Tag: China stamp

When the People’s Republic took over in 1949 there was a lot of optimism. China was badly underdeveloped, but that could soon be rectified by a new generation of people untainted by the corruption of the past. China first jet was designed by a small group whose average age was 22. The design from a clean sheet of paper took 100 days. Gosh if things were that easy, why can’t everybody do it? 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.

You have to admire the optimism of this stamp. Our life has been hard, but our children will live the life we dream of. Where China does for itself and it’s output is world class. We will be reaching for the sky in airplanes from here. Not foreign stuff we have to pay so much for. Our future will be our own.

Todays stamp is issue A103, a four Fen stamp issued by the Peoples Republic of China on December 30th, 1958. It was a four stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 50 cents used.

In 1949 there were only 36 airports in all of China, most of which could not handle large airliners. China had yet to manufacture an airplane. The two airlines were joint ventures, one with American Pan Am, another with German Lufthansa. If China was going to build an aviation industry, it was starting from the absolute bottom. A then secret airplane factory was established in Shenyang and the first aircraft would be a two seat piston engine pilot training plane. This was done with Soviet help and was a reverse engineered Yak 18. The establishment of a Chinese aviation industry was a high priority of Chairman Mao and he outlined a strategy that went from the ability to repair existing imported planes to copying those planes for domestic production, and then to design and manufacturing. That last step is something that still confounds China 70 years later.

The Shenyang factory attempted to leapfrog all this. They saw that jet fighter aircraft were getting a lot faster and harder for pilots to handle. As in the West, team leader Chen Ming Sheng saw that jet pilots would need a small maneuverable jet on which to train. Unlike plane designers in the west. Chen was young, untrained, and a carpenter by trade. A team of 92 people with an average age of 22 built a prototype of a two seat jet trainer in 100 days. The design drawings were sent to Russia for advice. The jet engine was a copy of the Soviet copy of the Rolls Royce Derwent jet engine that the British Atlee government had some thought foolishly passed on to the Soviet Union post war. In Britain, the Derwent jet powered the Gloster Meteor fighter.

Mao was very happy to hear of the Chinese design. The name Annihilation Instruction 1 was given.  He arranged for there to be an airshow for him of the two flying prototypes. The airshow went off but on the return to Shenyang one of the jets had trouble with the engine and barely made it back. Progress then ground to a halt as nobody at the factory had any idea  how to fix the jet engine they had copied. The government realized that the Annihilation 1 was probably not ready for mass production.

The failure was papered over by claiming that Chinese pilots did not actually need jet trainers as they were having no problem going from the Yak 18 to the Chinese copies of Soviet Migs. Oddly this proved true. The Soviets withdrew their support of Chinese aviation in 1960 and China was left without the modern designs and just continued manufacturing copies of 1950s Soviet designs. It was the 1990s before China built a jet trainer, and it still relies on mostly imported parts.

Well my drink is empty and unlike most today and I feel sorry for the Chinese. The West development of aviation took the work of many over a long period. It was not just given to us. Having to take and copy where there is no natural ability must be humiliating and a far cry from the youthful if foolish optimism of the stamp. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

There are no such thing as dragons. That of course is not what Chinese kids want to hear and after all that is what natural history museums are trying to attract and inspire. Well them and maybe a plutocrat or two from the Chinese diaspora. So slip in 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.

The printing on the stamp lets down the new building for the natural history museum. It is a pretty good example of the Chinese take on Brutalist architecture. In 1959, the Chinese inked a deal with the Czechs on postal design cooperation. Anyone who remembers cold war era Czech stamps will grasp that this meant Chinese stamps were going to get larger and more colorful.

Todays stamp is issue A107, an 8 Fen stamp issued by the People’s Republic of China on April 1st, 1959. It was a two stamp issue in different denominations celebrating the opening in Peking of the Museum of Natural History. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 75 cents cancelled.

This stamp places the opening of the museum in 1959. The current itineration of the museum list the opening date as 1951 and the taking of the present name as 1962. The stamp from 1959 uses the 1962 and later name. I suspect the intention of having a natural history museum was announced in 1951 with the building and permanent collection ready in 1959. The museum employs teams of scientists in paleontology, botony, and zoology.

The displays of early life on earth are grouped in chronological order and include dinosoars and early examples of elephants. The star of the show is the 78 meter fossil they claim is a dragon. No word if they have managed to show how it used to breath fire.

The museum is an accomplishment of the early days of the Communist regime, but that was a long time ago. The modern museum owes a great deal to the late in life donations from diaspora philanthropist Tian Jiabing. Apparently greedy for handouts Chinese institutions kneel before robber barons now just as in the west.

Tian was from Dabu in China but quickly moved on to Vietnam to which he exported Dabu made porcelain. When the war made this trade impossible he moved on to the Dutch Indies and got involved in the rubber industry. He amassed 3 factories in Indonesia but felt that Chinese were persecuted in independent Indonesia. Maybe if they had allowed him a fourth factory? In 1959 China was in the middle of their industrial “Great Leap Forward” and so could readily make use of the skill and capital of a rich Chinese industrialist. Instead Tian moved to Hong Kong. He wasn’t finished making the world better. He used his expertise in rubber to become a leader in the production of leatherette. He marketed himself as the leather king of Hong Kong. Well maybe the leatherette Majoor de Chinezen, as they said in the Dutch Indies.

