Scott No: -
Serial number: 2020-4
Values in set: 6
Date of issue: March 20, 2020
Denomination: 960 fen
Designer: Wang Huming
Size of stamps:
35 * 50 mm for Value 1, 2, 3;
50 * 30 mm for Value 4, 5, 6
Perforation:
13 * 13.5 for Value 1, 2, 3;
13 for Value 4, 5, 6
Sheet composition: 8
176 * 138 mm for Value 1, 2, 3;
136 * 158 mm for Value 4, 5, 6
Printing process: Offset
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

China Post plans to issue a set of 6 special stamps themed "Selected Works of Wu Guanzhong" on March 20, 2020. The titles of the stamp designs are respectively: Sorghum and Cotton, Melon Vines, Water Lane, Spring Snow in the Bashan Mountains, Crane Dance, and Two Swallows. The total face value of the complete set is 9.60 yuan.

Wu Guanzhong (1919—2010), also known by his pseudonym Wu Tu, was born in Yixing, Jiangsu Province. A renowned painter and art educator, he graduated from the National Academy of Art in Hangzhou in 1942. In 1946, he was admitted to study abroad on a government scholarship from the Ministry of Education, and in 1947, he pursued studies in Western art history at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Returning to China in 1950, he successively taught at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the Department of Architecture at Tsinghua University, Beijing Normal University, Beijing Academy of Art, the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts, and the Academy of Arts & Design, Tsinghua University. In his artistic practice, he unremittingly explored new paths for the nationalization of oil painting, emphasizing artistic conception, sense of form, and national temperament in his works. Integrating the strengths of Eastern and Western art, he created a unique style, expressing his artistic insights between figurative and abstract forms. He advocated that artists should be rooted in their motherland, observe, synthesize, and refine from life and nature to convey their unique perceptions of life. His published works include Selected Sketches and Color Paintings by Wu Guanzhong, Selected Chinese Paintings by Wu Guanzhong (Volume 1), Collected Essays of Searching East and West, Selected Prose of Wu Guanzhong, and Living Up to Painting (transliterated as Bu Fu Dan Qing).

The 6 stamps feature 3 vertical oil paintings and 3 horizontal Chinese paintings by Wu Guanzhong:

Sorghum and Cotton and Melon Vines are oil paintings on wood, created in 1972 in Licun Village, Huolu County (now Luquan District) of Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, with rural themes. They are now collected by the China Art Museum in Shanghai.

The oil painting Water Lane depicts the style of water towns in the Jiangnan region through Zhouzhuang, created in 1997 and currently housed in the Hong Kong Museum of Art, China.

The ink wash painting Spring Snow in the Bashan Mountains creates a magnificent scene of mountains covered by spring snow, now collected by the National Art Museum of China.
The ink wash painting Crane Dance features a well-arranged composition with a perfect integration of dots, lines, and planes, boasting rich layers. It pushed Chinese ink wash painting to a new historical height and is now in the collection of the Singapore Art Museum.

The ink wash painting Two Swallows is based on lakeside dwellings in Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, created in 1980. Among Wu Guanzhong's many works themed on Jiangnan, this piece was his most cherished. It is currently collected by the Hong Kong Museum of Art, China.

With a clear and concise design approach, the set of stamps strives to recreate the artistic charm of Wu Guanzhong's original works within the limited space of stamps. Elements such as the postmark, face value, and stamp title are uniformly placed at the bottom of the designs, making the overall layout highlight the theme while presenting a comfortable and breathable visual experience.

In terms of printing, the stamps adopt high-precision condensed reproduction technology for calligraphy and painting artworks. Through UV offset printing and multi-color spot color overprinting, the artistic conception and characteristics of the original works are accurately reflected. In addition, the stamps integrate AR (Augmented Reality) and other technologies to realize the synchronous release of digital content. Users can interact with the stamps through platforms such as Alipay and WeChat Mini Programs. By scanning the stamps with the AR function on Alipay or the "China Philately Stamp Encyclopedia" WeChat Mini Program, the static images can be brought to life, endowing the stamps with vivid and lively elements, enhancing their appeal, and showcasing the stamps from new perspectives.

Designed by Wang Huming, Deputy Chief Designer of China National Philatelic Printing Bureau, the set is printed by Beijing Stamp Factory using the offset printing process. The planned circulation of the set is 7.8 million.