China 1991 STAMP set J183 Mint

The Centenary of the Birth of Tao Xingzhi

Technical details:

Scott No: 2367-68
Serial number: J183
Values in set: 2
Denomination: 70 fen
Date of issue: October 18, 1991
Designers: Ma Gang
Size: 30*40mm
Perforation: 12
Sheet composition: 50 (10*5)
Printing process: offset
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

SN: (2-1)
Title: Portrait of Tao Xingzhi
Value: 20 fen
Size: 40*30 mm

SN: (2-2)
Title: Seek Truth and Be Upright (Advance for Truth and Be a Man)
Value: 50 fen


Background info

Mr. Tao Xingzhi is a great Chinese educationalist for the people. Born on October 18 in She County of Anhui Province, he went to study in the US after graduating from Jinling University in 1914. Back to China in 1917.
Mr. Tao Xingzhi lived during the critical period of Chinese people and nation suffered by calamity and grief. He was "giving whole-heartedly to the people and taking nothing back", sharing both happiness and sadness with the general public and working closely with Chinese Communist Party. Mr. Tao spared no effort for his whole life and had made indelible contribution for the cause of people's education, liberation and democracy.
Mr. Tao Xingzhi left behind works of 6 million words, which
is a treasure for the mankind. Pooling the souls of thinkings of different educationists, he founded the theory of "Life Education", laying the spiritual foundation for the reform and development of Chinese people's education. Abundantly connotated and precisely dissertated, this theory is closely bound up with the current educationalism with Chinese characteristics. When he passed away, Mrs. Song Qingling eulogized him as "model of teachers for ever", and Mr. Guo Moruo praised him "Two thousand years ago, we had Confucius, and now two thousand years later, we have Mr. Tao Xingzhi". A learned and respectable paragon for teachers, Mr. Tao is deserved to be a "Giant" in China's modern history of education.
Mr. Tao Xingzhi belongs to not only China, but also the whole world.



Additional reference: www.xabusiness.com/china-stamps-1991/j183.htm

China 1991 STAMP set J182 Mint and First Day Cover (FDC)

Noted Figures in the Period of the 1911 Revolution

Technical details:

Scott No: 2358-60
Serial number: J182
Values in set: 3
Denomination: 60 fen
Date of issue: October 10, 1991
Designer: Wang Shupeng
Size of stamps: 40*30 mm
Perforation: 11*11.5
Sheet composition: 50£¨10*5£©
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

SN: (3-1)
Title: Xu Xilin
Value: 20 fen

SN: (3-2)
Title: Qiu Jin
Value: 20 fen

SN: (3-3)
Title: Song Jiaoren
Values: 20 fen


Background info

Failure of reform from the top and the fiasco of the Boxer Uprising convinced many Chinese that the only real solution lay in outright revolution, in sweeping away the old order and erecting a new one patterned preferably after the example of Japan. The revolutionary leader was Sun Yat-sen (Sun Yixian in pinyin, 1866- 1925), a republican and anti-Qing activist who became increasingly popular among the overseas Chinese and Chinese students abroad, especially in Japan. In 1905 Sun founded the Tongmeng Hui (United League) in Tokyo with Huang Xing (1874-1916), a popular leader of the Chinese revolutionary movement in Japan, as his deputy. This movement, generously supported by overseas Chinese funds, also gained political support with regional military officers and some of the reformers who had fled China after the Hundred Days' Reform. Sun's political philosophy was conceptualized in 1897, first enunciated in Tokyo in 1905, and modified through the early 1920s. It centered on the Three Principles of the People (san min zhuyi): "nationalism, democracy, and people's livelihood." The principle of nationalism called for overthrowing the Manchus and ending foreign hegemony over China. The second principle, democracy, was used to describe Sun's goal of a popularly elected republican form of government. People's livelihood, often referred to as socialism, was aimed at helping the common people through regulation of the ownership of the means of production and land.

The republican revolution broke out on October 10, 1911, in Wuchang, the capital of Hubei Province, among discontented modernized army units whose anti-Qing plot had been uncovered. It had been preceded by numerous abortive uprisings and organized protests inside China. The revolt quickly spread to neighboring cities, and Tongmeng Hui members throughout the country rose in immediate support of the Wuchang revolutionary forces. By late November, fifteen of the twenty-four provinces had declared their independence of the Qing empire. A month later, Sun Yat-sen returned to China from the United States, where he had been raising funds among overseas Chinese and American sympathizers. On January 1, 1912, Sun was inaugurated in Nanjing as the provisional president of the new Chinese republic. But power in Beijing already had passed to the commander-in-chief of the imperial army, Yuan Shikai, the strongest regional military leader at the time. To prevent civil war and possible foreign intervention from undermining the infant republic, Sun agreed to Yuan's demand that China be united under a Beijing government headed by Yuan. On February 12, 1912, the last Manchu emperor, the child Puyi, abdicated. On March 10, in Beijing, Yuan Shikai was sworn in as provisional president of the Republic of China.


