Republic of China stamps

Republic of China stamps are postal issues introduced following the 1911 revolution that brought an end to the Qing dynasty. Prior to the production of entirely new designs, the postal administration authorised overprints on existing imperial stamps in 1912. These markings included local overprints applied at Fuzhou, regional handstamps reading 'Republic of China' produced in Nanjing and Shanghai, and overprints printed by Waterlow and Sons in London, alongside various unofficial postmaster markings. The first dedicated commemorative issues of the Republic appeared in December 1912, consisting of two twelve-stamp sets portraying Sun Yat-sen and Yuan Shikai.

In May 1913, the postal service released the definitive series known as the Junk issue, which remained in circulation into the 1930s. The designs comprised three motifs: lower denominations depicted a traditional junk, middle values from fifteen to fifty cents illustrated a farmer reaping rice, and top dollar denominations showed the three-part gateway of the Hall of Classics in Beijing. Originally printed in London, production moved to Beijing in 1915. The plates were re-engraved in 1923, resulting in design modifications such as the removal of whitecaps and the darkening of the water beneath the junk.

During the 1920s and 1930s, new commemoratives marked constitutional milestones and state events, including a 1929 issue picturing Chiang Kai-shek. A new definitive series depicting Sun Yat-sen was introduced in 1931, followed in 1932 by the Martyrs issue. During the wartime Japanese occupation from 1937 to 1945, existing stamps were widely overprinted for specific districts, including North China, Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangdong, and Inner Mongolia. Subsequent economic instability also required extensive surcharge overprints.