Scott No: 750-755
Serial number: S64
Values in set: 6
Date of issue: March 8, 1964
Denomination: 48 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

C64 "Women Commune Members" special stamps were issued on March 8, 1964. The set consists of 6 stamps, printed by photogravure, designed by Lu Tianjiao, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory. Stamp size 26.5 mm × 36 mm, perforation gauge 11.5 × 11, 50 stamps per sheet, each stamp with a face value of 8 fen, with a total face value of 0.48 yuan for the set; circulations: 6 million copies each for Tractor Driver, Grain Harvest, Cotton Harvest, Study, and Militia, and 4 million copies for Fruit Harvest.

Theme of the Set

This set was issued on International Women's Day, displaying the appearance of rural women during the People's Commune period stepping out of the home and devoting themselves to agricultural production, rural construction, grassroots study, and militia combat readiness, praising the diligence, capability, and positive, upward spirit of rural women commune members, and embodying the important role played by rural women at the time in production and construction and in defending their hometowns. Deng Yingchao once inscribed words for this set, affirming the enthusiasm and creativity of Chinese women in the posts of building and defending the motherland.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Tractor Driver

The woman commune member in the design wears a pink headscarf and operates the tractor's steering wheel with both hands, with blue sky and flying birds in the background, displaying the new appearance of rural women mastering modern agricultural machinery and engaging in mechanized farming.

Grain Harvest

A woman commune member wearing a straw hat bends over in a golden rice field, holding full rice ears in both hands, depicting the labor scene of rejoicing in the grain harvest during the wheat and autumn harvest seasons.

Cotton Harvest

A woman commune member stands in a cotton field, picking snow-white cotton with both hands, with full cotton bolls everywhere, displaying the busy scene of women commune members picking cotton in cotton-producing areas.

Fruit Harvest

Two women commune members stand under a fruit tree, holding up bamboo baskets to harvest fresh fruit, with branches laden with fruit, expressing the delightful scene of a bountiful harvest of forestry and fruit sideline production and enriching the picture of the commune's diversified operations.

Study

A woman commune member wearing a yellow headscarf sits in the fields, using breaks from labor to read and study, with a straw hat placed beside her, embodying rural women persisting in study and raising their ideological and cultural levels.

Militia

The woman militia member carries a rifle on her shoulder and stands upright, with the coast and sea surface in the background, displaying the image of a woman commune member grasping production with one hand and defense with the other, a militia member guarding her hometown.

Artistic Design Features

The set uniformly adopts a vertical format and a bright decorative printmaking style, with concise lines; each stamp is paired with an independent solid background color, and the tones are fresh and lively. The figures are plain and healthy, with extended postures. The six stamps are arranged in sequence by main agricultural production, sideline production, study, and militia, completely outlining the life picture of rural women commune members at the time. The photogravure printing has clean, bright colors and a strong decorative quality.