My information is found from different places, so it is quite messy. hey-hey. I also read it before posting and gained some knowledge.
In ancient my country, delivering letters on horseback was called postage. According to oracle bone inscriptions, postal stations already existed during the Shang Dynasty and were further improved during the Zhou Dynasty. At that time, there was a post station every 34 miles on the mail delivery road. There were horses in the post station, and horses and people could be changed at the station during the letter delivery process, so that
Official documents and letters from the government can be passed on from stop to stop.
my country's postal system has experienced the development of various dynasties in the Spring and Autumn Period, Han Dynasty, Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties. It was not until the middle of the Qing Dynasty that it gradually declined and was replaced by modern postal service.
This postal system of delivering letters on horseback also existed in other countries in ancient times. In the 14th century, there was a powerful but short-lived Timurid Empire in Central Asia. It was established by the descendants of the Mongols and controlled
including the current vast areas in India, Afghanistan, Iran and other places. The Tiebener Empire formulated a strict post system, which stipulated that the post envoys must travel 500 miles a day, and also granted the post envoys a special privilege. When exchanging horses, whether it is a relative of the emperor or an ordinary person, as long as the post envoy requests to exchange horses, he must exchange his own horse with the post envoy. If the post envoy fails, he will be punished by beheading. Within a period of time
Timur's army expanded its territory and won many battles, which was inseparable from the sound postal system and well-informed information.
The Post Office is a government communications organization. It is only allowed to transmit government documents and does not allow the transmission of private letters.
Due to the development of production and the needs of life, people's requirements for communication are becoming more and more urgent. Those who go abroad for business,
workers, soldiers who were forced to go on war years and those who were far away from home. People who are fleeing need to communicate with their families and friends. In particular, businessmen from all over the world urgently need communication in order to exchange business information, discuss trade, and send bills
etc. So the business of private letter delivery came into being. Around the time of the Tang Dynasty, there was a "post donkey" between Chang'an and Luoyang that specifically served merchants. At that time, there was also a method called flying money, which was that merchants from various places could deposit the money they earned from selling goods in Chang'an into various local government agencies in Chang'an. These institutions issue receipts to businessmen for depositing money. After the businessmen return to their places with the receipts, they can use the receipts to withdraw money from local government offices. This eliminates the risk of money being robbed by robbers on the road. In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, a private postal service called "Ma Xiang Yue" appeared in the southwest. At that time, many people from other provinces immigrated
to Sichuan Province, which is sparsely populated and fertile. Especially in Xiaogan, Hubei Province, the largest number of people migrated. Although they settled
in Sichuan, they were still very few. I miss my relatives in my hometown, so I hold regular gatherings every year and elect representatives to visit my hometown and visit my relatives. I also help my fellow villagers carry letters and packages. As time goes by, it has become a tradition. So
people simply established a trading company called "Ma Xiang Yue", which was responsible for delivering packages and letters for people, and also
operating in cargo transportation.
During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, a professional private mail agency—the Civil Information Bureau—appeared among the people. The emergence of the Civil Information Bureau
is the inevitable result of the increasing development of private trade and non-governmental exchanges. The Civil Information Bureau first appeared in the famous port city of Ningbo. Industry and commerce are developed there, and it is an important town for water and land transportation. Many local people go out to do business and become officials. At that time, people in Ningbo and Shaoxing were spread all over the country, and letters were exchanged very frequently between them. However, it was very inconvenient for people to send letters to others, and it took a long time for a letter to reach the recipient.
