The history of gold

From the primitive era to today's modern society, GOLD has a pivotal position in the development and growth of human art, culture and economy. The goldsmiths, handicrafts and industrial goldsmiths discovered by archaeologists 40,000 years ago still have a unique dazzling golden plaque. It is no wonder that the primitive people have always worshipped gold.

The natural color of gold is compared with the mystery and dynamics of the sun. It is a symbol of the mighty power and the warm and feminine feeling.

The earliest use of gold in the history of the book is the story of the gold mines in Egypt (EGYPT) and the honey-supapore valley (MESAPOTAMIANVALLEY). The Egyptians believed that they were the first to know how to use gold to make art. They discovered the method of melting gold, separating gold from other metals and impurities. The method used was only heated by a mud-made crucible. After the gold melts, it is poured out, and other impurities are absorbed by the mud. The ancient Egyptians' skill in melting gold was very skillful and exquisite, and the gold art that was unearthed was amazing. The Solomon Mine, recorded in the Bible, is one of the ancient gold producing areas.

When the Egyptians were working in the gold mines of the River Nile (RiverNILE), the Greeks and Persia were also busy developing gold mines in the Mediterranean (MEDITERRANEANSEA), and the production and demand for gold increased. Many costume films about Rome (ROME), such as the popular "Golden Fleece" (THEGOLDENFLEECE), "Golden Lamb" and the Greek mythology "KINGMIDAS" (Ginger Guardian) (KINGMIDAS) are all related to gold, from which you can See the importance of gold in ancient culture.

The Romans contributed the most to the technology of early gold mining. At that time, no explosives were invented. They used the principle of shrinking and contracting to break the stones in the mine with high temperature and cooling procedures, and then used water to excavate the metal, increasing the production of gold to 10,000 pounds per year. At that time, the circulation of gold coins was also recorded in history.

Since then, due to poor management of gold mines and political factors in various aspects, gold mining has stalled. At the beginning of the 13th century, gold production in Asia and Europe increased, and international gold trading was also very active. Italy (ITALY), Hungary (HUNGARY) and Portugal (PORTUGAL) have become the center of coins, while France (FRANCE) and the United Kingdom (ENGLAND) have also established artisans colleges and trade associations to further strengthen the research and control of gold.

In just 50 years from 1550 to 1600, gold production was estimated at 2 million pounds. Half of it is owned by Spain (SPAIN), making her a rich man of the era. The output of gold has increased with the transformation of demand and demand. China (CHINA) has also become one of the countries that worship gold. Gold has become China's precious currency.

In the 18th century, the UK became the main center of metal trading. In 1917, SIRISAACNEWTON linked the price of gold to the British pound and established the international standard and status of gold.

In the mid-18th century, gold has become a currency of commercial trade and plays an important role in the stock and coin markets. At that time, the United States (UNITEDSTATESOFAMERICA) continued to work hard to explore gold mines. Russia (RUSSIA) also found new mines, but the market is always in short supply, and the use of gold in various heavy industries is becoming more widespread.

In 1849, the famous California California Gold Rush (CALIFORNIAGOLDFUSH) occurred. California discovered a large number of gold mines, which produced a large amount of gold and attracted more than 40,000 people to explore. Everyone is in their "golden dream"! The news shocked the world, making the United States a strong country, promoting her transportation business, allowing her to control and control world trade, technology, banking and financial markets. This gold rush has increased the world's knowledge of the location of gold mines and the development of technology, and humans' preference for gold has pushed up another peak.

The number of mines discovered since then has grown rapidly, including Washington, USA (WASHINGTOND.C., 1855), Montana (MONTANA, 1852), Nevada (NEVADA, 1856), Dakota State (DAKOTA, 1865), Colorado (COLARADO, 1878), Australia (AUSTRALIA, 1851. Australia's population increased threefold in 10 years) and Canada (CANADA) Kangda (KLONDIKE, 1896), resulting in More than 60,000 people are clustered close to the YUKON region of Alaska (Alaska's KLONDIKEDAYS, which is celebrated annually in Canada). Among them, South Africa (SOUTHAFRICA)'s WITWATERSRANDREEF mine is the largest, until now, South Africa It is still the country with the highest gold production in the world (the gold production accounts for 30% of global production). The tide of immigration from the gold-producing regions of the United States, Australia, and Canada has far-reaching implications for population distribution. Without these gold mines, I am afraid that many people will still be in the country, and the transportation network of the gold-producing countries will not be as developed.

Kim’s long history and dazzling glory have left an irreplaceable position in the human heart; although its output has increased, it has been rapidly absorbed by the market. Human appreciation and love for gold has a long history!

