Historical Sketch

In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria and established a nominally independent state headed by the former Chinese emperor, but under direct Japanese control. In the mid-1930s, gradually further Chinese territories were conquered and put under the "authority" of puppet governments. Also after the consolidation of the Japanese occupation terriories in China, Manchuria remained the nominally independent Manchukuo.

Monetary History Overview

In mid-1932, a central bank was formed for Manchukuo by merging four provincial banks, and the Manchurian Yuan became the national currency. The Chinese silver standard was maintained until it got abandoned in the Chinese currency reform of 1935. The Yuan then repegged to the Japanese Yen and rated 3.5% higher than the Chinese Dollar. The Manchurian currency remained stable overall, there was little warfare and therefore no need to expand money supply. After the Japanese defeat in August 1945, Manchuria was retaken by the Chinese nationalist government. The Central Bank of China took over from the liquidated Manchurian central bank and organized a currency changeover. In November 1945, banknotes were issued for exclusive use in the so-called "Nine North-Eastern Provinces", which now constituted former Manchuria. The Manchurian-Chinese Dollar was exchanged at par with the Manchurian Yuan and equal to ten Chinese Dollars. The currency variant was abolished in the Chinese currency reform of August 1948.

Currency Units Timeline

Currency Institutes Timeline

Monetary History Sources