List of people on the postage stamps of Taiwan
This article contains a list of people who appeared on the stamps of the Republic of China commonly known as Taiwan. Alternate names appear in parentheses. Transcription of Chinese names can vary considerably. See also Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue - Part 17 China.
History
![](../I/Chang-Kai-Shiek-Stamp.JPG.webp)
![](../I/00SunYatsen.jpg.webp)
Between 1949 and 1979, the Chunghwa Post issued postage stamps featuring 57 distinct people.[1] The scholar Yu-Chin Huang divided the people into five categories: "political figures", "revolutionary martyrs", "cultural figures", "Chinese historical icons", and "ethical and mythical figures". People crucial to Taiwan's founding were in the "political figures" category, while those who died for Taiwan's founding were in the "revolutionary martyrs" category. The "cultural figures" category was populated with artists, engineers, scientists, and literary figures. While age-old military commanders and emperors filled the "Chinese historical icons" category, the "ethical and mythical figures" category had religious figures and Confucianism paragons.[1]
Taiwan featured stamps of President Chiang Kai-shek and his wife Soong Mei-ling following the retreat of the government of the Republic of China to Taiwan in 1949. Whereas four eminent politicians such as Chiang's top assistant Chen Cheng were featured on postage stamps only after their deaths, Chiang and his wife were showcased on the stamps during their lifetimes. Addressing this in 1996, a Directorate General of Posts officer said, "people who are still alive or whose final verdict has not been pronounced after their death should not have commemorative postage stamps printed" but the Chiangs' postage stamps were made during "a hegemonic era of the cult of the great men".[2] In total, Chiang was featured on 29 stamp issues while his wife was featured on four.[3] Following his death, postage stamps rarely featured politicians since his son Chiang Ching-kuo, who became the next leader, aimed to discontinue cults of personality. There are deviations from the avoidance of featuring politicians on stamps. The first is a January 1989 set of stamps featuring Chiang Ching-kuo one year after his death. This was the sole time a stamp featured his portrait. The second is that Taiwan has quadrennial elections and the postal service releases stamps featuring the president and vice president who are taking office.[3]
After the 1911 Revolution that led to the collapse of the Qing dynasty, the Nationalists' reign of the Republic of China began in 1912. The postal service featured images of revolutionary figures including Huang Xing. To commemorate soldiers killed in the Second Sino-Japanese War, the postal service released stamps featuring the general Zhang Zizhong and the pilot Gao Zhihang. By evoking the worst challenge it had faced, the government's goal through featuring martyrs on stamps was to showcase its effectiveness in overcoming adversity. According to the scholar Huang, the postal service therefore did not feature images of martyrs from the Chinese Civil War as it would remind viewers of their not achieving victory in the war.[4]
Taiwan used postage stamps featuring Father of the Nation Sun Yat-sen to promote its national identity.[5] To celebrate the centennial of American president Abraham Lincoln's birth, the postal service released a "Teachers of the Democracy" postage stamp.[6] It featured Lincoln and Sun beside each other to represent their being paragons of democracy and human rights defenders.[7] The stamp featured Sun's image and the Republic of China flag on one side, and Abraham Lincoln's image and the American flag on the other side.[6] Below Sun's photo are the words "Minzu" (Chinese: 民族), "Minquan" (Chinese: 民權), and "Minsheng" (Chinese: 民生), which are his Three Principles of the People.[6] Sun's principles were based on Lincoln's well-known quote "of the people, by the people, for the people", which appeared below his image. To celebrate the centennial of the birth of Sun, the postal service in 1965 released postage stamps featuring his image next to Taiwanese flags.[8] During the Cold War, the beliefs of the Nationalists aligned with those of the United States. To promote the close relationship between Taiwan and the United States, the postal service issued stamps featuring the American political dignitaries Eleanor Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower.[6] In 1967, the postal service issued a "Chinese Poets" stamps set that featured Tang dynasty poets Du Fu, Li Bai, and Bai Juyi, and patriotic poet Qu Yuan.[9]
