BORDER REGION SOCIETY
银行在华北解放区发展的过程颇有点像游击队的发展过程。起初一无所有，逐渐有了放款的合作社，然后游击队和游击政府办起地方银行，最后成立了边区银行。
Banking was born in North China very much as were guerrilla bands. First there was nothing, then there were co-operatives issuing money, then there were regional banks created by guerrilla bands and guerrilla governments, and finally there was a Border Region bank.
这种货币最初是通过合作社和工厂发行的，可是多数人民都不信任它。有一种特别的情况还增加了这种不信任。发行钞票的三家银行中，有一家叫“上党银行”，上党是华北的一个地区。可是，在中国话里“上党”与“上当”谐音，所以人们听说上党票，就说：“我可不想上当。”而拒绝使用这种票子。不过当他们看到这种票子在合作社能买到东西，就慢慢信任了。
国民党反对这种新币，禁止部队使用新币。长官叫士兵用上党票擦屁股。有一个模范士兵，严格执行了这个命令，当真用一张五块钱的上党票擦了屁股。后来，他到一个小镇的铺子里买香烟， 掏出一张十块钱的法币给老板，使他大为惊讶的是，老板没有法币小票而对他说： “我只能找你上党票。”这位俭省的士兵什么都不想丢，就回去捡起自己那张擦过屁股的五块钱上党票，细心地洗干净，拿到那个铺子去花了。这个故事很快就传为美谈，人们说：“上党票擦了屁股还能买东西，那一定真顶用。”
就是这样，游击队货币的信用提高了。
This currency was first issued through co-operatives and factories, but the majority of the people had no confidence in it. A peculiar circumstance tended to increase this distrust. One of the three banks printing money was named Shang Tang Bank's name taken from a certain district in North China. But the words "Shang tang" commonly mean in Chinese to cheat or fraud. So when people heard about the Shang Tang notes, they said: "I am not going to be cheated by the Cheat Bank" and refused to honor them. Gradually, however, as they saw they could buy things at the co-operatives, they began to show a little confidence in the new money.
The Kuomintang fought the new currency, forbidding troops to trade with it. Officers told their soldiers to use Shang Tang notes as toilet paper. One model soldier, obediently followed these orders to the letter, using a five-dollar Shang Tang note as he had been instructed. Later, going into a store in a small town, he tendered a ten-dollar national government note to the proprietor in payment for a pack of cigarettes. Much to his astonishment, the proprietor had no national government notes and said: "I must give you change in Shang Tang money." Not wishing to lose anything, the thrifty soldier went back and recovered his own Shang Tang five dollar bill. Having carefully washed it, he took it back to the store and cashed it. When this story, soon acquiring the popularity of a folk legend, was heard by the people, they said: "If you can cash a Shang Tang note after it has been used as toilet paper, it must really be good."
So confidence in the guerrilla money grew.
即使如此，冀南币在与国民党法币的斗争中运气还是不坏的。起初，冀南银行用一比一的比价兑换法币。但是随着内战的加剧，国民党法币就禁止公开流通了，不过还准许地主保存法币。后来，保存法币也禁止了，法币必须全部在边境兑换。自然，两个地区之间的货币走私活动是很多的。国民党区域的走私商把法币塞到空心扁担里带进边区，也有藏在骡鞍的木框里、煤油桶里，甚至棺材中死尸下的垫子里带进来的。对于参与这种生意牟利的商人，边区只是课以罚款，但对于怀有政治目的的走私，则严加惩处，甚至处决“主犯”。
尽管有走私活动，冀南币在与国民党法币的斗争中还是很快占了上风。我在一九四七年初进入边区时，换一元边区币要用五元国民党法币。共产党打了几次胜仗之后，兑换率上升到八比一。可是在游击区，我发现国民党后方的农民和民兵把兑换率提高到十比一。他们对蒋军丧失了信心，想要在解放区买东西。由于这种信心的缺失，到了一九四八年八月，兑换串高达一千五百比一，不久就一跃而达到一万比一。
也许这些数字最清楚不过地说明了解放区与蒋管区生活状况方面的差异。当然，解放区也有通货膨胀。一九四八年上半年，那里的物价上涨了百分之六十八。可是，与蒋管区比起来，解放区的经济却是出奇地稳定。耍知道，在同一期间，蒋管区的物价上涨了十倍。
The Chinan paper money that I saw was of very inferior quality. Notes were often worn to the point where numerals could not be distinguished. Because of this and because people often could not read, one found half a one-dollar bill pasted together with half of a two-dollar bill. The bank cashed these in at 1.5 apiece. Such a policy added further to the prestige of Chinan money.
