Zhouyuan Tongbao

The Zhouyuan Tongbao (traditional Chinese: 周元通寳; simplified Chinese: 周元通宝; pinyin: zhōuyuán tōng bǎo) is a copper-alloy cash coin produced during the reign of Emperor Shizong of the Later Zhou dynasty, a historical Chinese state that existed in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The design of the Zhouyuan Tongbao cash coins closely resembles that of the Kaiyuan Tongbao (開元通寳) series produced during the earlier Tang dynasty period. The Zhouyuan Tongbao cash coins were produced from recycled Buddhist statues confiscated from Buddhist temples. For this reason the Zhouyuan Tongbao is commonly referred to as "Arhat money" (traditional Chinese: 羅漢錢; simplified Chinese: 罗汉钱; pinyin: Luóhàn qián) or as the "money that destroyed Buddha" (traditional Chinese: 毀佛錢; simplified Chinese: 毁佛钱; pinyin: Huǐ fú qián). Nicknames only reserved for a handful of Chinese cash coins, as confiscation of Buddhist statues for coin production only happened around 7 times in Chinese history.

Superstitions surrounding these bronze cash coins claim that they have amuletic properties because they were cast from Buddhist statues, and are particularly said to be effective in midwifery, hence many later-made imitations and amulets based on them exist and they have remained a popular motif for Chinese and Vietnamese amulets.