re: Japanese occupation of Nanking and Shanghai overprinted airmails

Hi,

It's 9N114 in the Shanghai and Nanking in the Republic of China section(just before the Peoples Republic of China). Issued as air raid precaution propaganda in 1945.
80c mint, $1.25 used.

Jacques.

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cdj1122

re: Japanese occupation of Nanking and Shanghai overprinted airmails

Last week I suggested that I seemed to recall something I had read somewhere that indicated that the Chinese charactors on the displayed Chinese Air Mail stamp were a warning, such as, a reminder to the population to take shelter when they heard the air raid sirens. After seeing "KHJ"'s note I became curious about it and when I had time began to search through clippings and notes that have accumulated over the years. Before there were computers and scanners at every desk I would clip articles of interest and then, when I had the chance, run the clipping through a copy machine so that I had a standard sized paper to put in one of several, make that many, binders.
Well I have looked back into some articles from several sources as far back as the early '70s and haven't found anything to support my feeble memory.

However I also became curious as to how that set was listed in catalogs so I looked it up, first in a Scott.


Scott lists the set of four under Shanghai and Nanking
#s9N111-9N114
There is this short note; " ... Issued as Air raid precaution propaganda. ..."

Air raid precaution propaganda ? What does that mean ?

On to Gibbons;

Under Japanese Occupation of Nanking and Shanghai
Gibbons provides a date, August 9th, 1945, #s128-131
And almost the identical caption." ... Air Raid Precaution Propaganda Issue..." and also states that these stamps were used on all kinds of mail

Minkus catalogs were created at the behest of Jacques Minkus to help promote the stamps he was selling through his counters at Gimbals Department Store and often provided additional information to help enhance and expand collectors interest. He was a tireless promoter of both his business and our shared hobby. His counters at Gimbals were a frequent stop when I was in Manhattan (New York City) and I think that it was because of him that Macy's Department Store down the street also opened a stamp department and display counter.

In my old, worldwide Minkus catalog these stamps are listed under" Japanese Occupation - Central China"
#s CC113-116
and adds; " Anti-air raid propaganda Overprints;
Besides the technical printing data, Minkus says; " ...Available for use on any kind of mail, although issued on 9 August after the explosion of the atomic bomb at Hiroshima, it seems doubtful that this series could have any connection with that event...."

So finally I dig into my beat-up copy of Ma's Illustrated Catalog of the Stamps of China, which was printed in Shanghai in 1947 shortly after these stamps were issued.

In the section labeled " ... Shanghai Puppet Value Surcharges ..." they are listed as;
#sSH126 -129 and includes an interesting note;
" ... On August 9th, 1945, the Shanghai Post Office issued a set of stamps to promote the anti-air raid propaganda.
They were the Hong Kong print Un-watermarked Air Mail Stamps overprinted with a sketch of a bomb and two Chinese charactors, "Pon-Kung" meaning "anti-air raid" and new values by the Union Printing Company.
All the above stamps could be used on any kind of mail matter and were not restricted to be used on air mails; so they cannot be considered as air mail stamps. ..."
Another interesting note that is part of a longer discussion about various "Shanghai Puppet Value Stamps" and other postal technical printing matters.

" ... The post offices in the occupied areas of Central China were actually under the control of the Shanghai Head office. ..."
" ... A Puppet Directorate -general of Posts was once suggested to be innaugerated by some Puppet promoters. They failed to materialise it on account of the non-cooperative attitude of postal workers. Although some supervisors from Japanese and puppet authorities were posted in some big offices, the central brain of postal services in this part of China was still connected with the National Government in Chungking. This is perhaps due to the fact that the postal service was not a profitable enterprise for the Japanese; it was a burden for them so the Japanese and the puppet regime left the Post Office under the care ofthe Chungking authorities. ..."


Map from Facts and DetailsJAPANESE OCCUPATION OF CHINA

Wow !!!
I had read in books about the chaos that often reigned in China during the war with different areas controlled by the Nationalists and others by the "North China Political Council" (which I assume means Mao's Communists.) and still others by the Japanese puppet regime, but this little note sheds a light on the postal part. Imagine that during the American Civil War post offices throughout the Southern States were run by Montgomery Blair back in Washington and no one in the rebellious states noticed or objected.

I still wonder about the meaning of the overprint. If is is as simple as
Temporarily Selling (for)
1000 Yuan
Air Defense
Where does the "Anti-Air Raid Propaganda" information come from?
Is it a case of several Chinese charactors that individually mean one thing but taken together become a sort of idiomatic phrase that conveys something similar, but with an added implication, beyond "Air Defense"?
Since they were printed for use in an area controlled, at least nominally by the Japanese, was the propaganda directed at bombing missions by our B-24 or B-29s ?

 
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re: Japanese occupation of Nanking and Shanghai overprinted airmails

The North China Political Council was created in late 1942 as an combination of the 6 separate provinces under Japanese control. The only Japanese controlled province not included in the North China entity was the occupied province of Jehol which Japan transferred to Manchukuo. The North China Political Council declared war on the allies in 1944 at Japanese insistance. However, they contributed no troops to the wear effort.
I hope this lends a bit of clarification of the above information.

Dave

 
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cdj1122

re: Japanese occupation of Nanking and Shanghai overprinted airmails

Wow, you guys sure pulled this one from the archives. October 2011 ???
I saw the scans and began reading the texts without noticing the side panel because I tend to enlarge the screen, especially the texts. About halfway through I see the reference about the old Minkus Catalogs and Ma's China Stamp Catalog (1947) which made me wonder who else besides me have and occasionally use these sources.
Oh well, I guess I am still alone.
But the added explanation is interesting and tends to support the still fuzzy recollection that idiomatically it was a warning to take shelter either when the sirens sounded or you could hear the bombs whistling through the air. Of course the latter might be too late.
The most interesting new piece of knowledge was that these were printed in areas under Japanese control warning of our (Peace Loving) bombing raids and not those of Japan ( War Mongering ) raining down on areas held by the Chinese Nationalists.

Sometimes it is interesting scrolling through older threads. You might meet you self.

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