The fate of this money, of course, depended on the outcome of the civil war. Vice Chairman Jung told me: "We have to look on this money as a revolutionary bond. When the revolution succeeds, the bond becomes good."
Even so, Chinan currency did not fare badly in the struggle with Kuomintang
money. Originally, the Chinan Bank exchanged the two notes on an equal
basis, one for one. But as the civil war sharpened, open circulation of
Kuomintang money was forbidden, though landlords were permitted to keep
their savings in Kuomintang money. A little later, however, it was forbidden
to hoard Kuomintang money and everything had to be changed at the border.
Naturally, there was much smuggling of bank notes between the two areas.
Smugglers from the Kuomintang side stuffed coolies' bamboo carrying poles
with Chinese national currency and tried to bring it into the Border Region.
Other methods were to hide notes in the wooden frames of mule saddles,
in a can of kerosene or even in coffins in the mattresses under corpses.
The Border Region merely fined merchants who were engaged in this trade
for profit, but punished more severely smuggling that had a political
aim, even executing "Chief conspirators."
Despite all the smuggling, the Chinan Bank soon forged ahead in the
war between the two currencies. When I entered the Border Region at the
beginning of 1947, I had to pay about five Kuomintang dollars for one
Border Region dollar. After several Communist military victories, the
exchange rose to eight for one. In the guerrilla areas, however, I found
that peasants and militiamen behind the Kuomintang lines were offering
as high as ten for one. They were losing confidence in Chiang's army and
wanted to be able to buy things in the Liberated Areas. This loss of confidence
kept pushing up the exchange rate until in August 1948 it had reached
one to fifteen hundred and then in one gigantic leap went to one to ten
thousand.
Perhaps these figures illustrate more clearly than anything the difference
in living conditions between the Liberated Areas and those governed by
Chiang Kai-sbek. There is no doubt that there was inflation in Red areas.
In the first half of 1948, prices of commodities went up 68 percent. But
this seems like a heavenly economic stability when you know that prices
in Chiang's areas rose 1000 percent in the same period.
戎伍胜谦逊地告诉我：“我本人就从我那个县专卖鸦片得来的钱里拿了五十万元来。”
保卫银行储备金在解放区是相当冒险的事。所有的储备金都埋在地下或藏在山洞里。游击区的分行得到金银就立即送到后方去。银行营业处的金银只要超过一千两，就必须埋藏起来，这已形成一种定规。收到一定数量的粮食、棉花后，也要妥善收藏起来。
To back up its money, the bank had a reserve in cotton, gold, silver
and land about equal to the value of its note issue. This was a big advance
over the first days when three regional banks existed. All of these banks
started from scratch, without capital. While running here and there in
the guerrilla areas, they exchanged coupons for gold and silver loaned
by friends. Then they obtained some funds from surpluses in government
treasuries. Finally, a few officials who revolted against Yen Hsi-shan
brought over funds that had accumulated in the warlord's treasuries through
the sale of opium.
"I, myself," Jung told me modestly, "brought half a million
dollars with me that had accumulated in my prefect from the sale of opium."
Safeguarding the bank's reserve capital was rather an adventurous business in the Border Region. All reserves were buried underground or in caves. Bank branches in guerrilla areas sent all gold and silver immediately to the rear. As a standing rule, whenever the bank had over one thousand ounces of silver or gold in its office, it had to be buried. The same was done with any but small amounts of grain and cotton.
“我本人主张把金钱埋到偏僻的山顶上，”他告诉我，“而别人主张埋在洞里，不过在这个问题上不能太刻板，到时候要是洞里安全，我也不会坚持非埋在山顶不可。”
埋藏金银的行动是秘密的，而且只在夜间进行。经过驴骡的长途驮运，才到达埋藏地点。不用说，只有最可靠的骡夫才让担负这种运输任务，不过他们也不知道驮运的是什么货。只有银行经理、出纳和一个党员知道骡子驮的是什么。
有些经理喜欢在月夜行动，这样就不必因带灯而惹人注意，另一些经理则愿意在漆黑的夜晚行动，那时就是衬着天光也看不出人影来。
到了预定的夜晚，经理、出纳和那位党员把资金押运到选好的地点附近，他们把骡夫支开，看看周围没有人，附近的村庄也已沉睡，就到埋藏的地点开始掘洞。财宝埋好后，三个人都仔细地把周围的地形默记心里，然后离去。
Vice-Chairman Jung was continually poring over maps and searching his
memory to find the most inaccessible and wild spots to bury the treasures
of the bank. He considered a sparsely populated region most suitable,
but such regions were few in crowded China. Jung also took into consideration
the patriotism of the people and the political reliability of officials.
