Scott No: -
Serial number: 2023-14
Values in set: 3
Date of issue: August 8th, 2023
Denomination: 360 fen
Designer: Wang Yaping, Zhang Fan
Size of stamps: 40 * 30 mm
Perforation: 13
Sheet composition: 12
Size of sheet: 150 * 60 mm
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

China Post scheduled the issuance of a set of special stamps themed Tai Chi Chuan on August 8, 2023. The set contains 3 stamps, with their design contents titled Fist Techniques, Weapons Practice and Tui Shou (Push Hands) respectively. The total face value of the complete stamp set is 3.60 yuan, and the planned circulation is 7.1 million sets.

Tai Chi Chuan is one of the most distinctive traditional Chinese sports. With the dialectical concepts of Tai Chi (the Great Ultimate) and Yin-Yang from traditional Chinese Confucian and Taoist philosophies as its core ideology, it integrates multiple functions such as cultivating temperament, strengthening the body, and martial arts combat. Combining the changes of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements from the I Ching (Book of Changes), the meridian theory of traditional Chinese medicine, and the ancient Daoyin (guidance) and Tuna (breathing) techniques, Tai Chi Chuan has developed into a traditional Chinese martial art that emphasizes internal and external cultivation, characterized by slow, light, and flexible movements as well as the harmony of hardness and softness. It has a wide audience and has been passed down from generation to generation.

This set of stamps is designed in the style of Gongbi (meticulous brushwork) figure painting, with an overall color palette dominated by black, white, and gray. The background uses "feibai" (flying white) ink-wash techniques to reflect the artistic conception of Tai Chi Chuan—calmness, inclusiveness, and the "great way being simple". The first stamp depicts an elderly man with white hair and a long beard, performing the "Danbian" (Single Whip) movement of Tai Chi Chuan in a composed and tranquil manner, embodying the traditional essence of Tai Chi Chuan and its function of promoting longevity. The background is rendered with free and unrestrained ink-wash brushstrokes and textures, creating an intangible "qiyun" (vital energy) that accompanies the elderly man’s movements. The second stamp features a graceful woman practicing Tai Chi swordsmanship; the looming airflow that follows her movements in the background reflects the smooth and flowing characteristics of Tai Chi swordplay. The third stamp shows a young man and a young woman practicing Tui Shou (Push Hands). The contrast between the man in black and the woman in white symbolizes the balance of Yin and Yang in Tai Chi, while the ink-wash textures in the background subtly form the concept of Yin-Yang, depicting the scene of "Yin and Yang in Tai Chi being inherently interdependent, and pushing hands with movements of stillness and motion, emptiness and solidity".

This set of stamps was designed by Wang Yaping and Zhang Fan, and printed using the photogravure technique by Beijing Stamp Printing Co., Ltd.