Before the reform and opening up, the daily life of ordinary China people, for many people now, is probably just a distant legend. Of course, because of their different values, some people think this is a horror story, full of persecution and hunger. While others look at that era with an idealistic and even a little revolutionary romanticism. But life is life. No matter what era and social environment we are in, for the vast majority of ordinary people in China, rice, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar tea will always be the main theme of our lives, even in the so-called crazy era of politics. So at that time, what was the daily life of ordinary China people like?
If you ask the post-80s and post-90s China people what is the most important thing in life, they may answer that money is the most important thing. But if you ask people in China in the 1970s what is the most important thing in life, about 99% will answer, and coupons are the most important. Before the reform and opening up, almost all the consumer goods of China people were supplied quantitatively by the state according to different standards of different regions and different groups of people. Vouchers are proof of supply, which is directly related to how much rice everyone can eat, how much meat and oil they can eat, how much soap they can use and even how much wine they can smoke. In other words, at that time, almost everything that money could buy needed vouchers, and many major necessities of life could not be obtained without money. In a sense, RMB can even be said to be a supplement to vouchers. Generally speaking, there were two kinds of coupons. One is food stamps, which are mainly used to buy grains and food. Food stamps are divided into local food stamps and national food stamps. The former is issued by provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions and can only be used locally. The latter is issued by the state and is common throughout the country; One is a shopping voucher, which is mainly used to buy various daily consumer goods, such as meat, cloth, fuel, briquettes and so on. The standards for issuing food stamps and shopping vouchers in different regions are not the same, for example, there are more in border areas than in the mainland; Different people and different industries issue different standards. For example, in terms of rations, high school students are a little more than junior high school students, and on-the-job workers are a little more than full-time cadres ... So at that time, ordinary people in China generally had "three books", one is a food book and the other is a shopping book. If they are employees of the whole people or collective ownership, they also have a medical book. At that time, most people in China had three relationships: first, registered permanent residence, second, food, and third, organization. These three relationships were accompanied by the lives of ordinary people in China at that time. The first two relationships were the most important, which directly related to how many necessities and finished products you could get from the country under the planned system, such as bicycles. Therefore, before the reform and opening up, coupons can be said to be the most important thing for most China families.
clothes
In terms of color, "gray, blue, white, black (blue) and green" were indeed the main colors of clothes in China at that time. Generally speaking, cadres, especially middle and senior cadres, are most exposed to gray, workers, cadres and students in ordinary organs are most exposed to blue and white, and farmers are most exposed to black (blue). Green is a special color for soldiers. Therefore, from the color and style of people's clothes at that time, we can generally judge their respective occupations and even grades. For example, officers wear four uniforms and soldiers wear two uniforms. For ordinary people, there is not much choice in colors and styles, so that there will be a movie called "Red Skirt Popular in the Street" to reflect the changes of China people's clothing at that time. At that time, it was not uncommon for a father's clothes to be replaced by his son's, and the eldest's clothes were left to the second, and the second was passed on to the third, which was not uncommon in China families at that time. I am lucky to be at the bottom of my family. Sometimes new clothes are just a pair of sneakers for me during the Spring Festival. For today's students, especially primary and secondary school students, school uniforms with various styles and fabrics have almost become a part of fashion. Before the reform and opening up, what was the most standard clothing for primary and secondary school students? Senior students generally wear imitation 65 military uniforms, which was a fashion at that time. There is no special dress code for middle and junior students, but in major parties and some group activities, white shirts, blue pants, white sneakers and red scarves (or red sleeves) are standard clothes. At that time, the fabric of clothes was mainly chemical fiber. As for shoes, for a long time, cloth shoes, liberation shoes and sneakers have been worn by most people in China, and of course, leather shoes. But many people usually wear leather shoes for any activities. For many workers, yellow suede shoes, as labor protection, never leave their feet all year round. However, in my memory, shoes seem to be one of the few commodities in life that don't need shopping vouchers.