As Tian aged in the 1980s he shielded his assets from taxes in a charitable foundation that doled out donations to institutions that would attach his name to things. This included schools in every province of China and Taiwan. Now he marketed himself in China as the “Father of a 100 schools”. Well maybe the Dutch (Indies) Uncle of 100 schools. The 1998 financial crises wiped out Tian’s industrial assets but Tian was not through virtue signaling. He sold his 40 million HK dollar house to recapitalize his foundation. Obviously stealing the money from his creditors. Before dying in 2018 he traveled China to allow the people to shower him with rewards. He showed his virtue by refusing Soda and bringing soap with him to hotels for the environment. Pretty obnoxious for a rubber and plastics guy. Sorry the stories of guys like this really get my goat. End Rant.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast Chairman Mao for seeing the need for the museum and getting it built. Waiting for robber barons would have taken forever. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

Imagine a career in the Peoples Liberation Army in 1952. In 25 years, there had never been a full year of peace. Now you were having to market yourself as a volunteer and fighting on foreign soil. 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.

Though poorly printed, these stamps do a good job of showing the Chinese soldier as strong and determined. The Chinese had just sent 600,000 plus volunteer soldiers to fight UN forces in Korea, a fight the North Koreans started with Soviet help. It was up to the Chinese to avert military disaster. The long Civil War had just ended with a decisive victory for the communists. It was time to show off what they could do for the simple citizen they claim to champion. Unless another military struggle could be concocted to take the pressure off.

Todays stamp is issue A28, an 800 Yuan stamp issued by the People’s Republic of China on August 1st, 1952. It was a four stamp issue in all the same inflation battered denomination recognizing the 25th anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth $2.50 unused.

The People’s Liberation Army(PLA) was founded in 1927 as the Chinese Workers and Peasants Red Army. In Shanghai there had been a purge of previously allied Communists from the KMT under orders from Chiang Kai-shek. In response army units in Nanchang under communist generals including Chow Enlai rebelled. Most of the KMT Army remained loyal to Chaing and there was a long pursuit of the Red Army. The fact that the Red Army was not caught was in itself a victory and the army became ever more adept at living off the countryside and engaging in guerilla tactics. In 1937, the Red Army officially rejoined the KMT to fight the invaders from Japan. The Red Army however held together in units separated from the KMT.

After World War II the Red Army became officially the PLA. Contact was close with the Soviets and there were large scale transfer of now surplus Soviet weaponry. Notice the artillery pieces on todays stamp are Soviet made 122mm pieces. The PLA did well in the Civil War, winning in 1949. The losses however were over 250,000 dead plus over a million on the KMT side. In a civil war, losses from both sides had to be absorbed.

Though the Chinese had allowed Soviet arms to flow through China to North Korea, when the North invaded the South it was without the Chinese Army. The entirety of the PLA was inside China’s borders. When the tide turned, it seem to surprise the Chinese that the North Koreans would be pursued in defeat into North Korea. The UN forces never crossed the Yalu River forming the border with China even though remnants of the North Korean army did.

China sent at least 600,000 troops into North Korea. Officially they were volunteers. General MacArthur proposed bombing Chinese cities with nuclear bombs to make the Chinese pay the price for getting involved. The USA fired General MacArthur and allowed the fantasy that the Chinese were volunteers to avoid World War III. China was not bombed. After some initial Chinese success using guerilla strategies of which they were expert, the Korean war settled into 2 years of trench warfare  very near the old North Korea-South Korea border. The two sides dispute the numbers of Chinese casualties. The Americans claim 1 million while Chinese admit to one third of that. It may be that the Chinese number is more accurate. American Generals tend to promote high opponent losses to burnish their career and make it seem the war is successful. The Chinese point to the fact that it was a serious crime to misreport information to Chinese leadership. The fact is though that losses were high and the Chinese people had to again put off the bounty the communists had promised them.

Well my drink is empty, and I will pour another for the PLA veteran on todays stamp. The guns finally fell silent in 1953 and I hope he got his fair share of the communist bounty due him. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

The same portrait of a airplane is modified to show the new emblem and the stamp value plummets. Not really unique but shows stamp collectors have their favorites, 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.

The Stamp today shows an American Curtis Jn-4 Jenny warplane flying over the Great Wall of China. The plane is in Chinese service, in then western recognized government out of Beijing. The early version of the stamp has that flag on the tail. That government fell to the forces of Chiang Kai-shek in 1928. In 1929, the rapidly aging warplane is redrawn to show the Nationalist sun emblem. This unfortunately is the version I have. The stamp was modernized in 1932 with a slightly newer German Junkers F-13 over a different view of the wall. This earns even a lower value today, so the problem wasn’t the stamp still showing an embarrassingly old airplane.

