1 Shi Liang - Hunan Province Food Stamp

Chinese provincial food stamps — liangpiao — were ration coupons issued by grain bureaus at every administrative level from the 1950s through the early 1990s, and Hunan's series are among the more studied examples because the province maintained unusually consistent administrative records. This 1 shi liang denomination represents a single market unit of weight, roughly 50 grams, redeemable for grain at state-controlled distribution points. The stamps were non-monetary in the strict sense — they conveyed purchasing rights, not currency value — but in practice circulated alongside cash and were sometimes traded informally at a premium during shortage periods.

The 1974 date places this squarely in the latter phase of the Cultural Revolution, when provincial grain administration operated under considerable political pressure and distribution quotas were set by planning committees rather than market need.