Hui Zhou Antique Appraisal

Author: Huang Chuanmu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: The stamped envelope with attached postage stamp is a certificate issued by the national postal department, used to affix to mail to indicate that postage has been paid. The first stamp in the world was issued on May 1, 1840. The first set of stamps in China was created during the Guangxu era, in the year 1878. Figure 80, the "Coiling Dragon" stamp, was issued after 1898. This is a real stamped envelope, with the simplified Chinese regular script seal on the stamp reading: "Anhui, Wuxin June 23rd, Jixi." "Wuxin" refers to the 33rd year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty. This postmark indicates that on 1908,××× sent a private letter from the city of Jixi in Anhui to××× in the city of Shexing, Huizhou Prefecture. Stamps represent the culture of a period, holding commemorative significance for a certain time. The face value of stamps represents the unit of currency exchange for a period, and stamps serve as certificates for mail transit. They are not affected by time but are limited by the changes of eras, often said, "One dynasty has its officials, and each dynasty is ruled by its officials." In 1912, after the establishment of the Republic of China, due to the delay in printing new stamps, a transitional period was required, during which the postal authorities overprinted the existing Qing Dynasty "Coiling Dragon" stamps with the inscription "Republic of China" and put them into circulation (Figure 81). On October 10, 1911, the Xinhai Revolution led by Mr. Sun Yat-sen succeeded in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty. During the meeting of representatives in Nanjing, Sun Yat-sen was elected as the provisional president of the Republic of China, and on January 1, 1912, the new era of the Republic of China began. The Republic of China government established the General Post Office within the Ministry of Communications. Figure 82 is a real stamped envelope from the 25th year of the Republic of China (1936), featuring a 1931 London edition stamp of Sun Yat-sen. The envelope bears a simplified Chinese regular script seal reading "Books and Periodicals, Purchased by Post Office." On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was established. Under Mao Zedong's leadership, the people of China moved from darkness to light, and the people became masters of their own destiny. On January 1, 1950, the People's Republic of China Postal Department established the General Post Office to manage national postal affairs. Figure 83 is a real stamped envelope sent from a department store in Shanghai to an ink store in Tianjin on January 20, 1950, featuring a 100-yuan face value stamp of Mao Zedong issued by the East China People's Postal Service. Figure 84 is a home letter sent on April 7, 1954, from××× in the fifth district of Wuzhen City in southern Anhui to the 0085 unit of the People's Liberation Army in Baiquan Township, Dinghai County, Zhejiang Province. The stamp on the back of the envelope is an 800-yuan face value worker stamp issued by the People's Republic of China Postal Service, embodying the general line of the transition period and reflecting the historical inevitability of China's transformation from new democracy to socialism. Industrialization is the foundation and goal of socialist transformation, and workers are the main force. The "Return Receipt for Rejected Mail" attached to the envelope indicates: "Work transfer, new address unknown, return to the original location." This real stamped envelope bears a blue "Third Field Army Postal Service" seal. It is extremely rare and highly valuable. "Chairman Mao Goes to Anyuan." Figure 85 is a real stamped envelope from January 1, 1969. The stamp was issued on August 1, 1968, as a set of one, with a face value of 8 fen and a size of 40×60 mm, printed using the intaglio method. This stamp commemorates the 1922 Anyuan Coal Mine and Railway Workers' Strike led by Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, and Li Lisan, which forced the capitalists to guarantee workers' political rights and improve working conditions.