上QQ阅读APP看本书，新人免费读10天

设备和账号都新为新人

DISCUSSION ON DIAOMU

Although born in China, I left home in childhood and have been living overseas for fi fty years. I have been collecting money for more than thirty years and got to know many friends with the same interests, like Cai Yangwu, Li Zhenxing, Chen Jimao in Taiwan, China, LinWenhu in Singapore, Ma Dingxiang and Ma Fude in the mainland of China and Daniel Chen in the US. Among those friends, some were very successful in their career, unfortunately some has passed away. It is truly that “Beautiful Diaomu is still there, but the people are not”.

During these forty years, collecting delicate ancient money has been difficult still, it was even more to collect Diaomu. I have been waiting for more than a decade in my dreams and wishes. About the year 1980, my close friend, Daniel Chen collected two Diaomu （QianLong Tongbao and DaoGuang Tongbao）and a dozen of mother money （that in JiaJing, DaoGuang and XianFeng periods）by coincidence. Mr. Chen gave up what he treasured at that time and transferred to me two DaoGuang mother coins and a XianFeng mother coin. This is the beginning of my collection of Diaomu and mother money. It was ten years ago that I collected the fi rst Diaomu. On a rare occasion, Doc. Zeng Zelu, an American collector, and I both got several GuangXu Tongbao. Ever since then, I achieved more and more in collecting Diaomu. At an auction of ancient money （Money Co.）in Hong Kong in 1984, I got a XianFeng equivalent to ten. In 1990, my close friend Daniel Chen passed away and he said in his will to auction all of his collections of ancient money, such that quan pals all over the world could bid for his collections in fairness. On June 1991, all of Mr. Chen's collections were shown in Long Beach Coin Show in the US, people came from every corners of the world and there was a quite competition. I was happy to get his two Diaomu finally. My wishes ten years ago came true. Despite this, I am very sad thinking of my old friend whenever I cast sight on the two Diaomu. Isn't it “too much has changed in a decade and the seas have turned into farmland”? （Rubbing 1, and fi g. 1 and 2）

This lays the foundation for my collection of Diaomu.

Recently, several new books on ancient quan have been published in the mainland of China, and materials on Diaomu has increased slightly, but pricewise, it is several fold cheaper than that Hong Kong, China and overseas. Take a XianFeng Diaomu equivalent to ten for example, it is evaluated at about 2 to 3 thousand RMB by domestic ancient quan books, however, about a decade ago in an auction in Hong Kong, hammer price of the money was more than a thousand US dollars （more than ten thousand RMB）, and in Tokyo in May 1995 at the Sixth International Money Auction, hammer price of （item 1234） XianFeng equivalent to ten was over 350,000 yin （more than twenty thousand RMB）, and in 1991, the hammer price of QianLong Tongbao in Chen's collection was over 1,300 US dollars （more than ten thousand RMB）

It can be seen that Diaomu of Qing Dynasty costs a lot overseas. If it was a small genuine, delicate ping Diaomu, it is worth more than ten thousand RMB in a foreign land. For Diaomu equivalent to a hundred, fi ve hundred or a thousand, the price should be higher than ten to twenty thousand RMB.

Certainly, we collect ancient money for interest, and should not care too much for their value. Collection and study of ancient quan helps to fi nd out technology in a certain dynasty, because the production is supposed to be high at a low cost in making money. Studying ancient money also helps to learn about politics and economy in each dynasty. Compared with collecting stamps, collecting ancient money is more meaningful. In addition, ancient money is diff erent from each other, it is sometimes very diffi cult to tell the fake from the genuine, so when we are able to diff erentiate, we sure would feel “there is always light at the end of the tunnel”.

Daqian Tulu by Bao Kang is the earliest among literatures to talk about Diaomu, and Recording of Qing Money in the Palace Museum by Huang Pengxiao in 1937 also described briefl y the process of making Diaomu. The following is from the two books.

