Chinese Stamps/History of Chinese Stamps
China has a long history with many dynasties, the last being Qing dynasty that lasted till the 19th century. During this period, Chinese stamps were launched and the stamps has the word “China” in it. More new stamps were issued after 1897 and some has yin-yang symbol. The first commemorative stamp was issued in 1909 to mark the first year reign of the last Qing emperor
An additional 4 new commemorative chinese stamps were launched in the 1920s to mark the 25th anniversary of the Postal Service of China. Then in 1929 a series of stamps were issued in memory of Sun Yat-Sen, the leader of the revolution against the imperial rule. All these stamps had a lot of western influences.
After the communist took over China in 1946, Chinese Stamps were formally used as to promote China. A very famous stamp from 1950 depicts Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong shaking hands.
During this period, development of postal offices were very slow. However, the pace of development of postal offices quicken in the 1950’s and 1960’s and by 1959, the whole Chinese postal network was completed.
Chinese Stamps/Demand of Chinese Stamps
Chinese Stamps are now heavily in demand. There are now many Chinese people who are rich and they start to collect stamps as hobby. Not only that, Chinese Stamps demand have become popular overseas too and there are many overseas chinese stamps collectors in western countries. That is the reason why Chinese Stamps prices are rising and trading in Chinese Stamps are very much alive.
As stamp collector, the design of the Chinese stamps has always fascinated me. Unique artistic creativity is the fundamental reason differentiating China stamps from stamps of other countries. The Chinese stamp collection is like a mini-encyclopedia, reflecting the China’s politics, economy, culture, science, history and geography. Often depicted in the stamps are cultures familiar with many Asians especially among the Chinese ethnic.
For example, chinese zodiac stamps are stamps issued on the zodiac animal signs used in representing each Lunar year are often the most anticipated issue of the year. Other issues on traditional festivals, Chinese traditional arts and literature are also highly sought after. An example of one of my favourite chinese stamps:
Chinese Stamps / Chinese Stamps for Sale
I set up this blog to sell my collection of Chinese Stamps. Throughout my blog I will bring readers to the colorful world of stamp collecting through introduction of Chinese stamps. In this website, I have divided into several categories such as Chinese stamps catalogue, chinese stamps price, rare chinese stamps and chinese zodiac stamps and order page. As such, there will be various classification to enable easy following. Through classification of themes, year of issues and values, readers can browse the blog based on their personal interests.
After seeing my collection, if you are interested in buying the stamps, please do not hesitate to check my Chinese Stamps Catalogue to see the prices of the chinese stamps that I am selling and to email me for further enquiries under the contact page.
Chinese Stamps Forum
Old Chinese Stamps – The Four Monk Painters
One painter for old chinese stamps is Shi Tao, born in Guilin, Guangxi province, is known as one of the Four Monk Painters of the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) that was used to produce old chinese stamps. He was a kinsman of the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), which was overthrown by the Manchurians. His father was killed when he was three. It is said that he was taken away by a eunuch and became a Buddhist monk. His painting works was later used in producing old chinese stamps. Shi led a wandering life for a long time which laid a solid foundation for his paintings which was later used for old chinese stamps. Many believe Shis conversion to Buddhism served as a political pretense or a way of saving life since he kept paying attention to the occurrences in the outside world when he stayed in the Buddhist temple. He tried unsuccessfully to find patronage for his promotion within the monastic system and converted to Taoism later. Shi was torn between ambition and a desire to retreat into solitude throughout his entire life, stirring internal contradictions and tensions within him. Fortunately, being a smart man, he took advantage of this tension in his paintings, creating his unique artistic style. Many of Shis paintings were based on his own observations in real life that was used in old chinese stamps
Old Chinese Stamps – The legendary Shi Tao
The landscape of Huangshan left a deep impression on him during his first visit and prompted him to live alone on the mountain to search for originality from the beautiful landscape. He became an important member of the Huangshan School of Painting which holds an important position in China’s painting circles which were used for old chinese stamps. Members of the school were noted for their landscape paintings that featured compact touches, graceful outlines and elegant styles” that captured the soul of Huangshan Mountain. Nowadays, whenever Chinese landscape painting is mentioned, Mt. Huangshan comes to mind, which is attributed to the efforts of the Huangshan School painters such as Shi Tao. Shi was noted for the painting series Eight Scenic Spots of Huangshan Mountain that carved deep impressions in peoples minds. He also excelled in painting plants such as orchids, bamboo and chrysanthemums. These were also based on his own careful observations. These were used in old chinese stamps and as it shows very beautiful scenary, it is one of my best selling old chinese stamps collection.