A
- Buzz Aldrin, astronaut[10]
- Neil Armstrong, astronaut[10]
C
- Cai Yuanpei (Tsai Yuan-pei), educator (1967)[10]
- Chen Cheng, general and politician (1968)[10]
- Chen Chien-jen, vice president (2016)[11]
- Chen Shui-bian, president[12]
- Chiang Ching-kuo, president[3][13]
- Chiang Kai-shek, military and political leader (1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1966, 1967, 1968)[10][14]
- Madame Chiang Kai-shek (Soong Mei-ling), first lady (1961, 1965)[10]
- Michael Collins, astronaut[10]
- Confucius, philosopher (1965)[10]
E
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, US president (overprint only 1960)[10]
G
- Gao Zhihang, military aviator[10]
- Genghis Khan, Mongol emperor (1962)[10]
H
- Rowland Hill, inventor of the postage stamp (1979)[10]
- Hongwu (T'ai Tsu), Ming dynasty emperor (1962)[10]
- Hua Tuo, physician (1970)[10]
- Huang Xing, revolutionary and first-commander-in-chief of the Republic of China[10]
K
- Genghis Khan, emperor of the Mongol Empire[10]
- Koxinga (Cheng Ch'eng-kung), military commander (1950, 1962)[3][10]
L
- Lai Ching-te, vice president (2020)[15][16]
- Laozi, philosopher and writer[10]
- Lee Teng-hui, president[17][18]
- Li Bai (Li Po), poet (1967)[10]
- Lin Sen, president (1966)[10]
- Lin Zexu, political philosopher and politician[10]
- Annette Lu, vice president[12]
- Lu Haodong, revolutionary[10]
- Abraham Lincoln, US president (1959)[10][7][19]
M
- Ma Ying-jeou, president (2008)[20]
- George Leslie Mackay, missionary[21][22]
- Maitreya, future Buddha[23]
- Mencius, philosopher (1957, 1965)[10]
N
- Florence Nightingale, English nurse and founder of modern nursing (1964)[24]
Q
R
- Eleanor Roosevelt, US first lady and human rights advocate (1964)[10][14]
S
- Sa Shijun, naval officer[10]
- Shide, monk[10]
- Emperor Shun, legendary leader of ancient China[10]
- Vincent Siew, vice president[20]
- Sun Yat-sen, revolutionary (1955, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965)[10]
T
- Taizong (T'ai-Tsung), Tang dynasty emperor (1962)[10]
- Taizu (T'ai tsu), Song dynasty emperor (1962)[10]
- Teresa Teng, singer and actress (2015). Her commemorative stamps were the first time that the postal service had commemorated an artist.[25]
- Tsai Ing-wen, president (2016, 2020)[11][15][16]
W
- Wen Tianxiang (Wen T'ien-hsiang), general and poet (1966)[10]
- Woo Tsin-hang (Wu Chih-huei), philosopher and linguist (1964)[14]
- Wu Zhihui[10][14]
X
- Xie Jinyuan, military commander[10]
- Xu Guangqi (Hsu Kuang-ch'i), scholar and bureaucrat (1964)[10]
- Xuanzang (Hsuan Chuang), traveller and monk (1970)[10]
Y
- Yan Haiwen, military officer who died in combat with the Japanese[10]
- Emperor Yao, ruler[10]
- Yen Chia-kan, president[26]
- Yu Youren (Yu Yu-jen), revolutionary leader (1962)[10]
- Yue Fei, military leader (1957, 1966, 1970)[10]
Z
- Zhan Tianyou, railroad engineer[10]
- Zhang Zhizhong, military commander and politician[10]
- Duke of Zhou, member of royal family[10]
- King Zhou of Shang, ruler[10]
- King Wen of Zhou, ruler[10]
- King Wu of Zhou, ruler[10]
- King Xiao of Zhou, ruler[10]
- Zhu Xi (Chu Hsi), philosopher (1970)[10]
See also
References
- Huang 2007, p. 229
- Huang 2007, pp. 232–233
- Deans, Phil (June 2005). "Isolation, identity and Taiwanese stamps as vehicles for regime legitimation". East Asia. 22. doi:10.1007/s12140-005-0007-5. ISSN 1598-2408.
- Huang 2007, pp. 236–237
- Huang 2007, pp. 230–231
- Huang 2007, p. 234
- Carwardine, Richard (2011-05-07). "The Surprising Global Reach of Lincoln". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2022-05-31. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
- Huang 2007, p. 231
- Huang 2007, p. 239
- Huang 2007, p. 230
- Cheng, Kris (2016-04-22). "Pixel-style commemorative stamps for inauguration of new Taiwan president attract praise". Hong Kong Free Press. Archived from the original on 2022-08-21. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
- "中華民國郵票目錄" [Republic of China Stamp Catalog]. Directorate General of Posts 中華民國交通部郵政總局 (in Chinese). 2003. Retrieved 2022-08-21 – via Google Books.
