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Use of Silver Dollars in China during the Revolution (1948); A Missionary Account
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<p>[QUOTE="willieboyd2, post: 8197312, member: 4910"]Fascinating article!</p><p><br /></p><p>I have always been interested in foreigners in old China but have never heard of the Lapwoods' book until now.</p><p><br /></p><p>Another book which describes the silver dollar situation in China in 1948 is <i>In China's Border Provinces - The Turbulent Career of Joseph Rock</i> by Stephanie Sutton, published in 1974.</p><p><br /></p><p>Joseph Rock was born in Austria in 1884, moved to the United States in 1905, first to New York and then to Hawaii where he became a self-taught botanist.</p><p><br /></p><p>He then went to China in 1920 and spent most of his time there until 1949 collecting plants and sending them back to colleges and institutes in the United States.</p><p><br /></p><p>From Stephanie Sutton's book:</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p>By mid-April, 1947, it was costing him $12,000 Chinese simply to post a letter to the United States. "Life, on account of the economic situation, will soon be impossible here", he advised Elisseff, "with the present exchange for the U. S. dollar which is $11,640 Chinese. The other day gold was $3,600,000 the oz., today it is five million."</p><p><br /></p><p>By mid-August, when the exchange rate went up to 12 million Chinese dollars to $1 US, the Government finally tried some currency reform. All gold, silver, and foreign currency were supposed to be turned over to the government, and a new "gold yuan" paper currency was issued at the rate of four to every U.S. dollar. People, however, were understandably wary of paper money; in Likiang they did not give up their silver.</p><p><br /></p><p>On September 27, 1948, about a month after the new system had been initiated, Rock reported to Egbert Walker: "No amount of proclamations have been posted here which very few people can read as there are only a handful of Chinese here, and most of the Nakhi can neither speak nor write Chinese, so the walls are very patient and so is the paper. The people have shut up their shops rather than accept that money in payment".</p><p><br /></p><p>Six weeks later he supplied a further analysis to Merrill: "The new currency is causing chaos; it is going downhill fast. Unless you have local silver, you starve. Even the Government tax office refuses to accept the new notes and demands silver which the Government has declared illegal". <b>People in Shanghai had been shot for handling silver</b>; in Likiang the Government would not accept anything else.</p><p><br /></p></blockquote><p><img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="willieboyd2, post: 8197312, member: 4910"]Fascinating article! I have always been interested in foreigners in old China but have never heard of the Lapwoods' book until now. Another book which describes the silver dollar situation in China in 1948 is [I]In China's Border Provinces - The Turbulent Career of Joseph Rock[/I] by Stephanie Sutton, published in 1974. Joseph Rock was born in Austria in 1884, moved to the United States in 1905, first to New York and then to Hawaii where he became a self-taught botanist. He then went to China in 1920 and spent most of his time there until 1949 collecting plants and sending them back to colleges and institutes in the United States. From Stephanie Sutton's book: [INDENT]By mid-April, 1947, it was costing him $12,000 Chinese simply to post a letter to the United States. "Life, on account of the economic situation, will soon be impossible here", he advised Elisseff, "with the present exchange for the U. S. dollar which is $11,640 Chinese. The other day gold was $3,600,000 the oz., today it is five million." By mid-August, when the exchange rate went up to 12 million Chinese dollars to $1 US, the Government finally tried some currency reform. All gold, silver, and foreign currency were supposed to be turned over to the government, and a new "gold yuan" paper currency was issued at the rate of four to every U.S. dollar. People, however, were understandably wary of paper money; in Likiang they did not give up their silver. On September 27, 1948, about a month after the new system had been initiated, Rock reported to Egbert Walker: "No amount of proclamations have been posted here which very few people can read as there are only a handful of Chinese here, and most of the Nakhi can neither speak nor write Chinese, so the walls are very patient and so is the paper. The people have shut up their shops rather than accept that money in payment". Six weeks later he supplied a further analysis to Merrill: "The new currency is causing chaos; it is going downhill fast. Unless you have local silver, you starve. Even the Government tax office refuses to accept the new notes and demands silver which the Government has declared illegal". [B]People in Shanghai had been shot for handling silver[/B]; in Likiang the Government would not accept anything else. [/INDENT] :)[/QUOTE]
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