bullion

Examples of bullion in the following topics:

• The Economy under the Ming Dynasty

  • The economy of the Ming dynasty was characterized by extreme inflation, the return to silver bullion, and the rise of large agricultural markets.
  • The early Ming dynasty attempted to use paper currency, with outflows of bullion limited by its ban on private foreign commerce.
  • As their purity and exact weight varied, they were treated as bullion and measured in tael.
  • Excessive luxury and decadence marked the late Ming period, spurred by the enormous state bullion of incoming silver and by private transactions involving silver.

• Trade and Commerce

  • Among the innovations of the period were new forms of partnership and the issuing of insurance, both of which contributed to reducing the risk of commercial ventures; the bill of exchange and other forms of credit that circumvented the canonical laws for gentiles against usury and eliminated the dangers of carrying bullion; and new forms of accounting, in particular double-entry bookkeeping, which allowed for better oversight and accuracy.