Scott No: 1440
Serial number: J31
Values in set: 1
Date of issue: October 11, 1978
Denomination: 8 fen
Designer: Lu Tianjiao
Size of stamps: 30*40mm
Perforation: 11.5*11
Sheet composition: 50(10*5)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

J31 "The Ninth National Congress of Chinese Trade Unions" commemorative stamp was issued on October 11, 1978. The set consists of 1 stamp, printed by photogravure, designed by Lu Tianjiao, 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 face value of 0.08 yuan and a circulation of 15 million copies.

Theme of the Set

The Ninth National Congress of Chinese Trade Unions was held in Beijing from October 11 to 21, 1978. It was the national trade union congress convened after a gap of more than twenty years. The congress defined the tasks of trade unions in the new period and called on the broad working class to play its role as the main force, actively devote itself to the four modernizations, develop production, study technology, increase production and practice economy in their posts, and unite workers and staff of all trades and professions to contribute to national economic construction. This stamp was issued on the opening day of the congress to commemorate this turning-point grand gathering of trade unions.

Stamp Design and Historical Background

Congress Emblem

At the center of the design is a gear shape, within which the numeral "9" is formed, symbolizing this Ninth National Congress. The gear represents the working class, and beside it are paired wheat ears, a rocket, and an atomic model, representing agriculture, national defense, and science and technology respectively. A fluttering red flag occupies the upper part of the design, its flagpole formed by the vertically arranged text "The Ninth National Congress of Chinese Trade Unions," with a red star dotted at the top of the pole. Through a symbolic combination of patterns, it implies that the working class leads the people of the whole country to strive together toward the goal of the four modernizations.

Artistic Design Features

The set uniformly adopts a vertical stamp format and a decorative symbolic design style, with a compact, condensed composition and red and gold as the main tones, dignified and striking. Elements such as the gear, red flag, wheat ears, rocket, and atom are combined in an orderly way; no human figures are used, and the theme of the congress is conveyed through symbols. The photogravure printing has clean, bright colors and crisp lines, with a strong sense of the times. The set consists of only one stamp and has no souvenir sheet. It is a commemorative stamp on the theme of trade union congresses of the JT period.