Screenwriter Chen Baichen reflects actual problems happening in China at the time of Crows and Sparrows. During the 1940s, China experienced inflation that negatively affected much of the Chinese population. The nationalist government introduced restrictive measures in 1947 which were a failed attempt at curbing inflation. By mid-1947 the KMT launched their attack on the communist government. The war became their central focus and all other concerns were put to the side. The KMT government printed money to finance weapons, machinery and their army. This further fed the devaluation of the Chinese currency and in 1948 Inflation peaked when wholesale prices in shanghai increased 7.5 million times since the 1945 prices. The hyperinflation killed the economy and industry. Citizens had to purchase gold from the KMT government which is depicted in the scene where Xiao purchases gold bars.
