Chinese Coins and the Han Style Bronze Mirror

The birth of a chiefdom called Tamna in Jeju coincided with the arrival of foreign cultures from China and Japan as well as from korean peninsula. The discovery of ancient Chinese coins, such as Wuzhuqian, Huoquan, Daquan Wushi and Huobu, and a bronze mirror copied from the Chinese Han mirror at a site in Sanji port, Jeju, gives a fine example. Among the relics, Wuzhuqian was made when China was under the rule of Han Wudi (156 - 87 BCE) and circulated for a much longer period than other coins. The weight of the coin was 'su (or zhu, 銖)' which was one 24th of the weight of one yang (or liang, 兩). The mirror is severely corroded that no details of the decorative designs can be perceived. It is clear, however, that the decoration includes a design of interconnected arches placed on the inner part and a comb pattern laid between the outer circle and the edge. The mirror is comparatively small and believed to have been used for religious purposes.