Chinese Currency, By J. Edkins. Preface. The facts of this work have been collected from Chinese books and journals and from Customs publications, and they have been as far as possible brought up to date. At present the Chinese are importing both gdId and silver.... Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.