Journal paper

Issue No.	No. 47
Title	The Jin Dynasty Policy of “No Minting”and Long-term Deflation
Author	Chen, Yen Liang
Page	1-38
Abstract	Some scholars have recently contended that during the Jin Dynasty (266~420), although cloth and other in-kind as mediums of exchange were common, money was still frequently used, and that period remained a monetized financial environment. Lu Bao’s “Chienshen Lun” (“Money God Treatise”) 魯褒錢神論 is raised as one of the main proofs for this view. 　　However, there is much textual and archaeological evidences to show that during the Jin money was scarce and so coins were expensive, and that the deflationary cycles made it was impossible to develop a sound monetary economy. Furthermore, under emperor Wu of the Jin, political decadence and bureaucratic greed increased greatly. Since coins were expensive and political corruption was rampant, money could become viewed as a god. But this had little to do with the situation of the monetary economy. 　　Lu Bao’s irony Chienshen Lun, in fact, reflects the current environment of political corruption and deflation, rather than a well-developed monetary economy. The Jin policy of “no minting” caused long-term deflation, and it thus made the natural economic model more rigid and extended its lifespan.
Keyword	Jin Dynasty, medieval China, natural economy, monetary history, deflation, Lu Bao’s Chienshen Lun
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