Philatelic culture is a theme culture. It is a scientific summary and essential embodiment of the ideological, artistic, historical, intellectual and entertaining nature of stamp collecting. It is an ideology that takes stamps as the main carrier and reflects the achievements of material civilization created in the process of human historical practice. Therefore, stamp collecting culture is the embodiment and summary of the essence of stamp collecting and stamp collecting activities. The essence and connotation of philatelic culture determine the diversity of philatelic culture. ?

1. Stamp collecting and stamp collecting culture?

Stamp collecting is a social and cultural activity, but it is not exactly the same as stamp collecting culture. What we usually call stamp collecting generally refers to "stamp collecting activities", which is a cultural activity of collection, appreciation and research marked by the appearance of stamps. The original intention of human beings to create stamps is as a voucher for paying postage. When it completes the communication process and the mission of paying postage, it loses its significance to postal communication. People find it still has the value of appreciation and collection, so since the birth of the first stamp in the world, people have started collecting stamps, which is a collection activity. This stamp collecting activity originated from postal service. The early stamp collecting activities did not constitute a social phenomenon because of the small number of participants and little impact on society. Philatelic activities at that time were not enough to form a philatelic culture. ?

With the rapid development of postal service, the design of stamps is becoming more and more exquisite, and the printing technology is also constantly improving. As a kind of postage certificate and artwork, stamps are loved by more and more people and attract more and more people to join the ranks of stamp collecting. Philatelic activities have developed from collecting stamps at first to taking stamps as the main body, including collecting, sorting out, appreciating and studying stamp products related to stamps and postal supplies. People know the world through the small window of stamps, and get inspiration by sorting out and studying stamp products, which makes stamp collecting activities rise to the level of cultural activities. ?

It can be seen that stamp collecting has dual attributes, which are determined by the characteristics of stamps themselves. Although stamp collecting has the dual attributes of economy and culture, with the continuous development of postal service and the progress of human civilization, stamp collecting has developed to a higher level. According to the law of human society's understanding of the objective material world, people's understanding of the dual attributes of stamp collecting activities is bound to tilt towards its cultural value. We can think that stamp collecting culture is the essence of stamp collecting activities. ?

Second, the social function of stamp collecting culture?

Stamp collecting has gradually become a social and cultural activity all over the world. The reason is that stamp collecting is first of all a social and cultural phenomenon, involving a wide range and a large number of participants. Human society is a huge system with multi-level and diversified structure, and stamp collecting activities existing in social life will inevitably interact with many other factors of the whole society. On the one hand, stamp collecting activities have different degrees of influence on social consciousness, social morality, social customs, social communication and social organization. On the other hand, social system, social changes, social life style, social norms and social policies have a direct constraint and adjustment effect on stamp collecting activities, which stipulates the nature and scale of stamp collecting activities and the development direction of stamp collecting culture. ?

To sum up, the social function of stamp collecting culture is self-evident. Today, people agree that the social functions of stamp collecting culture include political radiation, economic accumulation, social communication, normative restraint, propaganda and guidance, spiritual and cultural functions, physical and mental adjustment, entertainment and education, cognitive aesthetics and historical materials accumulation. ?

The social function of philatelic culture is also reflected in the following aspects:

Social structure of stamp collecting groups. In order to carry out stamp collecting activities, people usually take a community or the whole society as a unit to form an association to carry out organized stamp collecting activities or stamp collecting culture research. Through the multi-level analysis of the social structure of this stamp collecting group, we can understand the stamp collecting views, stamp collecting purposes, stamp collecting methods and so on of different types of stamp collectors. ?

The social role of stamp collectors. Social communication is the basic way for stamp collectors to participate in stamp collecting activities to meet special social needs. Philatelic enthusiasts form groups in mutual communication, learn to exchange postal knowledge, exchange philatelic products, exchange information and encourage each other. Only by socializing can stamp collectors establish an interactive mechanism and effectively promote the development of stamp collecting culture. ?

Social organization of stamp collecting activities. Stamp collecting is an activity with wide social influence. The social organizations of philatelic activities in China are mainly undertaken by philatelic associations at all levels under the postal departments of provinces, cities and counties. In this way, philatelic associations at all levels have a dual identity. On the one hand, they organize and manage stamp collecting activities on behalf of the national postal department, on the other hand, they safeguard their legitimate rights and interests and fulfill their due obligations on behalf of stamp collectors of the Association. ?

