To provide a systematic introduction to traditional Taiwanese culture, the Directorate has issued sets of stamps on Taiwan's traditional architecture. In 1995, 1996 and 1997, stamps featuring "roof", "column and beam", and "house walls" were published and wellreceived by the public. For the newest set of stamps in this series, the Directorate has turned to close-up looks at terraces of buildings that are set off the ground on raised platforms. One of these four stamps features a "spirit way" (a carved stone ramp between two staircases); another shows the stool-shaped base of a column; a third depicts a carved cornerstone of an underlying Platform; and the fourth features a carved stone drainage spout. Two will have face values of NT$5.00, and the others values of NT$10.00 and NT$l9.00. Mr. Chen Yi-tsung served as a consultant for the production of these stamps. Architecture bears truthful witness to social developments and cultural activities, and captures in a concrete form the life styles of different locales and periods. Immigrantarchitecture anywhere shares characteristics with the architecture of its homeland, and since most of the early immigrants to Taiwan came from southern Fukien Province and eastern Canton Province in mainland China, they built in the architectural styles of those regions. After the rule of the Ching dynasty Emepror Jiaching, gardens, temples and various cultural and educational buildings were built one after another. Manyof these are even more exquisite than their counterparts in mainland China .Yet in recent years, due to the impact of western culture, traditional architecture has been on the wane in Taiwan.We hope that the stamp series "Taiwan's Traditional Architectural Aesthetics" will find resonance with the public, who will learn to treasure and care for Taiwan's architectural heritage.