158  THE  CHINESE  EMPIRE
The  question  is  even  further  complicated  by  a  practice,  which
has  crept  in  of  recent  years,  of  making  20  per  cent,  of  payments ­
  in  subsidiary  silver  coins  (800  fine),  with  perhaps
some  bargaining  as  to  whether  the  proportion  shall  be
15  or  25  per  cent.  Here  we  have  a  case  of  degeneration
within  the  memory  of  men  now  living.  Disregarding  any
question  of  what  constitutes  “  pure  silver,”  a  tael  containing ­
  579-85  grains  of  fine  silver  becomes  one  of  574' 1
grains,  and  ultimately  one  of  561-4  grains  ;  and,  as  there
is  a  tendency  now  (1906)  to  substitute  20-cent  pieces  entirely ­
  for  dollars,  the  tael  is  on  the  way  to  become  one
containing  510-3  grains  of  fine  silver.  These  figures  are  all
subject  to  proportionate  reduction  for  each  of  the  various
sub-standards  of  weight.
Shanghai  Tad
I  come  now  to  the  consideration  of  the  currency  at
Shanghai,  the  commercial  metropolis  of  China.  Omitting
the  government  and  other  exceptional  taels,  I  must  first
note  the  exclusive  use  of  the  Canton  standard  (tael  =  579  ^5
grains)  for  dealings  in  foreign  bar  silver  ;  a  practice  originating ­
  when  foreign  trade  was  centred  at  Canton  and  con-.
  tinned  when  the  foreign  banks  and  merchants  brought
Cantonese  as  their  first  compradors  and  shroffs  to  Shanghai,
has  been  sanctified  by  use  and  by  the  ingrained  habit  of
intioducing,  whenever  possible,  further  elements  of  conversion
  into  all  dealings  with  the  precious  metals.  Ther
the  Tsaoping  tael,  described  above,  is  fully  current  and  full)
recognised  at  Shanghai  and  in  a  large  area  around,  anc
is  the  ordinary  currency  for  Chinese  remittances  througl
mese  anks  to  places  in  China,  e.g.  a  remittance  to  Han
mw  is  converted  from  “  Shanghai  taels  ”  to  Tsaoping  tael
and  thence  to  “  Hankow  taels.”  Finally  the  légitimât
tl&lt;d"  grading  currency  of  the  place  is  the  "  Shangh;
+ v  ,  ° r  ^ an ghai  convention  currency,”  which  is  als
NnrtVi  ^rv. ar  übernational  exchange  for  the  trade  &lt;
lor-il  ma  and  the  Yangtze  basin,  all  other  quotations  :
urrencies  being  re-conversions  from  the  rate  f'