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This essay aims to reconceptualize the monetary regime of late Qing and modem China as a multilayer system of currencies and examine the features and logics of its operation from the 16th century to early 20th century.We argue that this system consists of a variety of silver and copper currencies,each occupying a particular layer in the structure and each satisfying a specific market demand.Analyzing the production and circulation of copper and silver currencies,we first trace their evolution from the Qing to the Republican era and demonstrate the multi-layer currency structure persisted in China across the modizing changes that took place at the end of the 19th century.Second,using data drawn from gazetteers,this essay adopts a quantitative approach to empirically examine the mechanism and speed of interactions between the different layers of the monetary market and reveal the operational mechanism of the multi-layer system.We suggest that this multi-layer system,while bringing some efficiency loss,also constituted an effective institutional arrangement that helped to ensure the stability of the Chinese economy in tumultuous times.