“Xu Fuqing, jingfu from Ministry of Works, supervisor of BaoQuan bureau, gave me one of each kind of money and told me the detail about making money, and I recorded as the following. Fuqing said that, each time a reform was made to cast new money, ivory of extremely clean was selected to make sample money and submitted to the assistant minister of Money Administration for review, then ancestor money was made of refi ned copper, （only was an expert on this and left on sand on the printed mold）, the hole （called opening of the gold mouth）could only be done by workers of the bureau, then mother money was made after ancestor money by sand-casting, and then money started to be made, that was, printed mold of mother money was distributed to each province and what was submitted by another province was called sample money. Each province in XianFeng's period casted money equivalent to ten at the fi rst place, and one fi fth of the money accompanied pattern money in a trial. Initially the reform was settled, but as time went on, new money had to be made. Money equivalent to ten previously might only be equivalent to two or three wen, and the decrease happened to money equivalent to a hundred, fi ve hundred and a thousand. Only that, in the market a lot was distributed, afterwards, more than too often money equivalent to over a hundred was taken to withdraw goods from pawnshops, which dared not to refuse. As a rule, whenever new money was to be made, the bureau would cast ten thousand of refi ned coins and submitted as ten coins of a thousand which was called Wanxuan money （a coin that is one in a million）[Tulu]

“In early years of TongZhi period, mother coins equivalent to ten were issued in each province, but they were not minted by melting metals or were only submitted as sample coins, so few of them were not handed down and they were not recorded in literatures [Tulu]

“In the 24th year of QianLong period, ‘Huijiang was pacifi ed and after the pacifi cation, there were red coins again with hui language in them and the later generation were ordered to adopt his reign title to show off his military success'.”

Recording of Qing Money in the Palace Museum：

Finally ancestor, mother and sample money, “In all methods for making money, pure copper was made into ancestor money of two qian and three fen, then mother money of one qian and six or seven fen, then money. Whenever the money-making mechanism was modifi ed, the money patterns were submitted in the fi rst place, starting from the directly supervising bureau. As a rule, the bureau made each one of ancestor coin, mother coin and pattern coin and distributed them for each province to make money after.” （See Tongkao）. Capital bureau in Duanning palace submitted coin, “as a rule, in December the bureau made several coins and submitted it, called Guideng money”. （See regulations by Ministry of Revenue and Daqian Tulu by Bao Kang）It was also called large pattern money（see regulations by the Department of Supplies in Ministry of Internal Order）. Stock money in Yongshou Palace and Ministry of Internal Order was made of the best material. This is relevant with regulations so that we can still see the recordings for evidenced research.Depending on time order of dynasties, deleting the replicates, 284 coins were photocopied and made into a book for scholars studying money. 26th year of the Republic of China, prologue by Huang Pengxiao.

1. Making money after mother coins by sand-casting （table 2）

Zhang Zhizhong said: With improvement in money-making techniques, money was made after mother coins from Sui and Tang Dynasties to the end of Qing Dynasty. The requirements were rather strict by then, that was, in the case of reform to make new money, the samples were submitted to the emperor for review and it was recorded in Tan Bao lu that:“when Kaiyuan Tongbao was first issued in Wude period, the samples initially submitted…”. Historical records of Sui and Tang Dynasties were unavailable due to wars and can only be speculated from procedures of making new money in Qing Dynasties. Whenever new money was made in Qing Dynasties, procedures in the bureau under Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Works were: ivory sample money （carefully carved from good-quality ivory） → copper ancestor money → initially carved mother money → printed mold mother money → submitted sample money. The procedures in each province were: initially carved mother money （sample money issued by the departments）→ printed mold mother money → submitted sample money. Ancestor money was made after sample money, printed mold mother money was made after ancestor money, sample money （submitted sample money）after mother money by sand-casting, and money could be casted in batches after approval and circulate in the market. Although the amount of coins made was huge, they were all casted after ancestor money, so they were neat, many of them were of the same batch, plus they looked nice and there were no sand holes when examined grossly. A bureau controlled by the central government boasted workers with rich experiences, and most of them did the job for life. Defective products （those with sand holes）were not allowed to circulate in the market under rigorous supervision.

2. Copper ancestor money and initially casted mother money

It was said in Authentication and Maintenance of Ancient Coins that,“Mother money, money pattern, actually, can be classified into Diaomu and Zhumu according to their processing methods”.

Diaomu were of four types in terms of nature, wood, ivory, tin and copper. Diaomu of wood and teeth were mainly used as sample money to be submitted to the emperor for selection. Diaomu of copper and tin were mainly used for Zhumu to be made after and were called “ancestor money”. Tin Diaomu was mostly used for money to be casted directly after as was explicitly written in Tiangongkaiwu that “A hundred of mother coins were made of tin”.

