Gold and Grain Coupons

Gold and Grain Coupons (黃金與糧票)
By Mingyuan "William" Tang (唐銘遠)

In 1949, two Chinese societies faced the same crisis: money no one trusted and food no one could count on. They chose opposite roads.

Taiwan bet on gold: it shipped in gold reserves, launched a new currency to end hyperinflation, cut farm rents to 37.5%, and gave land to the farmers who worked it.

Mainland China bet on control: it introduced grain coupons and rationing, built heavy industry on the Soviet model, and drove the Great Leap Forward, where unrealistic targets led to famine and broken trust.

Gold and Grain Coupons compares how market trust and state planning shaped two economies, and shows what happens when a government wins or loses its people's confidence in money and food.