Scott No: 1547-54
Serial number: T43
Values in set: 8
Date of issue: December 1, 1979
Denomination: 192 fen
Designer: Li Dawei
Size of stamps: 30*40mm
Perforation: 11.5*11
Sheet composition: 50(10*5)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

T43 "Chinese Classical Novel — Journey to the West" special stamps were issued on December 1, 1979. The set consists of 8 stamps, printed by photogravure, designed by Li Dawei, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory. Stamp size 30 mm × 40 mm, perforation gauge 11.5 × 11, 50 stamps per sheet. This is New China's first stamp set based on Journey to the West, one of the Four Great Classical Novels, and the pioneering work of classical literature masterpiece stamps.

Theme of the Set

Journey to the West is a classical novel of gods and demons created by Wu Cheng'en. It is extremely widely circulated and known to every household. This set selects eight classic chapter stories from the book: the first four depict the Havoc in Heaven episodes, and the latter four present the trials on the journey to the Western Paradise to fetch the scriptures. Within the square inch of stamps, it reproduces the fantastical and wonderful stories of the original, carrying forward the treasures of classical literature. It is a classic of literature-themed stamps of the JT period.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Water Curtain Cave

The design depicts Sun Wukong at the Water Curtain Cave in the Flowers and Fruit Mountain, with the monkeys paying homage and honoring him as the Handsome Monkey King—the beginning of Sun Wukong's story.

Battle with Nezha

The design presents the scene of Sun Wukong's great battle with the Third Prince Nezha, with the two deities fighting with magic, the Wind-Fire Wheels and the Golden-Hooped Rod setting each other off, and a lively and intense fight scene.

Peach Garden

Sun Wukong guards the Peach Garden and secretly eats the immortal peaches, with abundant peaches in the garden—a highly representative episode of the Havoc in Heaven.

Eight Trigrams Furnace

Sun Wukong is thrown into the Eight Trigrams Furnace of the Supreme Lord Laozi to be smelted, with the furnace fire blazing, forging his fiery golden eyes—the picture is full of a fantastical mythological atmosphere.

Striking White Bone

The design depicts the scene in which Sun Wukong sees through the disguise of the White Bone Demon and swings his rod to eliminate the demon, embodying Sun Wukong's fiery golden eyes and fierce hatred of evil.

Banana Fan

Corresponding to the Flaming Mountain story, Sun Wukong borrows the banana fan from Princess Iron Fan and contends and fights with the Bull Demon King and Princess Iron Fan.

Pipa Cave

The design presents Sun Wukong's great battle with the spider demons in the Pipa Cave, breaking the spider webs and rescuing Tang Sanzang—the picture is eerie and fantastical.

The Road to Fetch the Scriptures

The four master and disciples, Tang Sanzang and his three disciples, travel on the road to fetch the scriptures: Tang Sanzang rides the horse, Wukong clears the way, and Bajie and Sha Seng follow, heading toward the Western Paradise.

Artistic Design Features

The set uniformly adopts a vertical composition. The style integrates the characteristics of folk New Year pictures, Peking Opera figure modeling, and picture-story books, using fine-brush heavy color, with intense, saturated colors and exaggerated, vivid figures that capture both form and spirit. The eight stories are coherent in sequence, with a clear narrative thread. The photogravure printing has bright colors and strong expressiveness, and the depiction of the figures' expressions, cloud patterns, and demon images is vivid. It is a set of masterpiece stamps greatly loved by philatelists.