By reporter Xiaozheng Yang and intern reporter Yi Zheng of our newspaper. On December 10th last year, at the construction site of "Xixi Chengyuan" in Hangzhou, workers accidentally unearthed more than 10,000 ancient coins weighing about 2 tons. These coins spanned from the Western Han Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, covering over 1500 years, sparking heated discussions throughout the city—whose collection could be so rich and massive? Yesterday, Zhejiang folk collector society president and cultural relics appraisal expert Zhaoyue Jiang called our newspaper's hotline 96068 to express this view: "The owner of the 2-ton ancient coins in Xixi is very likely the descendant of Xixi's great philanthropist Chongren Jiang."
"The owner of these ancient coins was no ordinary person," Zhaoyue Jiang confidently analyzed, "Firstly, in terms of variety, these ancient coins range from the Western Han Dynasty to the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, including rare treasures such as four-zhu banliang, Zhou Yuan Tongbao, and Longfeng Tongbao. With such an unprecedentedly large quantity, I believe their owner was a collector."
"Although this batch of ancient coins was on a large scale, they were buried shallowly, only 0.6 meters underground. Why would they be handled so casually?" Zhaoyue Jiang conducted an investigation based on the 'Hongwu hoard' theory: In the eighth year of Hongwu, the Ming Dynasty issued paper money called 'Daming Baochao', and Zhu Yuanzhang ordered that the circulation of gold and silver be prohibited, and all copper coins must be exchanged for banknotes. However, the people who were used to using copper coins buried their coins underground, waiting for the day when the emperor would change his mind. This is known as the 'Hongwu hoard'.
"This excavation result stops at the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty. I don't think this is a coincidence. This collector should have been active in the century before the Ming Dynasty, coinciding with the 'Hongwu hoard'. The quality of the ancient coins clearly indicates the extraordinariness of their owner. So, during this period, who in the Xixi area had the ability to collect such a scale of coins?"
The prominent family of Xixi emerges
People familiar with the Xixi area might know a poem: "The three gentlemen of the Jiang family are benevolent, righteous, and trustworthy, their virtue carries them through history. A single arrow determined Hangzhou, thus Xixi became Jiangcun." This refers to the origin of Jiangcun. "The poem mentions the three gentlemen of the Jiang family, so I followed up on this lead. Since they are the 'ancestors' of Jiangcun, they must have had significant backgrounds."
Effort pays off for those who persevere, and Zhaoyue Jiang found relevant materials in the Zhejiang Library. According to the Jiaqing Renhe County Gazetteer Volume Seven Wu Lin Fang Xiang Records and Qiantang County Gazetteer, "Jiang Chongren, ranked seventh in his family, known as Seventh Lang or Sir Jiang, along with Eighth Lang Chongyi and Ninth Lang Chongxin, lived in Jiangcun during the late Northern Song Dynasty, becoming wealthy through farming and renowned for their charity." These three brothers, Chongren, Chongyi, and Chongxin, who lived in Jiangcun, were exactly the three gentlemen mentioned in the poem.
The book also states: "In the third year of Xian Chun, the court bestowed titles, sealing them as Fu Shun Hou, Fu Hui Hou, and Fu You Hou. Temples were built at Yantiao Bridge and Guangfu Sacrifices were held, with worship taking place in Xixi. The name Jiangcun was established by their family, making them the ancestors."
With this record, Zhaoyue Jiang was delighted: "The Jiang family has long resided in Xixi, and they were figures from the 'late Northern Song Dynasty.' Note that from the late Northern Song to the early Ming Dynasty, it was just over 200 years. As a local powerful clan, the Jiang family was known for their kindness and generosity, indicating their substantial wealth. Later, the emperor conferred them with noble titles and set rituals for 'Xixi worship,' showing the Jiang family's enduring influence in this area. Active before the Hongwu era, residing in the Xixi area, and possessing sufficient wealth, the only ones meeting all these conditions are the Jiang family of Xixi."
Therefore, Zhaoyue Jiang believes that the owner of the 2-ton ancient coins in Xixi is very likely the descendant of the great philanthropist Chongren Jiang of Xixi.