Manchurian Money

Manchuria comprised the three provinces of NE China. The Japanese invaded the region in 1931 and founded Manchukuo in 1932.

Pu Yi, last of the Manchu dynasty of China, ruled as regent and emperor. Manchukuo, established an independent Manchu nation, was really a Japanese puppet-state.

Prior to this, the city Dalian (then Dairen) had been a Japanese colony for two generations. As such, money issued in Japan was the official tender of the city (Imperial Russian bank notes were still in common use until after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917).

To support the Manchurian state, yuan bank notes were issued. Even though named after the Chinese currency, their design was more similar in style to Japanese currency of the era, replacing the Imperial seal with the Manchurian.

When Russia took over administration of Dalian after 1945, it issued its own occupation notes in the yuan denomination. After the Chinese Civil War and Russia handed Dalian over to the new Central Government, the city began using standard Chinese currency for the first time in its history.

The bank notes presented here were found in junk markets on the streets of Dalian. Having never left the city in hands of foreign collectors to sell on eBay, this money remains where it was issued and circulated decades ago.

Any of these notes could have passed through the old banks that still remain downtown, and used by the original colonial citizens.

Research and translation has helped establish when this money was issued, but very little information exists about why some of the currency switched their back design. From exploration of junk markets, it was determined that some note designs were far more rare, thus their production and distribution had been limited.