The Shenzhen Museum received two rare postage stamps commemorating Sun Yat-sen, widely regarded as the father of modern China, from Chinese-American writer Zhao Sihong on Wednesday.

The stamps were released by United States Postage in 1942 and 1961 respectively.

Ye Yang, vice head of the Shenzhen Museum, said he had never seen such stamps in Shenzhen before.

The 1942 stamp, with a face value of five cents, was printed in Denver, Colorado. It was released to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the start of China¡¯s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in 1937.

The stamp contains the portraits of Sun and former American President Abraham Lincoln, along with the Three People¡¯s Principles as laid down by Sun, namely nationalism, democracy and the people¡¯s livelihood, in traditional Chinese characters. It also contains Lincoln¡¯s famous doctrine ¡°of the people, by the people and for the people.¡±

¡°Denver is not a traditionally Chinese-clustered area, but it was of special significance for Sun, as he was in Denver when the 1911 revolution in China broke out and overthrew the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912),¡± said Zhao.

She said she bought the stamp through an Internet auction, but did not disclose how much she paid for it.

The four-cent 1961 stamp bears only the portrait of Sun. It was released to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1911 uprising.

¡°The two types of stamps are very rarely seen in the United States. But I managed to buy them to donate to a museum or library back in China, as I think they are of great historical value to Chinese people,¡± said Zhao.

A Guangdong native, she has donated many historical documents or relics to museums in the province.

Editor: Yan