原文

考唐建中初，赵赞判度支，采连州白铜，铸大钱一以当十，而韶州城南七十里，宋初置埸采铜，曰岑水铜场，谓场水能浸生铁成铜，今不然矣，而连州亦绝无白铜。大抵广东无铜矿，惟广西右江州峒有之，往时掘地数尺即有矿，故蛮人好用铜器。然广东亦有赤铜，宓山云：凡赤铜一石，可取白银四两。从云、贵来者有光，盖未取炼者也，其价贵，从洋舶来者无米，其价稍贱，以取炼者也。赤铜铸钱，须以倭铅、卢甘石入之则黄。官诚能平价采买于洋舶，而取英德、仁化矿铅以铸制钱，钱既行，渐废银而不用。将见富者难以为富，贫者易以为贫，此亦便民之道也。说者谓地不产铜，而开局铸钱则铜价顿高，势不得不殽杂以充课额。钱既殽杂，质脆而色黯，遂启伪钱之端，此说亦未必然。

白话

中文

考察唐代建中初年，赵赞担任度支判官时，曾在连州开采白铜，铸造“一当十”的大钱。又如韶州城南七十里的地方，宋代初期设置了采铜的场所，叫做岑水铜场，据说那里的水能浸泡生铁变成铜，但现在已经不行了，而且连州也完全没有白铜了。总的来说，广东没有铜矿，只有广西右江地区的山峒才有。过去在那里挖掘几尺深就能找到铜矿，所以当地的少数民族喜欢使用铜器。不过广东也有赤铜（红铜）。（有人）秘密地说：每一石赤铜，可以提炼出四两白银。从云南、贵州运来的赤铜有光泽，大概是还没有经过提炼（提取白银）的，所以价格较贵；从外国商船运来的赤铜没有光泽（原文“无米”应指光泽或成分差异，此处意译为无光泽或已提炼），价格稍微便宜些，因为它（可能）是提炼过的。用赤铜铸造钱币，必须加入倭铅（锌）和卢甘石（菱锌矿，主要成分为碳酸锌）才能使钱币呈现黄色。如果官府能够以合理的价格从外国商船购买（赤铜），再取用英德、仁化出产的矿铅（或指锌矿/铅锌矿）来铸造制钱，当铜钱流通起来后，逐渐废除白银的使用。可以预见到（这样做）富人难以（像以前那样轻易）积累财富，贫者（相对）容易生存（原文“易以为贫”应理解为不易陷入赤贫或生存压力减小），这也是一种方便民众的方法。但也有人说，本地不产铜，如果开设铸钱局就会导致铜价立刻上涨，势必不得不用掺杂其他金属（降低铜含量）的方法来完成铸造任务额度。钱币一旦掺杂，质地就会变脆，颜色也会暗淡，这就为私铸伪钱开了方便之门。不过，这种说法也未必完全正确。