In this context, the Civil Information Bureau was born. Because it has adapted to the needs of the situation, the Civil Information Bureau has developed rapidly
. Soon, many people's trust bureaus were established in various parts of the country, especially in big cities and some coastal ports. These civil information bureaus generally have a certain jurisdiction, and long-distance mail often requires cooperation between several civil information bureaus to deliver the mail to the destination. At that time, the Civil Information Bureau had a wide range of operations, including delivering letters and parcels, exchanging money, and even consigning some large items. The Civil Information Bureau developed into its heyday during the reign of Xianfeng and Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty. There were thousands of large and small Civil Information Bureaus across the country. In the coastal areas of Guangdong and Fujian, there is also a civil information bureau - Overseas Chinese Approval Bureau - that specifically serves overseas Chinese. At that time
Many poor people were forced to cross the ocean to make a living in foreign countries due to the pressure of life. Although they were overseas
they still cared about their homeland and needed to communicate with their hometown. They need to communicate with their relatives and send money and items back to them. In order to meet the needs of these people, the Civil Information Bureau has established an agency specifically to handle communication and remittance services for overseas Chinese. It is only called "xin" because "xin" is pronounced as "batch" in Fujian dialect. Overseas Chinese Approval Bureau".
The Qing Post Office, a post office with modern significance, was officially established in 1896. It was founded by Hurd, an Englishman who occupied the power of customs and taxation in our country at that time. His purpose is not to help my country develop its postal communications industry, but to further plunder China's wealth. In the following decades, from
Englishman Hurd to Frenchman Li and Tessland, the imperialist powers have been controlling China's postal service,
and extracting endless benefits from it. of wealth. But when they were forced to return this sovereignty to the Chinese government, they claimed that the Chinese government owed them more than 1.84 million taels of silver. At that time, another way that imperialist countries violated my country's postal sovereignty was by setting up institutions called "guest mail" in China. These institutions nominally provide postal services to expatriates from Britain, France, the United States, Germany, Russia, Japan and other countries in China, but in fact they use An intelligence network that collects political, military, economic, cultural and other information.
Under the exclusion and suppression of imperialism, my country's civil postal organizations were gradually weakened and finally ceased operations in 1935
.
Only after liberation, the postal service truly gained new life. Under the leadership of the People's Government, the coverage of my country's postal services has been rapidly expanded. Today, whether in the city or in the countryside, we can see postal messengers delivering letters and newspapers to us, even in the most remote mountainous areas
Follow the postman's footsteps. On the other hand, my country's postal equipment is also constantly being updated. Cars, trains, ships, and airplanes have all become postal transportation tools. Many post offices have installed automatic sorting machines, strips, etc.
With modern equipment such as font code recognition machines and newspaper retail machines, the ancient postal industry is developing vigorously
.
Feng Huo Chuan Military Information
The speed of transmitting information by people is very limited. Even on horseback, it is only 60 kilometers per hour at most.
So in communication Changes in methods are inevitable.
As early as more than 3,000 years ago, people in the Central Plains of my country built the world's earliest fireworks alarm communication device in order to prevent and resist harassment from ethnic minorities in the northwest frontier
—Beacon tower. The beacon tower is
a stone fortress more than ten meters high made of stones, with firewood and wolf dung piled on it. There are soldiers on it at all times
for observation and lookout. Once the enemy is discovered, firewood is lit at night to make the flames soar into the sky; wolf dung is lit during the day, because when the dung burns, the smoke rises vertically and can be seen far away, so it is also called beacon fire
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It means wolf smoke (there is still an idiom "wolf smoke rising everywhere" to this day). Wang Wei, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, once wrote a famous poem: "The solitary smoke in the desert is straight, and the sun sets over the long river." The beacon communication system is composed of many beacon towers connected in series one after another. There is a certain interval between them. Whenever an emergency occurs, a beacon fire is lit. When the next beacon tower sees the beacon signal in front, it will also light a beacon fire to inform the next one, and so on from front to back.
The warning was quickly spread from the border to the hinterland, and the people of the Central Plains could be prepared to resist the enemy early.
Beacons can not only indicate an alarm, but also reflect certain information, such as the use of smoke
The difference in the number of fires and the time interval between each firework can roughly indicate the enemy's intentions< /p>
Number, orientation and other contents. As long as the definition of each combination is specified in advance, FiberHome can transmit a certain amount of alarm information.