It was also said by Zhang Zhizhong that, “Ancestor coins were carved with great care, so that the copper looked golden, bottom seal was fl at （some bottom seal was protruding slightly）, the hollow in the middle was square and the ring back was low and flat. Seen from the above, as a Diaomu, fi rst, its copper should look golden. Copper materials were of several colors and the golden one was made after refi ning of nine times. Windmill copper in Qing Dynasty was given as tribute by Korea. Kangxi Tongbao arhat money was more refi ned in terms of the copper material than pattern money in circulation, but compared to copper Diaomu, it just reached the level of refi ning of four times”.

Characters of copper Diaomu were exquisite, cuts of the words were deep, the strokes looked thinner and straighter than those of coins of the same edition in circulation, outline of the rim was deep as the cut of words, the inner outline and the Chuan were in order as well. Diaomu was delicate in all aspects, which was commonly called “elimination of knife marks”. Although traces of carving were invisible after embellishment, if a XiZhou was observed carefully, they could still be found. In authentication of Diaomu, it should be borne in mind that the body should be golden, a little bigger than coins in circulation, thick and heavy, the characters are thin and straight, and there should be no traces of carving on the bottom seal.

Mother coins, casted after ancestor money by sand-casting, were used for several printed mold mother coins to be casted after for later money-making in batches. Characters of mother money: its diameter was less than that of ancestor money （Diaomu）, yet more than common money in circulation; the copper was quite good; the ring outline of its outer rim, Chuan cuts of the inner outline and cuts of words were not as deep as those of Diaomu;strokes of the characters remained thin and straight, but not comparable to those of Diaomu; knife marks were not visible in the body, but there were traces of carving in some mother coins, just like XiZhou.

The book about Authentication and Maintenance of Ancient Money was also read that, “Some counterfeit Qing Diaomu were diffi cult to be told apart. Since Qing Dynasty is not far away from today, most Diaomu of this period have no rust, and the counterfeiters do not have to make fake rust. It was said that in the early years of the Republic of China, some former carvers working in money bureau of Qing Dynasty had made some Diaomu to make a living. However, these Diaomu were somewhat diff erent from the genuine ones after all. Each genuine Diaomu, made of refi ned copper, was golden in color, exquisite in craftsmanship capable of making the knife marks disappear, smooth like a mirror and has vivid and natural characters. The fake ones are inferior in these aspects. For some XianFeng Diaomu, the surrounding of characters is protruding, not as smooth and clean as those before DaoGuang period. Diaomu of yongzheng period or Ming Dynasty have even better craftsmanship and are even more rare.

“There is another kind of fake Diaomu prepared from refined mother coins. Since mother coins were made by sand-casting and the copper it was made of was rather coarse, the Diaomu resulted were diff erent from the genuine ones made of refi ned copper, and the holes were diff erent from those chiseled manually.”

3. Carving time

Discussion on Diaomu in literatures up to now also suggested that Diaomu in Qing Dynasty were genuine, while those made by workers in years of the Republic of China were fake.

Today, we can say with confidence that the small ping Diaomu in GuangXu and XuanTong's periods were made in the periods respectively. However, it is difficult to determine whether Diaomu in ShunZhi, yongzheng, QianLong, JiaQing or DaoGuang's period were made in their period respectively or in later ages. For instance, Taixing made an auction in Hong Kong in 1992 for a baoChuan equivalent to a hundred, which, according to Ma Dingxiang, was carved in later ages. But he did not say exactly why. Recently, in the book Baosu Bureau Money（Shanghai Classics Publishing House）, Baosu Diaomu from QianLong to Tongzhi's period were recorded. The authors believed that for Baosu bureau Diaomu discovered up to now, those in ages after QianLong's period are basically complete. If compared with sample coins distributed to each province or Diaomu used inside the Ministry of Revenue, these Diaomu are quite diff erent in terms of style and it can be seen that these Diaomu were defi nitely made by Baosu bureau. They also said that, “we can see that money bureau of each province made Diaomu on its own, although this is of great convenience to money-making, but it also encouraged fraudulent practices in local money bureaus.” A further problem is that these Baosu Diaomu could also be made in private in Qing Dynasty or by later generations. More work by scholars of ancient quan is necessary to explain these questions. I hope we can get the answers in the near future.

Table 1 gives a list of the questions above for the readers' reference and research.

