{
  "id": 17212732,
  "title": "What’s the true worth behind Chinese phrase ‘carrying 10,000 strings of cash around the waist’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/whats-the-true-worth-behind-chinese-phrase-carrying-10-000-strings-of",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-30T10:00:14.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3372732/whats-true-worth-behind-chinese-phrase-carrying-10000-strings-cash-around-waist"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Chinese people use the phrase “yao chan wan guan,” or “carrying ten thousand strings of cash around the waist,” to describe wealth. But how much was a string of cash, and what could one buy in ancient China? Guan was a traditional Chinese unit of account. Literally referring to the string used to thread coins together, it emerged alongside the round coin with a square hole, which first appeared…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}