Scott No: 746-747
Serial number: C101
Values in set: 2
Date of issue: December 20, 1963
Denomination: 16 fen
Designer: Guang Shou, Lu Tianjiao
Size of stamps: 26.5*36mm
Perforation: 11.5*11
Sheet composition: 50(10*5)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

C101 "Support the Liberation Struggle of the People of South Vietnam" commemorative stamps were issued on December 20, 1963. The set consists of 2 stamps, printed by photogravure, designed by Lu Tianjiao, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory. Stamp size 30 mm × 40 mm, perforation gauge 11.5 × 11, 50 stamps per sheet (10 × 5), with a total face value of 0.16 yuan for the set; both stamps at 8 fen, with a circulation of 4.5 million copies each.

Theme of the Set

In the 1960s, the people of South Vietnam carried out an armed struggle against foreign interference and for national self-determination. The Chinese government and people consistently supported the just struggle of the South Vietnamese people. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications issued this set to express the Chinese people's position of supporting the South Vietnamese people and the national liberation movement, and to praise the fighting spirit of the South Vietnamese soldiers and civilians in fearing no oppression and persisting in resistance.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Invincible

The main subject of the design is a South Vietnamese guerrilla fighter gripping a rifle, standing tall, with a tropical jungle in the background; the fighter's gaze is firm, manifesting the unyielding strength of persisting in battle in the jungle and implying that the strength of national liberation is irresistible.

We Will Surely Win

The design depicts the side-by-side image of South Vietnamese soldiers and civilians: the rifle-bearing fighter stands together with the masses, with palms and tropical trees behind them, symbolizing that soldiers and civilians are of one heart and gathering the strength of resistance, conveying the belief that the just struggle will ultimately triumph.

Artistic Design Features

The set uniformly adopts a vertical format and photogravure printing, with deep, weighty tones, using intense red and dark green to set off the atmosphere of the tropical battlefield. One stamp highlights valor through the figure of the fighter, the other expresses unity through the joint composition of soldiers and civilians; the two complement each other with a clear theme.