Kaiyu

…In China, cowrie shells were highly valued before the Qin Dynasty, and were prized as precious jewels and rare treasures, and were even used as currency. Many of the Chinese characters that mean wealth include the word "shell" as part of their names, which is a vestige of this. In the Yunnan region of southern China, cowrie shells were currency until the Ming Dynasty, and cowrie shells were exported in large quantities from the Ryukyu Islands under the name "kaiba" as a source of supply. [Chiba Tokuji]. …

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "Kaiba" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…中国では子安貝は秦代より前にはきわめて貴重視され，貴珠，珍宝として賞せられて通貨にも使用された。漢字において財貨を意味する文字の多くが，その一部に貝を含むのはこの痕跡で，中国南部雲南地方では明代まで宝貝が通貨であり，その供給源として琉球諸島から〈海巴〉の名で子安貝が大量に輸出されていた。タカラガイ【千葉 徳爾】。…

※「海巴」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報