History books once recorded an interesting story about the war. King Zhou You, the last ruler of the Western Zhou Dynasty, was a mediocre king. He ignored government affairs but indulged in women all day long. He had a beloved concubine named Bao Si, who was a beauty whose beauty could be found in the country. However, in front of King Zhou You, she always had a cold face and did not show a smile.
King Zhou You tried his best but could not make Bao Si smile, so he set up a reward of a thousand gold coins to make Bao Si smile.
This is the origin of the idiom "a thousand gold coins smile" . Later, a minister under King You came up with an idea.
Let King You take Bao Si to hold a banquet in the palace of Lishan Mountain, and at the same time ordered people to light the beacon fire. At that time, various princes
< p>When they saw Fenghuo, they thought that foreigners were coming to invade Haojing (the capital of the Western Zhou Dynasty), so they came with their troops to reinforce Xingye. When they arrived at Haojing, they realized that they had been fooled by King You, so they had to lead their troops one by one. return. Seeing the groups of soldiersbusy coming and going, Baoxiang showed a smile as expected. King You was very happy for this and rewarded the soldier
Minister. But a heavy price was soon paid. Not long after, the Quanrong tribe in the west really came to attack. King Zhou You ordered people to light beacon fires to call the police again. However, the princes thought that they had learned the lesson from the last time.
King You was teasing everyone again, but no one came to help, and the Western Zhou Dynasty was destroyed.
From this ancient
story, we can see that under the conditions of underdeveloped material conditions at that time, Fenghuo Communication had developed into a fairly complete system. From the Zhou Dynasty The capital has been leading to various vassal states, and it also played a very important role in its application.
In the future, various feudal dynasties attached great importance to the communication method of beacon fire. After Qin Shihuang unified China,
undertaken a huge project - building the Great Wall. The Great Wall is not only a barrier against the invasion of northern nomads, but also a beacon communication system. A beacon tower is built every 200 meters or so on the Great Wall. We can imagine that when the beacon fire passed on the majestic ancient Great Wall, the scene stretching thousands of miles must have been spectacular! There is a sentence like this in a Tang poem: "Watch the beacon fire in several places on the lonely mountain, and the strong men are waiting for the drums and drums in the company camp." After Qin Shihuang built the Great Wall, all dynasties and dynasties stationed large numbers of troops along the Great Wall, and repaired the Great Wall many times. The last large-scale reconstruction was in the Ming Dynasty. Today,
the Great Wall has lost its original role, but it still has symbolic significance. The beacon towers are like monuments
showing my country's developed ancient civilization. It also shows the diligence and wisdom of the ancient Chinese people.
Fiberhome communication is transmitted at the speed of light between each station, so it should belong to the category of optical communication. The speed of light
is 300,000 kilometers per second, which is obviously faster than a horse. Walking by foot is much faster. There are also records of using light to communicate in the ancient history of other countries in the world. More than 1,000 years ago, the Algerians used huge bronze mirrors to reflect sunlight to transmit information. The ancient Greek historian Polybius invented a method of using light to communicate. He built many tall towers in ancient Greece. There were 5 holes cut into the high walls of each adjacent tower. Each hole could be light or dark, and the 5 holes had different light and shade. The combination of a *** can have 2 to the 5th power of 5
variations, that is, a *** can have 32 variations. The Greek a*** has 24 letters, with each
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This combination represents a word that can completely transmit these 24 letters, so that the transmission of letters one by one
can be connected into a complete sentence, and the information is just like this. It was passed on from station to station.
This method of communication can be said to be the prototype of modern telegraphy. In principle, modern telegraphy is no different from ancient Greek
Optical communication, but the means used are different. One is to use light, and the other is to use electricity.
Flying "postman"
In ancient times, transportation was very underdeveloped. It was better in plain areas, but in mountainous areas, communication was just one.
