A few years ago, when I wrote a collection of articles for Charm magazine, I once wrote an article about spending money in ancient times. In fact, there was a special sum of money in the coin box at that time, and there was no "confession" at that time. It is very special, but it is an indispensable life "course" for everyone in the world, but it is difficult to collect this elegant hall in the eyes of ordinary people. Unexpectedly, in the ancient coin collection market today, the secret coins that used to be difficult to be elegant are very popular and have different seekers.

In the summer of 2002, it was the beginning of my fascination with antique collection. One weekend, I went to Taobao, an antique market near the vegetable market in Nanzhen, Dinghai. Because of the heavy rain in the early morning, there were many people in the crowded market, and even fewer people set up stalls, including a countryman I knew very well. When I visited the stall and asked if there were any good goods, he pretended to grope in his pocket for a long time and then picked out a seemingly ordinary copper coin.

Ancient coins are a relatively indifferent project to me. After all, there are so many kinds of antique collections that people's interest and knowledge are limited. I generally despise the ancient coins I met with my friends in the market. But the mystery of this man aroused my curiosity. I took it and saw that it was a coin with a special pattern. This money is about the size of an ordinary coin. On the one hand, it is engraved with the word "romantic", on the other hand, it is a gesture pattern that both men and women love. Brass texture and ripe patina are a big "secret money" at the gate of the Qing Dynasty.

Although I seldom set foot in coin collection, I have heard of the famous secret play with money. The ancients regarded sex as a scourge. In fact, sexual desire is one of the strongest and indispensable desires of human beings. In this regard, although the ancients were deeply taboo, they enjoyed it. In the circulation of cultural relics, it is often found that the ancients painted pictures of men and women's sexual life, which is called "secret play" Zhao Mengfu, a famous painter in Yuan Dynasty, and Tang Yin, a great painter in Ming Dynasty, were both famous for their paintings. It is said that dark drama played many roles in ancient China. One is for sex education and sexual enlightenment. Before the ancients married, they often put a few secret plays in the dowry box as the bottom of the box, which played a role in sex education and guidance for newly married men and women who had just experienced personnel. The second is to suppress evil and avoid disasters. The ancients thought that sex was filthy. If you put a picture of a secret game on the door, ghosts will not dare to come in. Up to now, there is also a folk custom in some areas of northern China, that is, murals and secret plays are made in babies' stomachs to avoid disasters. The third is to use fire prevention. The ancients believed that Vulcan was a woman, who would be ashamed and timid when she saw dark dramas, and naturally would not cause trouble. Therefore, in ancient China, the "fire-avoiding map" once became a euphemism for the secret play map. Until modern times, many famous bibliophiles still believe in this. Ye Dehui, a famous bibliophile in the late Qing Dynasty, collected a large number of books, and often put cheats in precious ancient books, which is said to prevent fire.

Carving patterns of love between men and women on coins is also a great invention of our ancestors. Since the Tang Dynasty, this kind of secret money has been refined in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. This kind of money generally has the words "love affair", "spend a full moon", "Ming Taizu Imperial Shadow" or Qian Wen in previous dynasties, but there are no words. On the back, related images-seeking, hugging, standing, sitting, lying, lying aside, half lying, from the back ... The book "China Spending Money" published by Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House 1992 explains the secret trick of money, saying that "it may be given by elders in the old society to their newly married sons and daughters as a way to teach their offspring to have sex". Secret money is classified as spending money in special tools for coins, such as China Spending Money Picture Book published by Zhejiang University Press 1997 and China Spending Money Picture Book published by China Materials Publishing House 1998. Liu Dalin, one of the famous pioneers of sexology in China and a professor of sociology at Shanghai University, believes that secret money was called "spring money" or "tangzi money" in ancient times, saying that it was "mostly used for the fun of brothels (tangzi) or as a bargaining chip paid or paid once by clients".

No matter what this secret money is used for, it is rare among ancient coins circulating in the market today. I didn't expect to appear in the antique market in the early morning after the rain. The countryman said that he bought the money from a farmer near Bai Quan, and it was mixed with a pile of ordinary Qing Dynasty copper coins. Although I realize the difference between money and ordinary money, I have never seen it before. After several exchanges, I bought it at the price of 280 yuan on the spot. Over the years, I have been putting this and other money in the money box, but I dare not share it with others. Appreciate it only in your spare time, and think about the romance of the ancients. This is also an interesting thing.

Last autumn, I went to Chongqing on business. After handling official business, I habitually find the local antique market. Unexpectedly, an exhibition of ancient works of art with the theme of sex culture is being held there. In the meantime, I saw exactly the same exhibits as the secret money I bought at that time, and also saw many antiques reflecting the love between men and women, such as ancient paintings, ancient ceramics and old wood carvings. While feasting my eyes, my mentality that I didn't think so in the past has quietly changed. In the introduction of the exhibition, there is a very reasonable saying: "It is human nature for men and women to love each other, and it is a harmonious communication between heaven and earth, which will open up new development paths for many scientific research fields ..."

Well said! On second thought, I'm actually ashamed to share this precious private money with others. It's just one-sided cognition in my concept. In fact, secret money is an important evidence to study ancient sexual culture and folk culture. It is better to be happy by others than to be alone. Today, I am free. Write this essay, let this special coin unveil its mysterious veil, and let all friends know its ancient and delicious cultural connotation together!