Scott No: 1847-1849
Serial number: T84
Values in set: 3
Date of issue: April 5, 1983
Denomination: 38 fen
Designer: Zhang Kerang
Engraver: Zhao Shunyi, Gao Pinzhang, Hu Zhenyuan
Size of stamps:
31*38.5mm for Value 1, 3;
38.5*31mm for Value 2
Perforation: 11.5
Sheet composition:
50 (10*5) for Value 1,3;
50 (5*10) for Value 3
Printing process: Engraving and photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

T84 "Huangdi Mausoleum" special stamps were issued on April 5, 1983. The set consists of 3 stamps, printed by photogravure combined with engraving, designed by Zhang Kerang, engraved by Gao Pinzhang, Hu Zhenyuan, and Zhao Shunyi, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory. The first and third stamps are vertical, and the second is horizontal.

Theme of the Set

The Huangdi Mausoleum is located on Qiaoshan in Huangling, Shaanxi, and is the tomb of Xuanyuan Huangdi (the Yellow Emperor), the cultural progenitor of the Chinese nation. This set selects three representative landscapes of the mausoleum and temple, presenting the profound cultural heritage of the Huangdi Mausoleum, carrying the sentiments of Chinese people at home and abroad in seeking their roots and not forgetting their ancestors, and carrying forward the roots of Chinese civilization.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Huangdi Mausoleum

The image shows the sacrificial pavilion in front of the mausoleum, with a stone stele inscribed "Huangdi Mausoleum" standing within it, surrounded by ancient cypresses and dense, verdant woods. It is the core commemorative landscape of the Huangdi Mausoleum on Qiaoshan.

Hall of the Cultural Progenitor

The image shows the Hall of the Cultural Progenitor within the Xuanyuan Temple. The hall is dignified and spacious, with a statue of the Yellow Emperor enshrined inside. "Cultural Progenitor" is the lofty evaluation by later generations of the Yellow Emperor's achievements in opening Chinese civilization.

Xuanyuan Cypress

The image shows the ancient cypress said to have been planted by the Yellow Emperor himself, namely the "Cypress Planted by the Yellow Emperor." Its trunk is thick and tall, and after thousands of years of wind and rain it is still full of vitality. It is the landmark ancient tree of the Huangdi Mausoleum.

Artistic Design Features

The set adopts a pen-and-light-color sketch style, with solid and clear engraved lines and warm, elegant tones. The three stamps—one mausoleum, one hall, one ancient cypress—progress layer by layer from the tomb to the temple and then to the thousand-year-old cypress, covering the tomb, the shrine, and the ancient tree. It condenses the historical imagery of the Huangdi Mausoleum into the square inch of the stamps. It is a classic special stamp set on the theme of the cultural progenitor.