Paper was invented in China, and it is not surprising that the Chinese were the first to use paper money. They first appeared in the 9th century AD, but since then banknotes have not been preserved. The oldest paper note found dates back to 1380. In Europe, money began to be printed later - in 1661.
The history of money in China
About two thousand years ago, the Chinese were the first in the world to make real paper. But they didn’t guess at once to make paper money, for a long time there were coins in use, as in the whole world. Around 800 AD, the first money appeared on small sheets of paper with certain signs. These were not familiar banknotes in the modern sense: the empire issued them to some trading houses as certificates of deposits that could be exchanged for gold, silver and copper coins.
These sheets of paper with stamps that protected against counterfeiting could be transferred to others. Gradually, they became a common means of payment, but were rarely used. As long as there was enough metal, there was no need for such banknotes, but they existed along with coins for a long time.
When copper became scarce in Sichuan in central China, authorities decided to start issuing paper money. Merchants liked this reform - it was hard for them to carry bags of coins with them, and paper weighed almost nothing. But the mass production of money soon led to inflation, the situation in the country was aggravated by wars with the Mongols. The population less and less trusted in paper, and soon the banknotes disappeared.
This money made a strong impression on travelers from Europe who visited the Middle Kingdom, Marco Polo wrote that this reminds him of the alchemical formulas for turning base metals into gold.
After there were attempts to return money from paper: they came into circulation, but quickly became unnecessary. For example, they began to issue banknotes in the middle of the XIV century. From that time to the present day, a sheet of paper with hieroglyphs, seals and drawings has been preserved - this is the oldest paper banknote dated to 1380. It depicts a painting by the famous Chinese artist Ni Zan at that time.
By 1500, the release of paper money in China stopped and only resumed in the 19th century due to European influence.
