Money is what people use to buy things they need or want. A long time ago, people didn't use money. So how did they get the things they wanted? Well, there is a long and interesting story about this.
At first, they would exchange something they had for what they needed. For example, if the shoemaker needed some bread, he would give the baker shoes and the baker would give him bread. This was called "bartering"(易货). Bartering worked fine for a while. But after the baker had too many shoes, the shoemaker still needed more bread. What could they do? The solution to this problem was money.
There were many earlier forms of money, such as cattle(牛), salt, grain and shells(贝壳). But it was not easy to move them to far-away places or store them. So coins began to take the place of things.
Coins had a fixed(固定的) value and could be stored. It became possible for people to trade in a standardized(标准的) way. Different coins are worth different amounts. Metal money was used in China as early as 1000 BC.
About three hundred years ago, paper money came into wider use. Paper money is cheaper to make than coins. It is also easier to carry around. Now people use paper money and coins in most countries.
Cash(现金) has been the most popular form of money. But these days, it seems that things have changed. Cashless payment has come into our lives and changed our world. China was the first country in the world to use paper money. Now, centuries later, it may become the first cashless society soon. Cashless payment apps such as Alipay(支付宝) and WeChat Pay are becoming more common in China. The buyer just scans the QR code (扫描二维码) of the seller, or the other way around. No real money is needed at all. Is tomorrow already there?
