China, 1906 AD., Ch'ing Dynasty, emperor Te Tsung, Hupeh province, 10 Cash, KM Y 10j.3.
China, Ch'ing dynasty, emperor Te Tsung (De Zong), Guang Xu (Kuang Hsü) Reign (1875-1908), WÇ”chÄng (Wuchang) mint in HúbÄ›i (Hupeh) province, 1906 AD.,
1 Cent / 10 Cash (28 mm / 7,14 g),
Obv.: incuse Chinese symbol , the mint mark and abbreviated name for the Hupeh province mint in center of a raised circular frame, Chinese symbols å¤§æ¸…é“œå¸ (top-right-down-left) "da qing tong bi" ("bronze coin of the great Qing (Dynasty)") within beaded circle and on top four characters in Manchu outside circle, flanked by Chinese sexagenary date system symbols for date 1906; characters at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock position for the Board of Revenue mint; beneath, also outside circle, value in Chinese characters near the bottom of the coin 当制钱åæ–‡ "dang zhi qian shi wen" which means the coin is worth ten cash coins.
Rev.: å…‰ç»ªå¹´é€ / TAI-CHING-TI-KUO COPPER COIN , (å…‰ç»ªå¹´é€ - guang xu nian zao, means "minted during the Guang Xu years" in Chinese characters), dragon within a beaded circle.
KM Y 10j.3 ; CCC 127 .
One of the biggest challenges facing anyone visiting China or attempting to understand Chinese history is the various names that refer to the same emperor.
Many Chinese people, official sources and plaques at historic sites, refer to dates by year of the period in which an emperor reigned. This means that foreigners are often confused as they do not carry around dynastic dates tables in their heads.
Matters are further complicated by the fact that emperors are known by a number of different names.
Take the Qing Dynasty of the Manchu emperors who ruled China from 1644 to 1911. Not to be confused with the Qin dynasty, of the first emperor and his terracotta warriors who ruled from 221 BC to 206BC.
The Qing Dynasty was actually founded in 1616 and at first it was known as the Later Jin. The title was changed to Qing in 1644.
As an example of the naming of emperors take the man who ruled from 1875 to 1908.
His family name, like that of all the Qing Emperors, was Aisin Gioro. His personal name was Aisin Gioro Zaitian. However, use of this name was taboo and it was never spoken. A title would be selected for the reign of each emperor, and, in this case, the name chosen was Guanxu. This was used, particularly by foreigners, as if it was his personal name. In China, during his reign he would normally be referred to simply as “His Majesty The Emperor.â€
After an emperor died, however, he would be given a name which would be used for ancestral worship rites. The name selected for this emperor was De Zong. Educated Chinese would never use anything other than De Zong in referring to him, with use of Guangxu being regarded as vulgar.