When it comes to the symbol of the Republic of China, many people think of the silver dollar. The purchasing power of silver dollars is naturally inferior to that of copper coins and spamming legal tender. As the saying goes, one dollar is not too little, and ten dollars is not too much. During the Republic of China, how many things could ten dollars buy?

Prices were extremely unstable during the Republic of China. Relatively speaking, the price in the north is lower than that in the south, and the price in first-tier cities is higher than that in second-and third-tier cities. Take rice as an example. In Shanghai in the 1920s, the price of rice per stone was 10 silver, which was almost 7-8 cents per catty, and so was the price of flour.

Further, in the early years of the Republic of China, a stone of rice was around 6 yuan. During the same period in Anshun, Guizhou, a stone of rice was only 3-4 yuan in normal years. But in the late 1930s, with the outbreak of War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, inflation was serious, and the national food prices generally rose. In the late 1940s, in Shanghai, it was not surprising that 100 yuan could only buy 2 grains of rice.

Let's talk about meat after dinner. Pork was more expensive than beef and mutton at that time. In Guangzhou in the early 1930s, beef was 0.6 yuan, lean pork was 0.9 yuan, beef was 0. 15 yuan, and pork was 0.28 yuan, several times higher. In the late Republic of China, the price of meat rose rapidly, and the average family could not afford it. If they eat, they will become poor.

Imagine a national-level restaurant-hot pot, where three or five friends have to eat at least two or three hundred yuan, while in the Republic of China, in Beijing, an ocean can invite friends to eat instant-boiled mutton. However, if you invite a friend to have a decent dinner in a restaurant, this ocean is not enough to see. Even if there is no wine, a meal should be 3- 10 yuan.

Yu Dafu, a famous writer, is delicious. In his diary, eating out accounts for a lot of content, and almost all the monthly manuscript fees are spent in restaurants. 1923, Yu Dafu invited Shen Congwen, who was down and out, to have a meal at Siruchun Hotel, which cost one yuan and seventy cents. Yu Dafu paid the bill with five yuan, and all the change was given to Shen Congwen. Decades later, Shen Congwen recalled this incident with tears in his eyes and gratitude.

The price level of the Republic of China can't be said in a few words, so here is only a glimpse. Let's just say that during the Republic of China, I earned 10 yuan a month in big cities, just like small white-collar workers in first-tier cities in the north, Guangzhou and Shenzhen now earn 5-7 thousand yuan a month. After deducting rent and meals, there is not much left in January!