depreciation.2

  6. Replaced by

    Nationalist July reform sequence; no territory-wide adoption or ratio inferred.3

Coins and notes

Images are under research. Each image will carry its caption, collection credit and public-domain or CC0 license.

How do we know?

Spanish real / peso de a ocho → Chinese yuan

Qualified regional currency continuity · 1750–1910

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.8

Verbatim source excerpt under research. The linked notes identify the source and passage supporting this connection.

Full connection evidence →

Successor connections

Complete evidence record →
Legal history and sources

The Archives essay gives the August 1948 reform as three million fabi yuan per gold yuan.2

The CBC describes gold-yuan reform in August 1948 and silver-dollar/certificate reform in July 1949.3

The CBC says those silver dollars and certificates did not circulate in Taiwan.1

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.4

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.5

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.6

The CBC dates the move from silver to legal-tender notes to 4 November 1935.7

Source notes

  1. Central Bank of China, Issue Department (1998) · Guide to Currency Issuance in Taiwan

    English preface, PDF pp. 8–9

  2. Hsu Feng-yuan; National Archives Administration, Taiwan (2019) · 四萬換一元：新臺幣的發行與流通

    Paragraph following first archival illustration

  3. Central Bank of China, Issue Department (1998) · Guide to Currency Issuance in Taiwan

    English preface, PDF p. 8

  4. Yeh-chien Wang · Secular Trends of Rice Prices in the Yangzi Delta, 1644–1935

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

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

    Law art2; enforcement regulations arts6,8,11

  6. 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; Bank of Mongolia · History of Bank of Mongolia

    Commerce pp 82–83; bank accounting paragraphs

  7. Central Bank of China, Issue Department (1998) · Guide to Currency Issuance in Taiwan

    English preface, PDF p. 7

  8. Richard von Glahn · The Changing Significance of Latin American Silver in the Chinese Economy, 16th–19th Centuries, RHE 38/3 (2020), 553–585; Yeh-chien Wang · Secular Trends of Rice Prices in the Yangzi Delta, 1644–1935

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

Full claim history and source register →

Cite this currency

“Chinese yuan — late Qing and ROC mainland continuity.” The Family Tree of Money. Field Technologies, Inc. Data v49; accessed 14 October 2026.

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