China, 1 dollar, 1938 Just got this in the mail today... it's well known for the depiction of Confucius making an obscene gesture, meant as a rather blatant negative political statement against Japan (which was occupying China at the time). Another addition to my dragon collection; has a similar flying dragon to the 100 yuan note of about the same period as well as a dragon on the back! Also love the great green color... just looks like a great classic piece of money.
Nice note i cant seem to make out the gesture... is it the international sign for good will and peace lol... the 1 finger hello?
It's a gesture specific to China; it's aproximately the equivalent of sticking out your middle finger in meaning (not precisely, but pretty close). A Chinese person would be very offended if you made such a gesture to them. On this note it's meant to express displeasure at the Japanese occupation. Interestingly enough sticking out the middle finger is not considered obscene in China, and many signs in Chinese Sign Language actually have the middle finger sticking out.
oh, this makes much more sense now, lol. Funny on the reciprical that gesture (on bill) isn't offensive here (USA) lol.
