Scott No: 1379-80
Serial number: J27
Values in set: 2
Date of issue: March 8, 1978
Denomination: 16 fen
Designer: Zou Jianjun
Size of stamps: 30*40mm
Perforation: 11.5*11
Sheet composition: 50(10*5)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

J27 "Glorious Examples of Chinese Women" commemorative stamps were issued on March 8, 1978. The set consists of 2 stamps, printed by photogravure, designed by Zou Jianjun, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory. Stamp size 30 mm × 40 mm, perforation gauge 11.5 × 11, 50 stamps per sheet (10 × 5), with a total face value of 0.16 yuan for the set and a circulation of 15 million copies for each stamp.

Theme of the Set

This set was issued on the day of International Women's Day, March 8, selecting two revolutionary women martyrs who had a major influence on the history of the Chinese revolution as its subjects. Xiang Jingyu was a pioneer of the early women's movement of the Communist Party of China, and Yang Kaihui was a steadfast communist fighter. Both held firm to their faith and feared no sacrifice in the revolutionary struggle, and they are outstanding representatives of modern Chinese women's pursuit of liberation and devotion to the national revolution. The stamps use the martyrs' portraits to honor the heroic women martyrs, praise their lofty revolutionary integrity, set up examples for women to learn from, and inspire the broad masses of women to inherit the revolutionary spirit and devote themselves to the cause of socialist construction.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Martyr Xiang Jingyu

The image is a half-length portrait of Martyr Xiang Jingyu, with a dignified red background and a calm, resolute expression. Xiang Jingyu was the Party's first director of the Central Women's Department, led the national women's liberation movement over the long term, and organized workers and women to carry out anti-imperialist struggles. After the failure of the Great Revolution, she stayed in Wuhan to persist in underground work. In 1928 she was arrested after being betrayed by a traitor, remained unyielding in prison, and finally died heroically. She was a pioneer of the Chinese women's liberation movement.

Martyr Yang Kaihui

The image is a half-length portrait of Martyr Yang Kaihui, likewise on a red ground, solemn and dignified in appearance. Yang Kaihui joined the Communist Party of China in her early years and was responsible for confidential and communications liaison work of the underground Party in Changsha, actively carrying out the peasant movement and women's work. In 1930 she was arrested after being informed on by a traitor; in the face of the enemy's coercion and inducements she always held firm to her faith, preferring death to submission, and sacrificed her life heroically in Changsha.

Artistic Design Features

The set uniformly adopts a vertical portrait composition, and the two stamps are completely identical in layout: a red ground setting off a white portrait, with a fine gold border around the outside, simple and dignified. The portraits are based on historical photographs, realistic and plain, without superfluous decoration, with emphasis on the figures themselves, and the tones are solemn and steady. The photogravure printing has a pure, weighty red ground and soft, clean layers of light and shade. There is no souvenir sheet for this set. It is a classic stamp set on the theme of heroic revolutionary women of the JT period.