Authentication of Diaomu is not difficult, but that of a genuine Diaomu made in the contemporary period is not. Take JiaQing Tongbao Diaomu for example. I have three or four of them, all of which are golden, thick and heavy, with gold mouth closal. They were carved beautifully with sturdy strokes and lines, excellent craftsmanship and almost without knife marks. Unfortunately, it still can not be determined whether they were carved in the contemporary JiaQing period or in later ages.

4.Question on copper being golden

Diaomu made under the central government was golden, probably because refined brass was used. It was said that red copper of 70% plus zinc of 30% could produce brass after two times of refi nement and could be used as copper for Diaomu after four times of refi nement.

Bao Kang said in his DaqianTulu that...ancestor money was made of refined copper... only... It can be seen that Diaomu was not necessarily made by works in the Ministry of Works or the Ministry of Revenue, so alloy of genuine Diaomu might inconsistent in nature or color, and Diaomu was not necessarily golden.

Besides, during more than a hundred years from YongZheng to XuanTong's period, copper for Diaomu was impossibly to be exactly the same. What's more, some Diaomu with their golden mouth closed was gilded, and the color was brightly golden. Whether they were Diaomu for submission is unknown.

It was also said that Diaomu submitted by the Ministry of Works must have been golden ones made of refi ned copper, but those used for casting mother money were not necessarily made of refi ned copper, and the craftsmanship was not necessarily perfect either.

A bold deduction can be made here that not all of the genuine Diaomu were necessarily golden, and the craftsmanship was not necessarily so good that no knife marks were visible, or surfaces of the Diaomu were smooth as a mirror.

5.Differences between Diaomu and mother money initially made（Figure 1,2,3,4）

There has been a great deal of literatures talking about ancestor money （Diaomu）, which, we can say, is a new epoch for money collection. Unfortunately, quite a few literatures patched relevant information together.As a result, the rubbing is not good, so are pictures and photos, causing people to pass fi sh eyes for pearls. Observed carefully, the so-called Diaomu in such literatures was actually mother money. Diaomu was carved and each stroke was strong and sturdy. Coins got no sand holes or copper fl owing, but Diaomu had knife marks or chisel marks no matter how perfect they were. Under an amplifi er 10 power, each blade and trace can be seen clearly. Sometimes, a trace of blade was too big and the money coins made after would have a trace as well. However, the knife marks were not sharp. Collectors should be careful, otherwise, basic principles for collecting quan would be lost if mother coins were taken for Diaomu.

In addition, if the bottom seal of Diaomu was protruding, that of mother coins made after would certainly be so. The diameter of mother coins initially made was thinner than that of Diaomu. To Diaomu without a hole in the middle, there was a right angle between the rims of crossing section and the inner outline, while to those with its gold mouth opened, the rims were rather round and the angle is a triangle. To mother coins initially made, the rims constituted a triangle.

6.mother money Initially made and procedures （table 2）

In money-making of Qing Dynasty, mother coins formed a tree to make coins after by sand-casting, so there are many money trees existent today. However, there is little information in literatures on the procedures of making coins after Diaomu by sand-casting. One can say that it is unlikely to have Diaomu form a tree and make mother coins. How were mother coins made after Diaomu? This is diffi cult to say, but based on examination on actual ZhuMu, which had few sand holes and smooth bottom stamp, It is impossible to make coins by sand-casting as usual. If coins were truly made by sand-casting, the sand used must have been fi ner than used in common money-making process and the procedures to make mother coins must have been diff erent. Is it possible that mother coins were made after Diaomu by wax-losing? This is still unknown.

What were the procedures for modifying and refining mother coins initially made?This is unknown too. Although seen with naked eyes, strokes of genuine mother coins initially made were bolder than those of Diaomu, they could not be diff erentiated in most cases.

Cuts of characters of mother coins initially made were very deep. Knife marks could be seen sometimes. Usually, slope of removing the mold was reserved on rims of coins, and the common with Diaomu was larger coins than common ones, great craftsmanship, glowing copper material and heavy coin body.

Compared with common coins, strokes of mother coins were thinner and straighter than coins in circulation of the same edition. Besides, outline of the rims of coins was as deep as cuts of characters, and the inside and the Chuan were quite neat too.

