Scott No: 1969-1972
Serial number: T104
Values in set: 4
Date of issue: Febuary 28, 1985
Denomination: 94 fen
Designers: Zou Jianjun
Size of stamps: 31*52mm
Perforation: 11.5
Sheet composition: 40(10*4)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

T104 "Festive Lanterns" special stamps were issued on February 28, 1985. The set consists of 4 stamps, printed by photogravure, designed by Zou Jianjun, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory.

Theme of the Set

Festive lanterns, also called colored lanterns, are a long-standing traditional folk craft in China, closely linked to the Lantern Festival custom of appreciating lanterns and integrating various skills such as frame-making, painted decoration, and embroidery. This set selects highly representative folk lanterns from various regions of China. Unlike the earlier palace lanterns, it focuses on presenting the lively and festive appearance of folk colored lanterns, using lanterns to express the beautiful wishes for reunion, auspiciousness, and national peace and prosperity, and carrying forward the folk culture of appreciating lanterns at the Lantern Festival.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Nine Lotuses Offering Auspiciousness

This is the distinctive Nine-Lotus Lantern of Hangzhou, with layers of lotus flowers clustering around the lantern body in an intricate and exquisite form. In traditional culture, the lotus implies purity and auspiciousness, and nine lotuses carry the beautiful meaning of lasting smoothness and continuous good fortune.

Dragon and Phoenix Bringing Prosperity

This is the dragon-and-phoenix lantern of Foshan, Guangdong, with dragon and phoenix patterns painted on the lantern body and poetic decorations. The dragon and phoenix are traditional auspicious symbols, signifying prosperity and harmonious happiness, and it is a classic style of Lingnan colored lanterns.

A Hundred Flowers Blooming in Beauty

This is the flower-basket lantern of Guangzhou, whose body gathers flowers of all kinds, full and varied in beauty. A hundred flowers in full bloom imply a flourishing life and symbolize happiness and beauty in the human world and spring colors that remain forever.

Gold and Jade Fill the Hall

This is the goldfish lantern of Shanghai, with lotus leaves setting off the goldfish, lively and elegant. "Goldfish" is a homophone for "gold and jade," implying that gold and jade fill the hall and that there is surplus year after year—a popular auspicious theme among the people.

Artistic Design Features

The designs uniformly use a full moon as the background to set off the lanterns, creating the atmosphere of brightly lit lanterns on a Lantern Festival moonlit night and implicitly conveying the meaning of blooming flowers and a full moon and the reunion of all families. At the top of each stamp, text is placed in a red paper-cut style, unifying the pictorial style of the whole set. The colors are rich and lively, and the details of the lanterns' tassels and hanging ornaments are finely depicted, with a strong folk festive flavor. It is a classic work on folk themes among JT stamps.