The history of Chinese currency covers more than 3，000 years．Currency of some type has been used in China since the Neolithic age （新石器時(shí)代）， （1）

which

which

can be traced back to between 3，000 and 4，500 years ago．Cowry shells （貝殼） are believed to have been the （2）

earliest

earliest

（early） form of currency used in Central China，and were used during the Neolithic period．The use of shell money is confirmed in the Chinese writing system．The traditional （3）

characters

characters

（character） for "goods"， "buy" and "sell"，in addition to other （4）

various/varied

various/varied

（vary） words relating to exchange，all contain the "shell"．
    Around 210 BC，the first emperor of China Qin Shi Huang （260 - 210 BC） abolished all other forms of local currency and introduced （5）

a

a

uniform copper coin．Although paper money（6）

was invented

was invented

（invent） in China in the 9th century，the base unit of currency remained the copper coin．Copper coins were used （7）

as

as

the chief currency in China until the （8）

introduction

introduction

（introduce） of yuan in the late 19th century．
    Currently，the RMB is the official currency of China．With over 1.3 billion people （9）

using

using

（use） RMB every day，it is one of the most commonly used currencies in the world．Nowadays，online payment is taking a large share in the market．Will paper money disappear one day like shells or copper coins （10）

replaced

replaced

（replace） by a new way of payment？Only time can tell．