eat
Speaking of food, at that time, most people in China, especially the urban population, actually ate whatever they wanted every month, which was stipulated by the state. Grain is divided into staple food and miscellaneous grains. According to different occupations and ages, everyone can buy a few kilograms a month. Similarly, edible vegetable oil is rationed, and both grain and vegetable oil are supplied by state-owned grain stores. Animal fats, such as lard, are classified as non-staple foods and are purchased quantitatively with meat stamps. Of course, pork and beef are also bought with meat stamps. At that time, the fuels used by ordinary families in cities and towns in China were generally briquettes and kerosene, which were also supplied quantitatively by ticket. Among the necessities of life, I remember that only soy sauce, vinegar, tea, salt and some condiments do not need coupons, while cigarettes (mainly filter-tip cigarettes), wine and sugar all need coupons. Almost all grocery stores selling these goods are owned by the whole people or collectives. At that time, in many families in China, fruit candy was usually packed in tin or glass jars and placed in the most difficult place to get. Only after dinner every day, or when guests come or are praised at school, can we get a little happiness from that mysterious jar. At that time, the mysterious jar aroused the criminal desire of many children. By the way, sugar was limited at that time, but people who were getting married could get extra supplies with their marriage certificates. Among non-staple foods, chickens, ducks and fish don't need shopping vouchers, but for ordinary families in China, chickens and ducks are usually served on festive occasions such as weddings and major festivals such as the Spring Festival, while fish are mainly caught by natural growth, so it is seasonal, not available in all seasons, but the price at that time was very cheap, such as anti-wave fish. I remember it was between 1 yuan per kilogram. Because there was no free market for farmers at that time, the vegetables consumed by urban residents were all supplied by state-owned vegetable stations, mainly seasonal vegetables, and the prices were written on a brand without bargaining. At that time, eating was the most important demand of most ordinary families in China, and the material supply was poor, so there were few hotels and restaurants in the city at that time. The so-called hotels mainly sell miscellaneous foods such as noodles and rice noodles. Of course, some restaurants sell drinks for cooking, but most residents rarely go there to spend money and eat in restaurants. Without food stamps, those impartial salespeople wouldn't give you a grain of rice, but the price at that time was very cheap, a bowl of rice noodles or noodles.
on one's pins
Before the reform and opening up, ordinary urban residents (at least as far as I know) almost realized home ownership. At that time, almost all the houses in the town were public houses, which were generally divided into two types. One is the public houses built by units or owned by units. The right to allocate the house is in the hands of the unit, and the occupants are all employees and family members of the unit. Rent, utilities, etc. It is collected by the unit, and the daily maintenance management is also the responsibility of the unit. This kind of house is generally a unit building or a tubular building, with relatively good sanitation and living conditions. The other is the public houses scattered in the streets of the city. These houses are generally the product of public ownership after liberation. For example, some houses belong to local bureaucrats and capitalists. The housing distribution right is controlled by the Housing Authority (the Institute), which is mainly distributed to employees who have no units to build their own houses and all urban population except units owned by the whole people and collective ownership. The daily management and maintenance of the house is also the responsibility of the Housing Authority. These houses are generally bungalows or courtyards, and the living conditions are also very poor. Often a few people in a family live in one room (I lived in the compound for a very happy few years), and the sanitary conditions are also very poor. Often, residents in a street share one or two public toilets, which is unimaginable today. However, the residents at that time felt nothing unusual. But in any case, the rent, utilities and other expenses at that time were really very cheap, almost negligible, and for some lonely five-guarantee households, these expenses were even free. This home ownership policy even benefited two workers. At that time, the two workers were released and returned to society. If they don't have housing, they register with the police station and establish a food relationship with the Grain Bureau, and then they can apply to the Housing Authority (research institute) for housing allocation.
