The Operational Mechanism of Red Financial Regulations in the Central Soviet Area

After the establishment of the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic (hereinafter referred to as the "Chinese Soviet Government"), in order to protect the interests of the workers and peasants and consolidate the red political power, a series of red financial regulations were successively formulated in the Central Soviet Area, establishing a financial operational mechanism encompassing fiscal auditing, financial supervision, cash management, credit management, and disciplinary safeguards. This mechanism not only promoted the healthy development of the economy of the Central Revolutionary Base Area but also effectively struck at the destructive activities of the Kuomintang reactionaries against the base area's finances, accumulating valuable experience for the construction of financial systems in different periods thereafter.

中华苏维埃共和国临时中央政府（以下简称“中华苏维埃政府”）成立后，为保障工农群众利益，巩固红色政权，在中央苏区先后制定了一系列红色金融法规，建立起涵盖财政审计、金融监管、现金管理、信贷管理、纪律保障等为一体的金融运行机制。该机制不仅促进了中央革命根据地经济的健康发展，还有力打击了国民党反动派针对根据地金融的破坏活动，并为后来不同时期金融体系建设积累了宝贵经验。

Establishing a Sound Financial Organization and Audit System

建立健全的金融组织与审计体系

Establishing an organizational and audit system with clear hierarchies and well-defined powers and responsibilities was the foundation for the operation of the red financial regulations in the Central Soviet Area. After its establishment, the Chinese Soviet Government quickly promulgated the "Provisional Fiscal Regulations of the Chinese Soviet Republic," which fundamentally changed the early base areas' fragmented model of fund-raising. On the one hand, the State Bank of the Chinese Soviet Republic was established, with branches set up in the provincial Soviet areas and sub-branches at the county level, unifying the banking organizational system and forming a multi-level organizational structure integrating the national, provincial, and county levels. On the other hand, to promptly plug loopholes for corruption and waste and prevent the occurrence of corruption, the Soviet Central Government also established an audit system independent of the banking organizational system. Around 1933, the Chinese Soviet Government successively promulgated financial regulations such as the "Provisional Charter of the State Bank of the Chinese Soviet Republic," the "Cash Export Registration Regulations," the "Provisional Rules for Current Deposits," the "Provisional Rules for Special Current Deposits," the "Provisional Rules for Current Overdrafts," and the "Provisional Rules for Fixed-Term Credit Loans." It also separated audit work from the Ministry of Finance and independently established the "Central Audit Committee" directly under the Council of People's Commissars. In January 1934, this body was further upgraded to a central-level organ parallel to the Council of People's Commissars. This hierarchical setup ensured that audit power was independent of the State Bank, forming a relationship of supervision and being supervised between the audit organs and the banking system. In February 1934, Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Chinese Soviet Government, signed the "Audit Regulations of the Executive Committee of the Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic," which became the first audit regulation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. It included the State Bank within the statutory scope of auditing, providing authoritative and rigorous institutional norms and legal bases for audit work in all Soviet areas.

建立层级分明、权责清晰的组织与审计体系，是中央苏区红色金融法规得以运行的基础。中华苏维埃政府成立后，迅速颁布了《中华苏维埃共和国暂行财政条例》，彻底改变了早期根据地各自为政的筹款模式。一方面，成立中华苏维埃共和国国家银行，并在各省苏区设立分行、县级设立支行，统一银行组织系统，形成国家、省、县为一体的多级组织架构；另一方面，为了及时堵塞贪污浪费漏洞，防止腐败现象发生，苏维埃中央政府还建立了独立于银行组织系统外的审计体系。1933年前后，中华苏维埃政府先后颁布了《中华苏维埃共和国国家银行暂行章程》《现金出口登记条例》《往来存款暂行规则》《特别往来存款暂行规则》《往来透支暂行规则》《定期信用放款暂行规则》等金融法规，并将审计工作从财政部剥离，单独设立直属人民委员会的“中央审计委员会”。1934年1月，该机构进一步升级为与人民委员会平行的中央级机关，这种层级设置确保了审计权独立于国家银行，形成审计机关与银行系统监督与被监督的关系。1934年2月，中华苏维埃政府执行委员会主席毛泽东签署《中华苏维埃共和国中央政府执行委员会审计条例》，成为中国共产党领导下的第一部审计法规，它将国家银行纳入法定审计范围，为各苏区审计工作提供了权威严谨的制度规范和法律依据。

