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5 Shi Jin - Jiangsu Province Food Stamps
| Issuer | Jiangsu Province Grain Bureau |
|---|---|
| Year | 1972-1978 |
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| Size | 88 x 33 mm |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 江苏省地方粮票 伍市斤 5 1978 (Translation: Jiangsu Province Local Grain Coupon 5 Shi Jin (2.5 kg) 5 1978) |
| Reverse description | Plain cream field enclosed within a fine red guilloche frame with floral corner ornaments. Three numbered clauses of usage instructions are set in red Chinese characters beneath the bold heading 使用说明, with numeral 5 in flower-shaped cartouches at left and right margins. A circular red-and-orange official control stamp is applied at centre. |
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| Comments |
Chinese provincial food grain coupons (liangpiao) were not currency in any formal sense, but they functioned as one of the most coercive rationing instruments of the Maoist planned economy. Issued by provincial grain bureaus, they were non-transferable by regulation — using another person's coupons was a punishable offense — and were only valid within their issuing province, which effectively tethered urban workers to their work units and home registration districts.
The Jiangsu series spanning 1972–1978 bridges the final phase of the Cultural Revolution and the immediate pre-Reform period, a window when grain rationing was at its most systematized. Shi jin denominations (market catties) rather than metric units reflect the stubborn persistence of traditional Chinese weights in everyday administrative practice well into the communist period.