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 Administration of the Republic of China. From then until the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Postal General Administration, 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 "Provisional Postal Administration of the Republic of China," abbreviated as "Provisional Postal Administration." The History of Chinese Stamps, Volume 3 records the issuance of postal materials by the Provisional Postal Administration during the early years of the Republic of China (1912.1—1937.7). This volume objectively introduces the historical background, types, characteristics, quantities, and printing processes of the Provisional Postal Administration's stamps during this period. It also reveals, from a certain perspective, the changes in the country's economy, politics, science, culture, and social spirit, as well as its important position in the history of Chinese stamps. The early years of the Republic of China, though only 26 years long, went through three stages: the Nanjing Provisional Government, the Beijing Government, and the Nanjing National 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 Provisional Postal Administration, drawing on the experiences and lessons of the Imperial Chinese Postal Service, took active measures and developed healthily and rapidly. In January 1913, the Republic of China government officially announced the "Abolition of Relay Stations and Integration into Postal Services," 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 world postal system, and newly issued Provisional Postal Administration stamps could be used worldwide. On February 1, 1922, the Pacific Conference passed a resolution to abolish "foreign posts" in China. By December 1922, postal offices of Britain, France, the United States, and other countries in China had all closed (excluding Japan in Manchuria and Britain in Tibet). On June 6, 1928, the Beiyang Government collapsed, and the Beijing Postal General Administration was abolished, achieving unified postal authority nationwide. In 1934, the National 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 national postal service, and the exclusive right to deliver postal letters was confirmed. With the development of the Provisional Postal Administration and changes in its management system, the stamps issued by the Provisional Postal Administration 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 stamp enthusiasts, while also increasing postal revenue and state treasury income. During the 26 years of the early Republic of China, the Provisional Postal Administration issued over 70 sets of various stamps, including ordinary stamps, commemorative stamps, airmail stamps, disaster relief surcharge stamps, unpaid stamps, express stamps, and provincial stamps. Alongside stamps, the Provisional Postal Administration also issued ordinary postal cards, commemorative postal cards, postal envelopes, and stamp albums (later called miniature sheets). Chapters 1, 2, and 3 of this volume are primarily arranged chronologically. Chapter 1 focuses on the "Year One of the Republic of China," highlighting the dispute over the right to use dragon-cancelled stamps and the simultaneous issuance of two sets of stamps on December 15, 1912, to commemorate the birth of the Republic of China: the "Provisional Republic of China Restoration Commemorative Stamp" featuring Sun Yat-sen and the "Provisional Republic of China Republican Commemorative Stamp" featuring Yuan Shikai. Chapter 2 covers the "Beiyang Government" period, focusing on the 1913 issuance of ordinary stamps bearing the mark of the Republic of China (sailing ship ordinary stamps) and commemorative stamps such as "Provisional Republic of China Republican," "25th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Provisional Postal Administration," "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 bearing "Imperial China" and commemorative stamps of Li Yuanhong, Xu Shichang, and others, reflect the historical traces of the major political changes of the time. Chapter 3 covers the "Nanjing Government" period, focusing on ordinary stamps featuring 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 Stamp, Tan Yankai Commemorative Stamp, Northwest Scientific Expedition Commemorative Stamp, New Life Movement Commemorative Stamp, and the 40th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Provisional Postal Administration Commemorative Stamp. These commemorative stamps feature exquisite designs, with some employing multi-color printing, making them highly sought-after collectibles and gifts among stamp enthusiasts. It is worth noting that the design of the Tan Yankai Commemorative Stamp broke the past 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 regional 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 Provisional Postal Administration issued multiple sets of regional stamps starting in 1915. Examples include ordinary stamps "Limited to Xin Province Use," commemorative stamps "Limited to Xin Province Use," "Limited to Xin Province Use 'Temporary as' Airmail," "Official Use Stamps," stamps limited to "Guizhou" and "Qianjiang," stamps limited to "Yunnan Province Use," stamps limited to "Sichuan Province Use," and stamps limited to "Jilin and Heilongjiang Province Use." Chapter 5 covers Tibetan regional stamps. Chapter 6 covers postal cards, postal envelopes, and stamp albums. Most of the stamps issued during the early Republic of China were printed by the Beijing Ministry of Finance Printing Bureau. This bureau introduced significant changes in stamp topics, designs, types, colors, and printing techniques compared to the Qing Dynasty stamps, offering a fresh and innovative look. This volume is the third in the series The History of Chinese Stamps and specifically covers the upper part of the Provisional Postal Administration history of the Republic of China. However, since Tibetan regional stamps are not discussed in later volumes, events occurring after 1937 are also included in Chapter 5 of this volume to ensure relative completeness.