Item number: X1

Year: AD 770-476 BC

Material: Copper

Size: 91.5 x 32.5 x 1.3~2.5 mm (per fish)

Weight: 24.88 g (per fish)

Provenance:

1. Fuchin Coins 2016

2. Cheng Xuan Auctions 2010

This is a pair of fish-shaped bronze artefacts crafted during the Spring and Autumn period (770-476 BC). The obverse of each piece boasts a purplish-red surface, with detailed carvings of fish scales, heads, and fins. Near the mouth area, there is a hole designed for threading and attachment. The reverse of the bronze pieces are hollowed out, lacking any decoration or carving, and show varying degrees of verdigris corrosion.

Bronze fish artefacts are predominantly found in the tombs of middle to high-ranking nobles from the Western Zhou to the middle Spring and Autumn period, mainly near the areas close to the Zhou royal capitals in Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan provinces. This geographical distribution highlights the close connection between these objects and Zhou culture. The debate over whether bronze fish served as a form of currency in ancient China has persisted since the Republican era. Supporters, such as the numismatist Zheng Jiaxiang, argue that bronze fish were derived from shell currency transactions among the ancient inhabitants of the Yellow River region. Given that bronze fish are often unearthed alongside seashells, which have monetary characteristics, many auction houses and collectors have subsequently classified them within the category of currency.

Since the 1970s, systematic archaeological excavations by the Chinese government focusing on the ancient era have increasingly indicated that bronze fish were not currency but purely burial ornaments. A key reason is that bronze fish have only been unearthed from tombs and not from residential sites, cities, or other living spaces, often in quantities ranging from dozens to hundreds. If bronze fish had served as circulating currency, their discovery sites and quantities would likely be more widespread. Additionally, there has been no evidence of bronze fish being stored in the “hoards” used for keeping currency during the Spring and Autumn period.

Scholars supporting the theory that bronze fish were burial ornaments primarily reference the “Book of Rites,” a work describing Zhou dynasty funeral customs, particularly the chapter “Greater Record of Mourning Rites.” This text mentions that the coffins of nobles above the rank of Dafu (a high-ranking royal) were adorned with fish-shaped decorations. As the carriage transported the coffin to the cemetery, these fish-shaped ornaments, made of jade or bronze, were said to mimic the lively leaping of fish on the surface of a pond.

物件編號: X1

年代: 公元前 770-476 年

材料: 銅

尺寸: 91.5 x 32.5 x 1.3~2.5 mm

重量: 24.88 g

來源:

1. 福君錢幣 2016

2. 誠軒拍賣 2010

這是於春秋時代(公元前770-476年)之際打造的一對魚形銅器，正面通體為紫紅色外表，並有詳實雕刻的魚鱗、魚頭和魚鰭等部位，接近嘴喙處有一供穿繫的孔洞。銅器背面則為縷空，無加以修飾或雕刻，並且有大小不一的銅綠鏽蝕。

銅魚多發現於西周至春秋中期的中高級貴族墓葬中，地點則靠近周天子近畿的陝西、山西和河南一帶，能見此物件和周文化的密切關聯。關於銅魚是否為中國上古時期的貨幣，自民國以來學界就有爭論。支持者如錢幣學家鄭家相先生，認為銅魚是承襲自上古黃河一帶居民的貝幣交易。加以銅魚多跟具貨幣性質的海貝一同出土，故許多拍賣行和收藏家順勢將其劃為錢幣的範疇。

然而1970年代起，隨著中國政府針對上古時代的考古進行系統性挖掘，有越多證據顯示銅魚並非貨幣，而是單純的陪葬飾品。主要的原因是銅魚僅出土於墓葬中，並未在居址、城池等生活場域出土，往往僅有數十到數百件數量出土。若銅魚具有貨幣的流通性質，其出土地點和數量應該要更為普及。此外，並且未發現銅魚以春秋時期保管錢幣的「窖藏」保藏行為。

支持陪葬品說的學者，主要以孔子描繪到周代喪俗的著作《禮記》作為論證，其中〈喪大記〉篇章提及：大夫以上的貴族棺槨會懸掛魚形裝飾。當馬車載運棺槨前往墓地時，以玉或銅製成的魚形飾品就像活生生的魚在池面跳躍。