Upon the Proclamation of Independence on March 1, 1932, the first year of Ta-Tung, the postal affairs of Manchoukuo were detached from the control of the Republic of China. On March 20th, Ting Chien-hsu, minister of communications, issued an order stating, "On April 1st, 1932, the Government will take over the control of the postal administration and postal affairs of the State of Manchuria." However, employees of the Republic of China were retained and the use of China postage was maintained until Manchoukuo actually took over the postal administration on July 26, when the first series of postage stamps was issued. The unit of currency of Manchoukuo was the Yuan, divided into 10 Chiao and 100 Fen, with 1 Yuan equal to approximately 30¢ U.S.

   With the establishment of the State of Manchuria, the postal administration and postal affairs have been detached from the control of the Republic of China since March 1st, 1932.
   I, the Minister of Communications, by order of the Government, in taking over the control of the postal administration and postal affairs within the limits of Manchoukuo, hereby instruct all Postal Commisioners in the State of Manchuria to observe strictly the following items:
   1. On April 1st, 1932, the Government will take over the control of the postal administration and postal affairs of the State of Manchuria.
   2. The employees in the service are advised that their present status and salaries will remain the same until further notice.
   3. The business service shall be maintained as heretofore until further notice.
   4. Since the postal administration and its attached properties are now in possession of the State, the transfer of the immovable properties and the creation of security rights is hereby strictly prohibited.
   5. Safes, postal stamps and other properties of similar nature must be inspected by the Commissioners empowered to take over the postal affairs.
   6. The inventory covering the entire existing properties must be submitted to the Department of Communications.
   7. All present and future deposits and receipts must be deposited at the national treasury of Manchoukuo in the Provincial Bank of the Three Eastern Province. For the withdrawal of the deposits mentioned above, the endorsement by specially appointed officials of the Department of Communications is required.
   8. All important documents must be put in order and inspected by authorized Commissioners.
   Issued on the 10th day of March, 1932
         First Year of Tatung

                    Ting Chien-hsu
             Minister of Communications
                     Manchoukuo

 Label used to seal mail of the
Department of Communications

The stamps of Manchoukuo were printed in sheets consisting of a single pane, except for the Red Cross Issue of 1938 in sheets of 2 panes, and the Interdependence, Unity and Fifth General Issues in sheets of 6 panes.

The plate markings consist of Imprints, Plate Numbers, and Slogans. All issues known to have any of these plate markings are tabulated below. Complete information is not available for plate numbers, which appear inconsistently and only on certain values of some issues.

Issue                           Stamps    Plate   Imprints  Slogans
                               in panes  numbers

First General Issue              100       Yes      a         No
China Mail Issue - Series Three  100       Yes      No        No
Fourth General Issue             100       Yes      No        No
Fourth General Issue - Air Mail  100       Yes      No        No
Hsinking Reconstruction Issue     70       Yes      No        No
Extraterritoriality Issue       70, 50     Yes      No        No
New Years Issue                   70       Yes      b         No
Railroad Construction Issue      100       No       No        a, b
Second Imperial Visit Issue      100       No       c         a, b
Census Issue                     100       No       No        a, b
Conscription Law Issue           100       No       c         c
Tenth Anniversary Issue           70       No       No        b, d
National Harmony Issue            70       No       No        b, d
Red Cross Issue of 1943          100       No       c         e, f
Steel Industry Issue             100       No       c, d      e, f
Interdependence Issue            100       Yes      No        No
Fifth General Issue              100       Yes      No        No
Unity Issue                      100       Yes      No        No

Slogans

a. 10 - Place postage stamps on left top corner of envelope
b. 11 - Write clearly the names and addresses of both sender and receiver
c. 12 - It is important to give the street address on the gate to avoid
        error in delivery
d.  8 - Wrap perfectly and things will go through the mail safely
e. 13 - (Chinese) Affix postage stamp to the upper left corner of the envelope
f. 16 - (Japanese) Affix postage stamp to the upper left corner of the envelope

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