564 DAVIS. 



Notes of Yeh-lu (1125-1135 A.D.) of the Western Liao 



Dynasty. 



In 1125 A.D., Yeh-lu * established the Western Liao Dynasty. The 

 era of his reign was first known as Yen-ch'ing, but two years later the 

 name was changed to K'ang-kuo (1127-1135 A.D.). In 1127 A.D., 

 notes were emitted. Today, in the collection of the Chu Family, there 

 are ten notes of that issue. Each bears the denomination. On the 

 one kwan note a string of cash is illustrated, and on the border is a pair 

 of dragons tossing a jewel. On the 2 kwan note are two strings of 

 cash and a border design of two dragons. On the 3 kwan note appear 

 three strings of cash and a border design of two dragons. On the 4 

 kwan are four strings of cash and a border design of two cash and 

 dragons; on the 5 kwan note, five strings of cash and a border design 

 of a phoenix carrying [?] a peony blossom; on the 6 kwan note, six 

 strings of cash and a border design of a floral motive; on the 7 kwan 

 note, seven strings of cash and a border design of floating clouds; on 

 the 8 kwan note, eight strings of cash and a border design of clouds and 

 bats; on the 9 kwan note, nine strings of cash and a border design of 

 flames; and on the 10 kwan note, ten strings of cash and a border 

 design of narcissus and swastika. The inscription on the lower part 

 of each note reads: "The Board of War, having petitioned the Im- 

 perial sanction, to be used 



as silver for military supplies f K'ang-kuo, year, 



month, day." A square seal with the characters 



"K'ang-kuo Army" is stamped on the upper portion of the note, 

 and another square seal with the characters "Great Liao Printed 

 Treasure-Note" appears in the lower portion. On the reverse appears 

 a picture of a horse and four characters which read : " Peace be unto 

 men and horses". 



* Yeh-lu was Emperor Te-tsung, later known as T'ien-yu Huang-ti. K. T. 



t "Military supplies" is not a satisfactory translation. Broadly, the two 

 Chinese characters employed in the inscription mean "Military" or "Com- 

 missary". The term should be accepted as meaning "silver coin intended for 

 the use of the army." K. T. 