Todays stamp is issue AP2, a 15 cent airmail stamp issued by China on July 5th, 1929. It was a 5 stamp reissue of the 1921 stamp in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $3 used. The 1921 version, with the Beijing government emblem on the tail is worth $50 used. The early version was in use longer so I don’t think the relative valuation has to do number of stamps printed. It is also not do the popularity of the 1920s Beijing government, as it was not popular. I think the real issue is just the personal unpopularity of Chiang. I while back, we did a Taiwan stamp featuring Madame Chiang, see here, https://the-philatelist.com/2018/03/06/madame-chaing-efforts-to-help-warphans/. There was a China stamp the same year featuring Madam Chiang’s sister, Sun Yat-sen’s widow. Despite much poorer printing, it is worth 10 times as much. Is Chiang philatelic poison?

The Curtis Jenny was the most common American fighter plane of World War One. It was used sometimes for mail delivery postwar and is the same model used in the famous American upside down airplane stamp. The model was used by both the Beijing government and Chiang’s Nationalist forces although I believe only examples captured from the Beijing government. There are many examples of the plane in the USA, some even flyable, but none seen to survive in China.

The Beijing Chinese government lasted as the recognized government from 1912 and the end of Imperial China until 1928. It had many of the affectations of the old regime and contained many of it’s aging figures. It was successful in building a modern army that did much to keep it in charge against the forces of Sun Yat sen. One thing that was important to the outside world but devastating to the regime’s credibility in China was that the regime honored the old treaties granting western nations and Japan concessions in China. The leaders of the Beijing government were in talks with the Nationalist forces but the talks collapsed with the 1925 death of Sun Yat-sen. Chiang sent a military expedition north in 1926 and had defeated the Beijing government by 1928.

Stamp collectors from the country are usually the deciding factor as to the value of old stamps. German collectors often shun issues from the Third Reich that many others find interesting period pieces. The shunning keeps the value down so many non German collections have many. The same must be true in China today. Unfortunately  for holders of todays stamp, just his emblem on the plane is enough to kill the value. No love for the Chinese Generalissimo?

Well my drink is empty and I will have another while I recall my visit to Beijing in 2002 that included the Great Wall. There was a short section to climb after which they would sell you a card declaring you a Hero of China. I bought the card. Perhaps if they put Chiang’s emblem on it, I could have gotten it for less. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting

An elite lives an out of another era life, but one that is not working for the people. Can this be fixed? 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.

At first glance this stamp is impressive. A dragon is an ancient symbol of Chinese power and much needed and feared water. At the time in the late nineteenth century, the image of the dragon was tied to the Emperor. Here is the rub though. The Emperor was quite weak and being controlled behind the scenes by Empress Dowager Cixi. The stamp coincided with major humiliating concessions of sovereignty to foreign powers. Even on a postage stamp, the Emperors complicity can be seen in the fact of the English lettering and that the stamp was printed in London. Modern Chinese stamps also have China written in English on them. Today is a different time with world travel and often multi lingual peoples. At the turn of the 20th century, it was a reflection of subservience.

Todays stamp is issue A 17 a two cent stamp issued by Imperial China in 1898. It was part of a 12 stamp in various denominations honoring the Qing Dynasty. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth $2.75 used. A mint version of the $5 stamp in this issue is worth $600.

The late Qing Dynasty was a string of weak often child Emperors with regencies speaking for them. The real power was wielded by the Empress Dowager Cixi. She faced an antiquated and apart elite and a vast and very populous realm. Western powers were sniffing around and pealing off ever greater pieces of China for there trading posts. There were even Christian missionaries coming to try to modify the Chinese peoples most basic beliefs. These missionaries were really just a way to get the camels nose under the tent. When the inevitable incidents happened to them, the westerners had their excuse to grab ever more from China.

It seems logical to use the numerical advantage of China to build a modern army capable of defending China. Remember that the elite is apart and old fashioned. For that reason, the average Chinese won’t fight for them and any army they organize will be hopelessly outdated. So there is a string of tough talk from the Empress Dowager and then an acquiescence to the west in return for the Emperor’s rule being allowed to continue.

On the domestic front, there was some push toward educational improvement but little in the way of land reform that might have gone some way to relieving the frequent famines. Of course there were no famines within the Forbidden City. The few reforms attempted were fought vigorously by the beaurocracy and indeed most of the reformers such as Kang Youwei proved to be just out for themselves. Kang went in twenty years from being thought of as a radical reformer to scheming with a warlord to put the last boy Emperor back on the thrown. He did however propose that the Emperor rule over a more socialistic system and has such his memory was somewhat rehabilitated by Mao. The Dowager Cixi died in 1908 by arsenic poisoning and her elaborate tomb was pillaged by a warlord in 1928. Supposedly some of her jewels with which she was buried were later in the hands of Madame Chiang Kei-shek.

Well my dink is empty. One wonders if instead of reforming and giving in to never ending demands if the Dowager had just fought to the death she might have been better remembered. Dragons after all breath fire. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

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.