½ Shi Jin - Cooking Oil Stamp Zhengzhou City, Henan

China's rationing bureaucracy in the early reform period operated through a labyrinth of commodity-specific coupons issued at the city, county, and even neighborhood level — this Zhengzhou municipal oil stamp sits within that system, allocated by the local Grain Bureau, which administered edible oil quotas alongside grain. The pairing of grain and cooking oil under one administrative authority was standard practice in Chinese cities until the ration system was progressively dismantled through the late 1980s and into the 1990s.

Henan province retained some commodity controls longer than coastal regions, where market liberalization moved faster. The half-shi-jin denomination — roughly 250 grams — reflects the tight monthly allocations typical of urban households at the time.