Old Chinese Stamps- Characteristics of Shi Taos works.
Despite the early influences, Shis art breaks with their ways of painting in several fascinating ways when comes to old chinese stamps. When it came to subjective perspective, Shi advocated expressing individuals feelings rather than sticking to the rules of the forerunners. He disregarded the rigid techniques and styles that defined what was beautiful, which won him the reputation as one of the most famous individualist painters of the early Qing Dynasty and that was the main reasons why his paintings was used for old chinese stamps. The uniqueness of the painting is that the mountain appears to be bowing, with a monk standing steadily on a boat floating along the Qin Huai River, looking up with admiration at the stone giant. Shi depicts a mutual respect between man and nature in a sophisticated style in the painting in a way only he can and his paintings were used in old chinese stamps. Another one of Shis subversive innovations in drawing lies in his attention to the act of painting itself through the use of washes, and bold, impressionistic brushstrokes, as well as the use of negative or white space to suggest distance.A perfect example illustrating Shis special attention to the act of painting is in his work for used in old chinese stamps . As the carefully painted landscape degenerates into Pollock-esque splatters, the viewer is forced to recognize that the painting is not as transparent as it seems to be. Despite being labeled “ugly”, the ink dots begin to take on a sort of abstract beauty. This unique work challenges the accepted standards of beauty.Furthermore, the compositions of Shis pictures are novel. Whether the subject is cloud and mist, rock and cliff, or old tree and craven, he tried to make the composition different from what his predecessors created. Shi was especially good at employing the intercept method the plum blossoms he painted serve as a good example for use in old chinese stamps. This challenges two traditional principles in composition. Previously, the composition of landscape painting was land in the first layer, trees in the second and mountains in the third, or the landscape would lie below, clouds in the middle and mountains above. With the intercept method, Shi took only a part of the view where the foot of the mountain is absent and the mountain is seemingly invisible, thus the clouds in all their majesty stand out.Besides the beautiful and vivid paintings, Shis fantastic poetry and calligraphy always accompanied his landscapes, showing the diverse talent of this master artist.Hence, with his excellent paintings, the price of his paintings is in the range of thousand of dollars. However, a very cheap way to get his painting is to buy the old chinese stamps depicting his paintings which I currently have in my collection
Chinese Stamps For Sale / Chinese Stamps From Paintings Of Chinese Masters
I have a collection of chinese stamps for sale depicting paintings of chinese masters. One of my favourite theme of collecting is stamps on Chinese arts, especially works by famous artists on Chinese painting. Chinese tradition places essences, character, and spirit above simple faithfulness to appearances. And this tradition is well represented in Chinese painting. There are many issues on artworks by famous artists over the years. The list includes Qi Bashi, Wu Guanzhong, Wu Changshuo and Badashanren, among others. I will like to share with readers some issues based on these themes for appreciation. These Chinese Stamps for Sale.
1. Galloping Horses (by Xu Beihong) (T28)
This issue from 1978 comprised of 10 single mint stamps and a miniature sheet. These galloping horses are from a selection of paintings by the famous Chinese painter Xu Beihong (1895-1953). Xu, born in the Jiangsu provice, began to learn painting from his father when he was 9. He was so good that at 13, he was already making a living by selling his paintings. He became a teacher in Beijing University in 1917 and went to study painting in France in 1919.
Xu was a painting of great attainment in sketches and portraits, good at capturing the character and mood of the subjects. He depicted mainly historical stories in his early works, but switched to realistic subjects later. His subjects included flowers and birds, landscapes and animals, all painted in a concise and vigorous style. He was specially skilled in painting horses in a bold and unrestrained style. After his death in 1953, the Chinese government built the Xu Beihong Memorial Hall in memory of his contributions in art. The samples above are some of the chinese stamps for sale.
