Scott No: 1340-42
Serial number: J17
Values in set: 3
Date of issue: May 9, 1977
Denomination: 38 fen
Designer: Wu Jiankun
Size of stamps: 27*40mm
Perforation: 11
Sheet composition: 56(7*8)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

J17 "Centenary of Romania's Independence" commemorative stamps were issued on May 9, 1977. The set consists of 3 stamps, printed by photogravure, designed by Wu Jiankun, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory. Stamp size 27 mm × 40 mm, perforation gauge 11, 56 stamps per sheet (7 × 8), with a total face value of 0.38 yuan for the set; (3-1) 8 fen, (3-2) 10 fen, (3-3) 20 fen, each with a circulation of 5.6 million copies.

Theme of the Set

In 1877 Romania threw off Ottoman rule and gained independence, and 1977 marked the centenary of that independence. This set was issued by China to commemorate this historical milestone and express friendly sentiments toward the Romanian people. The stamps successively select the national flag, a battle scene from the War of Independence, and a statue of a historical hero, looking back on Romania's course of struggle for national independence, displaying Romania's long national history and its people's spirit of resisting oppression and striving for autonomy, and bearing witness to the friendly exchanges between China and Romania.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Romania's Independence Day

The main subject of the design is the Romanian national flag, with its blue, yellow, and red tricolor spreading and fluttering, and the Romanian words "Centenary of Independence" below, set off by forget-me-not patterns. The national flag is the symbol of national independence, and the forget-me-not is a representative flower of Romania, implying remembrance of the history of independence.

The Brave Charge Against the Enemy

The design is in an oil painting style, recreating the battle scene of soldiers bravely charging during Romania's War of Independence, with gun smoke filling the air and officers and soldiers charging forward, expressing the heroic spirit of the Romanian army and people fighting bloody battles for national independence.

Michael the Brave

The design is a bronze equestrian statue of Michael the Brave. Michael was a famous monarch in Romanian history who once unified Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania, and is a highly influential heroic figure in Romanian national history, symbolizing national unity and the spirit of resistance.

Artistic Design Features

The set uniformly adopts a vertical stamp format, and all three designs use the Romanian forget-me-not pattern as a base, with a coordinated and echoing layout. The first is dignified and elegant, conveying the national symbol through the national flag; the second has a strong oil-painting feel, with a battle scene full of tension; the third, a sculpture picture, is steady and weighty. The photogravure printing has soft colors and delicate layers. There is no souvenir sheet for this set. It is a commemorative stamp on the theme of Chinese-foreign friendship of the JT period.