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: Not available
Features: The outbreak of the 1911 Xinhai Revolution overthrew the corrupt Qing Dynasty, ending thousands of years of 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 oversee 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 Beijing Postal and Transportation Department, reorganizing the Ministry of Communications and its affiliated Postal General Bureau of the Republic of China. From then until 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 "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 Provisional Postal Administration stamps during this period. It also reveals, from a certain perspective, the changes in the country's economy, politics, science and technology, culture, and social spirit, as well as the important role it played in the history of Chinese stamps. The early years of the Republic of China, though only 26 years long, experienced three phases: the Nanjing Provisional Government, the Beijing Government, and the Nanjing Government. This period was marked by political instability in modern Chinese history, intense national and class conflicts, and constant warfare among various military and political factions, leading to 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 proactive measures, leading to relatively healthy and rapid development.
In January 1913, the Republic of China government officially announced the policy of "Abolishing Relay Stations and Integrating with Postal Services," transferring all government document delivery to the postal service. 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 Provisional Postal Administration stamps to be valid worldwide. On February 1, 1922, the Pacific Conference passed a resolution to abolish the "foreign posts" in China, and by December 1922, postal offices of Britain, France, the United States, and other countries in China were all closed (except for Japan in Manchuria and Britain in Tibet). On June 6, 1928, the Beiyang Government collapsed, and the Beijing Postal General Bureau was abolished, achieving unified postal authority nationwide. In 1934, the Nanjing Government, citing the rationale that letter delivery is a state monopoly, ordered the closure of all local letter carriers. By then, Chinese postal services were unified, the postal communication market was state-owned, 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 it exhibited a clear degree of 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 established. The variety of stamps met the needs of social communication and collectors, while also increasing postal revenue and state treasury income.
During the 26 years of the Provisional Postal Administration in the early Republic of China, more than 70 sets of various stamps were issued, including regular stamps, commemorative stamps, airmail stamps, famine relief surcharge stamps, underpaid stamps, express letter stamps, and regional stamps. The Provisional Postal Administration also issued regular postal cards, commemorative postal cards, postal envelopes, and stamp albums (later known as miniature sheets).
Chapters 1, 2, and 3 of this volume are arranged chronologically. Chapter 1 covers the "Year of the Republic" period, focusing on the dispute over the right to use dragon-cancel stamps and the simultaneous issuance of two sets of stamps on December 15, 1912, to commemorate the founding of the Republic of China: the "Proclamation of the Republic of China" with Sun Yat-sen's portrait and the "Proclamation of the Republic of China" with Yuan Shikai's portrait. Chapter 2 covers the "Beiyang Government" period, focusing on the regular stamp set issued in 1913 with the Republic of China (mark), including the "Sailing Ship" regular stamp, as well as commemorative stamps such as "The Republic of China," "25th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Provisional Postal Administration," "Constitution," and " of the Grand Marshal of the Army and Navy." These commemorative stamps, along with other unissued or proposed "Anniversary of the Establishment of the Republic" commemorative stamps, and of Li Yuanhong, Xu Shichang, and others, genuinely reflected the historical traces of major political changes at the time. Chapter 3 covers the "Nanjing Government" period, focusing on regular stamps issued from 1931 onward, featuring portraits of Sun Yat-sen and martyrs, as well as major commemorative stamps such as the "Sun Yat-sen National Funeral" stamp, the "Tan Yankai" commemorative stamp, the "Northwest Scientific Expedition" commemorative stamp, the "New Life Movement" commemorative stamp, and the "40th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Provisional Postal Administration" stamp. These commemorative stamps had exquisite designs, some employing multi-color printing, making them highly sought after by stamp collectors and as gifts. It is worth noting that the design of the Tan Yankai commemorative stamp broke the traditional practice of border frames on stamps, making the theme more prominent and pioneering a new style for future stamp designs.
Chapters 4, 5, and 6 are arranged by topic. Chapter 4 covers regional stamps. During the Republic of China, 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, such as the "Limited Use in Xin Province" regular stamp, the "Limited Use in Xin Province" commemorative stamp, the "Limited Use in Xin Province 'Temporary as' Airmail" stamp, the "Official Mail" stamp, the "Limited Use in Guangxi and Guizhou" stamps, the "Limited Use in Yunnan" stamp, the "Limited Use in Sichuan" stamp, and the "Limited Use in Jilin and Heilongjiang" stamp. 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 Finance Ministry Printing Bureau. In terms of topic selection, design, stamp type, color, and printing technology, these stamps represented significant changes compared to the Qing Dynasty's stamps, offering a fresh perspective.
This volume is the third in the History of Chinese Stamps series and specifically covers the upper part of the Provisional Postal Administration history of the Republic of China. However, since Tibetan regional stamps are not covered in subsequent volumes, events after 1937 are also included in Chapter 5 of this volume to maintain relative completeness.