Ancient Coins from some of the following Dynasties: Wei, Minor Han, Wu, Western Chin, Eastern Chin, Sung, Liang, Ch'en, Huo Chao, Northern Wei, Northern Ch'i and Northern Zhou. Some of these Dynasties did not produce coins. For more information please check our Reference Guide.

WEI DYNASTY, AD 221 to 265

Ts'ao-ts'ao, adopted son of the chief eunuch of Western Han, gained control of Western Han in AD 192. He ruled through a puppet Han emperor whom, in AD 220, he forced to abdicate in favor of his son Ts'ao-pei, who immediately changed the name of the dynasty to WEI.

EMPERORS OF WEI

Both of the dynasties that co-existed with Wei appear to have issued only high denomination fiduciary coins (discussed below). Unfortunately no coinage has yet been proven to be associated with the Wei Dynasty.

For more information on the coinage of the Wei Dynasty, please check our Reference Guide.

MINOR HAN DYNASTY, AD 221 to 265

In AD 221, after Ts'ao-ts'ao established the Wei Dynasty by overthrowing the house of Han, one branch of the Han Royal family survived in Liu Pe, who established the Minor Han Dynasty with his capital at Ch'eng-tu in Szechuan province. Forty five years later, Ts'ao-ts'ao's great-grandson competed the overthrow, conquering Minor Han, but in the same year Ssu-ma Yen overthrew Wei in a military coup, establishing the Chin Dynasty.

EMPERORS OF MINOR HAN

For more information on the coinage of the Minor Han Dynasty, please check our Reference Guide.

WU DYNASTY, AD 229 to 280

Mitchiner (page694) records that Sun Ch'uan, a general of the Western Han, established himself at Wuchang (Hupai Province) in AD 222 upon the fall of the Western Han. It must have taken him some time to establish a power base as it was not until AD 229 that he took the title of Emperor under the name Ta Huang, establishing the WU dynasty and moving the capital to Nanking. The Wu appear to have been the strongest of the Three Kingdoms, as they survived for 15 years after both Wei and Northern Han had been overrun by the Chin. (Note that Schjoth refers to this as the Eastern Wu Dynasty).

EMPERORS OF WU

As with the Minor Han, the Wu issued high denomination fiduciary coinage, causing inflation and making counterfeiting very profitable. To combat this, the people were required to hand in their copper possessions in return for the inflated cash coins, thus depriving them of the raw materials of counterfeiting.

For more information on the coinage of the Wu Dynasty, please check our Reference Guide.

UNIFICATION OF WESTERN CHIN, AD 265-316

The Western Chin dynasty, with its capital at Loyang, was established by Ssu-ma Yen in AD 265 and achieved a new unification of China with the conquest of Wu in AD 280. When Min Ti was killed in an uprising in AD 316 the Western Chin lost control and China was again fragmented into several small dynasties. Emperor Yuan, a member of the Ssu-ma family, retained partial control of the South, establishing the Eastern Chin Dynasty with his capital at Nanking.

EMPERORS OF WESTERN CHIN

For more information on the coinage of the Western Chin Dynasty, please check our Reference Guide.

EASTERN CHIN DYNASTY, AD 316 to 420

The Eastern Chin was a weakened continuation of rule by the Ssu-ma family of Western Chin, with their capital now at Chien K'ang near Nanking. Some time after AD 343 a general named Huan Wen usurped power, ruling through K'ang Ti as puppet emperor, but died soon after. The Ssu-ma family regained control until about AD 419 when general Liu Yu killed Emperor Ngan Ti, replacing him with Kong Ti as a puppet emperor. Within one year Kong Ti was in turn killed and Liu Yu declared himself first Emperor of the Sung Dynasty.

EMPERORS OF EASTERN CHIN

For more information on the coinage of the Eastern Chin Dynasty, please check our Reference Guide.