- 郭素娥 (2014). 郵政大事記 第11集(民國96年至100年) [Postal Memorabilia. Edition 11 (ROC calendar year 96–100)] (in Chinese). Taipei: 中華民國政府出版品. p. 56. ISBN 9789860408850. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
- 唐富藏 (1992). 重修臺灣省通志.卷四:經濟志交通篇(2) [Revision of Taiwan Provincial Gazetteer. Volume 4: Economics and Transportation (2)] (in Chinese). Nantou: Taiwan Historica. ISBN 9789570017519. Retrieved 2022-05-31 – via Google Books.
- Hsiao, Yu-Hsin; Chen, Yu-hsun; Xie, Dennis (2020-05-05). "Chunghwa designs inauguration stamps of Tsai and VP Lai". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 2022-08-21. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
- Haggerty, Nicholas; Lee, Daphne K. (2020-05-14). "The Design Concepts Behind Taiwan's Inaugural Beer and Stamps". The News Lens. Archived from the original on 2022-08-21. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
- "今日郵政" [Today Postal]. 今日郵政月刊社. 2011. Retrieved 2022-05-31 – via Google Books.
- Huang, Yangming 黃揚明 (2021-07-06). "【李登輝續香火4】李登輝紀念郵票將發行 設計者來頭不小" [[Lee Teng-hui continues incense 4] Lee Teng-hui commemorative stamps will be issued, the designer has a lot of background] (in Chinese). Mirror Media. Archived from the original on 2022-08-21. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
- Peatman, Jared (2013). The Long Shadow of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. p. 158. ISBN 978-0-8093-3310-3. Retrieved 2022-05-31 – via Google Books.
- "Cabinet source says dispute over stamp wording resolved". Taipei Times. 2008-04-12. Archived from the original on 2022-08-21. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
- Crook, Steven (2010). Taiwan: The Bradt Travel Guide. Bucks: Bradt Travel Guides. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-84162-330-6. Retrieved 2022-05-31 – via Google Books.
- Vynckier, Henk (2008). "Museifying Formosa: George Mackay's From Far Formosa". In Hayot, Eric; Saussy, Haun; Yao, Steven G. (eds.). Sinographies: Writing China. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. p. 249. ISBN 978-0-8166-4724-8. Retrieved 2022-05-31 – via Google Books.
- "今日郵政" [Post Today] (in Chinese). 今日郵政. 1988. Retrieved 2022-08-21 – via Google Books.
On August 12, 1967 , the Directorate General of Posts released a set of Taiwan Handicraft Products Postage Stamps (issue of 1967). The NT$1.00 postage stamp featured a wood carving of the Buddha Maitreya (Fig. 11).
- "中外畫報, Volumes 85–102" [Chinese and Foreign Pictorial, Volumes 85–102]. Zhong Wai Hua Bao 中外畫報社 [The Cosmorama Pictorial] (in Chinese). 1963. OCLC 1114945331. Retrieved 2022-08-21 – via Google Books. 四元直型郵票係以手持燭光之青年護士為主題,右上角繪護士工作創始人南丁格爾女士牛身像,上述郵票由台北中央印製廠以雕刻凹版印製。 [The four-dollar straight-shaped stamps feature a young nurse holding a candle, and the upper right corner depicts the figure of Ms. Nightingale, the founder of the nurse's work.]
- Zhao, Wancheng 赵婉成 (2015-04-15). "邓丽君邮票在台湾创下抢购记录" [Teresa Teng's stamps set a record for panic buying in Taiwan] (in Chinese). Voice of America. Archived from the original on 2022-08-21. Retrieved 2022-08-21.
- "交通部公報, Volume 43, Issues 4–6" [Ministry of Transportation and Communications Bulletin, Volume 43, Issues 4–6]. Jiao tong bu gong bao 交通部公報 [Ministry of Transportation and Communications Bulletin] (in Chinese). Vol. 43. Ministry of Transportation and Communications. 2004. Retrieved 2022-08-21 – via Google Books.
Bibliography
- Huang, Yu-Chin (2007). National identity and ideology in the design of postage stamps of China and Taiwan 1949-1979 (PhD). University of London. pp. 229–250. Archived from the original on 2022-06-15. Retrieved 2022-06-15 – via E-Theses Online Service.