自1840 年英人首創郵票與近代郵政以來，郵票即被視為代表一國政治、歷史與文化等諸多面向的「國家名片J '而郵票上的國號銘記正是用來辨識郵票的發行圓，以方便全球郵遞人員寄送郵物。1949 年後，中華民國與中華人民共和國同時以發行郵票的方式，持續對國內外宣傳自身為中國政權的唯一合法代表。其中，中國文字因其獨特的書寫方式與造型，致使兩地政權皆利用中國文字的視覺形象和書法傳統，來表述各自對中國政治與文化特色的觀點。本文將針對兩岸自1949 年以來所發行郵票上的「文字J 設計進行探討，一方面分析中國文字本身所具有的視覺政治符號性質，另一方面則檢視雙方利用政權領導者的書法題詞做為郵票設計，因而呈現出對中國固有文化的意識形態差異。以下四個議題將成為探討的重點: (一)作為代表郵票發行國的國號銘記的字型一一特別是「美術字體」一一在集郵界所引發的討論與爭議; (二)中文字造型本身所具有的文化和政治認同功能與意涵;金石書法藝術作為一個想像的中國文化/政治載體，體現在:的毛澤東書法所象徵的新中國意象，以及:個)蔣介石書法、上古文字與歷代書法郵票背後所隱喻的傳統中國文化價值觀。

Since the British invented the first postage stamp and established the modern postal system in 1840, postage stamps have been seen as “the namecards of a nation," representing the political, historical, and cu1tural aspects of a country. The name of the country inscribed on the postage stamp is designed for postal workers worldwide to be able to identify the nation issuing the stamp. From 1949 on, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China (China) have simultaneously been releasing postage stamps as domestic and international propaganda to assert their position as the sole legitimate Chinese regime. Each regime has exploited the unique visual effects of Chinese characters and the tradition of calligraphy in its postage stamps, so as to create a political and cultural “Chineseness" of its own. This article examines the design of Chinese characters in the postage stamps of both countries since 1949. The visual and political connotations of Chinese characters will be discussed, and different ideologies regarding traditional Chinese culture will also be revealed by analyzing the use of political leaders' calligraphy in postage stamp designs. Four main topics are covered in this article: (1) the philatelic discussions and debates about fonts, especially the so-called “ artistic fonts" to be used to print the national title on postage stamps, (2) the cultural and political functions and meanings of Chinese characters, (3) the symbol of New China in Mao Zedong's calligraphy, and (4) the traditional Chinese elite culture embodied in Chiang Kaishek's calligraphy, ancient Chinese characters, and celebrated calligraphic works from different dynasties.