SUNG DYNASTY, AD 420 to 479

After overthrowing Eastern Chin, Liu Yu took the name Wu Ti as first emperor of the Sung Dynasty. The family of Liu gradually lost power until, in AD 477, general Hsiao Tao Ch'eng killed Emperor Ming Ti, usurping power and placing Chouen Ti on the throne as a puppet emperor but in turn killing him in AD 479 and proclaimed himself first Emperor of the Southern Ch'i dynasty.

EMPERORS OF SUNG

For more information on the coinage of the Sung Dynasty, please check our Reference Guide.

LIANG DYNASTY, AD 502 to 557

The Liang Dynasty was established by general Hsiao Yen of the Southern Ch'i Dynasty, but since he was, however distantly, related to the ruling house of the Southern Ch'i, one might think of this as simply a name change of the Southern Ch'i. Using the name Liang Wu Ti, general Hsiao Yen was an able ruler but at his death in AD 549 at the age of 86, there was no able successor and Liang was thrown into anarchy. After a series of ineffective emperors, Liang was overthrown from within by an official called Ch'uan Pa-Hsien.

EMPERORS OF LIANG

For more information on the coinage of the Liang Dynasty, please check our Reference Guide.

CH'EN DYNASTY, AD 557 to 589

Ch'en Pa-hsien was a descendant from the House of Han and through him the Han had their last opportunity to rule, controlling much of Southern China. Ch'en remained powerful right up to the end and was the last conquest of the Sui dynasty in their Unification of China.

EMPERORS OF CH'EN

For more information on the coinage of the Ch'en Dynasty, please check our Reference Guide.

HUO CHAO DYNASTY, AD 307 to 352

As of yet, we have not been able to find a full account of the events that led Shih-Lo to break away from the Western Chin. Schjoth lists him as a rebel which is probably correct, but since he established a dynasty with at least one successor, he deserves a heading under his own dynasty. Unfortunately, while we know he died in AD 332, and that the dynasty continued to exist until overrun by the Mongols in AD 352, we have not been able to find the names of his successors.

For more information on the coinage of the Huo Chao Dynasty, please check our Reference Guide.

NORTHERN WEI DYNASTY, AD 386 to 550

The Northern Wei Dynasty was established in AD 386 by a northern Turko-Mongol people known as the Toba (or T'u Pa). They proved very powerful and gradually expanded, conquering several of the surrounding dynasties. In about AD 490, after moving the capital P'ing Ch'eng in Shansi to Loyang in Hunan the Toba began adopting Chinese culture and only after this do we see any coins being issued.

This period also saw Northern Wei power eroded until, in AD 535, two generals succeeded in a coup. In an unusual move they did not declare themselves emperors, but rather established new dynasties as Eastern and Western Wei which they ruled through puppet emperors.

EMPERORS OF NORTHERN WEI

With the adoption of Chinese culture in about AD 490, the emperors began adopting Chinese names, thus the use of both Chinese and Toba names for the last three emperors. We have not been able to find out who was ruling this dynasty during its last five years.

For more information on the coinage of the Northern Wei Dynasty, please check our Reference Guide.

NORTHERN CH'I DYNASTY, AD 550-577

The Northern Ch'i Dynasty was founded by Wen Hsuan Ti, the Son of a general who helped overthrow the Northern Wei in AD 535 and the Eastern Wei in AD 550. They existed alongside the Northern Zhou Dynasty, which was established under similar circumstances by a different general, until conquered by them in AD 577.

EMPERORS OF NORTHERN CH'I

For more information on the coinage of the Northern Ch'i Dynasty, please check our Reference Guide.

NORTHERN ZHOU DYNASTY, AD 557 to 581

The Northern Zhou dynasty was established in AD 557 by the son (whose name we do not yet know) of a general who helped overthrow the Wei dynasty, and then overthrew the Western Wei which he had ruled through puppet emperors. In AD 581 Northern Zhou was renamed as the Sui Dynasty following an internal coup which shifted power between two members of the ruling family. It is interesting that in AD 618 the Sui were in turn overthrown by Li Yuan, a surviving aristocrat of the Western Wei.

EMPERORS OF NORTHERN ZHOU

For more information on the coinage of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, please check our Reference Guide.

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