It's quite a headache. People are very envious of birds flying freely in the sky. If birds can become human postmen, communication will naturally be much faster. Pigeons are the earliest domesticated birds
birds that are good at long-distance flying. Their memory is very good. Even if they are taken thousands of miles away, they can also
cross mountains, rivers, forests and Ocean, fly back to your home. According to records, in 1980 a Portuguese
brought a South African pigeon to Lisbon, Portugal. However, the homing pigeon set out from Lisbon and flew over the The Mediterranean Sea and the entire African continent, it finally returned to its home in Pretoria, South Africa, a journey of nine thousand kilometers. According to research by scientists, the brain of pigeons is very sensitive to the distribution of the earth's magnetic field. It can find the route to fly home by identifying the magnetic field. Pigeons are very hardy
birds. Although they were sleeping in the open air along the way and the weather was unpredictable, sometimes the wind was howling, and sometimes it was pouring
heavy rain, they could still survive. Keep moving forward and never give up until you reach your goal. Sometimes due to the harsh natural conditions
the pigeons delivering the letter did not get any water along the way, but they still tried their best to fly to the finish line. Pigeons often die from overwork when the owner gets the letter.
The earliest carrier pigeon communication in historical records was in 43 BC, when the ancient Roman general Antony led troops to siege
Mutin City. At that time, the Roman army surrounded the city of Mutin with three layers inside and three outside. The defenders trapped inside the city were unable to send anyone to contact the reinforcements outside the city. At this time, the garrison commander Belute thought of pigeons. He tied the emergency message to the pigeon's leg and let the pigeon fly through the enemy's siege to deliver the news to the reinforcements. The reinforcements received accurate information and finally made peace with the defenders in the city, repelling Anthony's army.
There are also examples of the use of pigeon communication in modern military history. During World War I, the French and German armies fought fiercely in the foothills of the Alps. Several regiments of French troops were besieged by several times the number of German troops in the birch forests west of the Alps. In order to allow friendly forces to get information and come to the rescue, the French army released more than a dozen pigeons to report the news.
The German army discovered this situation and immediately shot the pigeons. Most of the pigeons were shot down, but two pigeons braved a hail of bullets and went through hardships to reach their destination. The French troops in these regiments were also rescued. After the war, in order to commemorate these heroic and fearless carrier pigeons, the French built a pigeon monument for them. To this day, French people still love pigeons very much, and raising pigeons is very common. Many wild pigeons can fly freely on the square streets and coexist peacefully with people. Many tourists also bought pigeons’ favorite food and spread it on the square for the pigeons to eat. Therefore, France
is also known as the "Kingdom of Pigeons".
Raising homing pigeons also has a long history in our country. The use of carrier pigeons for communication is also recorded in history books.
In 1128 AD, Zhang Jun, the general of the Southern Song Dynasty, once inspected the camp of his subordinate Qu Duan. When he arrived at the military camp, there was no soldier. He was very angry and told Qu Duan that he wanted to inspect his army. Qu Duan immediately
Submit the rosters of the five armies under your command. Zhang Jun pointed to the roster and said that I wanted to inspect the First Army. Qu Duan
unhurriedly opened the cage and released a carrier pigeon. In an instant, the officers and soldiers of the First Army were fully armed and rushed quickly
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To. Zhang Jun was shocked and said, "I want to see your entire army." Qu Duan released four more homing pigeons, and the other four armies were also summoned.
Not only pigeons, but also wild geese can deliver letters. Nowadays, postmen who deliver letters are often called "Hong
geese." During the Han Dynasty, there was a very interesting story about a swan goose passing a message. In 100 AD, the Han Dynasty minister Su Wu sent an envoy to the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu Chanyu admired Su Wu's talents and wanted to force Su Wu to surrender to the Xiongnu, but Su Wuyan refused. So the Chanyu detained Su Wu, and then exiled him to the desolate Beihai (today's Beijiaer Lake) to herd sheep. He told him that whenever the ram gave birth to a lamb, he would be herded. He returned to Han Dynasty. Su Wu grazed cattle in the Beihai area for nineteen years. Although he endured hardships, he never gave in to Shanyu. Later, Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty
made peace with the Xiongnu. The envoy from the Han Dynasty who was sent to the Xiongnu asked about Su Wu. The Shanyu lied and said that Su Wu was dead.