In a word, the social function of stamp collecting culture is an important part of stamp collecting culture, and it also enriches and develops stamp collecting culture. ?

Third, the educational function of philatelic culture?

Stamps are known as "national business cards" and "encyclopedias". The political, historical, artistic, cultural, military and economic aspects of a country or region can be used as the theme of issuing stamps. While stamps bring people aesthetic interest, their educational function is self-evident. ?

It has improved people's patriotic enthusiasm and strengthened the concept of the country. ?

Through the spread of philatelic culture, people know and understand the history and culture of the country from stamps or philatelic activities, and have an unprecedented patriotic enthusiasm for the country. Through the comparison of various philatelic cultures, the concept of the country has been further enhanced, and the pride of China people has been enhanced. The materialized educational function of this philatelic culture is incomparable to any form of patriotic education. ?

It improves the friendly relationship between people, strengthens people's group concept and makes people get along more harmoniously. ?

It is advocated that every philatelist should join philatelic associations at all levels. Within the association, everyone uses stamp products as a medium to make friends and make friends. Because stamp collecting culture is also a popular culture in a sense. Through collective stamp collecting activities, such as organizing stamp collecting, participating in stamp exhibitions and discussing stamp knowledge, people become friendly to each other. This process of communication between stamp collectors is itself a process of education. ?

Improve the cultural quality of stamp collectors and enhance their artistic accomplishment. ?

The educational function of stamp collecting culture is also reflected in the improvement of the cultural quality of stamp collectors. By collecting and sorting stamp products, stamp collectors are systematically enlightened and educated. When the philatelic products are collected to a certain extent, the philatelic products are rich and the postal knowledge is increased, stamp collecting begins, which is a transformation process from perceptual to rational, from quantitative change to qualitative change. Philatelic enthusiasts assemble and process their own philatelic products to create philatelic works with educational value for individuals and society, and at the same time greatly improve their artistic accomplishment. ?

Fourth, the aesthetic function of philatelic culture?

The aesthetic function of stamp collecting culture is not only an objective reflection of the artistic beauty of stamp collecting products, but also a subjective creation of stamp collectors. Philatelic enthusiasts with noble moral character show people a beautiful and noble artistic realm through carefully arranged stamp collections and colorful philatelic activities. Fully arouse people's imagination of beauty, so that people can experience richer, deeper and nobler beauty emotionally and spiritually. ?

It can be said that a stamp, a stamp collection and even a stamp collection activity can get a kind of beauty from it, and it is not only the beauty of art, but also the beauty of stamp collectors' thoughts, sentiments, spirits and behaviors. It can inspire people's feelings of loving the motherland, society and work, and inspire people's enthusiasm for making progress. ?

The beauty of stamps is objective, because what it reflects is objective, and its theme is not imagined by people and does not depend on people's subjective will. The objective things it expresses are objective, such as mountains, lakes, people and things. ?

The vivid pictures of stamps vividly depict the magnificent rivers and mountains and the magnificent scenery of the motherland, which often gives people an artistic infection with immersive beauty. And this kind of beauty expressed through stamps can arouse people's happy feelings and stimulate people's happy mood. People can get a good feeling by enjoying stamps. ?

Studying the aesthetic education function of stamp collecting culture can also strengthen the aesthetic education of stamp collectors, improve their aesthetic consciousness, effectively organize healthy and beneficial stamp collecting activities and give full play to the educational function of stamp collecting culture. ?

5. Philatelic culture and commodity consciousness?

Philatelic culture and commodity consciousness are complementary and interactive. To understand the relationship between philatelic culture and commodity consciousness, we must first understand the attributes of philatelic culture. On the one hand, stamps, as postage certificates and collectibles, are commodities and of course have the attributes of commodities. On the other hand, stamps, as works of art, are collected, appreciated and studied by stamp collectors, and also have cultural attributes. At the same time, stamps, as postage certificates and commodities, meet people's material needs. As a work of art, it meets the needs of people's spiritual life to a certain extent. And through people's collection activities, it affects people's spiritual world and affects people's thoughts, concepts and sentiments. ?