2. Selected Paintings of Qi Bashi (T44)
This issue from1980 comprises of 16 single mint stamps and a miniature sheet. Selected paintings by Qi Bashi on the his favourite subjects, fish, prawns, peaches, cabbages, crabs, lychee, birds, water plants were depicted in the issue. The miniature sheet depicted one of his calligraphy works. With its designed like little painting, appreciating the stamps are alike to appreciating the actual works of the master.
Qi Baishi (1864-1957) is one of the greatest and most influential Chinese painters in China’s contemporary and modern art history. He was also known as a outstanding calligrapher and good at seal carving. One of Qi’s painting “Eagle Standing on Pine Tree with Four-Character Couplet in Seal Script” was sold for US$65 million, a record high for contemporary and modern Chinese paintings and calligraphy in May 2011.
Qi was born to a poor peasant family in central China’s Hunan province in1864. At 14, he became a carpenter and through his own efforts that he became adept at the arts of poetry, calligraphy, painting and seal carving. In his forties, he began traveling and looking for more inspiration before settling down in Beijing after 1917. It was during this period that he met Wu Changshuo at the Shanghai school, which was very popular at the time. Wu became another mentor to Qi and inspired a lot of his works. These chinese stamps for sale are excellent items for your collection.
Qi Baishi’s paintings well represent the Chinese tradition, but in an innovative form and style. Though the art of Qi Baishi was originated from nature, which one can learn from his paintings of animals, insects, and flowers, he painted them in a way nobody else had achieved before. He once said, “The excellence of a painting lies in its being alike, yet unlike. Too much likeness flatters the vulgar taste; too much unlikeness deceives the world.” Qi Baishi had developed his style over his life-long learning, studying, and innovation. Some of Qi’s major influences, besides Wu, include the Qing Dynasty painter Badashanren and Xu Wei of the Ming Dynasty.
Chinese Stamps for Sale/Rare Chinese Stamps from other painters
3. Badashanren or Zhu Da (1626-1705) (2002-2)
A descendant of the imperial Zhu family of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) and a leading artist of the early Qing period (1644–1911), Zhu Da painted flowers, birds and landscapes in a distinctive and highly dramatic calligraphic style. His connections with the previous dynasty led him to flee Nanchang after the Manchu conquest of China in 1644. and became a Buddhist priest and soon a respected Buddhist master, quickly attaining the position of abbot. He also became an accomplished poet and painter. In 1672, after the death of his Buddhist master Zhu relinquished his solitary monastic existence to pursue his fortune as an itinerant monk-artist. He joined the coterie of a local magistrate and participated in the splendid poetry parties held in 1679 and 1680. Zhu was thwarted in his attempts to take up an official career because of his imperial lineage and in 1680 was devastated by the departure of his patron. Reportedly, Zhu went mad; one day, laughing and crying uncontrollably, he tore off his priest’s robe and set it on fire. The burning of the robe signaled the end of Zhu’s life as a Buddhist monk, and from then on he lived as an itinerant painter. He adopted many names, including Bada Shanren (‘Mountain man of eight greatnesses’), throughout his life thereon with many reflecting his state of mind or his loyalty to the Ming dynasty. Of these, only a few (such as Chuanqi, which identifies his earliest work) were used as signatures, the most common being Bada Shanren.
Zhu Da developed a school of freehand brushwork in traditional Chinese painting and became an outstanding painter and Taoism believer. The individualism of his ink paintings of flowers, birds, fish, and landscapes appealed to the Japanese, and his style has become synonymous with Zen painting in Japan. There is an Art Gallery of Bada Shanren in a southern suburb of Nanchang. These chinese stamps for sale are available in my collection.
4. Selected Paintings by Wu Changshuo (T98)
Born in the Zhejiang Province, Wu Changshuo (1844-1927) was a central figure in Chinese painting during the early years of the 20th century. Wu was born into a family of scholars which was forced to flee the violence and the turmoil inflicted by the infamous Taiping rebellion. Wu was eventually separated from his family and thereafter dedicated himself to art and different facets of traditional culture, mainly to the art of calligraphy and traditional seal carving. His seals became famous for their elegance and soon became an independent style known as the “Wu style”. Wu became the first director of the Xiling Seal Carving Society and at the same time made a living from selling his calligraphy which was a peculiar blend of many different scripts. These chinese stamps are for sale in my collection.
