Scott No: 1420-22
Serial number: T32
Values in set: 3
Date of issue: August 1, 1978
Denomination: 24 fen
Designer: Wan Weisheng
Size of stamps: 30*40mm
Perforation: 11.5*11
Sheet composition: 50(10*5)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

T32 "Learn from the Hard-Boned Sixth Company" special stamps were issued on August 1, 1978. The set consists of 3 stamps, printed by photogravure, designed by Wan Weisheng, with original paintings by Chen Qi, Zhao Guangtao, and Chen Jian, 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 0.24 yuan for the set and a circulation of 15 million copies for each stamp.

Theme of the Set

The Hard-Boned Sixth Company was born during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and was tempered in the fires of war. It is known for its excellent work style and its courage to fight tough battles, and in 1964 it was awarded the honorary title "Hard-Boned Sixth Company" by the Ministry of National Defense. In 1977 the Central Military Commission called on the whole army to learn from the Hard-Boned Sixth Company. This set was issued on the day of Army Day, using three pictures that progress layer by layer to call on the whole army to learn from the company's fine tradition of firm combat-readiness thinking, tough fighting style, solid military skills, and strict military and political discipline, to promote military training in the troops, to temper excellent combat effectiveness, and to carry forward the red fighting spirit of the people's army.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Iron Fist Against Revisionism and Preventing Revisionism

The main subject of the design is a resolute-looking PLA soldier, gripping a rifle and raising his arm forward, with neat ranks of soldiers and missile equipment in the background, creating a battle atmosphere of being ready and impregnable and highlighting the people's army as the steel force defending the motherland.

Carry Forward the Revolutionary Tradition

The design uses a top-and-bottom combined composition: above, the fighting scene of the Sixth Company's officers and men charging and killing the enemy during the war years is reproduced; below, a modern commander holds a microphone and issues orders, with modern weapons and equipment beside him. It implies not forgetting the revolutionary foundation of the war years and carrying forward the red fighting tradition under new conditions.

Train Hard in the Skills to Kill the Enemy

The design gathers soldiers of the army, navy, and air force. The soldiers hold high the red flag, wade across water in assault, and drill in coordination, displaying the scene of hard training based on actual combat and embodying the training direction of the whole army to train hard in military skills and improve combat capability.

Artistic Design Features

The set uniformly adopts a vertical stamp format and a poster style, with strong compositional tension and firm, powerful figures. The colors are intense and weighty, with sharp contrasts among the main tones of red, yellow, and blue, full of the era's sense of publicity. The three pictures correspond respectively to faith, inheritance, and training, with a coherent and unified theme. The photogravure printing has strong light-and-shade contrasts and outstanding visual impact. There is no souvenir sheet for this set. It is a classic special stamp set on the theme of army heroes and model units of the JT period.