Scott No: -
Serial number: 2012-3
Values in set: 1
Date of issue: February 23, 2011
Denomination: 120 fen
Designer: Li Qun
Size of stamps: 30 * 40 mm
Perforation: 13.5
Sheet composition: 15
Size of sheet: 192 * 158 mm
Printing process: Offset
Printing House: Liaoning Shenyang Postage Stamp Printing Works

On February 23, 2012, China Post issued the special stamp "Zhonghua Book Company" with catalog number 2012-3. The set consists of one stamp (1-1) "Zhonghua Book Company," with a face value of 1.20 yuan. It was designed by Li Qun, with Wang Jing serving as the responsible editor. Materials were provided by Zhonghua Book Company Ltd., and the stamp was printed by Shenyang Post and Telecommunications Printing Factory in Liaoning Province, employing anti-counterfeiting paper, anti-counterfeiting ink, shaped perforations, and fluorescent spray codes.

This stamp was issued to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Zhonghua Book Company. The company was established on January 1, 1912, in Shanghai by Lu Feikui and others, at the dawn of the Republic of China. From its inception, it advocated for a "textbook revolution" and the principle of self-operation by Chinese merchants. With the goal of "enlightening the people," it devoted significant effort to compiling new-style textbooks and accessible popular reading materials, widely disseminating new knowledge in line with the spirit of the times. It quickly grew into one of the largest comprehensive publishing institutions in modern China.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the company relocated to Beijing. Starting in 1958, it refocused on its core mission of compiling and annotating classical texts, specializing in the publication of historical, literary, and academic classics. It successively completed landmark cultural projects, including the punctuated and annotated editions of the "Twenty-Four Histories" and the "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty," and published a vast number of classical works. It holds an irreplaceable position in the preservation and transmission of China's outstanding traditional culture.

The stamp design employs a vertical split composition. The upper section features the classic circular emblem of Zhonghua Book Company, with ears of wheat framing a book motif, and the small seal script characters for "Zhonghua" (China) inscribed within the book. The lower main section depicts the historic building of Zhonghua Book Company at 1916 Henan Middle Road in Shanghai, completed in 1916. On the right side, the company name is inscribed in the calligraphic style of Tang Tuo. A faint background text from the "Records of the Grand Historian" (Shiji) subtly symbolizes the company's enduring cultural legacy. The overall color palette is simple and elegant, using warm yellow tones to convey a sense of historical depth, integrating the brand emblem, historic architecture, and classic texts to encapsulate the century-long publishing journey and cultural mission of Zhonghua Book Company.

As the third special stamp of 2012, this issue followed closely on the heels of the 2012-2 "Bank of China" stamp. Both stamps commemorate institutions founded in 1912, at the dawn of the Republic of China, creating an interesting historical resonance between the two. Within the genre of publishing and cultural heritage stamps, "Zhonghua Book Company" is a significant representative of the development of modern Chinese publishing. It is well-suited for history and publishing-themed collections, capturing the rise of modern Chinese publishing and the enduring transmission of traditional culture in a compact form.