Scott No: 2149-52
Serial number: T126
Values in set: 4
Date of issue: May 25, 1990
Denomination: 116 fen
Designers: Wu Jiankun, Ren Yu
Size of stamps: 54*40mm
Perforation: 11
Sheet composition: 20 (4*5)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

T126 "Dunhuang Murals (Series II)" special stamps were issued on May 25, 1988. The set consists of 4 stamps, printed by photogravure, with a stamp size of 54 × 40 mm, perforation gauge 11, and 20 stamps per sheet (4 × 5). Designed by Wu Jiankun and Ren Yu, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory.

Theme of the Set

This group is the second set of the Dunhuang Murals series, selecting murals on secular life themes from the Western Wei and Northern Zhou periods at the Mogao Caves. Moving beyond purely Buddhist stories, it focuses on scenes of hunting, warfare, farming, and construction in the ancient northwest. These murals are not only artistic decorations of religious caves but also pictorial historical materials reflecting social production and military life in the Hexi region during the Northern Dynasties. The set continues the plan of the Dunhuang Murals series to systematically present the art of the Mogao Caves through the ages, showcasing the distinctive style of Northern Dynasties murals—unrestrained, concise, and full of movement.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Western Wei: Hunting

The image is taken from a Western Wei cave mural at the Mogao Caves, depicting riders galloping and shooting game in the mountains and fields, wild animals fleeing, and apsaras accompanying them in the sky. Combining motion and stillness, it vividly recreates the hunting activities of Northern Dynasties nobles and reflects the landscape of the Hexi grasslands.

Western Wei: Battle

The image presents an intense scene of ancient warfare, with officers and soldiers on horseback clashing and weapons pointed at one another. The figures' postures are exaggerated and unrestrained, reproducing murals on warfare themes in the Hexi region during the Northern Dynasties and reflecting the military life of the time.

Northern Zhou: Farming

The image depicts a farm family tilling the fields and oxen and horses at work. It is a portrayal of agricultural production in the Northern Zhou period, reflecting oasis agriculture in Hexi and recording the rural labor life of ancient common people.

Northern Zhou: Building a Pagoda

The image portrays artisans working together to build a Buddhist pagoda, with everyone dividing the labor and cooperating. It displays the construction skills of ancient artisans and reflects the flourishing scene of Buddhist temple construction in the Dunhuang area at the time.

Artistic Design Features

The set faithfully copies the antique tones and lines of the original murals. Northern Dynasties murals have concise, generalized forms and strong dynamism, with antique, weighty colors and the naive, unrestrained temperament of early murals. All four stamps are horizontal stamps of the same specifications with full compositions, in the same vein as the first Dunhuang Murals set. Differing from the intricate and gorgeous characteristics of later Tang dynasty murals, it highlights the vigorous and plain artistic charm of Northern Dynasties murals.