Upon closer inspection, what appears to be an image of a woman in traditional Chinese dress is actually a hand-cut postcard made up entirely of cut-up stamps (the word, "postage" appears across her feet). Cowry shells are the earliest known form of currency in Central China, dating to 3,000 to 4,500 years ago. Bronzed shells were found in Ruins of Yin, the old capital of Shang Dynasty (BC 1500-1046 BC) and Bronze was the universal currency since the Zhou Dynasty. |