The Republic Stamp Issues of China (1927)

First published in “Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal” (June 1, 1927) and written by Gordon A. Clayton.

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The Chinese have, for many centuries past, been in a very lethargic state of mind: their rulers have been able to overawe them, and rule them very despotically; and their very religions have taught them to bow their heads to the inevitable, without murmur, and without attempting to kick over the traces.

However, during the last three decades the people have slowly come out of their lethargic state, and have realised how downtrodden they were by their Manchu rulers. Events have moved swiftly since 1909, culminating in the mutiny of the army at Wuchang on the 11th October, 1911. An army was sent down from Sze-chuen to suppress the rebellion; but on the way down the Yangtse River the soldiers heard of the mutiny at Wuchang, and they also mutinied – in sympathy with their comrades, murdering Tuan-fang, their Manchu leader.

After the mutiny at Wuchang the revolution spread rapidly. Hankow was captured and burned, and Hanyang with its arsenal was also taken. The various provinces south of the Yangtze one by one seceded from the Empire and set up independent governments. The Regent induced Yuan Shih-k’ai, who had retired in 1908 to save his own head, to take up office again as commander-in-chief of the army and navy. Yuan brought the army from Pekin to Hankow, and recaptured that city and Hanyang before his funds ran out. The Regent, being unable to effect a loan, was forced to come to terms with the revolutionists.

At this moment, Dr. Sun Yat-sen returned from abroad, arriving in Shanghai on the 27th December, 1911, and on the 29th was elected President by the representatives of the revolting provinces, except Chekiang, which objected. The southern provinces, with Dr. Sun as their President, set up their new capital at Nanking, and drew up a provisional constitution.

In the meantime, pressure had been brought to bear on the Empress Lungyu, Regent and fostermother of the boy Emperor, and she abdicated the throne on the 12th February, 1912. At the same time she commissioned Yuan Shih-k’ai, who was then Premier, to establish the Republic.

Yuan Shih-k’ai made an agreement with Dr. Sun Yat-sen and the Southern Republic for a temporary government to be set up at Pekin with himself as the temporary President. Yuan took the oath of office in Pekin as provisional President on the 10th of March, 1912, and immediately called together a new National Assembly.

At this juncture the Post Office, finding that their stock of stamps was running short, decided to print a commemorative set of stamps. They could not wait until the new National Assembly had elected the first President, as the supply of stamps would not last. Neither dared they invoke the wrath of the first President by not printing his portrait. There were two candidates for the Presidency – Yuan Shih-k’ai and Dr. Sun Yat-sen. So the Post Office, to get over the difficulty, printed two complete sets of stamps; the one portraying Yuan Shih-k’ai, commemorating the proclamation of the “United Republic on the 12th of February, 1912 (Type 1); the other bearing the portrait of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, commemorating the start of the revolution at Wuchang on the 10th of October, 1911 (Type 2).

Each of these two sets comprised twelve stamps, with values from 1c. to $5.

The stamps were printed on white wove paper, in sheets of 100 stamps, with a perforation of 14½. The stamps with Sun Yat-sen’s portrait measure 36×24 mm., and those with Yuan Shih-k’ai’s portrait measure 34×26 mm. Neither set was watermarked. The engraving and printing were done by the Chinese Bureau of Engraving and Printing at Pekin. The two sets were issued simultaneously in November, 1912.

In the meantime the Post Office had placed an order in London for a new set of stamps. These were issued on their arrival in 1913. This new set comprised nineteen stamps, values ½c. to $10. There were three distinct designs for the stamps: the main features of the design of the ½c. to 10c. being a junk and a railway train, representing “Communications” (Type 3); the design of the 15c. to 50c. stamps being a reaper, representing “Agriculture” (Type 4); and the design for the $1 to $10 being the Pai-lou (or arch) in the enclosure of the Hall of Classics at Pekin, representing “Literature” (Type 5).

The stamps were printed on white wove paper; each stamp measuring 26×22 mm., the perforation being 14. The stamps had no watermark. The ½c. to 50c. stamps were printed in sheets of 200 stamps, each sheet being marked off into panes of 25 stamps by thin lines. These lines were supposed to run down the perforation holes, but more often than not the perforating machine missed the line altogether, so stamps are often seen with the line on one of its margins, sometimes on two adjacent margins. The $1-$10 stamps were printed in sheets of 50. The engraving and printing were carried out by Messrs. Waterlow & Sons, London.

Mr. Church Chu, a leading Chinese philatelist, states that stamps may be found imperf. between either vertically or horizontally in most of the values. The writer, however, has only seen a 2c., 3c. and 8c. imperf. between horizontally, and a 4c. stamp imperf. between vertically. Distinct shades, however, are to be found in all values, and these are especially marked in the ½c., 1c., 2c., 8c. and 20c.

Towards the end of 1914 the Chinese Post Office decided to have their stamps printed in China. This decision was reached partly because the continuity of the supply of stamps from London was becoming very uncertain – due no doubt, to the labour and shipping problems of that time.

The work of re-engraving the dies and the printing of the stamps was entrusted to the Chinese Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The same designs were used for the stamps, but the re-engraving of the dies involved various minor alterations in the details of the designs. The most easily noticed alterations are: In the Junk design, first issue, the three waves in front of the junk appear as almost regular dots, and the sail of the highest mast of the junk has a thin hair-line running all the way along it; whereas, in the second issue, the three waves appear as two short lines and a dot, and the hair-line above the sail does not continue past the mast (this hair-line is absent entirely on many specimens, due to the wearing of the plate). In the Reaper design, first issue, the instrument in the reaper’s hand has an outer line which starts down from the hand; in the second issue, however, this line does not start from the hand, but ends in a sharp point just below the hand. In the Arch design, first issue, the middle window on top of the arch is rectangular, but in the second issue this window is oblong.