The Song Economic and Technological Revolution

The Song dynasty experienced unprecedented economic and commercial growth in Chinese history up to that point. The "jiaozi" emerged in Sichuan at the beginning of the eleventh century, considered the first relatively widely circulated paper money in world history, responding to a shortage of metal for minting enough coins to meet the enormous volume of transactions; the state progressively took over its issuance from private hands, and credit networks and bills of exchange developed to facilitate long-distance trade. State monopolies on salt, iron, and tea generated a substantial share of fiscal revenue.