But the envoy inquired privately. When Su Wu arrived, he was still herding sheep in Beihai, so he reported the situation to Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty after he returned. At that time, Huo Guang came up with a plan and sent another envoy to Shan Yu: "The Emperor of the Han Dynasty liked hunting. Once he shot down a wild goose with a letter tied to its leg. , it was a letter written by Su Wu himself. It said that Su Wu was still alive and was now shepherding sheep in Beihai." After hearing this, the Chanyu saw that he could not deny it, so he had to release Su Wu. Although this is just a strategy of Huo Guang, it is conceivable that someone must have been using the wild geese to pass the message at that time. Otherwise, this story would have no basis and Huo Guang would not have thought of such a strategy.
The Chanyu will not be gullible either. It is said that there are nearly a hundred wild ducks that have been trained by humans to serve as "postmen" in some post offices in Texas, USA, responsible for delivering letters.
Kite Message
Kite is a great invention of our ancestors. It can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It is said that the famous carpenter Lu Ban imitated the shape of a bird, "cutting bamboo into a magpie, and then it flew away for three days." Mozi also made a "wooden magpie" kite". These are the predecessors of kites. After Cai Lun invented papermaking in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the "paper kite", commonly known as the kite, appeared. The reason why it is called a kite is because people often tie a bamboo flute to the paper kite.
When it is flown, the bamboo flute will make a sound like a kite when the wind blows it.
Kites are not just entertainment tools, they have also played a great role in the military. During the great battle between Chu and Han at Gaixia at the end of the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang, king of Han, besieged Xiang Yu, the overlord of Chu, in Gaixia City. Xiang Yu's army was surrounded by Han troops on all sides, with no food and grass, and no men or horses. Several breakthroughs failed. In order to undermine the morale of the Chu army, the King of Han ordered people to fly kites in the sky near the city at night. A bamboo flute was placed on the kite. When the night wind blew, the sound of the flute was desolate, and the Han soldiers sang Chu songs to the sound of the flute. The Chu troops in the city thought that Chu State had been captured by the Han army, and no longer wanted to fight, so they all left the city and surrendered to the Han army. Although Xiang Yu broke out of the siege with hundreds of people, he felt that he had no face to see Jiangdong's elders again, and finally committed suicide on the bank of Wujiang River.
History books also record examples of real use of kites for communication. "New Book of Tang" writes such a story: In 782 AD, Tian Yue, the military governor of the Tang Dynasty, launched a rebellion and led troops to surround Linluo City. The imperial court sent Ma Sui They went to rescue, but Tian Yue's army was tightly sealed and could not get in touch with the defenders in the city. At this time
the defender generals came up with an ingenious way to tie letters for communication to kites and fly them in the direction where the reinforcements were stationed. The rebels saw the kite and understood the defender's intention, so they shot arrows at the kite. Unfortunately, the kite flew too high and was beyond the reach of the rebels.
After the defenders contacted the reinforcements, they cooperated internally and externally, and quickly repelled the rebels and solved the siege of Linluo.
Audio communication
In the process of human understanding of the objective world, 70% of the information is obtained through the visual organ-eyes
20% The remaining few percent of information is obtained through the hearing organ - the ear, and the remaining few percent of information is obtained through the sense of touch, smell, taste and other organs. Therefore, in the development of communication forms, using sound to communicate
also has great potential. In modern communications, the telephone utilizes the hearing organ. Many attempts were made in audio communication in ancient times. For example, in ancient Chinese wars, when two armies were fighting, they often used sounds to convey orders, such as beating drums to advance troops, calling gold to withdraw troops, etc. This is because during a war, the enemy and we are in a melee
together, and the personnel are intertwined. It is very difficult to rely on people to convey orders, but when the war drum sounds, a hundred responses can be answered at once. In modern armies, we can still see the use of sound to transmit signals. For example, when attacking
the trumpeter will blow a loud charge horn, blow out the lights when going to bed at night, and blow the wake-up call in the morning.