Formulating Strict Currency and Cash Management Systems

制定严格的货币与现金管理制度

Formulating statutory currency issuance and management systems, and strictly controlling cash circulation, were key measures for the Central Soviet Area to stabilize the economic order and defend the red political power. At that time, the currency circulating in the market of the Central Soviet Area was complex and diverse, including Kuomintang government banknotes, miscellaneous notes from local warlords, local scrip, as well as various silver dollars, silver dimes, and copper coins. The existence of these currencies was highly detrimental to commodity circulation and disrupted the market economic order. After the First National Congress of the Chinese Soviet Republic was convened, the State Bank of the Chinese Soviet Republic established the "privilege" of currency issuance from a legal perspective. The Chinese Soviet Government required the prohibition of the circulation of all currencies except those issued by the State Bank. Foreign currencies were to be exchanged for Soviet currency at a prescribed ratio, and those holding notes for exchange were to be paid in silver dollars as far as possible, without refusal. Through currency exchange and rectification, the currency of the Central Soviet Area was unified, and the Chinese Soviet Government gradually established the people's trust in the value of the Soviet currency. To regulate bank operations and cash management, the Chinese Soviet Government also formulated the "Cash Export Registration System," establishing a regulatory mechanism of pre-registration, mid-process inspection, and post-event tracing. It strictly controlled the purpose, amount, and flow of cash exports, effectively preventing illegal acts such as forging cash exports and siphoning off Soviet area currency, thereby maintaining the credit and authority of the Soviet currency. This series of regulatory and institutional designs effectively curbed the crisis of silver outflow caused by enemy sabotage, ensuring the capital supply and financial stability of the Central Soviet Area.

制定法规性的货币发行与管理制度，严格管控现金流通，是中央苏区稳定经济秩序、捍卫红色政权的关键举措。当时，中央苏区市面上流通的货币复杂多样，有国民党政府纸币、地方军阀杂钞、土钞，还有各种银圆、银角、铜圆等。这些货币的存在，极不利于商品流通，破坏市场经济秩序。中华苏维埃第一次全国代表大会召开后，中华苏维埃共和国国家银行从法律层面确立了货币发行的“特权”。中华苏维埃政府要求禁止除国家银行发行外的各种货币流通，外来货币一律按照比例兑换为苏币，对持票兑换者必须尽量兑付现洋，不得拒绝。经过货币兑换与整顿，中央苏区货币得以统一，中华苏维埃政府逐步建立了民众对苏维埃币值的信任。为规范银行运行和现金管理，中华苏维埃政府还制定了《现金出口登记制度》，建立起事前登记、事中检查、事后追溯的监管机制，对现金出口的用途、金额、流向等进行严格管控，有效防止了伪造现金出口、套取苏区货币等违法行为，维护了苏区货币的信用和权威性。这一系列法规制度设计有效遏制了因敌特破坏导致的白银外流危机，保障了中央苏区的资金供应和金融稳定。

Implementing Inclusive Regulatory and Credit Loan Policies

实施普惠的调控与信用贷款政策

Implementing preferential credit policies oriented towards the broad masses of workers and peasants was the core manifestation of the Central Soviet Area's financial regulations serving the revolutionary war, supporting production development, and consolidating the red political power. To thoroughly eliminate feudal exploitation, abolish usury, and protect the interests of the workers and peasants, the Chinese Soviet Government implemented a series of credit policies that safeguarded the fundamental interests of the workers and peasants. At that time, usury exploitation in southern Jiangxi and western Fujian was extremely brutal, with various types of usury and extremely high interest rates. Once impoverished peasants were unable to repay their debts, they would lose their land and houses. From 1931 to 1932, the Chinese Soviet Government successively promulgated the "Resolution on Economic Policy," the "Provisional Regulations on Cooperative Loans," and the "Provisional Charter of the State Bank of the Chinese Soviet Republic," gradually incorporating cooperative affairs into legal provisions. This laid the legal foundation for the unified and standardized management of credit cooperatives, making them a powerful weapon for protecting the interests of the workers and peasants. For example, the "Provisional Regulations on Cooperative Loans" stipulated the cancellation and abolition of all usurious loans, declaring all past usurious contracts completely invalid. It also regulated and adjusted legal loan relationships, requiring that no interest be compounded, thereby legally safeguarding the fundamental interests of the workers and peasants. In addition, the Chinese Soviet Government formulated the "Standard Charter for Credit Cooperatives," vigorously promoting the development of credit cooperatives, providing low-interest loans to members, and solving the financial difficulties of farmers and producers in production and daily life. As a credit fortress against usury exploitation, credit cooperatives, as a mass financial organization, received active participation from the broad masses of workers and peasants, becoming a vivid practice of the Communist Party of China in exploring inclusive policies and regulations.