Diaomu was carved and the traces could be seen under an amplifi er 10 power in almost every Diaomu. Just like what was said before, the carving traces of Diaomu were sharp, as if they were cut with a knife. The traces had clear-cut lines, and if these lines were bold and deep, mother coins initially made made after had these lines too. It was a pity that the lines of Diaomu were bold, and rims of the lines were uneven as well. Quan pals please pay attention.

7.Mother money and sample money

It was said by Sun Zhonghui that, “the square hole in the middle of Diaomu offi cially used to make money was opened already, and it was usually protruding in four directions. The square hole was called golden mouth by professionals in money-making bureau It took exquisite techniques to open it, otherwise, sand would stick into the coins resulted.”

“... As a rule, whenever new coins were made in the bureau, they had to be submitted to relevant authority for review, therefore they were called sample coins for submission. Besides, in order to unify money pattern nationwide, Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Works in the central government also made a batch of refi ned copper coins to be distributed and these coins were categorized into two types, mother coins issued by the Ministry and sample coins by the Ministry. Sample coins were more delicate than common ones, with slightly bigger shapes, neat and smooth surface, deeply cut characters, carefully fi led and polished outline and inside of the Chuan, and especially standard square and roundness. Pattern of mother coins were a little bit diff erent from that of sample coins, and the reason was that, to avoid sand sticking onto coins resulted, opening of the outline was slightly round, the circumference bulged like a fi sh bone, the strokes were thinner and clear-cut in details, and the surface was bright and clean.”

8.Common knife marks to Diaomu （Figure5, Figure 6）

Now that Diaomu was carved, there must have been tools for carving. What were they? It is diffi cult to fi nd out. Did they change over time? This is also diffi cult to answer. However, there is a general conclusion that main tools used for carving Diaomu were at least compasses, knife, fi le, saw and drill. Traces of the former four tools were the most obvious and there was material evidence.

If we look at the surface of inner and outer outlines of a Diaomu, there are traces of compasses too in some Diaomu, usually at inside of the outline or outside of the inner outline.

Very deep knife marks would frequently stay at rim of the outer outline of the bottom seal. This can also be seen at rim of inner outline resembling a square. And knife marks or triangular chisel marks can often found in the bottom seal too.

At rim of a straight stroke, vertical or horizontal knife marks can be found too. These traces are regular, and most of them can not be seen with naked eye.

As for semicircular strokes, such as the character Bao in Manchu, there are irregular vertical or horizontal strokes at rim of the semicircular rou. Some strokes are quadrangular mouth-shaped or like a rectangle. Lines of the square or rectangle sink inside and form a “X” shape or two opposite “Y” shapes. They are very regular, but we do not know if the counterfeit Diaomu in period of the Republic of China were made with such rigor too.

There are also circular characters being round and shape in the inside.

So the conclusion is that, for good Diaomu, there were rules on techniques for strokes to follow when carvers made them.

9.Evolvement of techniques for Diaomu （Figure 7）

Somewhere around the evolvement of techniques for making Diaomu is quite clear for instance, the bottom seal of most QianLong Diaomu was smooth, but ever since the period of DaoGuang, few small ping Diaomu were weven, but protruding mostly.

Evolvement of strokes of Diaomu was the most remarkable, in that craftsmanship of QianLong Diaomu was incomparable with straight rims which formed an angle of almost 90° with the bottom seal and wide strokes, however, JiaQing period onwards, strokes turned to be thin, up until GuangXu period, most strokes of Diaomu were thin like silk, and rims of strokes did not form a right angle with the bottom seal, but an oblique angle instead, or even an angle of 45°. This change may be a setback in appearance, and a progress in techniques for making money by sand-casting. What is this for? Further investigation is needed.

10.Evolvement of the character Bao in Manehu （Figure 8）

Evolvement of the character Bao in Manchu is worth discussing, especially the horizontal line opposite to the inner outline. For Diaomu in QianLong and JiaQing periods, the horizontal line of the character Bao was like, a jumping angle. In DaoGuang period, the line changed to be like an arc , with no sense of jumping, and up until XianFeng and GuangXu periods, it had a sense of roundness . This may be changes in carving techniques, but there is no relevant information. Nevertheless, if the horizontal line of the character Bao of Diaomu in QianLong and JiaQing periods was like, a jumping angle, there is a large chance that these Diaomu are carved in contemporary times. I hope to get more genuine Diaomu of QianLong period to answer these questions.

