Scott No: 3059-64
Serial number:2000-20
Values in set: 6
Denomination: 6.60 yuan
Date of issue: November 11, 2000
Designer: Yuan Xikun
Size of stamps: 30*40mm
Perforation: 12*11.5
Sheet composition: 20
Printing process: gravure-engraving combined
Printer: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing House

The commemorative stamp set Ancient Thinkers was issued on November 11, 2000. It consists of six stamps with a total face value of 6.60 yuan. It was designed by Yuan Xikun, with engraving by Jiang Weijie, Hu Zhenyuan, Li Qingfa, Yan Bingwu, Hao Ou, and others. It was printed by Beijing Stamp Printing Works using a combination of offset and intaglio printing. This is the first group in the ancient thinkers series. It selects six pre-Qin philosophers, presenting the great thinkers of the era of the Hundred Schools of Thought through portrait engravings and showcasing China's foundational intellectual culture.

The Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were the golden age of the Hundred Schools of Thought in Chinese intellectual history, giving birth to many far-reaching schools of thought. The stamp set features representative figures of Confucianism, Taoism, and Mohism, including Confucius, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Mozi, and Xunzi. The doctrines of these six sages laid the foundation of traditional Chinese culture and shaped the values, moral concepts, and ways of thinking of the Chinese people. The stamps present the portraits of these ancient sages, commemorating them and preserving China's outstanding traditional thought and culture.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Confucius

The stamp features a portrait of Confucius. Confucius was the founder of the Confucian school, a great thinker and educator. He advocated benevolence and propriety, pioneered private education, proposed education for all without discrimination, and compiled the Six Classics. His thought has influenced China for more than two thousand years, and he is revered as the "Teacher of All Ages."

Mencius

The stamp features a portrait of Mencius. Mencius is revered by later generations as the "Secondary Sage." He inherited and developed Confucian doctrine, proposed the people-oriented idea that "the people are more important than the ruler," the theory of original goodness of human nature, and advocated a noble spirit. He perfected the Confucian ideological system.

Laozi

The stamp features a portrait of Laozi. Laozi was the founder of the Taoist school and authored the Tao Te Ching. He proposed that "the Tao follows nature" and advocated governance through non-action. His thought contains simple dialectics and profoundly influenced Chinese philosophy and traditional aesthetics.

Zhuangzi

The stamp features a portrait of Zhuangzi. Zhuangzi was a representative figure of Taoism during the Warring States period and authored the Zhuangzi. He advocated spiritual freedom and untrammeled wandering, with grand and romantic imagination and a sweeping, unrestrained literary style. He enriched the connotation of Taoist thought.

Mozi

The stamp features a portrait of Mozi. Mozi was the founder of the Mohist school. He advocated universal love, non-aggression, and honoring the worthy, and valued science and practice. He represented the ideological demands of the common people in ancient times and was an important school of thought in the pre-Qin period.

Xunzi

The stamp features a portrait of Xunzi. Xunzi was the great synthesizer of Confucianism in the late Warring States period. He advocated the theory of original evil of human nature and the combined governance of rites and law, integrating the strengths of various schools. His doctrines had a profound influence on later political and academic development.

Artistic and Design Features

The stamp set uses sketch portraits combined with engraving techniques. The figures' expressions are dignified and expressive, with delicate and powerful lines. The combined offset and intaglio printing provides substantial and solid engraved lines, with soft and elegant offset backgrounds and a clear hierarchy. The six portraits stand as individual pieces with a unified style. The figures are simple and steady, without elaborate background decoration. They condense the spiritual character of the pre-Qin philosophers into stamps, making it a classic work in the category of ancient famous thinkers.