A crumpled¹ banknote issued by the first Ming emperor has been discovered hidden within a cavity inside a 13th-century Chinese wooden sculpture.

一张由明朝开国皇帝发行的皱巴巴的纸币，被发现藏于一座13世纪雕刻的中国木雕内。

The carved head of a Luohan — someone who has achieved the enlightened state of Nirvana — gave up its 700-year-old secret after it was examined by Ray Tregaskis of Mossgreen, the Australian auction² house.

这座罗汉（达到涅槃境界的修行者）头部的雕像，在经过澳大利亚拍卖行Mossgreen的雷.特里加斯基斯(Ray Tregaskis)检查后，透露了其隐藏了700年的秘密。

Made of mulberry bark fibres, Chinese banknotes were first issued in the 10th century but the later Ming dynasty was the first regime to attempt the widespread replacement³ of coinage with paper. Its plan eventually failed, as overissuance led to hyperinflation in the 15th century. The note is dated at 1370, the third year of the reign⁴ of first Ming emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, while the sculpture is thought to have been carved a century earlier.

中国最初于10世纪发行由桑树皮纤维制成的纸币，但直到明朝后期才开始试图广泛用纸币取代钱币。该计划最终失败了，因为过度发行纸币导致了15世纪的恶性通胀。这张纸币于1370年发行，是明朝开国皇帝朱元璋登基后的第三年，而这座木雕被认为是在之前一个世纪雕刻完成。

The note shows 10 stacks of coins symbolising its coinage equivalent, stamped with three official red seals and surrounded by a decorative⁵ border of dragons. At a time when paper money could be more easily counterfeited⁶, writing on the note also warns that those caught doing so would be beheaded, and offers an incentive⁷ to whistleblowers of “250 Liang silvers plus all the properties of the criminal”.

该纸币上印有10堆硬币，象征着它的货币等值，上面还盖有3个官方红印，周围印有龙的装饰性边纹。在纸币可以轻易被伪造的那个年代，纸币上的文字警告被发现伪造纸币的人将被斩首，并为告发者提供了动机——“告捕者赏银二百五十两，仍给犯人财产”。

Mr Tregaskis, head of Asian art at Mossgreen, said it was “a thrilling moment” when he discovered the concealed⁸ note. “While it was not unusual for consecration⁹ items such as semi-precious stones or scrolls¹⁰ to be left within the base or on the back of a sculpture, the discovery of this rare Ming Dynasty banknote is an exciting one and importantly, it verifies the date of the sculpture,” he said in a statement.

Mossgreen的亚洲艺术主管特里加斯基斯说，发现那张隐藏的钞票，对他而言是“一个惊心动魄的时刻”。他在一份声明中表示，“虽然半宝石或卷轴之类的献祭物品被留在雕像底座或背面的情况并不罕见，但发现这种罕见的明代钞票很令人兴奋，重要的是，它证实了雕像的具体年代。”

The sculpture and the banknote will be put on show in London on Thursday before the auction in Sydney next month. Going under the hammer as one lot, the note is valued at A$3,000-A$5,000 (￡1,870-￡3,120) while the total value of the lot is A$40,000-A$60,000.

周四，雕像和钞票将在伦敦展出，下个月会在拿到悉尼进行拍卖。两者将作为整体拍卖，其中钞票的估值为3000至5000澳元（合1870至3120英镑），而两件拍品的总估值为4万至6万澳元。