实施面向广大工农群众的倾斜性信贷政策，是中央苏区金融法规服务革命战争、扶持生产发展、巩固红色政权的核心体现。为彻底肃清封建剥削，废除高利贷，保障工农群众利益，中华苏维埃政府实施了一系列保护工农群众根本利益的信贷政策。当时，赣南闽西高利贷剥削十分残酷，高利贷类型多种多样，利息利率极高，贫苦农民一旦还不起债务，便会失去田地和房屋。从1931年到1932年，中华苏维埃政府相继颁布了《关于经济政策的决议案》《合作社借贷暂行条例》和《中华苏维埃共和国国家银行暂行章程》，逐步把合作社事宜正式纳入法律条文，为信用合作社统一规范管理奠定了法理基础，成为保障工农群众利益的有力武器。如《合作社借贷暂行条例》规定，取消和废止一切高利贷借贷，宣布过去的高利贷契约完全无效，并对合法借贷关系进行规范和调控，要求一切利息不得利上加利，从法律上保障了工农群众的根本利益。此外，中华苏维埃政府还制定了《信用合作社标准章程》，大力推动信用合作社的发展，为社员提供低息贷款，解决农民和生产者在生产、生活中的资金困难。作为抵制高利贷剥削的信用堡垒，信用合作社这一群众性金融组织得到广大工农群众的积极参与，成为中国共产党探索普惠性政策与法规的生动实践。

Establishing Strict Supervision and Punishment Mechanisms

确立严明的监管与惩处机制

Establishing a rigorous mechanism for supervising and legally punishing financial institutions, currency circulation, and financial illegal acts was the fundamental guarantee for the Central Soviet Area to ensure that financial laws and regulations cracked down on financial sabotage activities and maintained the financial credit system. The Chinese Soviet government established a strict regulatory system and an anti-corruption punishment mechanism in the financial field through multiple means such as legislation, auditing, and mass supervision, gradually forming a legal system with the constitutional outline as its core and various departmental laws as its main body, providing a rule-of-law guarantee for the stable operation of red finance in the Soviet Area. In the field of procuratorial work, the Chinese Soviet government established Soviet procuratorial organs with the Workers' and Peasants' Procuratorial Department as the main body, which had functions such as the power to impeach, investigate, and initiate public prosecutions. Among them, the duties of the procuratorial organs were mainly to combat corruption and embezzlement, carry out administrative procuratorial work, and be responsible for criminal and military procuratorial work. For example, in May 1933, Yuan Yushan and Liu Daobin, clerks in the Cashier Section of the National Bank, were punished for corruption and embezzlement; both were successively dismissed from their posts and sent to court for trial. [3]3 The Workers' and Peasants' Procuratorial Department was a Soviet-era agency responsible for supervising government and economic organs and combating corruption. Such actions to purge and punish corrupt and embezzling elements strengthened the Soviet economic and financial organizations, creating a stable rear area for the victory of the revolution. To provide a legal basis for punishing corruption and embezzlement, on December 15, 1933, Mao Zedong, in his capacity as Chairman of the Central Executive Committee, signed the 26th Instruction "On Punishing Corrupt and Wasteful Acts," which stipulated different punishment standards for different degrees of corruption. For example, embezzlement of public funds of 500 yuan or more was punishable by death; embezzlement of public funds of 300 yuan or more but less than 500 yuan was punishable by imprisonment of two to five years; embezzlement of public funds of 100 yuan or more but less than 300 yuan was punishable by imprisonment of six months to two years; embezzlement of public funds of less than 100 yuan was punishable by forced labor for less than six months. These provisions gave the Workers' and Peasants' Procuratorial Committee a legal basis for punishing corrupt and embezzling elements, effectively restraining corruption and criminal acts in the economic and financial fields. To educate and reform criminals who violated Soviet decrees, the Chinese Soviet government issued the "Instructions on the Work of Judicial Organs," requiring judicial organs to establish "labor reformatories," and specifically requiring that labor reformatories pay attention to production and reform. This practice of "learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones and curing the disease to save the patient" became an important practice for the Communist Party of China to continuously enhance its capacity for self-purification, self-improvement, self-renovation, and self-enhancement. [4]4 "Learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones and curing the disease to save the patient" is a standard CCP formulation for the purpose of criticism and self-criticism, later also applied to the treatment of offenders. Although the Central Soviet Area's financial supervision and punishment regulatory system was born in a wartime environment, it already exhibited the characteristics of combining principles with detailed rules, emphasizing both criminal punishment and administrative management, and coordinating specialized supervision with mass supervision.

