Manchukuo (満州国 Pinyin: Manzhouguo, literally: "Nation of Manchuria") was a nominally independent puppet state set up by the Japanese in Manchuria which existed from 1931 to 1945. The Japanese instated Puyi, the last emperor of Qing Dynasty, as the puppet emperor of Manzhouguo and declared the country independent from China on February 18, 1932. Changchun (長春) was chosen as capital and renamed Xinjing (新京) or "New capital".
The state was not recognized by most of the nations of the world, and the declaration of the League of Nations that the Manchuria was still rightly part of China led to the Japanese resignation from the League in 1934. Japan, Italy, and Germany are the only major countries that diplomatically recognized Manzhouguo. In addition Manzhouguo was recognized by the Japanese collaborationist government of China under Wang Jingwei.
At the end of World War II, Soviet Union recaptured Manzhouguo by the agreement at the Yalta Conference. Manchuria was set up to aid the Chinese Communists against Kuomintang in the Chinese Civil War.
Manzhouguo issued its first postage stamps on July 28, 1932. There were a number of denominations, with two designs: the pagoda at Liaoyang and a portrait of Puyi. Originally the inscription read (in Chinese) "Manchu State Postal Administration"; in 1934, a new issue read "Manchu Empire Postal Administration". An orchid crest design appeared in 1935, and a design featuring the Sacred White Mountains in 1936.
1936 also saw a new regular series featuring various scenes and surmounted by the orchid crest. Between 1937 and 1945, the government issued a variety of commemoratives: for anniversaries of its own existence, to note the passing of new laws, and to honor Japan in various ways, for instance, the 2600th anniversary of the Japanese Empire in 1940. The last issue of Manzhouguo came on May 2, 1945, commemorating the 10th anniversary of an edict.
After the dissolution of the government, many of the remaining stamp stocks were locally handstamped with ideograms reading "Republic of China" and so forth. In addition, many were overprinted by the Port Arthur and Dairen Postal Administration between 1946 and 1949.
Stamps and postal history of Manzhouguo
| Personal Names | Period of Reigns | era name (年號) and their according range of years | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All given names in bold. | ||||
| Aixinjuelo Puyi 愛新覺羅溥儀 ai4 xin1 jue2 luo2 pu3 yi2 | March 1932 - August 1945 | Datong (大同 da4 tong2) 1932Kangde (康德 kang1 de2) 1934 |
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See also: Mukden Incident, Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), Battle of Lugou Bridge, Mengjiang, Japanese expansionism, Imperialism in Asia