Wu Changshuo influenced a later trend in painting that belonged to a Chinese artistic movement known as Hai Pai or Shanghai School. This highly influential cultural trend became dominant in painting as well as in cinema, music and literature. The Shanghai School had a romantic character and stressed the idea of “art for art’s sake”, it combined eastern and western aesthetics and reflected the great changes that cities such as Shanghai were going through. Wu started painting rather late during his thirties and he was fully able to express his diverse skills and talent. His bold and vigorous brushstrokes never crossed the line of becoming too grotesque, thus although powerful they still showed control, gentleness and refinement. Wu liked to use sharp contrast between light and dark and was a forerunner in the use a red color introduced from the west called “Western Red” or “Yang Hong”. In his plum blossom paintings which he is most famous for Wu replaced the small and meticulous strokes of the time with large and bold strokes derived from calligraphy together with the “Western Red” to create something that was very fresh, full of vitality and obviously different to the trained eye of the Chinese who were familiar with the long tradition of Plum blossom painting. Wu Changshuo’s art displayed great mastery of brush and ink he was largely responsible for rejuvenating the genre of Flower-and-bird painting by introducing an expressive, individualistic style more generally associated with the literati School of painting, his art inspired his contemporaries as well as later generations, his art had influence over great painters such as Qi baishi and Pan Tianshou.
The above four painters are excellent painters in their own right and the above chinese stamps are available for sale.
Chinese New Year Stamps / Woodprint New Year Pictures
Since 2003, Chinese New Year Stamps issues are based on the Chinese Woodprint New Year pictures or nianhua. They are often the 2nd issue of the year, after the zodiac animal issues. The first issue depicts the woodprint from the region of Yangliuqing in Tianjin.
Until the mid-20th century, New Year woodprint pictures were the most common form of household decoration in China. Brightly coloured, they were usually designed to facilitate New Year celebrations, and with themes based on traditional customs and folklore as well as social values . The traditional gods such as the stove gods, door gods, Gods of Honor, Wealth and Glory and other auspicious images are also depicted in the prints and also for chinese new year stamps.
The prints brought a spark of light into an otherwise dreary mid-winter environment. Once posted, they would stay in place, continuing to influence the spiritual, social and cultural values of the family long after the initial festival had passed.
Woodprints centred in the regions of Yangjiabu in Shandong province, Zhuxianzhen in Henan, Fengxiang in Shaanxi, Yangliuqing in Tianjin and Mianzhu in Sichuan. All of them form part of my chinese new year stamps collection. Within the common themes, there are regional specialization of themes from different regions. Through the prints depicted in the stamps, readers can explore the diverse and rich visual culture from different regions of the country.
Chinese New Year Stamps/Chinese stamps value
With China emerging as a economic power in recent years, there is added economic value on Chinese stamps value. Hence, keen interests have been developed among the big local Chinese stamp collector population as well as foreign collectors for chinese new stamps, making Chinese stamps market the world biggest in the philatelic world. Prices on individual issues are published on a daily basis for reference to collectors. In fact, since 2007, chinese new year stamp prices have been creeping up steadily.
Chinese stamps value is often driven by 3 factors: demand, design and scarcity. While we cannot pin down specifically on demand, we can have a reasonable estimate on the scarcity and evaluate the design merit.
Chinese Stamps Price
Chinese stamps price is often driven by 3 factors: demand, design and scarcity. While we cannot pin down specifically on demand, we can have a reasonable estimate on the scarcity and evaluate the design merit. The chinese stamps price list provided will allow collectors useful information on quantity issued on each set of stamp to value their collection. I will focus on chinese stamps price issued after 1970 as my collection only begins after 1970.
