A Grand Illustrated Dictionary for Appreciating Stamps of World Cultural. Nobel Prize Winners

Author: Zhao Xuanwei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Stamp collecting is a cultural, recreational, and appreciative activity with broad popular appeal. I am not a professional stamp collector, although I have reached the age of 60, I still undertake heavy compilation tasks and engage in numerous social activities, yet I still enjoy stamp collecting. Stamp collecting has indeed brought me much joy in my leisure time, and through interactions with other stamp enthusiasts, I have continuously acquired new knowledge and methods in stamp collecting, further enhancing my interest and proficiency.
Recently, Mr. Xue Dade, a veteran stamp collector from Shanghai, wrote to me, saying that he had collaborated with four other stamp collectors to compile a comprehensive stamp appreciation atlas featuring world cultural figures. He asked me to write a preface. Having long been involved in cultural work and concerned with the development of stamp culture, I could not refuse and thus took the liberty of writing a few words here.
This stamp appreciation atlas is grand in scale, rich in content, and comprehensive in its categories. Collecting such a vast number of stamps, first-day covers, and used covers, while introducing related knowledge, requires extensive research, significant time and effort, and considerable financial investment—truly no easy feat. It is an outstanding work in both content and form, serving as both a popular and professional resource for stamp collectors, as well as an excellent tool for art, culture, and history education. It is highly recommended to a broad readership, particularly to fellow stamp enthusiasts and, especially, to young friends.
Of course, this atlas primarily helps readers gain an understanding of world cultural figures through stamps, serving as a guidepost to lead them closer to these individuals. However, to truly delve into their life stories and artistic achievements, one must directly read their works and authoritative biographies and research studies to truly enter their inner world and appreciate their significant role in the history of human civilization, as well as their exceptional brilliance and greatness. If this atlas can inspire readers to explore this path, it would be a monumental achievement!
This atlas features nearly three thousand renowned cultural figures from around the world, primarily including artists, musicians, writers, dramatists, filmmakers, and Nobel Prize laureates (divided into five volumes), covering most important humanities and prominent natural sciences. It combines knowledge with artistic appreciation, not only providing concise introductions to the lives and achievements of cultural figures but also showcasing their portraits, works, and other images through a rich array of stamps, first-day covers, postal cards, and (limitation postcards), making it a visually engaging and informative resource.
The arrangement of figures in this atlas follows the geographical order of continents and countries, with adjustments made based on their historical contributions to world civilization. Within the same country, figures are listed in chronological order of their era. In the fifth volume, Nobel Prize laureates are arranged by their award years due to their unique circumstances. For easy reference, relevant annotations are uniformly placed in the upper corners of the stamps, indicating the issuing country, region, and date. The names of issuing countries are marked according to their names at the time of issue. The national affiliations of cultural figures are categorized based on their primary activity periods. World cultural figures are listed in both Chinese and foreign names, while Chinese cultural figures are generally rendered in pinyin.