Macau Stamps: Centenary of Xinhai Revolution

Under the leading of Sun Yat-sen. a revelatory pioneer of Chinese people. Qing Dynasty ruled China for more than 260 years, was overthrown in 1911 The Autocratic Monarchy System lasting more than two thousand years was ended and a democratic republic never seen in Chinese history was founded. It is a great world-shaking event in the history of China and the world happening in 1911, the year of Xinhai in lunar calendar, therefore the revolution was called Xinhai Revolution.

In order to celebrate the Centenary of Xinhai Revolution, Macao Post issues four commemorative stamps and one souvenir sheet. The themes on the four stamps are “Revolutionary Preparation”, “Permanent Heroism”, “Wuchang Uprising” and “Foundation of the Republic of China” respectively and the theme on the souvenir sheet is “Recovery of China”.

Revolutionary Preparation

After a long term gestation and preparation, Xintiai Revolution took Hong Kong and Macao as centers for command and planning, funds collection, ammunition purchase and production, contacts of revolutionary comrades at home and abroad and shelter for revolutionaries after failure of uprising.

Gao Jianfu (1879 1951), one of the founders of Lingnan Chinese Painting. He served as Chairman with the Chinese Revolutionary League (Tongmenghui) of Guangdong Branch, and he established the League of Macao Branch in 1911 at No.41, Nanwan Street (Avenida da Praia Grande). He joined the famous Huanghuagang Uprising and Guangzhou campaign, and died in Macao on 22 June 1951.

Permanent Heroism

The martyrs who joined the Huanghuagang Uprising in Guangzhou, China on 27 April 1911 were buried in Huanghuagang Mausoleum of 72 Martyrs.

Huang Xing (1874 - 1916), genealogical name: Keqiang. He launched the Huanghuagang Uprising in Guangzhou in 1911. After the Wuchang Uprising broke out he became as Commander-in-chief in Time of War. He died of constant overwork in 1916. Zliang Taiyan gave an elegiac couplet indicating: “No Republic can be founded without him. He must be remembered for ever”.

Wuchang Uprising

Gate of Wuchang Uprising is lhe place where the first gua was triggered off the Wuchang Uprising and the ancient city tower named Harmony Gate (Zhonghe Men) was renamed as Uprising Gate (Qiyi Men).

Xiong Bitigkun (1885 - 1969), from Jiangxia, Hubei Province. He served as Chief Representative of Gongjinhui in the 8° battalion of the 8th town of Hubei warlord where he recruited about 200 revolutionaries in secrecy. Before the Wuchang Uprising on 10 October 1911, when a solder named Cheng Dingguo fired and killed an officer of Qing army, he whistled to gather the soldiers immediately, declaring the formal uprising and then he led the army to occupy Chuwangtai armory. Afterwards revolutionaries in armies inside and outside Wuchang rose up one after another. After the revolutionaries controlled three cities in Wuhan, the people in other provinces rose up as well arid the Qing Dynasty was overthrown.

Foundation of lhe Republic of China

On 29 December 1911, through the joint decision of representatives from 17 provinces. Sun Yat-sen was elected as Provisional President. On 22:00, 1 January 1912, Sun Yat-sen acceded to Provisional President in Nanjing and changed the title of the dynasty into the “Republic of China” and the year 1912 was declared to be the first year of the Republic of China.

The office of Provisional President Sun Yat-sen was located at the west of Xii Yuan, 292 Changjiang Road, Nanjing, which was a parlor formerly constructed by Duan Fang. governor-general of Qing Dynasty.

Sun Yat-sen (Sun Zhongshan) (1866 - 1925), big name: Wen, genealogical name: Deining, baptized name: Rixin. Japanese name: Nakayarna Sho.

Though he served as President for 91 days only, he established and issued more than 30 governmental decrees which would be beneficial to the development of democratic politics, national capital and cultural education and he was worth to be the pioneer of bourgeois revolution and a great revolutionist of democratic revolutionary.

Recovery of China

Suit Yat-sen attached great importance to the design of stamps when serving as Provisional President, and called Chengyu, Secretary of Traffic Department and Tang Wenqi of Commissioner of Posts and Telecommunications Department and so on to make careful study on the design of commemorative stamps for national foundation and determined to terminate the datemark of “Heavenly Stems” and “Earthly Branches”, and adopt the postal datemark of the Republic of China. In late 1912, the commemorative stamps of recovery and republic carrying design of head portrait of Sun Yat-sen and Yuan Shikai was published respectively.

Sun Yat-sen liked writing “The world belongs to the public” as gift. The phrase was abstracted out of “Liji - Liyun”: “A public spirit will rule all under the sky when the great way prevails”, Mr. Sun Yat-sen thought: “Equality and freedom are rights of citizens, however officeholders shall be public servants for the citizens”. He swore before serving as Provisional President: “Solidify the Republic of China, create happiness for the people, which are what the people want, I should abide by the tenet, loyal to my country and serve the people”. Sun Yat-sen introduced the concepts of “serve the people” and “public servant” to China’s politics which refresh everyone.

On 10 January 1912, the Provisional Senate passed a special decision to adopt the Five-Colored Republic Flag (or Five-Colored Flag) as national flag, which means a Republic for nationalities as Han, Manchus, Mongols, Hui and Tibetan.

The Eighteen-Star Flag, the full name is Blood Eighteen-Star Flag. it was a flag declared for the establishment of Hubei Military Government after Wuchang Uprising. ln the second day of Wuchang uprising, the Military Government planned to declare the foundation of the Republic of China with the Blood Flag as revolutionary flag. On May 1921, after Sun acceded to Extraordinary President, he declared to abolish the Five-Colored Flag and Blood Flag and replace them with a flag of “Blue Sky with a White Sun”.

Author: Yin Degang

Translation: C&C - Translation Centre. Ltd.

Acknowledgement: photos of Huang Xing, Sun Yat sen (Provisional President), Gate of Wuchang Uprising, the Office of Provisional President in Nanjing and the Swear of Provisional President Sun Yan-sen.

The Stamps: