A Grand Illustrated Dictionary of Stamp Appreciation for World CulturalLiterary Figures.

Author: Liu Kaiwen
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 (the "mǐshòu" or 60th birthday milestone), I still undertake heavy compilation tasks and engage in numerous social activities. Nevertheless, 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 in the hobby.
Recently, Mr. Xue Dade, a renowned stamp collector from Shanghai, wrote to me, saying that he had collaborated with four other stamp collectors to compile a comprehensive illustrated catalog of stamps for appreciating world cultural figures. He asked me to write a preface. Having long been involved in cultural work and being concerned with the development of stamp culture, I found it difficult to refuse and thus felt compelled to write a few words here.
This stamp appreciation catalog is grand in scale, rich in content, and comprehensive in its coverage. Collecting such a vast number of stamps, first-day covers, and used postage stamps, as well as introducing related knowledge, requires extensive research, a significant investment of time, effort, and financial resources—truly no easy feat. It is a book that excels both in content and form, serving as both a popular introduction and a 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 catalog primarily uses stamps to help readers gain a basic understanding of world cultural figures. Its role is akin to a signpost, guiding readers toward these individuals. To truly delve into their life stories and artistic achievements, however, one must directly read their works and authoritative biographies and research studies to truly enter their inner world, understand their significant contributions to human civilization, and appreciate their brilliance and greatness. If this catalog can inspire readers to undertake such exploration, then its achievement would be immense!
This catalog includes nearly three thousand renowned cultural figures from around the world, primarily comprising five major categories: artists, musicians, writers, playwrights and 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 accomplishments of cultural figures but also, guided by stamp culture, showcasing their portraits, works, and other images through a wealth of stamps, rare first-day covers, postage stamps, and (limitation postcards), in a multi-layered, illustrated manner.
The arrangement of figures in this catalog 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 by era. In the fifth volume, Nobel Prize laureates are arranged by their award years due to their unique circumstances. For easy reference to the countries, regions, and issue dates of stamps, the catalog uniformly places relevant annotations in the upper corners of the stamps. The country names of stamps are labeled according to the country's name at the time of issue. The national affiliations of cultural figures are categorized based on their primary activity periods. World cultural figures are listed with both Chinese and foreign names, while Chinese cultural figures are generally annotated using Pinyin.