In ancient times, because there was no writing and transportation was inconvenient, audio communication was more commonly used
Almost every home of some indigenous tribes in Africa has long drums and ivory horns, and many big and small things are connected by playing drums. Each tribe has a rather complex "drum language", and different drum sounds and beats
represent different meanings. There are even people in the tribe who are responsible for playing drums. When they convey information, they must be accurate and skillful, otherwise they will make a joke. Once, a pair of young people were going to hold a wedding in the West Sama Village of the Oniko tribe on the banks of the Congo River. The drummer who was responsible for delivering the message was a novice. The wrong news was sent, and everyone thought someone was holding a funeral, so they rushed over with sacrifices.
At the end of the 19th century, British colonialists invaded the Sultanate. The Sudanese resisted and defeated the British army in the capital Kashimu.
The good news immediately spread throughout the country through the sound of drums. Sudan's neighboring country Ethiopia
Obia also issued a national emergency mobilization order using the sound of drums, calling on people across the country to prepare for battle to face the invading Italian army. army.
Stamps are the product of modern postal services. The history of the postal service is much longer than that of stamps. As early as more than 2,000 years ago, my country had a postal institution in the Zhou Dynasty. At that time, it was called Wuyou or Yi, and collectively it was called Post. Confucius once said: "The prevalence of virtue is faster than sending orders by post." This postal system lasted for more than 2,000 years and was maintained until 1912 when it was abolished.
my country's ancient postal stations only delivered official government documents and military reports. Postage was not charged and there was no need to issue stamps. However, in order to distinguish the authenticity and ensure the accuracy and safety of the transmission, the system of talismans has been stipulated in the past dynasties, and the talismans are used to prove that the documents transmitted are authentic. Bamboo charms were used in the Zhou Dynasty, bronze charms were used in the Han Dynasty, silver charms were used in the Tang Dynasty, and wooden tablets were used in the Song Dynasty, with lacquer writing, including gold-letter tablets, green-letter tablets, and red-letter tablets. The gold plate can travel 400 miles a day and is only used to deliver imperial orders and military secret documents. J135 "The Second Congress of the All-China Philatelic Federation" commemorative stamp. The stamp pattern is the Tiger Festival during the Warring States Period. There is an inscription on the tiger's body, "The king's order is passed on", which means to convey the king's orders and provide carriages, horses and food. This kind of tiger festival is the same as the tiger charm. It is divided into two parts. One half is sent to the courier delivering military documents, and the other half is sent to the post station or checkpoint to check whether it is consistent and to determine the authenticity.
There was also a single-order system in the Qing Dynasty. Official documents or military reports delivered at the inns are all accompanied by a "schedule" or "train ticket". Each station along the way must fill in the arrival date and time to check whether there is any delay. On December 28, 1904 (the 30th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty), the envelope of official documents sent from Yuanzhou, Hunan to Chenzhou was attached with the order form and the date and time of arrival at each post station were filled in.
The "General Fire Ticket" from Jilin to Zhili (today's Hebei Province) on October 4, 1906 (the 32nd year of Guangxu).
The ancient postal stations were run by the government, but they did not accept or send letters from ordinary people. If ordinary people want to send letters, they can only rely on acquaintances to send them letters, which is very difficult. During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty (1403-1424), the People's Information Bureau began to appear to deliver letters to the people. Civil credit bureaus are private commercial organizations. Those with large capital will set up branches, affiliates or agents in various places to form a certain local communication network; those with small capital will establish contact with other civil credit bureaus to receive and receive deliveries from each other. letter. In addition to delivering letters, the Civil Information Bureau also handles parcels, exchange and other services. The Civil Information Bureau does not have a unified charging standard, nor does it have a unified stamp. The rates charged by the Civil Information Bureau for receiving and sending letters are not exactly the same. Some are received in advance, and some are paid by the recipient when the letter is received. Some of the fees for receiving and shipping are called liquor allowance or liquor power, and some are called number fees. Receipt from the Civil Information Bureau for mail received and mailed.
