Abstract: “Copper cash relief" was a mechanism of resource allocation and famine relief that centered on micro-funding. The copper cash relief had a long history and occupied an important position in famine relief thinking，but the practice has long been ignored studies of famine relief. Copper cash relief in the Qing Dynasty evolved from a temporary measure to a fixed convention，and finally became a mature system. The sign that the relief regulation which was formulated in“Jinan Copper Cash Relief Case" of 1870. Studying each stage of development copper cash relief such as allocation，transportation，exchange，issuance，consumption，and circulation，we can find that the exchange rate between silver and copper was the core link of currency circulation in famine relief , while“copper cash relief" was the mainline of this circulation chain. Based on previous research and this paper’s findings，we conclude that famine had a dual influence on currency circulation between city and countryside in Qing Dynasty. On the one hand，famine would cause a serious copper shortage crisis in famine areas;on the other hand， large-scale relief activities could promote the flow of external copper into a famine area，which would facilitate micro-funding flow to the countryside from the city，and cause the redistribution of financial resources between city and countryside.