In addition to the Yen, another form of currency in China is called the Yuan, which is sometimes referred to as the Reminbi. The difference between the two currencies is similar to the British Sterling and Pound. The code for this currency is CNY, which uses the Chinese symbol of 元, which is also the symbol used to express Korean and Japanese currency units. As far as the way this currency is divided, one Yuan is divided into ten Jiao, also called Mao.
Although in China, the people call the currency Yuan but when dealing with this currency specific to the foreign exchange market for English, most people call it the Renminbi. The name Yuan translates to “round object” or “round coin”, which was made of silver during the Qing Dynasty.
Originally, the Chinese Yuan was minted using the identical specifications for the silver dollar and in the Republican Era from 1911 to 1949, the translation of “Yuan” in English was printed on the opposite side of banknotes. Interestingly, the common name in English in the Republic of China is “New Taiwan Note”.
In 1889, this currency was introduced equal to the Mexican Peso, which was a type of Spanish coin that had been used throughout Southeast Asia since the 17th century. This coin was used until 1948, which at that time was valued at 0.72 tael. In China, various mints were used during the late 1800s based on region and in fact, the central government started minting its own coins using the Yuan currency system. Then after the revolution, currency was also being issued by local, national, and foreign banks although most coinage subsided in the 1920s.
Then again in the 1930s, more new currencies were being introduced into Chine because of the invasion of the Japanese. The Yuan that had been used prior became linked to the Nationalist of the Kuomintang government but in 1935, currency reforms were enacted by this government. With that the amount of currency that could be issued to four of the banks controlled by the government to include the Bank of Communications, Central Bank of China, Bank of China, and the Farmers Bank of China was limited.
In fact, the silver Yuan was prohibited from being circulated and anyone personally owning silver was breaking the law. Instead of silver coins, banknotes were being issued. However, after the government had issued reforms, coins were again minted but this time out of base metal. Even banknotes were being issued in customs gold units by the Central Bank of China from 1930 to 1848, circulating as standard Chinese currency with the new Yuan.
Unfortunately, after WWII and during the time of the civil war, Nationalist China suffered greatly. Because of this, a new currency was introduced in 1948 known as the “Gold Yuan”. Then when the civil war ended, most of China was overtaken by communist forces, introducing another new currency but only in banknotes. By 1955, another new Yuan was being introduced, this one that had a rate of 10,000 old Yuan to one new Yuan, called the Renminbi Yuan, which is the Chinese Yuan still used today.
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