The situation in Europe is similar to that in my country. More than 2,000 years ago, the Greek historian Herodotus once praised the postmen and said: "No matter rain, snow, wind, frost, scorching heat or winter, or night, nothing can stop the messengers from completing their mails quickly." At that time, the postal service was the prerogative of the king. It was used to send letters and deliver messages to the royal family and courtiers. Later, as commerce developed, the post office gradually developed to be used by merchants.
By the Middle Ages, some churches, schools, and businesses in Europe began to operate letter delivery services, sending letters to the general public. At that time, the Civil Information Bureau did not charge postage in advance when delivering letters. Instead, the postage was collected from the recipient after the letter was delivered.
In the mid-17th century, the French Civil Information Bureau was already very developed. In 1653, a man named MONSIEUR DE VELAYER (later Earl) established a "small post office" in Paris to receive and send letters within the city limits of Paris. He sold users a piece of paper with "Postage Paid" printed on it. The sender attaches this piece of paper to the envelope and puts it in the mailbox. The "little post office" opens the mailbox regularly and delivers letters to the recipients. The "postage paid" piece of paper created by de Villale can be said to be the prototype of the current stamp. It is a pity that the "small post office" he founded ceased operations soon. His method of issuing "stamps" and collecting postage in advance did not stick to it. It was not until 1814 that the Kingdom of Sardinia (in today's Italy) adopted De Vie again. Using the method of pulling leaves, a "STAMPED paper" (STAMPED
PAPER) was issued, which was sold at post offices everywhere as a voucher for prepaid postage. The sender could affix it to the envelope and send the letter. The postage was calculated based on the delivery distance. At that time, the "postmark paper" had three denominations, namely 15 cents, 25 cents and 50 cents. The 50 cent "postmark paper" was octagonal, with the pattern of a messenger riding a horse and blowing a horn. , Mercedes-Benz delivery, printed in blue on smooth white paper, with watermarks printed on the inside. This kind of "postmark paper" has a large circulation, but it was implemented for a short time, and there are very few left because the letter in the pattern looks like it. Knight stamps are called "Knight" stamps by stamp collectors and are regarded as treasures.
At the end of the 18th century, many European countries successively implemented state-run postal services, and their business developed, but they still followed the methods of private postal bureaus. Postage was charged to the recipient. However, because some countries had different currency systems at that time, it was very difficult to convert each other. Postage was expensive and the people could not afford it. Legend has it that in 1835, there was a young and beautiful girl on the island of Great Britain, who was famous far and wide. Many suitors wrote to her to express their love for her. The girl received dozens of letters every day and paid a lot of postage. , unbearable. So she refused to accept the mail and did not pay the postage. At that time, there were many cases where the post office failed to receive the postage and suffered a lot of losses.
There is also a legend. One day in 1838, a British man named Sir Rowland Hill (later Sir) was walking in the countryside of London. He saw a messenger delivering a letter to a girl. The girl looked at the envelope, returned the letter to the messenger, and said apologetically: "I'm sorry, I don't have money to pay the postage, please return the letter!" "The messenger refused, and the two of them argued. Roland Hill came forward to persuade him, paid the postage, and handed the letter to the girl. After the messenger left, the girl said to Roland Hill: "This letter belongs to me. Sent by my brother. We made an appointment in advance. If he was safe and sound, we would draw a circle on the envelope. When I saw this mark, I knew he was safe and sound, so there was no need to accept the letter and I would not pay the postage. "Roland Hill was deeply touched after hearing what the girl said, and determined to study and improve the method of postal delivery of fees.