Zhuangpiao

The Zhuangpiao (Chinese: 莊票), alternatively known as Yinqianpiao (銀錢票, "silver money notes"), Huipiao (會票, "corporate notes"), Pingtie (憑帖), Duitie (兌帖), Shangtie (上帖), Hupingtie (壺瓶帖), or Qitie (期帖) in different contexts, refer to privately produced paper money (or company scrip) made in China during the Qing dynasty and early Republic of China periods issued by small private banks known as qianzhuang.

An advantage which the zhuangpiao had for the Chinese economy as it would save the amount of money that was circulating and help facilitate more cross-regional trade across China.

[citation needed] To all qianzhuang a zhuangpiao is regarded the same as cash money (or a "promissory non-recogniser") and they had a very trustful relationship with each other.

[citation needed] During the late 19th century zhuangpiao banknotes were a common method of payment in the credit business of Shanghai and were both accepted by local and foreign banks.

[1] The Qianzhuang would mobilise their domestic resources to an order of magnitude that would exceed the paid-up capital that they initially received several times over, this happened mostly through issuing banknotes and deposit receipts.

During this era foreign banking companies tended to have an account at least one qianzhuang, since only the guilds operated by them could clear the large number zhuangpiao forms that were circulating in the city of Shanghai, this happened through a rather elaborate daily mechanism which was dubbed Huihua (非匯, "draft exchange").

[2][5] The huihuazhuang credit banks of Shanghai enjoyed special privileges over the smaller banks such as the right to both issue and to accept yinpiao (銀票, "silver notes") denominated in silver taels and qianpiao (錢票, "cash notes") denominated in copper-alloy cash coins.

[1] When the chop loan mechanism collapsed this severely affected the standing of zhuangpiao, much like all the other organic, private-order arrangements were badly hit, in a negative way on the monetary Chinese market.

In March of the year 1901 Zhang Zhidong commanded his subordinates to repudiate those magistrate seals on the Hubei Guanpiao banknotes that were issued as Zhang forthrightly explained to them that his foreign-made printing machines applied anti-forgery techniques, and that acquiescing seals would hamper circulating and competing banknotes issued by modern banks in China.

[10] In the year 1906 the regulations of the North and South city money industry reorganisation stipulated that when zhuangpiao expired that if unfamiliar people would request their zhuangpiao to be cashed in, the qianzhuang would refuse to pay into 12:00 post meridiem, this was in accordance to the general rules and regulations of the Chinese financial market at the time.

[citation needed] Because of the associated risks the qianzhuang had created a large number of detailed provisions specifically for the situation where they would have to suspend paying out a zhuangpiao because its loss had been reported.

[citation needed] Three kinds of stamps were used on Chinese banknotes including zhuangpiao, these were "seals", "overprints", and "endorsements".

The official seals which were placed on Qing dynasty era banknotes tended to serve a large variety of purposes.