China : Dates

Can someone explain the Chinese dates system please?

example:
this one on 20c reaper from 1913.

I notice many postmarks just have chinese script,
so examples like this one are for use on foreign mail?

Rod I assume you are talking about the 1S. Is it possible that it is 18 and reads 18-12-85 or 18 Dec 1885? Just guessing?

Wasn't Shanghai at the time a city that was very open to the west? That would explain the English on the postmark.

Jeff the stamp was issued 1913
Don't worry, I've done that before.

James, that may be the case, but I'll need to know if
shanghai used angclicised hammers, becuse other issues
are entirely in Chinese script.

That's it, I am taking my thinking ball and going home.

Reaching into the old bag of tricks, I came up with this



1947 cover from Yishan, in southern Chekiang/Zhejiang, to Shanghai. The Shanghai receiver is extremely faint, but I think I can just make out enough from it to say that it shows the date Chinese style. That suggests that your Shanghai CDS, Rod, may have been used on mail for foreign destinations, with local mail receiving Chinese dated CDSs.

I do not know any China postal history, will search some information about the usage of such Chinese-English dater. For the value, I guess it is not worth much because such dater from big city is very common in the market.

Here is a link about Chinese lunar calendar dater:
http://www.stampboards.com/viewtopi...f=10&t=21024

Thank you Tony, thank you ZhangCheng,
Not interested in value ZC, just the history.

A link about Chinese Postal Map Romanization from WIKIPEDIA:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chines...Romanization

Thankyou ZC,
very pertinent, I am currently doing a page on Tientsin.

Glad it is helpful to you Rod.