Gao, James Z., “Myth, Memory, and Rice History in Shanghai, 1949-1950”, (2004)

Title : “Myth, Memory, and Rice History in Shanghai, 1949-1950”,

Author(s) : Gao, James Z.

Year : 2004

Type : Journal article

Subject : History

Keywords : economy;social;food;rice;

Journal : Chinese Historical Review,

Volume : 11

Number : 1

Start page : 57

End page : 86

Language:Name : English

Support : Print

Abstract : After the Chinese Communists occupied Shanghai in 1949, rice prices, which had been in decline and were at their lowest levels, surged on four occasions. The first occurred when the Communists introduced a new currency, the renminbi. Rising cloth prices led to a second surge, which the Communists stabilized by passing regulations. When the Communists moved into central China, the demand for cloth and rice led to shortages and higher prices again in Shanghai. The Communists blamed greedy merchants, but higher prices resulted from inflation created by the government itself. When prices surged early in 1950 as a result of an unpredicted drop in rice yields, again the state managed to control prices. Nevertheless, the upward pressure on rice prices resulted not from the actions of counterrevolutionaries but because the Communists issued too much paper currency.