List of people on the postage stamps of Taiwan
Taiwan’s postage stamps from 1949 to 1979 featured 57 different people. Scholar Yu-Chin Huang grouped these people into five categories: political figures, revolutionary martyrs, cultural figures, Chinese historical icons, and ethical or mythical figures. Political figures were those important to Taiwan’s founding, while revolutionary martyrs were those who died for Taiwan’s founding. Cultural figures included artists, engineers, scientists, and writers. Chinese historical icons were ancient military leaders and emperors. Ethical and mythical figures covered religious figures and Confucian role models.
After the government of the Republic of China retreated to Taiwan in 1949, stamps featured Chiang Kai-shek and his wife Soong Mei-ling. Chiang appeared on 29 stamp issues, and Soong appeared on four. In 1996 an official noted that living people or those not yet judged should not be commemorated on stamps, but the Chiangs’ stamps were issued during a period described as a cult of the great men. After Chiang’s death, stamps rarely featured politicians; Chiang Ching-kuo had a single portrait stamp in 1989. Stamps of presidents or vice presidents are sometimes issued when they take office, especially around Taiwan’s quadrennial elections.
Stamps also honored revolutionaries after the 1911 revolution, when Taiwan’s era began in 1912, including figures like Huang Xing. They issued stamps honoring soldiers who died in the Second Sino-Japanese War, such as General Zhang Zizhong and pilot Gao Zhihang. The purpose of printing martyrs was to show the government’s strength in overcoming hardship, though Huang notes they avoided martyrs from the Chinese Civil War to avoid reminding viewers of defeat.
Sun Yat-sen, the Father of the Nation, appeared on stamps to promote national identity. In the 1960s, Taiwan issued a “Teachers of the Democracy” stamp showing Sun beside Abraham Lincoln to symbolize democracy and human rights, with Sun’s Three Principles—Minzu, Minquan, and Minsheng—written beside him and Lincoln’s famous idea about government “of the people, by the people, for the people” appearing near Lincoln. In 1965, Taiwan also released stamps showing Sun with the Taiwanese flag to mark his centennial.
During the Cold War, stamps highlighted ties with the United States, featuring Eleanor Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower. In 1967, Taiwan issued a set called “Chinese Poets” featuring Du Fu, Li Bai, Bai Juyi, and Qu Yuan.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 20:00 (CET).