Text/Zhang Huadong
August 10 marks the death anniversary of Dr. Zhou Weiliang, a great collector of Dalong stamps in the Shanghai Ministry of Works Letters Museum. Today, I share with my postteers the old collection of this master's Shanghai Dalong stamps in memory of Dr. Zhou.
Introduction of Dr. Zhou Weiliang
Dr. Wei-Liang Chow, born on November 21, 1911 (Author's note: This birthday was confirmed by Tang Wujie's teacher, who told me that his third uncle Zhou Weiliang's date of birth was November 21 in the solar calendar, and the first day of October was a lunar birthday. Elder Tang said that he remembered it very well, because his grandfather Zhou Jinjue always told him that he and his third uncle were both pigs, and that they were born on the same day, both on the first birthday of October. Tang Lao was born in 1935, 24 years younger than his third uncle Zhou Weiliang. ）。 Dr. Zhou Weiliang is a native of Jiande, Anhui Province, a world-famous mathematician of Chinese descent, one of the leading figures in the field of algebraic geometry in the 20th century, and an influential Chinese mathematician in the field of mathematics in the world. He received his master's degree in the United States in 1932, a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Leipzig in Germany in 1936, and was married to Margot Victor in Germany. After returning to China, he became a professor in the Department of Mathematics of Nanjing Central University. In 1947, he went to Princeton University in the United States and returned to the mathematical community after 10 years of absence. He taught at Johns Hopkins University from 1949 and was named a university professor in 1950, where he served as chair of the Department of Mathematics at Johns Hopkins University for 11 years (1955-1965) from 1955, where he worked until his retirement in 1977. In April 1959, he was elected as the third central research academician. He died in the United States on August 10, 1995.
Photo from Sotheby's auction catalog
Dr. Zhou Weiliang is the third son of Zhou Jinjue, the "Chinese Postal King", the third uncle of tang Wujie, a famous philatelist in China, and a large collector of Dalong stamps in the Letters Museum of the Ministry of Works in Shanghai. Interestingly, his father Zhou Jinjue's philatelic career was still because of him. The article "Zhou Jinjue: The Philatelic King as a Mathematician" (Editor: Yu Xiaowei) said, "In September 1923, when Zhou Jinjue was 45 years old, his third son, Zhou Weiliang, suddenly fell ill and was bored at home in bed. Zhou Jinjue knew that his son usually liked to play with stamps on old envelopes, so he went to a flower stall near the Racecourse hall and spent one yuan and five dimes to buy a pack of foreign stamps for his son. The son was able to play hard, and he even hoisted Zhou Jinjue's own stamp collection appetite. Soon, he went to Sichuan Road to buy a large package of foreign stamps for 5 yuan to come back for his son to match and paste. Later, a number of sets of national stamps and a French stamp booklet were purchased. This time, the father and son worked together and completed the pasting work. Flip it up and look very interesting and fulfilling. When recalling his experience in philately, Zhou Jinjue once said: "I thought that this was a really great view of the ocean, and since then I have given birth to a kind of envy, curiosity, and love of beauty, and I have unconsciously had the ambition to collect stamps."
The Chinese mathematician Yau Chengtong commented on him: "He has done pioneering work, many achievements in algebraic geometry are named after him, and most of his works will be recorded in the annals of history." ”
Sotheby's said in his stamp auction catalogue that "he was always eager to share his findings and theories with other collectors, and over time he became an expert in his field." Some of his postmen commented on him that he had a keen eye for identifying treasures and said his extraordinary collection would prove to be a wise investment, but that wasn't why he had invested more than 70 years. He does it only because he likes it. That's what makes him a great collector. ”
Dr. Zhou Weiliang part of the old collection of Shanghai Dalong stamps
(Note: The information comes from the Internet and Sotheby's Auction House, the stamp pictures are from sotheby's Auction Catalog in November 1996 and February 1997, and some of the information has been confirmed by Tang Wujie, thank you!) If infringement is involved, please contact to delete! If reprinted, please indicate the source! ）