"I personally prefer to bury our gold and silver on lonely mountain
peaks," he told me, "but other people prefer caves. There is
no use in being dogmatic about such a thing, however, and I don't insist
on peaks if caves seem safer at the time."
The actual hiding of the gold or silver was secret and took place only
at night. Before the burial, there was a long trek by donkey or mule.
Of course, only the most reliable mule men were taken on such trips, but
even they did not know what cargo they were carrying. Only the bank manager,
the treasurer and a dependable party member knew exactly what was on the
backs of the mules.
Some bank managers preferred moonlit nights for burial parties, because
then it was not necessary to carry lanterns which might attract attention.
Others, however, preferred pitch black nights when even a figure against
the skyline could not be seen.
When the appointed night came, the manager, the treasurer and the Communist party member, transported the capital close to the chosen spot. Having dismissed the mule men, having made sure that no one else was around and that near-by villagers were asleep, the three men then went to the burial ground and started digging. When the treasure was buried, all three men carefully memorized the surrounding landmarks and departed.
戎伍胜说：“一个人死了，不要紧；两个人死了，关系也不大；若是三个人都死了，财宝可就等于丢掉了。”
在银行成立七、八年的历史中，埋藏的财宝只丢过一回。当时情况紧急，只有两个人负责埋藏一千五百磅银子。其中一人死了，另一人记不清银子埋在什么地方。因为不让留存地图，也不让作任何书面记录，如“离树十步，挖地三尺”之类，所以，如果埋藏的人记不起来就糟了。搜寻人员在大致的范围挖了一遍，一无所获。这时，日本人打过来了。他们看到挖掘的痕迹，也到处乱挖，但也是什么也找不到。这批银子的下落如何，到现在仍是银行未能解开的一个谜。
共产党查账可严啦，银行检查员每年要查看一次埋藏的财宝。因为查看一次就要挖开一次，所以每次查看之后还要立即找一个新的埋藏地点。
"One killed," said Jung, "Okay. Two killed; still okay. Three killed, treasure lost.?"
In the seven or eight years of its history, the bank only once lost any of its buried capital. That was a time of emergency when only two men were available to bury fifteen hundred pounds of silver. One of these men died, and the other could not remember clearly just where the silver was buried. Since no one is allowed to keep maps, nor any written instructions - such as, "Ten paces from the tree and three feet down" the burier's loss of memory proved serious. Inspectors dug up the general area, but found nothing. Just then the Japanese attacked and, noting the digging, they too sank holes everywhere, but they found nothing either. Just what happened to the silver is still one of the bank's unsolved mysteries.
As the Communist party was very strict about auditing accounts, bank inspectors came once a year to check up on buried treasure. Since the hiding place was uncovered during these bank inspections, a new one had to be found immediately.
游击区没有银行大楼，也不挂银行招牌。银行一般设在普通的土屋子里，凭代号找，如一号、十三号之类。银行工作人员就在里面的一间黑屋子里，点着一盏小油灯办公。他的用具有：一个算盘，一支毛笔，几张纸，一点钱以及主顾的账簿。人们都把账簿保存在他这里，即使他转移了，人们也可以通过秘密交通找到他。
说实话，游击区的银行人员有点像杂货铺的伙计。敌人一来，他就把算盘、毛笔、钱和帐簿打进背包，腰里别上两枚手榴弹，背着他的“银行”迅速转移。
There were no bank buildings in guerrilla areas. There were no signboards. The bank was generally in an ordinary mud or plaster house. It was found by the use of code names, such as No. i or No. 12. In this house, the banker did his business, in a dark room, lit only by a wick hanging from a tiny cup of oil. His equipment consisted of a counting board, a Chinese writing brush, a little paper, some money and the accounts of his clients. People kept accounts with him, for even if he moved away, they could always find him through secret agents.
In reality, a banker in the guerrilla areas could be compared to a grocer's delivery boy. When the enemy came, he packed up his counting board, writing brush, money and accounts in his bedding roll, strapped on a couple of hand grenades and ran away fast, his bank on his back.
也许，共产党在一九四八年和一九四九年的胜利，结束了红色银行这种浪漫而冒险的生涯。笔者写到这里时，消息传来说，华北各银行己并入一个中央银行，发行了统一的货币。新币的储备不是金银等贵金属，而是粮食、布匹之类的商品。这个银行及其职员很可能将接管中国在全国和全世界的主要金融业务。
于是，在日本入侵的黑暗年代乡村合作社所印发的可怜的小纸币，如今几乎上升到国币的地位。革命债券值钱了。
Thus, the little paper notes that issued so forlornly from the presses of countryside co-operatives in the dark days of the Japanese invasion have now nearly risen to the stature of a national currency. The revolutionary bond has been made good.