Scott No: -
Serial number: 2017-4
Values in set: 1
Date of issue: Feburay 27, 2017
Denomination: 120 fen
Designer: Xia Jinqiu
Size of stamps: 40 * 30 mm
Perforation: 13
Sheet composition: 16
Sheet Size: 200 * 160 mm
Printing process: Offset
Printing House: Henan Provincal Postage Stamp Printing Works

China Post issued a set of one stamp themed "The Commercial Press" on February 27, 2017, to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the founding of The Commercial Press and the development course of modern Chinese publishing industry.

Founded in Shanghai on February 11, 1897, The Commercial Press is China’s first modern publishing enterprise. Since its establishment, it has published more than 50,000 titles of books, including many far-reaching publications such as Ciyuan (Origin of Words), Xinhua Dictionary, Modern Chinese Dictionary, Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary, The Commercial Press Library of World Academic Classics (Chinese Translation Series) and The Commercial Press Library of Modern Chinese Academic Classics. Hailed as "the Kingdom of Reference Books" and "a Key Hub for Academic Publishing", it has become a brand benchmark for China’s national publishing industry today. Over the past 120 years, The Commercial Press has always taken "promoting education and enlightening public wisdom" as its mission, led and driven the development of China’s publishing, cultural and educational undertakings, and made important contributions to China’s modernization drive and the construction of socialist spiritual civilization.

The stamp set is composed of an open book and the Chinese character "Shang" (Commercial)—a graphical interpretation of the press’s logo. The stamp design consists of three parts:

Architectural Element: The right page of the book features the original appearance of the press’s general headquarters in Shanghai in the 1930s, a building that was destroyed during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

Publication Display: The left page is divided into three sections. The upper section showcases early textbooks such as Latest Chinese Language Textbook and First Steps in Chinese and English; the middle section presents reference books including Xinhua Dictionary and Modern Chinese Dictionary; the lower section includes academic works like The Commercial Press Library of Modern Chinese Academic Classics.

Cultural Symbols: The central part of the stamp bears a couplet handwritten by Zhang Yuanji, the founder of the press, together with the press’s logo—the character "Shang". The couplet reads: "For a family that has thrived for centuries, nothing is more important than accumulating virtues; among all the good deeds one can do, reading is still the foremost."