EMPEROR HSUAN T’UNG COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE

After Emperor Kuang Hsu died in 14 November 1908, Henry Pu Yi, son of Prince Chung, which had been picked by Empress Dowager, was enthroned on 22 January 1909 as Emperor and his reign was named HSUAN T’UNG.
On 15 May 1909 after the funeral of Emperor Kuang Hsu earlier in the month, the Statistical Customs Department in Peking ordered the issuing of a set of commemorative stamps to honor the first year of Hsuan T’ung’s reign.
These commemorative stamps were first issued in Shanghai on 8 September 1909 and were on sale until 1 October 1910.
As Emperor Hsuang T’ung is only 4 years old, the ruling and operation of the country was in the hand of Empress Lung Yu, wife of Emperor Kuang  Hsu and Prince Chung ; which have been titled “She Cheng Wang” to signify his power in the Imperial government.

These miniature sheets are the ‘gems’ of this issue; they were printed in sheetlets of nine, three rows of threes of the 2c., 3c. & 7c., bicolor in black and ultramarine. Each stamp is punctured with a hole and overprinted diagonally by WATERLOW & SONS LTD. / SPECIMEN.
According to Robson Lowe these sheets were discovered in the De La Rue & Co. vaults in 1967 and his comment about the sheets is: 'Their beauty to the eye was splendid'!

The set of 3 stamps was designed and engraved by Mr. Lorenzo J. Hatch and Mr. William A. Grant from the U.S.A. The center design of the stamps is The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in The Temple of Heaven in Peking and the vignettes is a pair of Dragons; the value; ‘Chinese Emperor Hsuan T’ung First Year’ and the printer’s name ‘Waterlow and Sons Limited, London’.
Sheets contained 100 stamps, ten high by ten wide printed on unwatermarked paper.

THE ISSUED STAMPS

This is the second set of commemorative stamps issued for China, the first being the Dowager issue. The stamp designs are carefully illustrated with the orange yellow colour and the 5 claws dragon that represent the Emperor and the Hall of Prayer which only the Emperor could enter. (Notes: No one at the time could use the orange yellow colour and the 5 claws dragon design except for the Emperor)

The Husan T’ung stamps were first issued in Shanghai on the 8^th September 1909 (lunar 1909 seventh month 24). The stamps were sold out in the first couple of hours in Shanghai.
These stamps were then issued in Chefoo on the 13^th September 1909 and most other towns by 14^th September 1909.
The card was printed with the right information in English, but the date of Lunar eighth month was printed wrong.

Postcard send from Shanghai to London with the two 2 cents HSUAN T'UNG stamps canceled by two strokes of the Shanghai Lunar cancel of "1909 7th Month 24" and below is a Shanghai Bilingual of "8 SEP 09". Also endorsed in writing with the date and "New issue in honour of the Emperor nearly all love." (Note: First day commercial usage is extremely rare for the issue)

There are three ‘First Year’ cancellations in the philatelic world of China. They are the Hsuan T’ung First Year of 1909, the Republic First Year of 1912 and the Hung Hsien First year of 1916 (1916 First Year canceling only Republic Junk stamps).
The First Year cancellations of 1912 & 1916 are well known, but the 1909 First Year cancels are uncommon and examples were only found with the ‘FOOCHOW Dollarchops’, ‘FOOCHOW Arc Types’ and a very few 'converted Lunar Types’ with Lunar Year converted to First Year.
Because of the scarcity of the 1909 First Year, most ‘First Year’ cancellations found canceling Imperial stamps are considered as First Year Republic (1912) unless accomplished with a datestamp of 1909. 
Here is an example of the Kuliang Arc Type cancel of First Year Fifth month 25^th day. Also on the cover are Foochow Bilingual of 12 JUL 09 and Japanese office in Foochow of 14.7.09.
Second and Third Year cancellations can also be found with ‘FOOCHOW Dollarchops’ and ‘FOOCHOW Arc Types' and are also uncommon.

In October 1911, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen overthrew the Ching Dynasty and establishes the REPUBLIC of CHINA. Emperor Hsuan T’ung was edited, but the Imperial Chinese stamps remain in use until 31 March 1914.
Later in 1914 after the expiration of these stamps for postal use, unsold stamps were put up for auction in London and the explanation to why the large quantities of mint stamps existed today.