Philatelic culture and commodity consciousness are complementary and inseparable. Those who think that stamp collectors should not have commodity consciousness often separate the relationship between stamp collecting culture and commodity consciousness. They believe that when stamp products reach the hands of stamp collectors, their commodity attributes disappear and become pure works of art. Although stamps have left the circulation field and become art collections in the hands of stamp collectors, their economic value has not disappeared at this time. Most philatelic products have not lost their economic value, but will increase in value with the passage of time and the exertion of their cultural functions. It can also enter the circulation market again and become a de facto commodity. Knowing this, we can't deny the commodity consciousness of stamp collecting. ?

In the postal exhibition rules, there is a saying that the rarity of stamp products is directly related to the recognition of goods. ?

Philatelic culture and commodity consciousness are not contradictory, nor does it mean that philatelic activities are completely commercialized. This means that the relationship between them is inseparable, not completely opposite. In today's market economy, enterprises and culture are always married. There is a saying that "culture sets the stage, economic and trade singing opera", which means that any cultural phenomenon is related to economic phenomenon. In stamp collecting activities, postal associations at all levels also have a certain sense of commodity, such as helping stamp collectors book tickets, organizing stamp auction activities, and promoting stamp products by using stamp exhibitions, which should all be regarded as commodity awareness. Therefore, it is necessary to understand that culture is the superstructure, economy is the foundation, and so is the relationship between stamp collecting culture and stamp collectors and stamp collecting products. ?

As an artistic carrier, stamps require paying attention to social benefits, and have a positive impact on stamp collectors and society through various stamp collecting activities, thus enriching people's cultural life. Because the essential attribute of stamp collecting is cultural attribute, the core of social value of stamp collecting is cultural value, but this does not rule out the commodity consciousness of stamp collecting culture itself. Therefore, people should regard stamps as a special commodity not only in theory but also in practice. And this special commodity has many value transformation processes. Therefore, while promoting stamp collecting culture, we can't ignore the commodity consciousness of stamp collecting. ?

Study stamp collecting culture historically and dialectically?

In the organism of stamp collecting culture, stamp collectors are the subject, stamps are the object, and values are the link between subject and object. ?

First of all, the exchange and sale of stamps as collectibles is the realization of the value of philatelic products, a philatelic activity and a cultural act. Postage tickets are just a kind of valuable securities and a symbol of value in the process of mailing. However, once it is collected by stamp collectors, it has injected the hard work and labor of stamp collectors, and it contains the feelings and values of stamp collectors. This constitutes the value of the stamp products themselves. Because the stamp products collected by stamp collectors are divorced from postal purposes and have no original use value, they have become collectibles in the hands of stamp collectors and become a way for people to express their feelings. In the process of buying, selling and exchanging philatelic products, they may be collected by new collectors, injected with new efforts and labor, become new emotional expressions and face new value realization. At this time, stamp products as collectibles have no economic significance. ?

The same stamp products are traded in the hands of postal merchants, and their behavior and significance are quite different from those of stamp collectors. The exchange and sale of philatelic products in the hands of philatelists is an economic behavior within the scope of philatelic culture, which has played a positive role in promoting the development of philatelic culture. In the eyes of postal merchants, stamp products are commodities, which are the commodities they do business with. However, in philatelic activities, the positive role of postal merchants and philatelic market in promoting philatelic culture cannot be ruled out. As the object of philatelic culture, stamps exist in three ways: first, as postage certificates; Second, as a collection in the hands of stamp collectors; Third, as a commodity in the hands of postal merchants. This just shows the essential characteristics of stability and change, opposition and unity of philatelic products. ?

Philatelic culture is formed on the basis of philatelic products and developed in philatelic activities. The early stamp collecting activities have not yet formed a culture, because the cultural connotation and attributes have not yet formed. Today, philatelic organizations and activities around the world have contributed to the development of philatelic culture. ?

Philatelic culture is as diverse as other cultures. Philatelic culture does not exclude the infiltration of other cultures. From its multiple functions and links with other cultures, we can see that philatelic culture can also be divided into relatively independent disciplines such as philatelic economics, philatelic psychology, philatelic behavior, the history and future development trend of philatelic. All this requires the unremitting efforts of philatelists and the unremitting summary and improvement of postal scholars, so that philatelic culture can form a new discipline in the world cultural forest as soon as possible.