The History of Chinese Stamps
China's history of stamps dates to the 2nd century, when warlords used simple ones to communicate urgent military messages. For over 2,000 years, China's postage stamps have united its people and reflected its major political, cultural and historical achievements
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History
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In 221 B.C., horseback couriers, called estafette, delivered official messages at small post stations. A red-and-white envelope with a seal or stamp designated an emergency message.
Postal Stations
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In the 12th century, Kublai Khan united the Chinese and the Mongolian courier routes. Explorer Marco Polo wrote of 2,000 post outlets throughout China. The Tang Dynasty in the 14th century established the first postal facilities, 1,600 total, staffed by 20,000 workers. The first foreign government to have a regular mail service with China was Russia in 1727.
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Significance
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After the Opium War ended in 1840, China's first stamps for business use emerged. Stamps for personal mail did not appear until 1897. The first molds for the stamps were made of stone. By 1923, the first set of regular stamps for personal use appeared.
Features
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The Ministry of Post replaced the Chinese Imperial Post in 1950. It has authorized over 3,000 designs. Stamps often use common images of fish, landscapes and birds and cultural, political events and sailboats. The most popular images are the Great Wall and a dragon. In 2007, the ministry issued a stamp that smelled and tasted like pork to celebrate the year of the pig.
Rare Stamps
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To celebrate the 35th anniversary of its revolution in 1952, China issued a stamp that read The Great Soviet Revolution instead. The government stopped printing the stamps but 40,000 had already sold. In 1968, China issued a stamp depicting a detailed image of the country, but an error discovered that it omitted two major islands. The 1883 Dalong or Giant Dragon stamp with a yellow tint is the rarest of Chinese stamps.
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References
- Photo Credit global stamps image by jesse welter from Fotolia.com