Additional reference: www.xabusiness.com/china-stamps-1991/j182.htm

China 1990 STAMP set J173 Mint

Modern Chinese Scientists

Technical details:

Scott No: 2301-4
Serial number: J173
Values in set: 4
Date of issue: October 10, 1990
Denomination: 68 fen
Designers: Yang Guchang, Liu Xiangping
Size of stamps: 40*30mm
Perforation: 11
Sheet composition: 50 (5*10)
Printing process: Offset
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

SN: (4-1)
Title: Lin Qiaoya, medical scientist
Value: 8 fen

SN: (4-2)
Title: Zhang zhe, astronomer
Values: 10 fen

SN: (4-3)
Title: Hou Debang, chemist
Value: 20 fen

SN: (4-4)
Title: Ding Ying, agronomist
Value: 30 fen

****This was also posted last Oct 10.

China 1990 STAMP set J169 Mint Stamps and First Day Cover (FDC)

60th Anniv. of the Issuance of the Postage Stamps of the Chinese People's Revolutionary War Period

Technical details:

Scott No: 2289-90
Serial number: J169
Values in set: 2
Date of issue: July 10, 1990
Denomination: 28 fen
Designers: Li Qingfa, Jiang Weijie
Size of stamps: 40*30mm
Perforation: 12
Sheet composition: 50 (5*10)
Printing process: Offset
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works


SN: (2-1)
Title: 60th Anniv. of the Issuance of the Postage Stamps of the Chinese People's Revolutionary War Period
Value: 8 fen

SN: (2-2)
Title: 60th Anniv. of the Issuance of the Postage Stamps of the Chinese People's Revolutionary War Period
Value: 20 fen

Background info

In 1930, the stamp of Red Postage of Southwestern Jiangxi issued. Since then, the various kinds of stamps issued during the period of the Revolutionary War of the Chinese People by the various revolutionary base areas and liberated areas. All these stamps have become the valuable historic relics in the world.


***This was also posted last Oct. 10

Additional reference: www.xabusiness.com/china-stamps-1990/j169.htm

China 1981 STAMP T65 set Mint

Ancient Coins of China (1st Set)

Technical details:

Scott No: 1740-1747
Serial number: T65
Values in set: 8
Date of issue: October 29, 1981
Denomination: 8 fen
Designer: Lu Tianjiao
Engraver: Sun Hongnian, Yan Bingwu, Li Qingfa, Zhao Shunyi, Hu Zhenyuan, Gao Pinzhang
Size of stamps: 30*40mm
Perforation: 11.5*11
Sheet composition: 50 (10*5)
Printing process: Engraving and photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

SN: (8-1)
Title: Cowry-shaped Bronze coin (Bei money and copper Bei money)
Value: 4 fen

SN: (8-2)
Title: Shovel coin ("Kong Shou" Bu coin)
Value: 4 fen

SN: (8-3)
Title: "Li" Shovel Coin ("Ge Kong Shou" Bu Coin)
Value: 8 fen

SN: (8-4)
Title: "An Yi Er Jin" Shove Coin ("An Yi Er Jin" Bu coin)
Value: 8 fen

SN: (8-5)
Title: "Qi Fa Hua" Knife Coin (Qifahua knife-shaped coin)
Value: 8 fen

SN: (8-6)
Title: "Jie Mo Zhi Fa Hua" Knife Coin (Jiemozhi Fahua knife-shaped coin)
Value: 8 fen

SN: (8-7)
Title: "Cheng Bai" Knife Coin (Chengbai knife-shaped coin)
Value: 60 fen

SN: (8-8)
Title: "Gong" Ring coin ("Gong" coin)
Value: 70 fen

Catalogue Value (1998): $16.50

China 1990 STAMP set T157 Mint

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms (2nd Series)

Technical details:

Scott No: 2310-13
Serial number: T157
Values in set: 4
Date of issue: December 10, 1990
Denomination: 120 fen
Designers: Chen Quansheng
Size of stamps:
54*40mm for Value 1, 3
40*54mm for Value 2, 4
Perforation: 11
Sheet composition:
20 (4*5) for Value 1, 4
20 (5*4) for Value 2, 3
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

SN: (4-1)
Title: Night Attack Wuchao
Value: 20 fen
Size: 54*40 mm

SN: (4-2)
Title: Make Three Calls at the Thatched Cottage
Value: 20 fen
Size: 40*54 mm

SN: (4-3)
Title: Rescue the Master Alone
Value: 30 fen
Size: 54*40 mm

SN: (4-4)
Title: Turned the Changbanqiao Area upside down
Value: 50 fen
Size: 40*54 mm

Background info

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, written by Luo Guanzhong in the 14th century, is a classical Chinese historical novel about the turbulent period often referred to as the Three Kingdoms (AD 220-280). It is the most popular epic in Chinese literature. Among Chinese speakers the novel is usually referred to by its more popular name, San Guo Yan Yi.

