508 DAVIS. 



to Chu Ch'uan-chung, marking the end of the T'ang Dynasty * and 

 the estabhshment of the Hon Liang or the Posterior Liang Dynasty. 

 During this T'ien-yu Era,t ten varieties of notes were issued. 

 Their color is yellow, and in denomination they range from one to 

 ten kwan. At the top is written horizontally "Great T'ang Public 

 Convenience Treasure-Note". Directly below is wTitten the value 

 with a pictorial representation of a proportionate number of strings 

 of cash, i. e., for 1 kwan, 1 string of cash. Beneath appears an in- 

 scription which reads: "The Cabinet, having petitioned the Throne, 

 prints and issues the Great T'ang Treasure-Note to be current under 

 the heavens and to be used as cash. The counterfeiter of the same 

 shall be decapitated; the informant and captor will be rewarded with 

 120 taels in silver (this amount in the case of the one kwan note). To 

 the conniver (at such an offence) the punishment shall be the same. 



T'ien-yu, year, month, day." On the border 



appear two dragons tossing a jewel, and below them, waves. The 

 upper portion bears a square seal with the characters "Imperial Seal 

 of the Great T'ang Da nasty." The lower seal which is also square 

 reads: "Printed Treasure-Note of the T'ien-yu Era". The latter 

 seal is stamped on the back of the note, which is otherwise undecorated. 



Plate 28. T'ien-yu (904-922 A.D.) Note. 

 Translation of the inscriptions. 



First line: "Great T'ang Public Convenience Treasure-Note." 



Second line: "Oiie Kwan." 



Illustration: (Pictorial representation of one string of cash). 



Lower panel: " The Cabinet, having petitioned the Throne, prints and 

 issues the Great T'ang Treasure-Note to be current wider the heavens and 

 to be v.'ird as cash. The counterfeiter of the same form shall be decapiiated; 



* Accordiiifi; to history the name T"ien-\ii was retained until 922, as the boy 

 emperor, after abdicating the Imperial throne, was made Idng of a certain 

 territor}'. K. T. 



t By "T'ien-yu Era" in thfs particular case, it seems that the author means 

 the period of about four jj-ears commencing with the last year of the Emperor 

 Chao-tsung's reign and ending with the year of the transfer of the Imperial 

 power by Chao-hsiian-ti to Chu Ch'uan-chung. The author says that after 

 the accession of Chu Ch'iian-chung, which marked the end of the T'ang 

 Dynasty, for three years the country was in a chaotic state, with constant 

 fighting, and that as a temporary expedient, notes modelled after those of the 

 Emperor I-tsung were issued to meet the financial situation. K. T. 



