Traditional Chinese silver
sycees and other currencies of fine metals were not denominated or made by a central
mint and their value was determined by their weight in liangs. They were made by individual silversmiths for local exchange, and as such the shape and amount of extra detail on each ingot were highly variable; square and oval shapes were common but "boat", flower, tortoise and others are known. The liang was still used in
Qing dynasty coinage as the basis of the silver currency and sycee remained in use until the end of the dynasty in 1911. Common weights were 50, 10, 5 and one liang. Before the year 1840 the government of the
Qing dynasty had set the official exchange rate between silver
sycees and copper-alloy
cash coins was set at 1,000
wén for 1 liang of silver before 1820, but after the year 1840 this official exchange rate was double to 2,000
wén to 1 liang. During the reign of the
Xianfeng Emperor, the government of the Qing dynasty was forced to re-introduce
paper money, among the paper money it produced were the
Hubu Guanpiao (戶部官票) silver notes that were denominated in liangs. The forced opening of China during the Qing dynasty created a number of
treaty ports alongside the China's main waterways and its coastal areas, these treaty ports would fundamentally change both the
monetary system of China as well as its
banking system, these changes were introduced by the establishment of
European and
American merchant houses and later banks that would engage in the Chinese money exchange and trade finance. Between the years 1840 and 1900, 1 market liang was worth 1.38
Spanish dollars. == Conversion rates in imperial China ==