China 1990 STAMP set T153 Mint

Snow Leopard (Uncia)

Technical details:

Scott No: 2287-8
Serial number: T153
Values in set: 2
Date of issue: July 20, 1990
Denomination: 58 fen
Designers: Xu Yanbo
Size of stamps: 40*30 mm
Perforation: 11.5
Sheet composition: 40 (4*10)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

SN: (2-1)
Title: Crouching Snow Leopard
Value: 8 fen

SN: (2-2)
Title: Standing Snow Leopard
Value: 50 fen



Background info

With the aliases of Grass Leopard and Argyi-Leaf Leopard, it belongs to the Felidae family of Carnivora order. Its scientific Latin name is Panthera uncia, and English name is Snow Leopard.

It is 110 to 130 centimeters in body length, 80 to 90 centimeters in tail length, and 38 to 75 kilograms in weight. Its head is small and round. It has long and dense hair coat all over, grayish yellow or hoar, with the body hair about 3 centimeters in length, and belly hair up to 6.5 centimeters. It has blurry or irregular large black ring spots on the back and chest sides. Its long tail has long and tousy hair. It is the most beautiful sort of leopards.

Snow Leopard inhabits at an elevation of 2,000 to 6,000 meters, regularly moving about the bare rocks of high mountains. It is ferocious, astute, and dexterous in action, mainly feeding on rock-sheep, argali, as well as klipdas, marmots and puppies of the pheasant genus, etc. Its estrum is from late winter to early spring, while the gestation period lasts 90 to 103 days. It litters between June and July, with 2 to 3 babies per fetus. At the age of two, it grows to sexual maturity. It has a lifespan of about 10 years in general, with the longest up to 15.8 years.

In China, it is distributed in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Gansu Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, etc. It is small in quantity and has been listed in Appendix I of International Trade Convention on Endangered Wild Animal and Plant Species


Additional reference: www.xabusiness.com/china-stamps-1990/t153.htm

China 1979 STAMP T43 set Mint

Chinese Classical Novel - Pilgrimage to the west (The journey to the west)

Technical details:

Scott No: 1547-54
Serial number: T43
Values in set: 8
Date of issue: December 1, 1979
Denomination: 192 fen
Designer: Li Dawei
Size of stamps: 30*40mm
Perforation: 11.5*11
Sheet composition: 50(10*5)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

SN: (8-1)
Title: Waterfall Cave (Water Shade Hole)
Value: 8 fen

SN: (8-2)
Title: Fighting with Necha (Monkey King fights Ne Zha)
Value: 8 fen

SN: (8-3)
Title: In the Peach Orchard (Flat Peach Garden)
Value: 8 fen

SN: (8-4)
Title: Furnace for Alchemy (the Eight Diagrams Stove)
Value: 8 fen

SN: (8-5)
Title: Subduing White Bone Demon (Monkey King vs Miss Skeletonia)
Value: 10 fen

SN: (8-6)
Title: the Palm-leaf Fan
Value: 20 fen

SN: (8-7)
Title: Cobweb Cave (Silk Hole)
Value: 60 fen

SN: (8-8)
Title: Seeking Buddhist Scripture (The journey to the west)
Value: 70 fen

Catalogue Value (1998) - $US 38.00


Background info

Written by Wu Cheng'en (d. 1582), this very popular novel is based on the history of a Buddhist monk named Xuanzang traveling to India to bring Buddhist sutras back to China. But this simple history is ornamented with many popular stories and theatre plays like the rebellion of the monkey Sun Wukong, being subjugated by Buddha and forced to assist Xuanzang during his travel. The other compagnions of Xuanzang are the pig-human Zhu Bajie and the monk (Sha) Wujing, each with his own character. All of them have been punished for their greater or lesser crimes, and only acting together, then can manage to make their way to India. Battles scenes and magic spells, desciptions of exotic landscapes make out the popular welcome of this novel, while quotations of Daoist literature and many poems, songs and speeches also make this novel a very pretentious lecture. The exact description of daily life and human and celestial order even can induce a social critical interpretation of this novel.

China 1978 STAMP T23 set Mint

Army and People Are One Family

Technical details:

Scott No: 1371-72
Serial number: T23
Values in set: 2
Date of issue: February 5, 1978
Denomination: 16 fen
Designer: Shao Bolin
Size of stamps: 60*27mm
Perforation: 11
Sheet composition: 35(5*7)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

SN: (2-1)
Title: United in Struggle
Value: 8 fen

SN: (2-2)
Title: Striving for Bumper Harvest
Value: 8 fen

China 1977 STAMP T22 set Mint

Building Dazhai-type Counties Throughout the Country

Technical details:

Scott No: 1329-32
Serial number: T22
Values in set: 4
Date of issue: April 9, 1977
Denomination: 32 fen
Designer: Wan Weisheng
Size of stamps: 40*30mm
Perforation: 11*11.5
Sheet composition: 50(5*10)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

SN: (4-1)
Title: Revolutionary county committee of the CPC
Value: 8 fen

SN: (4-2)
Title: Scene of Prosperity (Flourish prosperous)
Value: 8 fen

SN: (4-3)
Title: Fighting the Four Pests, celebrating the harvest
Value: 8 fen

SN: (4-4)
Title: Work Hard for Socialis Cause (Constructing the socialistic country)
Value: 8 fen

Catalogue Value (1998): $US 6.00