Site of the Cai State Coin Minting Furnace

Site of the Cai State Coin Minting Furnace

The Site of the Cai State Coin Minting Furnace is a cultural tourism attraction.

An ancient production workshop. Built during the Spring and Autumn period by Lord Ping of the Cai State, this minting workshop produced currency using gold ingots and bronze to cast forms such as Ying Yuan and Yi Bi. In the summer of 1982, a piece of Ying Yuan (also known as Yuan Jin or Jin Yuan) was unearthed from the coin minting furnace site. It is made of gold, weighs 28 grams net, and is 0.4 cm thick. The double-linked disc is 3.1 cm long, 1.8 cm wide at the base, and 1.4 cm wide at the face, with the horizontal seal script characters “Ying Yuan” cast on the face. It was a commonly circulated currency in the Chu State during the Warring States period and is a national first-class cultural relic. The *Xincai County Annals* record: “The coin minting furnace site is located 200 meters north outside the east gate of the county town, now called Lu Xiang (Furnace Lane). After heavy rains, fragments of gold are often exposed on the ground. It is the site of a coin minting furnace from the Chu State during the Warring States period.”

Legend has it that in the late years of the Sui Dynasty (during the seventh year of Emperor Yang’s Daye reign, i.e., 611 AD), numerous peasant uprisings broke out. Eighteen brothers, led by Cheng Yaojin, rebelled against the emperor and corrupt officials, fighting for the people by robbing the rich to aid the poor, and were widely welcomed by the populace. Following the strategy of military advisor Xu Maogong, they used the coin minting furnace and gold stored in the treasury of Lord Ping of the Cai State to forge fragmented gold into “flower tubes.” During grand festivals such as the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month and traditional temple fairs in the ancient city’s bustling areas, they would release and scatter the fragmented gold over hundreds of meters. Cheng Yaojin intended to immortalize his name for aiding the poor forever, but people at the time did not understand, so the gold sank or was plowed back into the earth. Many years later, after heavy rains washed away the soil, fragments of gold occasionally emerged and were often picked up by locals. As a result, the story of Cheng Yaojin has been passed down through oral tradition, and the ancient Chu-Cai State gold smelting and coin minting site from the Spring and Autumn period has become widely known as the “Cheng Yaojin Gold-Dividing Furnace.”

The site had long been abandoned, but after heavy rains, fragments of gold were often found on the ground. In the summer of 1982, a gold coin “Ying Yuan” was found here. In July 1983, drilling revealed numerous remnants of frozen slag blocks. Research confirmed that this is the site of a coin minting furnace from the Chu State during the Warring States period.

The coin minting furnace site is located 200 meters north outside the east gate of Xincai County town, now known as Lu Xiang (Furnace Lane). It is 300 meters from Nan Chenghe Road (Minglin Road), 1,000 meters from National Highway 106, and 1,500 meters from Zhumadian–Xinxiang Road. It is 102 kilometers from Zhumadian City, more than 130 kilometers from the Shiren Mountain Scenic Area, more than 120 kilometers from the Boshan Scenic Area, and more than 160 kilometers from the Tongshan Scenic Area.