建立对金融机构、货币流通及金融违法行为的严密监督与法律惩处机制，是中央苏区保障金融法规打击金融破坏活动、维护金融信用体系的根本保障。中华苏维埃政府通过立法、审计、群众监督等多重手段在金融领域建立了严密的监管体系和反腐败惩处机制，逐渐形成了以宪法大纲为核心、以各个部门为主体的法律体系，为苏区红色金融的稳定运行提供了法治保障。在检察领域，中华苏维埃政府设立了以工农检察部为主体的苏维埃检察机构，具有检举权、调查权、公诉权等职能。其中，检察机关的职责主要是反贪污腐败、开展行政检察、负责刑事检察和军事检察等方面。如1933年5月，国家银行出纳科职员袁雨山、刘道彬就因贪污腐化而被惩处，两人相继被开除职务，并送往法庭讯办。此类肃清和惩处贪污腐化分子的行动，强化了苏维埃经济金融组织，为革命胜利打造了稳定的后方。为使惩治贪污腐败有法可依，1933年12月15日，毛泽东以中央执行委员会主席名义签署了《关于惩治贪污浪费行为》的第26号训令，对不同贪腐程度的情形规定了不同的惩处标准。例如，贪污公款在五百元以上者，处以死刑；贪污公款在三百元以上五百元以下者，处以两年以上五年以下的监禁；贪污公款一百元以上三百元以下者，处以半年以上两年以下的监禁；贪污公款一百元以下者，处以半年以下的强迫劳动。这些规定使得工农检察委员会惩治贪污腐败分子有法可依，有力约束了经济金融领域的贪腐与犯罪行为。为了教育和感化违反苏维埃法令的犯人，中华苏维埃政府颁布了《对裁判机关工作的指示》，要求司法机关设立“劳动感化院”，特别要求劳动感化院要注意生产和感化，这一“惩前毖后、治病救人”的做法，成为中国共产党不断提升自我净化、自我完善、自我革新和自我提高能力的重要实践。虽然当时中央苏区金融监管与惩处法规体系诞生于战时环境，但已呈现出纲领与细则结合、刑事惩处与行政管理并重、专门监管与群众监督协同的特点。

The red financial laws and regulations of the Central Soviet Area contained core principles such as unified finance, healthy finance, independent auditing, and clean and honest governance. They were a regulatory system that combined administrative management, market operations, mass supervision, and audit supervision, and also a great pioneering initiative of the Communist Party of China in exploring the rule of law under extremely difficult wartime conditions. This practice accumulated valuable experience for exploring new-democratic red finance and still has mirroring significance for developing finance with Chinese characteristics today. It shows us that the rule of law is the foundation of the financial cause, and the leadership of the Party is the soul of financial work.

中央苏区的红色金融法规，蕴含统一财政、健康金融、独立审计、廉洁奉公等核心原则，是一套将行政管理、市场运作、群众监督和审计监督等相结合的法规体系，也是中国共产党在极端艰苦的战争环境中进行法治探索的伟大创举。这一实践为探索新民主主义红色金融积累了宝贵经验，对今天发展中国特色金融仍具有镜鉴意义。它昭示我们，法治是金融事业的根基，党的领导是金融工作的灵魂。

(The author is a researcher at the Institute for the Study of the Spirit of the Chinese Communist Party's Army Building, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology Normal)

（作者系江西科技师范大学中国共产党建军精神研究院研究员）