Chinese Stamps Price – Why Chinese Stamps are valuable
Chinese stamps are among some of the most famous, rare, and valuable stamps in the world. Any true collector of chinese stamps knows that stamps of this type are a must-have, and there is a very active market for them. There are several venues for buying such chinese stamps such private collectors, and various private auction sites. In this website, if you will get the best chinese stamps price if you choose the buy the chinese stamps from me.
The chinese stamps prices can range from a few dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars. In fact, a rare chinese stamp issued in the 19th century during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) was auctioned for 1.8 million yuan (about US$217,000) in 2001 for this chinese stamp price. The stamp, called a “One-Yuan Red Revenue Surcharged Small Issue”, was collected by an American philatelist named Finegan in 1915. There are only 32 such rare chinese stamps in existence in the world.
The reason for such high chinese stamp prices is partially due to the fact that the typical Chinese stamp has always contained an incredible amount of detail and been manufactured under extremely high standards. These high standards have earned Chinese stamps broad recognition amongst avid chinese stamp collectors over the years, and hence resulting in high chinese stamps price.
Chinese culture has endured for thousands of years. Its chinese stamps are thus soaked in history which add value to the high chinese stamps price.
A example of a chinese stamp with a high price tag.
Chinese Stamps Price – Serialisation of Chinese Stamps
The are few different ways where chinese stamps price are serialised or classified. From August 1st, 1970 to January 15th, 1973, 95 chinese stamps were issued and they were numbered with a serial number. A number and year of issued were printed on the chinese stamps. After this period, Chinese stamps were serialized with heading J or T alphabet. J would mean Commemorative and T, Special. Chinese Stamp set J1 was issued on May 15th, 1974 and the last set, J185, on November 16 1991. T1 was issued on January 1st 1974 and the last,T168, on September 14th 1991.All chinese stamps price, commemorative and special stamps, issued after 1992 were numbered chronologically by year and set number. 1992-1 (2-1)T would mean the 1st stamp of set of 2, of 1st set issued on 1992. The letter T indicates the chinese stamp is special while a J, commemorative.There are some chinese stamps price issues with letter R and H with the serial number. R represents regular and H for celebration of Chinese New Year. I have prepared a chinese stamps catalogue indicating the price for all chinese stamps price such as rare chinese stamps, chinese zodiac stamps, etc. For bulk orders of stamps, I will give special chinese stamps prices and also to my regular customers.
Chinese Zodiac Stamps / Chinese Zodiac Signs
Chinese Zodiac Stamps are based on the Chinese lunar calendar, which has a 60-year cycle. According to the Chinese horoscope, the 60-cycle consists of two separate cycles combining with each other. The first is the cycle of 10 heavenly stems, namely the Five Elements which make up all matter (in order Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water) in their Yin and Yang forms. The second is the cycle of the 12 Zodiac animal signs or Earthly Branches. They are in order, the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. The current cycle began in the year 1984.
I have a huge chinese stamps collection on chinese zodiac stamps. The pictures below are the some that I have in my collection. If you like any of these stamps, you can place an order with me.
Chinese Zodiac Stamps / Chinese Golden Monkey Stamp
Chinese ancestors believed that a person’s destiny can be determined by the position of the major planets at the person’s birth along with the positions of the Sun, Moon and comets and the person’s time of birth and Zodiac Sign. So the Zodiac sign animal is believed to be the main factor of each person.
Since 1980, China has issued annually the animal year stamp to commemorate the 12 Chinese astrological animals signs. The “Golden Monkey” stamps were released in 1980 and were the first of this kind.
Five million “Golden Monkey” stamps were released for circulation in 1980. However, the vast majority were used for mailing letters, leaving only a few on the market.
In recent years, Chinese zodiac stamps have become increasingly popular among Chinese stamps collectors. The 1980 “Golden Monkey” garnered much attention among buyers. Other countries, including Singapore, have also follow suit. The Zodiac animals issues are often the countries’ first stamp issue of the year.
Chinese Zodiac Stamps/Value of Chinese Zodiac Stamps
Chinese Zodiac Stamps are proving to be a lucrative investment for collectors in China. The mainland has been releasing the 12 zodiac stamps yearly since 1980 and they have all appreciated in value. In 2011, the rabbit stamps are no exception. The rabbit stamps are jumping ahead with China Post’s release of the latest addition to its zodiac stamp series to commemorate the year 2011.
