Shaoxing was the reign title of Emperor Gaozong during the Southern Song dynasty's most desperate decades — the court had fled south following the Jurchen Jin dynasty's capture of Kaifeng in 1127, and iron cash became a fiscal necessity rather than a choice. Copper was critically short, diverted to military use and lost with the northern territories. Iron coinage flooded the south as a result, and its purchasing power depreciated sharply against copper equivalents throughout the period.
The Li script variety documented by Hartill as 17.57 is one of several script styles issued under this reign title, reflecting the multiple furnaces and regional casting operations operating simultaneously under loose central coordination.
Shaoxing was the reign title of Emperor Gaozong during the Southern Song dynasty's most desperate decades — the court had fled south following the Jurchen Jin dynasty's capture of Kaifeng in 1127, and iron cash became a fiscal necessity rather than a choice. Copper was critically short, diverted to military use and lost with the northern territories. Iron coinage flooded the south as a result, and its purchasing power depreciated sharply against copper equivalents throughout the period.
The Li script variety documented by Hartill as 17.57 is one of several script styles issued under this reign title, reflecting the multiple furnaces and regional casting operations operating simultaneously under loose central coordination.