Scott No: 610-611
Serial number: C93
Values in set: 2
Date of issue: May 25, 1962
Denomination: 12 fen
Designer: Lu Tianjiao
Size of stamps: 26.5*36mm
Perforation: 11.5*11
Sheet composition: 50(10*5)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

C93 "1250th Anniversary of the Birth of Du Fu" commemorative stamps were issued by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications on May 25, 1962. The set consists of 2 stamps, designed by Lu Tianjiao, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory by photogravure. Stamp size 30 mm × 40 mm, perforation gauge 11.5 × 11, 50 stamps per sheet, layout 10 × 5, with a total face value of 0.12 yuan for the set.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Du Fu Thatched Cottage Stele Pavilion (Chengdu)

The main subject is the "Shaoling Thatched Cottage" stele pavilion inside the Du Fu Thatched Cottage in Chengdu. The pavilion has a thatched roof, and within it stands a stone stele inscribed with the four characters "Shang Ling Cao Tang"; the surroundings are lush with trees, quiet and secluded. On the left and right sides of the stamp are printed a couplet written in Zhu De's own hand: "The thatched cottage remains for later generations; the Sage of Poetry is celebrated for a thousand ages."

In the second year of the Qianyuan era of the Tang dynasty, Du Fu, fleeing the chaos of war, made his way to Chengdu and built a thatched hut by the Huanhua Stream, where he lived for nearly four years and wrote many immortal poems, including "Song of the Thatched Hut Broken by the Autumn Wind." Later generations built a shrine here—today's Du Fu Thatched Cottage—which has become the most important place through the ages for paying tribute to and commemorating Du Fu.

Portrait of Du Fu

The design uses the line-drawing (baimiao) technique to paint a half-length portrait of Du Fu. The poet wears a soft futou headdress, with a thin face and a gloomy, solemn expression, carrying the temperament of one who worries for the country and the people. On both sides of the stamp are a couplet written by Guo Moruo: "The world's wounds—the sage among poets; the people's hardships—waves beneath his brush."

Du Fu was the most outstanding realist poet of the Tang dynasty. His life was buffeted by the turmoil of the An Lushan Rebellion, and his poetry confronted war and the hardships of the people, recording the rise and fall of an era; he is thus known as "the history of poetry," and later generations honor him as the "Sage of Poetry." 1962 marked the 1250th anniversary of Du Fu's birth, and that year he was designated a World Cultural Figure by the World Peace Council; this set was also issued as part of the series commemorating World Cultural Figures.

Artistic Design Features

The set adopts a vertical stamp format, with soft, elegant tones dominated by light gray and ink black, without intense colors, fitting the dignified, calm temperament of a classical literatus. One landscape and one figure form a contrast: one pays tribute to the historical site, the other depicts the poet himself, and with the couplets by two famous writers, text and picture complement each other, restrained and weighty. The photogravure layers are delicate, and the line-drawing lines are clean and smooth, balancing the charm of traditional Chinese painting with the expressive power of stamp printing. This set is also a highly praised set among the old Ji-te stamps on ancient literary figures, with an excellent integration of subject, calligraphy, and picture.