Scott No: 1067-75
Serial number: N12-20
Values in set: 9
Date of issue: July 1, 1971
Denomination: 78 fen
Designer: Xu Yanbo, Zhang Kerang
Size of stamps:
52*31mm for N12, N13, N14, N15, N16, N17;
31*52mm for N18, N19, N20
Perforation: 11.5
Sheet composition:
40(4*10) for N12, N13, N14, N15, N16, N17;
36(9*4) for N18, N19, N20
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

Issued on 1 July 1971, the set contains nine stamps, printed in photogravure. N12 to N17 were designed by Xu Yanbo and N18 to N20 by Zhang Kerang, produced by Beijing Stamp Factory. N12 to N17 measure 52mm × 31mm, perforation 11.5, sheet composition 40 stamps (4 × 10); N18 to N20 measure 31mm × 52mm, perforation 11.5, sheet composition 36 stamps (9 × 4) or 40 stamps (10 × 4), with the three printed as a joined strip.

Main Theme of the Set

In July 1921, the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China convened, proclaiming the founding of the Party. The year 1971 marked the fiftieth anniversary of that founding, and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications issued this set, presenting the theme through two groups of stamps. The first six take the Party's sites of revolutionary activity as their thread, selecting six revolutionary memorial sites from the birthplace of the Party to the symbol of the founding of New China, tracing the footsteps of the Party's fifty years of struggle. The last three conclude with the image of workers, peasants and soldiers advancing shoulder to shoulder with the people of all ethnic groups, expressing the unity and forward march of the whole nation. The nine designs broadly follow a chronological order, using buildings and scenes of historic significance to reflect the glorious course of the Communist Party of China from its birth to nationwide victory.

Stamp Designs and Historical Context

Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China (Shanghai)

The stamp shows the exterior of the Shikumen-style building at 106 Wangzhi Road (now 76 Xingye Road) in Shanghai. On 23 July 1921, the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China opened here, attended by 13 delegates representing more than 50 Party members nationwide. Later, because of harassment by secret agents, the final session was moved to a boat on South Lake in Jiaxing, Zhejiang. The congress adopted the Party's programme and work resolutions, elected the central leading body and proclaimed the formal founding of the Communist Party of China. The stamp employs a red ground and a gold-lettered border to convey the festive atmosphere of the Party's fiftieth anniversary.

Guangzhou Peasant Movement Training Institute

The stamp shows the exterior of the former site of the Peasant Movement Training Institute on Zhongshan 4th Road in Guangzhou. During the period of the first cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, in order to train cadres for the peasant movement, six sessions of the Peasant Movement Training Institute were held successively from July 1924 to September 1926 on the initiative and under the direction of Communists, training more than 800 cadres for the peasant movement. Mao Zedong, Peng Pai and others presided over three of the sessions and lectured there; after graduation, the students became the backbone of peasant movements in various regions.

Cradle of the Revolution, Jinggangshan

The stamp depicts the vast, majestic mountain ranges of Jinggangshan, with green pines and cypresses standing tall and red flags fluttering among the mountains. In October 1927, Mao Zedong led the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army to Jinggangshan and established China's first rural revolutionary base area, opening the revolutionary road of encircling the cities from the countryside and seizing power by armed force. A single red flag in the mountains is like a single spark, signifying that revolutionary ideas would spread like a prairie fire.

Site of the Zunyi Congress

The stamp shows a two-storey building of combined Chinese and Western style on Ziyin Road in the old town of Zunyi, namely the site of the Zunyi Congress, with a plaque inscribed by Mao Zedong reading "Site of the Zunyi Congress" hanging beneath the eaves. In January 1935, during the Red Army's Long March, an enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee was held here. It ended the domination of the erroneous "Left" dogmatism in the central leadership, established Mao Zedong's leading position in the CPC Central Committee and the Red Army, and at a critical juncture saved the Party, saved the Red Army and saved the Chinese revolution.

Revolutionary Sacred Site, Yan'an

The stamp shows Baota Hill and the scenery of the Yan River in Yan'an, with the pagoda standing on the summit as the symbol of Yan'an. From 1935 to 1948, Yan'an was the seat of the CPC Central Committee, the command centre and general strategic rear area of the Chinese revolution. Mao Zedong and other veteran revolutionaries led the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation here, laying the cornerstone of New China and fostering the Yan'an Spirit.

Capital, Tiananmen

The stamp shows the Tiananmen Gate tower in Beijing, with red walls and yellow tiles, solemn and majestic. On 1 October 1949, the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China was held here. Tiananmen thus became the symbol of New China and was incorporated into the design of the National Emblem. It is a place to which people of all ethnic groups look with longing, and it marks the historical juncture at which the Party led the people to nationwide victory.

Forge Bravely Ahead

The three stamps are printed as a joined strip in a borderless se-tenant format, with the image running continuously across them. Representatives of workers, peasants, soldiers and ethnic minorities hold or raise the red-covered book and stride forward against a background of towering oil refinery towers, the Great Hall of the People, terraced fields and fluttering red flags. People of all ethnic groups advance side by side, the vista wide open and the figures laid out in a single line, resembling an exquisite miniature souvenir sheet. The image expresses the great unity of the people of all ethnic groups with workers, peasants and soldiers as the main body, echoing the theme of "forging bravely ahead along the direction pointed out by Chairman Mao."

Artistic Features of the Design

The first six stamps adopt a uniform horizontal elongated format with decorative borders; the red ground with gold lettering both highlights the solemn festivity of the occasion and brings the six revolutionary memorial sites into a single visual unity. The last three switch to a vertical, borderless joined printing, with the images continuous and intermingled, breaking through the boundary of the individual stamp to form a single marching panorama. The nine stamps lay out the thread of Party history through buildings and scenes; the two groups, one static and one dynamic, one chronicle and one lyric, together make this set notably complete in both layout design and thematic expression among the numbered stamps on the founding of the Party.