Are Chinese stamps public domain?

It depends on the date and the designer. Anonymous Chinese stamps issued before 1931 are public domain in 2026, and that line moves forward one year each January. A stamp with a known designer is free 50 years after the designer's death, and those dates are usually not publicly known.

Are People's Republic of China stamps copyrighted?

Usually. People's Republic of China stamps are protected until 50 years after the designer's death, and when those dates are unknown, Commons treats the stamp as copyrighted by China Post or its affiliates. A stamp by a designer who died more than 50 years ago, such as Qi Baishi (died 1957), can be free.

Are Qing dynasty stamps public domain?

Yes, in the archive's reading. Qing dynasty stamps date from the Large Dragons of 1878 to the end of the empire after the 1911 revolution, all before the 1931 line. Anonymous Chinese stamps issued before 1931 are public domain as works published more than 95 years ago.

Are Manchukuo stamps public domain?

Yes, according to Commons. Stamps of Manchukuo and of the Wang Jingwei regime are public domain because the Chinese government regards both as puppet regimes and never recognized their copyright.

China

Are China stamps public domain?

Anonymous Chinese stamps issued before 1931 are public domain, in the archive's reading of Wikimedia Commons, and that line moves each January. A stamp with a known designer is free 50 years after the designer's death. Commons says those dates are usually not publicly known, and then treats a stamp as copyrighted by China Post or its affiliates.

Why 1931?

Commons accepts an anonymous Chinese stamp under one of its license tags if it was issued more than 95 years ago. Commons computes that line from the current year, so it moves forward each January; in 2026 it falls at January 1, 1931, and the archive currently answers by that date.¹² That tag covers anonymous works published more than 95 years ago, which are free in the United States and in any country whose term for anonymous works is that long or shorter.² China's term for a work of unknown authorship is 50 years from first publication, so the 95-year American line is the later of the two.¹ For a stamp whose designer is known, Commons counts 50 years from the designer's death instead.¹

Postal history and copyright

China's first postage stamps, the Large Dragons, were issued in 1878 by the post of the Imperial Maritime Customs, and the 1911 revolution was followed by overprints reading "Republic of China" on imperial stamps in 1912.³ Commons says the same copyright rules applied to mainland China and Taiwan until 1949, when the Republic of China government moved to Taiwan.¹ Stamps of Manchukuo and of the Wang Jingwei regime are a separate case: Commons calls them public domain, because the Chinese government regards both as puppet regimes and never recognized their copyright.¹ Communist authorities issued their own stamps in areas they held from 1930 on, and the People's Republic set up its postal administration in Beijing in 1949.³ Commons' note on stamps does not treat those regional issues separately.

References 3

↑ Copyright rules for China. Wikimedia Commons, October 6, 2026. Accessed October 8, 2026.
↑ Wikimedia Commons license tag (China). Wikimedia Commons, February 13, 2024. Accessed October 8, 2026.
↑ Postage stamps and postal history of China. Wikipedia, September 3, 2025. Accessed October 8, 2026.

Copyright law in China

China’s own stamps follow the rule below. The historical issuers named here are read under the country’s general copyright law. A design answers Likely yes or Likely no only when every term that could apply agrees, and Unclear when they disagree.

Named designer: 50 years after the designer’s death
Anonymous: 50 years from issue
Note: A work of an organization is protected for 50 years from publication. Mainland stamps should be treated as copyrighted by China Post unless the designer is known or the anonymous term has run out.

Historical issuers read under this law: Amoy, Canton (Indo-Chinese Post Office), Central China (Japanese Occupation), Central China (People's Post), Chefoo, China (British Post Offices), China (British Railway Administration), China (French Post Offices), China (German Post Offices), China (Indo-Chinese Post Offices), China (Japanese Post Offices), China (Russian Post Offices), China Expeditionary Force, Chinese Empire, Chinese Republic, Chinkiang, Chunking, East China (People's Post), Foochow, Fukien, Hankow, Hoi-Hao (Indo-Chinese Post Office), Honan (Japanese Occupation), Hopei (Japanese Occupation), Hunan, Hupeh, Ichang, Inner Mongolia (Japanese Occupation), Jammu and Kashmir, Japanese post in occupied China, Kansu, Kiangsi, Kiautschou, Kirin and Heilungkiang, Kiukiang, Kouang-Tcheou, Kwangsi, Kwangtung (Japanese Occupation), Manchuria, Mengkiang (Japanese Occupation), Mong-Tseu (Indo-Chinese Post Office), Nangking and Shanghai (Japanese Occupation), Nanking, North China (Japanese Occupation), North China (People's Post), North East China (People's Post), North Eastern Provinces, North West China (People's Post), Pakhoi (Indo-Chinese Post Office), Pechino (Italian Post Office), Port Arthur and Dairen, Shanghai, Shanghai (US Postal Agency), Shansi (Japanese Occupation), Shantung (Japanese Occupation), Shensi, Shensi-Kansu-Ninghsia, Sinkiang, South China (Japanese Occupation), South China (People's Post), South West China (People's Post), Supeh (Japanese Occupation), Szechwan, Tchongking (Indo - Chinese Post Office), Tibet, Tibet (Chinese Post Offices), Tientsin (French Post Office), Tientsin (Italian Post Office), Tientsin: Treaty port stamps from this city are regarded as bogus.<ref>S. A. Pappadopulo, Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue of China and Treaty Ports, Second Edition, Shanghai, Stephens Stamp. Co.,, Tsingtau, Wuhu, Yunnan, Yunnanfu (Indo-Chinese Post Office).

Read from Wikimedia Commons, copyright rules for China, revision 1283718584, checked October 8, 2026

The rule by period

PeriodRule

Any datePublic domain 95 years after the end of the year of issue when the stamp is anonymous; with a named designer, protected until 50 years after the death of the last designer or engraver.An anonymous stamp is public domain 95 years after the end of its year of issue, a line that moves forward each January (stamps issued before 1931 are free in 2026); a stamp with a known designer is free 50 years after the designer's death, as Commons counts it.

Sources Commons cites 1

中华人民共和国民法典 Civil Code of the People's Republic of China

China stamps and the public domain: questions

Are Chinese stamps public domain?: It depends on the date and the designer. Anonymous Chinese stamps issued before 1931 are public domain in 2026, and that line moves forward one year each January. A stamp with a known designer is free 50 years after the designer's death, and those dates are usually not publicly known.
Are People's Republic of China stamps copyrighted?: Usually. People's Republic of China stamps are protected until 50 years after the designer's death, and when those dates are unknown, Commons treats the stamp as copyrighted by China Post or its affiliates. A stamp by a designer who died more than 50 years ago, such as Qi Baishi (died 1957), can be free.
Are Qing dynasty stamps public domain?: Yes, in the archive's reading. Qing dynasty stamps date from the Large Dragons of 1878 to the end of the empire after the 1911 revolution, all before the 1931 line. Anonymous Chinese stamps issued before 1931 are public domain as works published more than 95 years ago.
Are Manchukuo stamps public domain?: Yes, according to Commons. Stamps of Manchukuo and of the Wang Jingwei regime are public domain because the Chinese government regards both as puppet regimes and never recognized their copyright.