History of Chinese Stamps. Volume 3

Author: Editorial Committee of the History of Chinese Stamps, Ministry of Information Industry of the People's Republic of China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-12-01
Features: The outbreak of the 1911 Xinhai Revolution overthrew the corrupt Qing Dynasty and ended the millennia-old feudal monarchy. On January 1, 1912, Sun Yat-sen took the oath of office as the provisional president in Nanjing, proclaiming the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China. The Provisional Government established the Ministry of Communications to manage postal affairs. In April, according to the agreement between the northern and southern governments, the Nanjing Provisional Government moved to Beijing, and the Ministry of Communications merged with the personnel of the Beijing Postal and Telecommunications Department, reorganizing the Ministry of Communications and its affiliated Postal General Bureau of the Beijing Government of the Republic of China. From then until the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Postal General Bureau, under the leadership of the Ministry of Communications, was responsible for managing national postal affairs and stamp issuance. During this period, Chinese postal services were marked as "Republic of China Postal Service," abbreviated as "Republic of China Post." The History of Chinese Stamps, Volume 3 records the issuance of postal materials by the Republic of China Post during the early period of the Republic of China (1912.1—1937.7). This volume objectively introduces the historical background, types, characteristics, quantities, and printing processes of Republic of China Post stamps during this period. It also reveals, from a certain perspective, the changes in the country's economy, politics, science, culture, social spirit, and its important position in the history of Chinese stamps. The early period of the Republic of China, though only 26 years long, went through three stages: the Nanjing Provisional Government, the Beijing Government, and the Nanjing Government. This period was marked by political instability in modern Chinese history, with intense national and class conflicts, incessant warfare among various military and political factions, and widespread suffering among the people. Against this complex political backdrop, the Republic of China Post, drawing on the experiences and lessons of the Imperial Chinese Postal Service, adopted positive measures, leading to relatively healthy and rapid development. In January 1913, the Republic of China government officially announced the "Abolition of Relay Stations and Integration into Postal Service," bringing all government document delivery under the postal system. On March 1, 1914, China officially joined the Universal Postal Union, achieving equal exchanges between modern Chinese postal services and the global postal system, allowing newly issued Republic of China Post stamps to circulate worldwide. On February 1, 1922, the Pacific Conference passed a resolution to abolish "foreign posts" in China, and by December 1922, postal offices of Britain, France, the United States, and other countries in China were closed (excluding Japan in Manchuria and Britain in Tibet). On June 6, 1928, the Northern Warlord Government collapsed, and the Beijing Postal General Bureau was abolished, achieving unified postal authority nationwide. In 1934, the Nationalist Government, citing the rationale that letter delivery is a state monopoly, ordered the closure of all local letter delivery services. By then, Chinese postal services were unified, the postal communication market was owned by the state postal service, and the exclusive right to deliver postal letters was confirmed. With the development of the Republic of China Post and changes in its management system, the stamps issued by the Republic of China Post showed clear autonomy compared to the imperialist-controlled stamps of the Qing Dynasty. The topics, designs, printing, and issuance of stamps gradually became standardized, with strict review and management systems, a wide variety of types, and the ability to meet both social communication needs and the collecting requirements of philatelists, while also increasing postal revenue and state treasury income. During the 26 years of the Republic of China's early period, the Republic of China Post issued over 70 sets of various stamps, including regular stamps, commemorative stamps, airmail stamps, disaster relief surcharge stamps, unpaid stamps, express stamps, and provincial-use stamps. Alongside stamps, the Republic of China Post also issued regular prepaid postcards, commemorative prepaid postcards, prepaid letter sheets, and stamp albums (later known as miniature sheets). Chapters 1, 2, and 3 of this volume are primarily arranged chronologically. Chapter 1 focuses on the "Year 1 of the Republic of China," highlighting the dispute over the right of use of dragon-cancelled stamps and the simultaneous issuance of two sets of stamps on December 15, 1912, to commemorate the founding of the Republic of China: the "Republic of China Restoration Commemorative" with Sun Yat-sen's portrait and the "Republic of China Republican Commemorative" with Yuan Shikai's portrait. Chapter 2 covers the "Northern Warlord Government" period, focusing on the 1913 issuance of regular stamps bearing the "Republic of China" mark (sailboat design) and commemorative stamps such as "Republic of China Republican," "25th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Republic of China Post," "Constitution," and " of the Supreme Commander of the Army and Navy." These commemorative stamps, along with other "National Foundation Celebration" commemorative stamps that were not issued or proposed, and stamps canceling "Imperial China," of Li Yuanhong, Xu Shichang, and others, more accurately reflect the historical traces of major political changes at the time. Chapter 3 covers the "Nanjing Government" period, focusing on regular stamps featuring portraits of Sun Yat-sen and martyrs, issued from 1931, as well as major commemorative stamps of the same period, including the "Sun Yat-sen National Funeral Commemorative," "Tan Yankai Commemorative," "Northwest Scientific Expedition Commemorative," "New Life Movement Commemorative," and the "40th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Republic of China Post." These commemorative stamps are beautifully designed, with some employing multi-color printing, making them highly sought-after collectibles and gifts among philatelists. It is worth noting that the design of the Tan Yankai commemorative stamps broke the previous practice of having borders on all stamps, making the theme more prominent and clear, and also pioneered a new style for later stamp designs. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 of this volume are primarily arranged by topic. Chapter 4 covers provincial-use stamps. During the Republic of China period, due to national conditions and historical reasons, a unified currency system was not implemented nationwide. To prevent speculation and ensure normal social communication needs, the Republic of China Post issued multiple sets of provincial-use stamps starting in 1915. Examples include "Provincial Use New Province Regular Stamps," "Provincial Use New Province Commemorative Stamps," "Provincial Use 'Temporary Use' Airmail Stamps," "Official Use Stamps," stamps for "Guangxi" and "Guizhou" use, "Provincial Use Yunnan Stamps," "Provincial Use Sichuan Stamps," and "Provincial Use Jilin and Heilongjiang Stamps." Chapter 5 covers Tibetan regional stamps. Chapter 6 covers prepaid postcards, letter sheets, and stamp albums. Most of the stamps issued during the early period of the Republic of China were printed by the Beijing Ministry of Finance Printing Bureau. This bureau introduced significant changes in stamp topics, designs, formats, colors, and printing techniques compared to the Qing Dynasty, offering a fresh and innovative look. This volume is the third volume of The History of Chinese Stamps and specifically covers the upper part of the Republic of China Post history. However, since Tibetan regional stamps are not discussed in subsequent volumes, events after 1937 are also included in Chapter 5 of this volume to ensure relative completeness.