After the Japanese defeat in World War II China had a choice to make. The old regime, the Kuomintang, the Communists, or a coalition of the two. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
A westerner like myself who cannot read Chinese characters gets a very different impression of the stamp than what was intended. At fist glance it appears to be a homeless person with all his possestions on his back hitchhiking a ride to town on the truck. An every day scene at the time probably all over the world. Agriculture requires ever fewer workers and so they go to the cities to hopefully make their future. This is something that is almost never shown on a stamp. It is too fraught with uncertaintity. To see it instantly attracted me.
Instead on further investigation, it was celebrating the anniversary of the postal service. Perhaps the rural postman depicted on the stamp should wear more of a uniform. Getting mail organized and delivered in rural areas in complicated and expensive to set up. I can see why a government would want to celebrate the achievement. There are plenty of stamps from all over saying how great the post office is. I would have rather put myself with the man moving to town.
The stamp today is issue A87 a $200 yuan Chinese stamp issued by the KMT government on December 16th 1947. It displays rural mail delivery and is part of a 5 stamp issue celebrating the 50th anniversary of the postal service. You may notice the high denomination. Inflation was out of control at the time. An issue from 18 months later had no denomination on it at all, it was sold at the rate of the day. The first forever stamp? According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 25 cents mint.
The final period of the civil war in China began in 1947 as the KMT launched a large offensive toward the CPC capital. The CPC had much strength in the countryside and had taken control of many Japanese arms. The KMT received much aid from the USA and they tried to leave surrendered Japanese troops in place to prevent CPC advances. This was very discrediting as one thing uniting all Chinese was the desire to be rid of the Japanese. The Russians had accepted the Japanese surrender in Manchuria and turned over that area to the CPC.
Large campaigns were fought by the two huge armies with the KMT gradually giving way. In late 1949, the remnants of the KMT fled to Formosa. Communist Chairman Mao renamed Peiping as Peking and the new capital of the Peoples Republic of China. Both KMT and the CPC claim to be the legitimate government of all of China. This suits both sides as if Taiwan sought recognition as a separate country, it would mean China gives up sovereignty of Formosa. That is not acceptable to the Peoples Republic.
Well my drink is empty so I will pour another to toast the man on the stamp carrying the heavy sack. Whether postman or a tramp, or CPC or KMT, may your rounds be successful. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.