Scott No: 2136-39
Serial number: T125
Values in set: 4
Date of issue: February 10, 1988
Denomination: 68 fen
Designers: Lu Shengzhong
Size of stamps: 40*30mm
Perforation: 11.5*11
Sheet composition: 50(5*10)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

T125 "Rural Life" special stamps were issued on February 10, 1988. The set consists of 4 stamps, printed by photogravure, with a stamp size of 40 × 30 mm, perforation gauge 11 × 11.5, and 50 stamps per sheet (5 × 10). Designed by Lü Shengzhong and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory.

Theme of the Set

This set adopts the art form of folk New Year pictures to present, from four aspects—recreation, sideline production, science and education, and daily life—the thriving new look of rural areas after reform and opening up. It combines traditional folk auspicious meanings with new-era rural development, reflecting the era's changes: improvement in farmers' material life, increasingly rich spiritual and cultural life, and growing attention to scientific and technological knowledge.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Songs of Harvest Resound, Joyful Music Rings On

The image depicts farmers singing and making music, accompanied by suona horns and gongs and drums, surrounded by peonies—festive and lively. It shows the flourishing of rural recreational activities after the harvest and the enrichment of farmers' spiritual life, expressing the joy of a good harvest.

Each Shows Their Skill, Auspiciousness and Abundance

In the image, a man holds a big fish and a woman holds a rooster, paired with lotus patterns. "Rooster" (ji) is a homophone for "auspicious" (ji), and "fish" (yu) for "abundance" (yu), meaning auspiciousness and abundance. It shows the prosperity of rural farming and sideline production and becoming well-off through diversified operations.

Knowledge Shines, Dragons Soar and Phoenixes Fly

The image shows young men and women reading and studying, surrounded by dragon and phoenix patterns with chrysanthemums as accents. It implies that scientific and technological knowledge is brought to the countryside and that agriculture is revitalized through science and education, carrying beautiful hopes for rural modernization.

Ample Food and Clothing, Peaceful Homes and Happy Work

The image depicts a scene of family reunion, accompanied by plum blossoms and magpies—magpies on plum branches, symbolizing joy on the brows. It shows the prosperity of farm family life, stable housing, and peaceful and happy days.

Artistic Design Features

The set adopts the style of Shandong folk New Year pictures, with exaggerated and full forms, intense and brilliant colors, and plain, unrestrained lines. Each stamp is paired respectively with peonies, lotuses, chrysanthemums, and plum blossoms, implicitly matching the peace of the four seasons. The images are rich in decorative elements and full of rustic flavor, with direct and vivid auspicious meanings. It is a classic of 1980s stamps on folk art themes.