China's gold and silver history

Gold and silver have a long history in China. As early as 4,000 years ago in the Xia Dai era, the Chinese had already understood the use of gold and silver as ornaments and traded goods. In Sima Qian's "The Book of Shi Jiping", there is a record of "the money of Tiger Xia, the gold is the three products, or the yellow, or white, or the red." "Yellow" means gold, "white" is silver, and "red" is copper. The tombs of the early Shang Dynasty were also found to be used as funerary objects. More and more unearthed cultural relics have confirmed that China has mastered the skills of gold and silver smelting and ornament manufacturing in the Xia and Shang Dynasties.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, gold and silver were generally used as ornaments by the princes and nobles, and they were symbols of wealth. The Yan Zhao Wang recorded in the history of the Yishui Building "Golden Terrace" is a recruiter. The "Golden Terrace" is covered with gold and attracts celebrities from all over the world. Therefore, it is also known as "Cai Xian Tai", which has made the Yan Kingdom, which was originally invaded by Qi State and its national decline, revived. Qin Wang won the government with a large amount of gold to buy Guo Guo, the minister of Zhao Guo, so that he persuaded Zhao Wang to surrender, so that Zhao Guo was quickly annexed by Qin. At that time, it was not uncommon to reward meritorious people with gold and silver.

After Qin Shihuang unified China, he concentrated gold and silver and unified the currency. The gold currency is called "the upper currency" and the copper is the "lower currency". However, because Qin Shihuang used a lot of people to build the Great Wall, so that the souls were coated with charcoal, labor shortage, the gold mining operations will decline.

The Han Dynasty was gradually subsided because of internal diseases, and Handi diligently loved the people. In addition to reducing the tax on goods, it also rectified the currency and made the society prosper. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty used silver and tin to cast three kinds of large, medium and small currencies, which were unified in the country, turning gold into a raw material for jewelry and craft utensils; but gold is still a tool for rewarding the subjects and the people. At that time, more and more gold was owned by the rich and the official. According to the "Han Shu", the gold used by the emperor to reward is as much as 1,300 tons, so the gold in the Qin and Han dynasties was unusually popular. At the same time, silver also became the main metal for making money. After entering the Eastern Han Dynasty, the emperor was uncharacteristically small, using gold as a reward, and the amount of gold was reduced to about 5 tons. Later scholars analyzed that there were four reasons for the reduction of gold at that time. First, when Buddhism was introduced to China, many temples built Buddhist temples and statues. Some Buddhist temples were decorated with gold, and Buddha statues were cast with gold. According to the research of historians, there were statues of Buddha that were shaped by 600 kilograms of gold. Second, gold deposits that are easy to explore have been exhausted, and no new sources have been found, so supply has decreased. Third, the wealthy people used a large amount of gold and silver products as burial after their death, which caused a large amount of gold to withdraw from the circulation field. The fourth is the failure of the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu, and Handi has to accompany the gold jewelry every time, causing a large amount of gold outflow.

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the social economy improved and gold mining was quite prosperous. The carriages and harnesses that Yang Guifei rides are made of gold; in addition to the bureaucrats, gold and silver are also quite popular among the people.

The skills of smelting gold and making ornaments in the Tang Dynasty have improved and improved. In addition to knowing how to melt and smelt gold, people also make a golden hammer into a thin piece, which is made into a hair as a hair, also called "weaving gold." The gold-plated process is also very delicate, and the craftsmen often plate gold on other metals and gold on the ceramic surface.

Gold mining in the Song Dynasty was further developed, in addition to taking gold in the sand-washing method, and began to explore underground mines. During the Huangyou years, the annual output of gold reached 1,500, which is a climax of China's history of gold mining operations. Although the gold production in the Song Dynasty was high, there were many wars, and each time the defeat was also made of gold, the price of gold was maintained at a high level.

The heavy tax system of the Ming Dynasty (taxed at 40% of income) has hit the mining business. The Qing Dynasty continued its heavy taxation policy, but the rich mine owners were the richest people in the government. They deducted the heavy tax expenditures from the workers, so the victims of heavy taxes were workers rather than gold mine owners.

In the 14th year of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1888), the highest annual output of gold was 13,542 kg, accounting for 7% of the world's total output, ranking fifth in the gold country.

During the Republic of China, civil wars were frequent, warlords fought for power, and some were still searching for private wealth to pay for their military expenses. History also records the forgery of certain warlords who have cast their own color or have a low gold content. They are circulating in the market, deceiving the people and filling their pockets. They want the people to perform military service, and they are ruthlessly working on the miners, causing many miners to starve to the mine. At the same time, all over the world, such as Brazil (BRAZIL), South Africa, Australia, have set off a gold mining boom, attracting many Chinese to emigrate to earn money. At that time, China's gold mining and smelting methods were lagging behind foreign countries, and did not take into account the interests of gold mining workers, so gold production has been falling. Until the liberation, China's gold production showed new hope. At that time, China stipulated that gold and silver were uniformly managed by the National Bank, so only a few large cities were supplied with gold ornaments, and private individuals were not allowed to buy or sell freely. During the Cultural Revolution, the gold and silver ornaments were classified as "four olds", and the supply of gold ornaments in the market was completely stopped. However, the Chinese have had a special interest in gold and silver since ancient times. Although the government advocates a plain life, the people’s traditional love for gold and silver has not disappeared. In 1982, China resumed the sale of gold ornaments, and gold ornaments became more popular with economic reforms and social modernization.