英文

Research shows that during the early Jianzhong era (780-783 AD) of the Tang Dynasty, Zhao Zan, serving as the Vice Minister of Revenue (Pan Duzhi), mined white copper (possibly an alloy like cupronickel or arsenical copper) in Lianzhou to mint large coins, each valued at ten standard coins. Additionally, seventy li south of Shaozhou city, a copper mining site called Censhui Copper Field was established in the early Song Dynasty. It was said that the water there could turn raw iron into copper through immersion, but this is no longer the case today, and Lianzhou also completely lacks white copper now. Generally, Guangdong has no copper mines; they are only found in the mountainous regions (Dong) of Youjiang Prefecture in Guangxi. In the past, copper ore could be found just a few feet underground there, which is why the local non-Han people ("Manren") favored using copperware. However, Guangdong does have red copper (copper). It is secretly said (or according to Mishan) that from every shi (a unit of weight/volume) of red copper, four liang (a unit of weight) of silver can be extracted. Red copper coming from Yunnan and Guizhou is lustrous, likely because it hasn't been refined (to extract silver), hence its higher price. Copper arriving via foreign ships ("Yangbo") lacks this luster ("wu mi" - interpreted as lacking luster or indicating prior processing), and its price is slightly cheaper, presumably because it has already been refined. To mint coins from red copper, it must be alloyed with "Woqian" (likely zinc, literally "Japanese lead") and "Luganshi" (calamine, zinc carbonate) to achieve a yellow color. If the government could purchase (red copper) from foreign ships at a fair price and use mineral lead (or perhaps zinc/lead-zinc ores) from Yingde and Renhua to mint standard coins, then once these copper coins circulate, the use of silver could be gradually phased out. It is foreseeable that (by doing this) the rich would find it harder to accumulate wealth as easily as before, and the poor would find it relatively easier to subsist ("yi yi wei pin" - interpreted as less likely to fall into abject poverty or having reduced survival pressure). This would also be a way to benefit the populace. However, some argue that since the region does not produce copper, establishing a mint would immediately drive up copper prices, inevitably leading to adulteration with other metals to meet production quotas. Once the coins are adulterated, they become brittle and dull in color, thus opening the door for counterfeiting. Nevertheless, this argument is not necessarily entirely correct.

文化解读/分析

本条目记述了清初广东地区铜的来源、种类、冶炼及货币铸造问题，具有重要的经济史和科技史价值。

1. 资源匮乏与历史变迁：屈大均明确指出清初广东本土“无铜矿”，这与唐宋时期连州产白铜、韶州岑水有铜场的记载形成对比，反映了历史上矿产资源的变迁或记载的差异。岑水铜场“水浸生铁成铜”的说法，可能是一种对湿法冶金（如铁置换铜）的误传或神化想象。
2. 铜的来源与贸易：清初广东所用之铜主要依赖外地输入：一是来自广西右江地区，当地“蛮人好用铜器”暗示了该地产铜且有悠久的铜器使用传统；二是来自云南、贵州，其铜“有光”且价高，可能因含银量高或未被官方完全控制；三是来自“洋舶”（海外贸易），其铜“无米”（无光泽或已提炼）且价廉，是官方考虑的铸币原料来源之一。这反映了当时区域间及海上贸易在物资流通中的重要性。
3. 冶炼与铸币技术：记述了赤铜铸钱需加入“倭铅”（锌）和“卢甘石”（菱锌矿，主要成分碳酸锌，煅烧后可得氧化锌用于炼铜）才能变黄，这明确指出了黄铜的合金成分及铸造工艺，是中国古代金属冶炼技术的重要记录。“倭铅”一词也反映了当时锌可能部分由日本输入或与之相关。
4. 货币政策与经济思想：屈大均提出了利用进口铜和本地铅（锌）铸造铜钱、逐步取代白银流通的货币政策构想。他认为这可以“富者难以为富，贫者易以为贫”（抑制豪强资本积累，减轻底层民众生存压力），体现了其重农、关注民生的经济思想。同时，他也客观记述了反对观点，即原料匮乏易导致铸币掺假、引发伪钱泛滥的问题，展现了对货币政策复杂性的认识。
5. 民俗与社会：广西“蛮人好用铜器”反映了特定地域和族群的物质文化偏好。关于赤铜含银的“宓山云”（秘密流传的说法），则暗示了民间对于贵金属提炼的认知和实践可能。围绕铸币产生的优劣利弊讨论，也折射出当时社会对于经济政策的不同立场和担忧。

关键词

广东, 清代, 屈大均, 铜, 铜矿, 白铜, 赤铜, 连州, 韶州, 岑水铜场, 广西, 右江, 云南, 贵州, 洋舶, 铸钱, 货币, 倭铅, 锌, 卢甘石, 冶炼, 合金, 黄铜, 白银, 贸易, 经济思想, 民俗, 赵赞, 唐代, 宋代, 英德, 仁化