In the modern world, since the advent of the postal service, there have been philatelic activities. The earliest philately, I think, is only a personal hobby, and there is no clear purpose, and no one will wait for a small stamp to add value to the philatelic profit.
When I was young, I occasionally came across interesting stamps that would be cut out and saved at any time; I gave them to colleagues who liked philately. For a few years, I put the annual Zodiac stamp on the title page of the New Year's diary, purely for fun. In the early years, when I received a letter from a friend from Taiwan and found that it was a stamp commemorating the centenary of Qian Mu's birth, I cut it out and pasted it on my Memoirs of Qian Mu, "Eighty Memories of My Parents, Teachers and Friends Miscellaneous Memories.".
The expansion of the capital market has long entered the philatelic activity. If there's any news about philately over the years, it's how much a scarce stamp is auctioned off at auction houses. A small stamp, only if it is valued in currency, will attract attention. In commercial exchange, stamps are commodities that perform the function of money and are an investment product. Stamp collecting is the same as buying and selling stocks and funds, which is mainly an investment behavior, and the commercial flavor is very strong.
However, there are also some philatelic enthusiasts, and have become philatelic people, from beginning to end is a pure hobby, did not want to get a big benefit with a small stamp. What I want to talk about is the celebrities of the philatelic world, Mr. Jiang Yefang and Mr. Qin Kecheng.
It was more than 30 years ago. I read the story of Mr. Jiang's stamp collecting and left an impression. One day, I went to the old bookstore in Xuanwumen and found that he had compiled the column article on philately in the newspaper into a book called "Philately and My Life Path", and I bought a copy of it and read it in one sitting on a Sunday. Mr. Jiang is a native of Hunan and began collecting stamps at the age of 10. His father was the first governor of Changsha after the Xinhai Revolution. According to his recollection, the first time he saw a stamp and became interested in philately was when he saw his uncle sending letters from abroad, and the envelope was plastered with such a new thing. Curious and the environment in which he lived, at a very young age, he took philately as a hobby and embarked on the path of a philatelist. Later, he served as a diplomat of the National Government, traveled to Europe, and had the conditions to see stamps from all over the world, which made his philatelic collection very powerful. When he recalls his philatelic activities, he intersperses some anecdotes related to politics, diplomacy, culture, and trade in recent history, which is really a useful idle book.
Zhang Baiying, who assisted Mr. Jiang in sorting out the book, said: "Jiang Yefang's collection of the first set of stamps issued by the mainland in the Qing Dynasty in 1878, commonly known as the Dalong stamps, has nearly 900 pieces, which has long been well-known in the world and has long been evaluated. When Mr. Jiang talked about his Big Dragon Ticket, he also talked about his interaction with Xia Yan. In 1953, Xia Yan, who was still the propaganda director of the East China Bureau, heard that Mr. Jiang had a big dragon ticket, so he came to visit and watch it together. At 8 o'clock in the morning on Sunday, Xia Yan arrived at the appointment. Tian Han, Zhou Zhu'an, and Zhou Kunsheng, whom I also invited to accompany him, also came later. Xia Yan not only carefully looked through all my stamps and covers before dinner, but also carefully observed the nearly 900 Big Dragon tickets in my stamp album before leaving in the afternoon. "Xia Yan and Jiang have the same good, and also have big dragon tickets, but the category is incomplete." After the treasure in Jiang Province, he wrote a letter to Jiang, saying that he had been collecting stamps for many years, that there were nearly a hundred big dragon tickets, and that there was only one set of new tickets with few hairy teeth, and that there were more jiang hairy teeth and that there were four-way joint votes, and he wanted Jiang to let him have a group of three full sets, and he was willing to accept any quid pro quo of Jiang. In 1953, Xia Yan took over the cultural and educational circles in Shanghai, waiting for a lot of waste and busy work, but he was still interested in taking time out of time to play stamps with good friends.
In Mr. Jiang's book, there are many similar people and things related to stamp collecting, and I can only introduce a scale and a half claw. Friends who love philately and want to learn about the experience of a world-famous stamp collector can read this interesting and beneficial book.
The second book I would like to introduce related to stamp collection is Mr. Qin Kecheng, professor of physics at Peking University, "History of Physics on Stamps". Professor Qin teaches physics, and specializes in collecting and researching stamps from all over the world related to physics. His unique philatelic book of sub-disciplines is excavated from philatelic history of physics, using stamps as a medium to establish a short biography for internationally renowned physicists, write a short history of major discoveries in physics, think about the fate of physicists in different eras, and put forward their own thinking conclusions in this strange book. This beautifully printed, illustrated book, but also a history of science, is the author's poetic contemplation, tracing the development of physics from a stamp. This book also enlightens readers that promoting scientists and promoting the spirit of science is the consensus of all mankind.
Professor Qin said in the preface to the book that the cause of the book was the collection of his column articles in the journal "University Physics". The magazine is limited to conditions, the accompanying stamps are black and white, and the layout is also limited, resulting in a colorful stamp picture can not be completely and truly presented. Now that the collection is published, the coated paper is printed in color, and the stamps related to physics issued by countries and regions around the world have been brilliantly presented. Professor Qin hopes: "In the introduction and appreciation of stamps, we can introduce some relevant physics knowledge and knowledge of the history of physics to the majority of philatelic enthusiasts, especially young people." "This book can not be read as a casual book, because it shows the spirit of human exploration of nature from ancient times to the present; when the deeds of the prophets who died on the guillotine because of their adherence to the truth crystallize on a small stamp, the reader's heart will evoke noble sentiments, which will affect the young people's outlook on life and values. Professor Qin wrote books and lectures in this form, arranging and combining the knowledge known to readers with stamps, and borrowing small stamps to say his own words, which has deep meaning and sustenance.
2005 is the Year of World Physics. The History of Physics on Stamps, compiled by Chinese scholars, was published in this year as a gift from China to the Year of Physics.
>> Author Profile:
Wei Jianmin: Editor of the Development Research Center of the State Council, author of a collection of essays and essays, "Looking for Danfeng Pavilion" and "Chen Gu Collection".
Author: Wei Jianmin
Editor: Zhou Yiqian
Editor-in-Charge: Zhu Zifen
*Wenhui exclusive manuscript, please indicate the source when reprinting.