Sales of the rabbit Chinese Zodiac Stamps are in heavy demand and most stores most stores are selling out within four hours of the release of the Chinese Zodiac Stamp
With the demand of the Chinese Zodiac Stamp increasing, the price of many old chinese zodiac stamps have increased a lot and stamp collectors like us are excited that the chinese zodiac stamps appreciated threefold in just one day.
An example of the increase in value of chinese zodiac stamps. One of my chinese zodiac stamp was only worth US 20 cents 20 years ago but now I have just sold the stamp for US$780.
As a further indication of the value of Chinese Zodiac Stamps, the 2010 Tiger Chinese stamp has doubled its price, while the 2008 Ox stamp is worth 80 US cents today compared to 18 US cents 2 years ago.
Rare Chinese Stamps
Rare chinese stamps were issued when The People’s Republic of China (‘PRC’) was founded on October 1, 1949. On October 8, the New China issued its first set of chinese stamps to commemorate the convening of the first Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. On January 1, 1950, the Ministry of Postal Services was set up in Beijing, opening a new page in China’s philatelic history and started to issue rare chinese stamps.
The government started to centralize its issue of rare chinese stamps around this time. Some rare chinese stamp issues have become very rare due to mistakes made during print or over years of postal usage or simply, small quantity issue.
Rare Chinese Stamps – Rare Chinese Stamps issues:
The following are the types of rare chinese stamps that were issued:
1. The blue (3rd of 3) rare chinese stamp of the first set of military stamp issued by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications in 1953.
2. In 1952, the ministry planned an issue to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the October Revolution. However, the Propaganda Department of China, which erroneously indicated the title “the Great Soviet October Revolution” and all stamps needed to be destroyed and reprinted. But 40,000 of these rare chinese stamps were circulated.
3 On June 15th 1956, the ministry planned an special rare chinese stamp issue, Scenic Spots of Beijing (S15). The 3rd of 15 stamps set, “Morning of Tiananmen” was criticized and called “the Nuclear glare of Tiananmen”. This rare chinese stamp was not issued anymore after the first print.
4. In 1962, the Scientists of Ancient China (C92) issue was wrongly printed on the rare chinese stamp on scientist Cai Lun. The year of birth was printed Gongyuan Qian (pinyin, B.C. ) instead of Gongyuan (A.D.). A worker corrected the printing plate without informing the mistakes. Two varieties of these rare chinese stamp issues were circulated as a result.
5. On November 23th, 1968, during the sale of the “The Whole Country is Red” chinese stamp issue, a editor of Sinomaps Press found out that the Xisha Islands and the Nansha Islands were amiss print and subsequent prints were stopped. Hence, it resulted in the issue of this type of rare chinese stamps.
6. Stage Art of Mei Lan Fang. Imperfect Issue
7. Miniature Sheet of 26th World Table Tennis Championship (C86m)
8. Landscarps of Huangshan (S57)
7. Peonies (S61m)
8. Studying Science from Childhood (T41m)
9. Year of the Monkey (T46) – The 1st issue of the zodiac stamps issue.
The above 9 types of are chinese stamps were then issued but are no longer in print and hence make it a very valuable rare chinese stamps collection for chinese stamps enthusiast
Rare Chinese Stamps – Furniture of the Ming and Qing dynasties
This issue of rare chinese stamps, issued on 20 June 2011, is the 15th issue of the year. The theme is the design of traditional Chinese furniture. There isn’t many issues on Chinese furniture. I cannot remember any recent one. Hence, this add to the rarity of the chinese stamps
The development of traditional Chinese furniture peaked during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Furniture during the Ming dynasty was distinctive in its precised and scientific style, but simple and elegant in presentation. The furniture of Qing dynasty is a further development of the Ming style with extensive and elaborate wood carving. Material used are also more luxurious in comparison. This adds to the collection of rare chinese stamps
The style of the furniture produced during the Ming and Qing dynasties form the basis of Chinese furniture which is still very popular today and are now used for the production of rare chinese stamps.
