Pawnshops have a long pedigree in China. Back in the Western Han Dynasty, 150 years before the beginning of the Common Era, the great literatus Sima Xiangru pawned his robe to get money to buy wine, redeeming it only later when he came into some cash. In today's economic climate, pawnshops offer people help when they need it most. Behind the exotic variety of goods there are countless moving or inspiring stories. (Chuang Kung-ju)

In the current recession, pawnshops have again become a hot topic of discussion. But all pawnshops are not alike: state-run pawnshops are doing well, but there has been a wave of closings among private pawnshops. There are also notable differences in the status of persons bringing in items to pawn. Poor people hock their sandals, while a rich man puts up a gravel transport ship that would cost over a billion NT dollars to build-the tendency towards "M-shaped collateral" is very obvious. But no matter what they pawn, these people share the same psychology: to get a little more cash in hand and pay a little less interest. What's most important is scraping through the hard times, and knowing the final satisfaction of redeeming that beloved object.

Walking into the Taipei Municipal Secured Small Loans Service (SSLS, a government-run pawnshop), you see a middle-aged man dressed in a carefully pressed suit carrying a notebook computer to the desk; it is his collateral to apply for a loan. After he gets his pawn ticket, with some embarrassment he folds it repeatedly and tucks it deep into his wallet, perhaps fearing that his family will discover it. Because electronic products are worthless once they become obsolete, the NT$3000 loan has a redemption period of only three months. Yet, despite the briefness of the assistance, you can sense how happy the man is, as if the money had fallen out of the sky!