Scott No: 1872-1875
Serial number: J92
Values in set: 4
Date of issue: August 10, 1983
Denomination: 94 fen
Designer: Li Dawei
Size of stamps: 31*52mm
Perforation: 11.5
Sheet composition: 16 (4*4)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

J92 "Ancient Chinese Literary Figures (Series I)" commemorative stamps were issued on August 10, 1983. The set consists of 4 stamps, printed by photogravure, with original paintings and design by Liu Lingcang, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory.

Theme of the Set

The Tang dynasty was the peak period in the development of China's classical poetry and prose. This set selects four great masters of the Tang literary world, all core figures of the Tang-Song Ancient Prose Movement. The four respectively represent romantic poetry, realist poetry, ancient prose theory, and landscape and fable prose, presenting the flourishing scene of Tang literature and carrying forward the treasures of Chinese classical literature. It is also the opening set of the literary figures stamp series.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Li Bai

Li Bai was a romantic poet of the High Tang, known by the sobriquet Qinglian Jushi. In the image Li Bai stands facing the wind, his garments and sleeves flying, with distant mountains and drifting clouds in the background, fully displaying his bold and free-spirited temperament. His poetry is rich in imagination and unrestrained in momentum, the summit of the romantic style of Tang poetry.

Du Fu

Du Fu was the representative of realist poetry and is honored by later generations as the "Sage of Poetry." In the image Du Fu concentrates in thought, with the common people in his heart. His poems mostly record war and the life of the people, profound and forceful, full of concern for the country and the people.

Han Yu

Han Yu was the leader of the Ancient Prose Movement and ranks first among the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song. He advocated discarding ornate parallel prose and championed the idea that literature should carry the Way; his writings are vigorous and powerful, and he was the standard-bearer of Tang dynasty prose reform.

Liu Zongyuan

Liu Zongyuan was likewise a main general of the Ancient Prose Movement. During his banishment to Yongzhou he wrote a large number of landscape travel records and fable sketches. The image shows him leaning over his desk writing by a stream. Masterpieces such as the Eight Records of Yongzhou and the Three Admonitions have been passed down through the ages, with a clear and profound literary style.

Artistic Design Features

The set adopts the narrow vertical format of traditional figure hanging scrolls and a fine-brush light-color figure painting style, with warm and elegant lines, and the figures' expressions fit each person's temperament. The four stamps are arranged in sequence, completely presenting the literary achievements of High Tang poetry and the ancient prose reform. Among them, the Liu Zongyuan stamp has the smallest circulation and is the key stamp of the set. It is a classic work among commemorative stamps on the theme of classical literature.