The big ideaPaper money is light to carry. People trust it because it can be swapped for coins.
How it works
About a thousand years ago in China, people paid with copper coins on strings. A merchant needed many strings, and they were heavy.
Merchants left their coins with a shop they trusted, and the shop gave back a paper note. A friend of the shop swapped the note for coins in the next city.
Later the government printed notes with carved wooden blocks. A note had a picture and a seal.
People trusted a note because they could swap it for coins. Paper is light.
Strings of coins or a paper note.
🪙strings of coins📄a paper note🖋️a seal
A note stands for coins.
Example 1: The heavy load
Mei's father hangs strings of coins on a pole.
He carries the pole on his shoulders.
Four strings of coins on a pole is a heavy load.
His back aches on the long road.
Example 2: From coins to a note
A merchant leaves his coins with a shop he trusts.
The shop gives him a paper note that says how many coins are left.
In the next city, a friend of the shop swaps the note for coins.
He carried only a note, and no heavy strings.
Example 3: Printing a note
A printer rolls ink on a carved wooden block.
He lays paper on it and presses.
Up comes a note with a picture and a seal.
The seal shows who made it, so it is hard to copy.
Example 4: Why people trusted it
A note is only paper.
But it can be swapped for coins.
So people trusted the note.
Words to know
merchant
Someone who sells goods, like silk and tea.
note
A piece of paper that stands for coins.
seal
A mark that shows who made the note.
Watch out
A note is trusted because it can be swapped for coins, not because it is pretty.
A paper note is not made of gold. It is paper.
A note stood for coins left at a trusted shop.
Try it
Why were strings of coins hard to carry?
What did the shop give a merchant for his coins?
Why did people trust a note?
What did a seal show?
Answers: 1. They were heavy · 2. A paper note · 3. They could swap it for coins · 4. Who made the note
Try at homeWith a grown-up, talk about how money is carried today, and why it is not heavy like strings of coins.
For grown-upsTalk about how people carry money today, and why it is not heavy like strings of coins. Keep it about the idea of a note standing for something.
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