Ant-nose Money Xing

Chu was the dominant southern state during the Warring States period, and its currency system diverged sharply from the bronze spade and knife money used by northern rivals. These cast pieces — named in modern parlance for the facial resemblance to an insect's head — bear a single graph that most scholars read as "bei," referencing the cowrie shells they effectively replaced in the Huai River valley economy. Chu never unified its coinage even within its own borders; ant-nose pieces circulated alongside gold "ying yuan" tablets, an arrangement unique among the major Warring States polities.