[Transferred from Iron Blood Community/]
line
Before the reform and opening up, people in China mainly depended on bicycles, buses, trains and ships. Traveling in the city usually depends on bicycles or buses. At that time, many small and medium-sized cities, including some provincial capitals, did not have taxis, let alone private cars. Buses are divided into fuel trucks and trams. However, there was a time when the fuel supply in China was tight. Many cities have converted fuel buses into gas, that is, adding a huge airbag on the roof of the bus and injecting natural gas or gas into it as fuel. At that time, many buses in Chengdu were modified and looked very imposing. At that time, the bus fare was also very cheap, and it was charged by stages, that is, 20 cents within 2-3 stops, and a certain fare was added on this basis outside 2-3 stops, but I remember that the highest fare was generally not more than 0.2 yuan, and the monthly ticket for adults was probably 5 yuan per month, and that for children was 3 yuan per month. There are two kinds of monthly tickets, one is for all lines, and the other is for some lines and sections. When it comes to traveling, of course, we can't help but mention bicycles. Bicycle was the most important travel tool for ordinary people in China at that time. Having a "permanent" Phoenix or Flying Pigeon brand bicycle was almost the hottest aspiration of all people in China at that time. The pride of owning a new "permanent" brand "Phoenix" brand or "Flying Pigeon" brand bicycle will never be lost to owning a Mercedes-Benz or BMW today. Like most goods, you need a ticket to buy a bicycle, but the difference between this kind of shopping voucher and other shopping vouchers is that it is not universal and has some kind of welfare and reward color. Tickets for buying bicycles are generally issued to all units (it seems that the Commercial Bureau is responsible for issuing them), and then they are issued by all units in the form of drawing lots or rewarding advanced workers of model workers. Those who didn't get tickets at work or didn't get tickets can only watch with envy those lucky ones push "Phoenix" home. At that time, bicycles, watches and sewing machines were symbolic items representing China's family wealth and social status. Even for a long time, stealing bicycles was a serious crime, similar to car theft today. Trains, ships and long-distance buses were the main modes of intercity travel for ordinary people in China at that time. For China people at that time, flying was a symbol of political status and administrative level, not a symbol of wealth. I remember that, in principle, only cadres at or above the county level can fly with the letter of introduction from the unit, so that once my father took a military plane for emergency military affairs, I showed off in front of my friends for several days, which seems very ridiculous today. Therefore, the train became the main way for ordinary China people to travel long distances. Like today, trains are divided into hard seats, hard sleepers and soft sleepers. The difference is that for China people at that time, sitting in a soft sleeper was also a symbol of political status and administrative level. In principle, only cadres at or above the county level can take the soft sleeper. Once, I accidentally broke into a soft sleeper by train and was kicked out by the flight attendant like a landlord, so I swore viciously that one day, "I'll sit down, too." After many years, I have a long-cherished wish to try it, but I find it is not enough. As for boats, they are mainly people's travel tools along the Yangtze River and around the inland sea. Like airplanes and trains, the second class and above of ships also reflected the unique social hierarchy in China at that time. Of course, the long-distance bus was probably the most civilian and equal long-distance means of transportation at that time. Before the reform and opening up, China's motor vehicles can be divided into three types: passenger cars, trucks and buses. Passenger cars are mainly passenger cars like bread. Most freight cars are Jiefang brand, which is the kind that Lei Feng drives. There are two kinds of buses, one is mainly Beijing 2 12 Jeep, which is generally the official car of the military public security law and other organs; The other is mainly a Shanghai brand car, which is generally the official car of government agencies and some large and medium-sized enterprises. Unlike today, a middle-level cadre may have a private car. Theoretically, the cadres who were able to own their own cars in China at that time were generally above the prefectural level. Cadres at or below the prefectural level can transfer their units' vehicles for business, but they can't use them by car. For example, at that time, the Kunming Military Region belonged to the big military region. I remember that in the military region organs, except for a few chief officials and political commissars, the heads of other subordinate functional departments could only commute by bike.
The above are just my personal memories of China's social life before the reform and opening up. Society is constantly developing and changing, so social life is also a dynamic development process. For example, great changes have taken place in the late Cultural Revolution and the early days of reform and opening up. For example, the bus problem was not so strict in the late Cultural Revolution. Many officials below the level have begun to take charge of buses, and with the passage of time, many memories have been blurred or even forgotten, so there must be some mistakes in the part described in this article. But based on my memory and the convenience of writing, I described that time in a static way, not to say that China society was always in the state I mentioned before the reform and opening up, and because China was actually in the dual social structure of urban and rural areas at that time, I knew little about the living conditions of rural areas and farmers at that time, so what I described was basically what I saw and heard in cities, especially provincial capitals, and one-sidedness was inevitable. Please forgive me. )
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