Since the middle and late period of the Anti-Japanese War, the value of the national government's legal tender has been declining day by day, and the inflation rate has become faster and faster, which has become a serious concern of the authorities. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, due to the resumption of civil war and the sharp increase in military expenditure, the problem of excessive legal tender could not be solved, which led to the continuous outbreak of economic turmoil. 1948, the government forces were constantly losing, the control area was shrinking, the material output was decreasing, and the currency issuance was still increasing. Almost all of the government spent on printing money, with the face value of legal tender reaching 5 million yuan, reaching 10 trillion yuan per day at the peak of issuance. Such excessive issuance naturally stimulates the price to continue to rise, changing every day or even every hour. The exchange rate between legal tender and US dollar exceeds 1 000001,and legal tender almost loses its payment function and is on the verge of collapse.
1948 On August 20th, the financial emergency disciplinary order was issued, and the measures for issuing gold certificates were also promulgated, announcing the implementation of monetary reform. The main contents are: 1, replacing legal tender with gold certificates, and 1 yuan is equivalent to legal tender of 3 million yuan; 2. It is forbidden to circulate, trade or hold gold, silver and foreign currency. All gold, silver and foreign currencies owned by individuals and legal persons should be converted into gold certificates; 3. Where the foreign exchange assets deposited by China people abroad exceed US$ 3,000, they shall report to the Central Bank or its entrusted bank for registration and transfer; 4. Strictly control the price. All goods and services are subject to August 19 price, and hoarders will be punished.
The reform of golden circle coupons left a very painful memory for the people. However, in a short span of 70 or 80 days, the gold, silver and foreign exchange accumulated by King Sheng Dou with his own painstaking efforts and sweat turned into several gold coupons that soon became waste paper. Except those bureaucratic giants, all classes were victims of the monetary reform. Zhu Kezhen, president of Zhejiang University, converted his $800 personal savings into golden coupons at the beginning of the currency reform. After the failure of currency reform, he said, "No one dares to trust the government. At present, the reason why the government can't win the trust of the people is that every legislative result makes law-abiding people suffer everywhere, while unscrupulous people are at large, such as Kong Lingkan of Yangzi Company. Who is more willing to obey the law? " The famous commentator Chu Anping's bombardment of the politicians can be described as the representative of the current situation theory: "How many people's hard-earned money has rolled into the government's pocket." "Can a politician with a little conscience turn a blind eye to this and be innocent?"
Wu Guozhen recalled: "As for the golden certificate, all the problems boil down to only one point, that is, it angered people from all walks of life and classes in China, so that they rose up to attack the National Government ... Bankers and businessmen were also dissatisfied and resentful of the government. The middle class is almost completely bankrupt because they are forced to hand over their only savings. Shopkeepers sold their goods at fair prices, and as a result, they lost everything, not to mention the poor. This shows the fatal blow of the golden certificate. "