Scott No: 1647
Serial number: T58
Values in set: 1
Date of issue: January 5, 1981
Denomination: 8 fen
Designer: Chen Chuanli
Engraver: Sun Hongnian
Size of stamps: 26*31mm
Perforation: 11.5
Sheet composition: 80(8*10)
Printing process: Engraving and photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

T58 "Xinyou Year" special stamp was issued on January 5, 1981. The set consists of 1 stamp, printed by photogravure combined with engraving, with the original painting by Zhang Ding, designed by Cheng Chuanli, engraved by Sun Hongnian, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory. Stamp size 26 mm × 31 mm, perforation gauge 11.5, 80 stamps per sheet. SB (3) Xinyou Year stamp booklet was issued simultaneously.

Theme of the Set

This is the second set of the first round of zodiac stamps, a stamp on the zodiac theme of the Xinyou Year of the Rooster in the lunar calendar. Grounded in zodiac culture, it uses the image of a rooster to carry the meanings of auspiciousness and striving forward, continuing the creative thread of the first round of zodiac stamps, and combining folk commemorative significance with collectible value.

Stamp Design and Historical Background

Xinyou Year

With a pure white background, the main subject is a rooster with its head raised and crowing, full of heroic spirit. Its feathers are pieced together from large blocks of blue, green, red, and other colors; its comb is bright red, its claws strong and firm, and its tail feathers spread out. The original painting is an old draft by Mr. Zhang Ding that was lost and then recovered, carrying a special creative history. In traditional Chinese culture, the rooster symbolizes light, trustworthiness, and striving forward, corresponding to the imagery of "rising at the crow of the rooster to practice" and "when the rooster crows, the whole world turns white," carrying the beautiful meaning of striving vigorously and welcoming the light.

Artistic Design Features

The work adopts a decorative painting style, integrating the visual characteristics of folk paper-cutting and glass mosaic. It does not pursue realistic depiction, using color blocks to divide and generalize the layers of feathers, with hard and crisp lines. The photogravure-plus-engraving process makes the colors bright, and the engraved lines bring a solid, tactile quality. The forms are concise and powerful, with extremely high recognizability. It is a classic work of great individuality in the first round of zodiac stamps.