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1 Catty Chinese Soviet Republic National Bank; Rice Voucher
| Issuer | Chinese Soviet Republic, People's Commissariat of Food |
|---|---|
| Year | 1934 |
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| Composition | Paper |
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| Obverse description | Uniface letterpress print in black ink on plain paper stock, with a central circular yellow-gold overstamp bearing a five-pointed star at its apex. The heading carries the full title of the Chinese Soviet Republic and its People's Commissariat of Food in vertical Chinese characters, with the denomination 一斤米票 (One Catty Rice Voucher) inscribed in large bold script. Numbered in red at the top; multiple administrative seals and a manuscript signature appear at the lower left. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Blank; this voucher is uniface with no printed design on the reverse. |
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The Chinese Soviet Republic, headquartered in Ruijin, Jiangxi, operated its own parallel administrative apparatus during the period of Mao Zedong's Jiangxi Soviet — including a People's Commissariat of Food empowered to issue commodity vouchers rather than currency. This 1 Catty rice voucher is a rationing instrument, not a banknote in any conventional sense: it entitles the bearer to a specific weight of grain from state stocks, sidestepping the monetary system entirely.
The catty (斤, jīn) was standardized at 500 grams under the Republic, though local usage varied. By 1934, the Jiangxi Soviet was under severe Nationalist blockade, and grain management had become a military-logistical problem as much as an economic one. The Long March began that October.