154  THE  CHINESE  EMPIRE
considered  as  “  bank  money  ”—a  fictitious  medium  of
exchange  from  one  currency  to  another—as  when  we  fin
that  (with  normal  exchange  at  1,200  cash  to  the  tae  )
2,000  or  3,000  or  4,000  cash  or  more  are  levied  where  a
tax,  assessed  in  taels,  is  collected  in  cash,  while  the  exchange ­
  is  fixed  at  800  cash  or  less  where  a  tax,  assesse
in  cash,  is  collected  in  silver.  This,  however,  from  another
point  of  view,  may  be  taken  as  an  eccentricity  of  the  Chinese
taxing  offices.  The  normal  standard  Kuping  tael  is  575  8
grains  of  silver  1,000  fine  ;  this  is  the  receiving  rate  (the
paying  rate  being  0  2  per  cent,  lighter)  at  the  Imperial
Treasury,  and  the  several  provincial  treasuries  vary  from
this  standard  in  some  instances  as  much  as  one  per  cent.
Where  the  foreign  obligations  of  the  Imperial  Governmen
are  concerned  the  equivalence  of  the  several  currencies  is
taken  as  follows  :—
100  Haikwan  taels  =  101642335  Kuping  taels.
100  Kuping  taels  =  10960  Shanghai  taels.
Tsaoping  Tael
As  the  weight  element  of  a  currency  tael,  the  Tsaoping
tael  is  current  throughout  the  provinces  contributing  tri
bute  in  kind  (mainly  rice)  which  is  forwarded  to  the  capital,
either  by  sea  or  by  the  Grand  Canal,  viz.  in  the  provinces
of  Kiangsi,  Anhwei,  Kiangsu  and  Chekiang  ;  it  ^  a ^ s0
the  regular  tael  in  use  at  Chefoo,  on  the  sea  route  to  the
north,  but  is  not  known  at  Tientsin,  the  northern  terminus
of  the  Grand  Canal  and  the  port  of  disembarkation  by
the  sea  route.  It  may  be  stated  with  some  degree  of  confidence
  to  weigh  565-65  grains,  subject  always  to  the  possibihty
  of  oscillation  in  the  standard.  While  the  weight
is  more  or  less  constant,  varying  between  one  place  and
another  by  no  more  than  a  tenth  to  a  half  per  cent.  (100
ooochow  Tsaoping  taels  =  99-90  Shanghai  Tsaoping  taels
y  weight),  the  tael  of  currency  is  based  in  different  places
on  different  standards  of  silver.  At  Chefoo  the  standard
is  976,  at  Kiukiang  and  Wuhu  994,  at  Hangchow  997-