11.Various shaping techniques for Diaomu

Each Diaomu has its own characteristics because there were various shaping techniques for Diaomu, they were carved in diff erent times by diff erent workers with diff erent copper in quality, and sometimes some Diaomu were gilded and the color changed over time.

In summary, Diaomu are of various shapes, very colorful and beautiful. I have seen a QianLong Diaomu with unmatchable craftsmanship, whose strokes were deep, clear and straight, and whose bottom seal was even and smooth as a copper mirror. I have also seen a QianLong Tongbao, whose character Bao was like a lozenge , the horizontal and straight line were quite thin, the strokes was not oblique at all, and observed under an amplifi er, the knife marks were straight, so the strokes gave a sense of unevenness, but on the whole, the coin was delicate and incomparable. Unfortunately, more investigations are needed to fi nd out when it was carved and whether it was genuine.

Several small GuangXu Tongbao ping still exist today. The craftsmanship was mostly poor, with protruding bottom seal, quite a lot of knife marks, strokes thin like silk, extremely oblique stroke rim, just like a triangular file. The character Bao in Manehu had a many knife marks, which formed a positive angle with strokes. As regard to rubbing of GuangXu Diaomu, the strokes were thin like hairs, quite exquisite, but it is a pity that seen under an amplifier, the craftsmanship was coarse and there was no beauty at all. But still, the craftsmanship of some Diaomu was quite delicate.

The craftsmanship of large XianFeng money, especially large BaoYuan and BaoQuan moneyequivalent to a hundred or thousand was extremely delicate, comparable to coins carved in QianLong period. For these large coins, the bottom seal was really smooth like a mirror, all knife marks vanished and strokes were study. It is hard to put them down and they are truly King of the coins.

Most small XianFeng ping were carved in an exquisite way. Generally speaking, the strokes were thinner than those of QianLong Diaomu, but wider than GuangXu Diaomu, with oblique lines, but not as oblique as those of GuangXu Diaomu. On the back there was the character Bao in Manchu, the knife marks went along the character, diff erent from those of GuangXu Diaomu, where the traces and lines formed a positive angle. For small XianFeng ping Diaomu, most of the bottom seals were protruding.

I believe that counterfeit XuanTong Diaomu are more than genuine ones. For XuanTong Tongbao Diaomu, at present, there are only large and small samples of small ping （baoquan）,whose craftsmanship is almost the same with that of GuangXu Diaomu. However, the fake ones are more and can not be distinguished from the rubbing, rather, under an amplifi er, The fake ones have unfi t lines, are uneven with knife marks all over and have no sense of spirit or beauty. Please be careful.

Finally, there was a JiaQing Tongbao, the biggest horizontal lines of its character Jia were straight as they were made by a machine, but under an amplifi er power 10, these long and straight horizontal lines were found out to be carved.

Nowadays, collecting and studying Diaomu is a special learning. It is relatively easy to tell genuine XianFeng and GuangXu coins from the counterfeit since they exist in abundance. There are many a QianLong Diaomu too, but even more were carved in later periods, so that fish eyes are passed off as pearls. Coins of Yongzheng, JiaQing and DaoGuang periods are even more diffi cult to distinguish.

The book by Mr.Ding recorded only a few Diaomu,while Recording of Qing Money in the Palace Museum by Huang Pengxiao recorded a great number of Diaomu, the most of which are from JiaQing, DaoGuang and XianFeng periods. Unfortunately, there are no real coins as evidence, and what was included in the book by Mr. Huang were copies instead of rubbings, so it is unable to tell whether the coins are genuine or counterfeit.

There are many literatures talked about Diaomu, which, unfortunately, were mostly rubbings, and it is difficult to decide whether they were Diaomu or mother money. Some literatures have pictures in them, but it is a pity that they are blurred and the real appearance can not be discerned.

We have stepped into a new era, and can not be careless in studying ancient money. We should call a spade a spade and make a justifi ed explanation. Certainly, the studies and conclusions are not necessarily correct, but this is more logic than unsystematic study anyway.

The above are just several examples and I hope that quan pals at home and abroad will pay more attention on this aspect and save the research ignoring Diaomu, King of the quan.

The author thinks that Chinese Association of Ancient Money should organize teams to do some objective research on Diaomu. In this way, study on ancient money would be more interesting and reference can be provided for quan researchers of later generations.

Carving time （Table 1）