Scott No: -
Serial number: W6
Values in set: 2
Date of issue: October 1, 1967
Denomination: 16 fen
Designer: Shao Bolin
Size of stamps: 62 * 40 mm
Perforation: 11.5 * 11
Sheet composition: 25 (5 * 5)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

Issued on 1 October 1967, the set contains two stamps, printed in photogravure, designed by Shao Bolin and produced by Beijing Stamp Factory. Stamp size: 60mm × 40mm; perforation: 11.5 × 11; sheet composition: 25 stamps (5 × 5). Both stamps carry a face value of 8 fen, with print runs of 10 million each, giving a total set face value of 0.16 yuan.

Main Theme of the Set

The set was issued on National Day itself, its subject being the relationship between Mao Zedong and the people of the world. In the mid- and late 1960s China's exchanges with the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America were frequent, with aid projects, non-governmental contacts and international conferences following one upon another; scenes of Mao Zedong receiving foreign guests often appeared in the press, and photographs of him shaking hands, signing autographs and conversing with friends from various countries became familiar images. Both designs of this set were taken from propaganda posters published at the time: one combines the leader's portrait with a procession of the masses, the other depicts the specific scene of receiving foreign friends, turning the phrase "the red sun in the hearts of the revolutionary people of the world" into a picture that could be seen and felt.

Each stamp had a print run of 10 million at a face value of 8 fen, the ordinary-letter rate of the time; they were widely used in practice and heavily consumed in postal service, so mint copies are not particularly numerous today.

Stamp Designs and Historical Context

Chairman Mao Is the Red Sun in the Hearts of the Revolutionary People of the World

The design consists of two parts: a frontal portrait of Mao Zedong and a procession of the people of the world. Mao Zedong wears the PLA uniform, his portrait placed centrally and rather high, with rays of light radiating behind him like a red sun rising in the east; below and around are processions of people of different skin colours converging from all sides, wearing Chairman Mao badges on their chests, waving red copies of the *Quotations from Chairman Mao* and cheering with their heads raised. The figures are arranged layer upon layer from near to far, their skin tones overlapping, and the composition radiates outward from the leader's portrait as its core, turning the metaphor of the "red sun" directly into a visual structure. The original was a propaganda poster produced jointly by Ge Weimo, Ni Zhen, Qin Long and Xu Xin, all of them at the time creative personnel of the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

The Revolutionary People of the World Boundlessly Love Chairman Mao

The design depicts Mao Zedong receiving foreign friends. He wears a grass-green military uniform and is signing an autograph for a Black friend; the two face each other in conversation, Mao Zedong smiling with a kindly expression, while foreign friends of different skin colours crowd closely around, likewise wearing badges on their chests and holding up red quotation books, their faces showing reverence and delight. In the two lower corners of the picture are painted large red palace lanterns with hanging tassels, which indicate the festive character of the occasion and naturally link the interior setting with the group of figures. The original of this stamp was a propaganda poster by Huang Tongrong; its composition is closer to an everyday scene than the first, with actions passing between the figures rather than an entirely upward-gazing arrangement of the crowd.

Artistic Features of the Design

Both stamps use the same horizontal format of 60mm × 40mm, an early instance of a large format among the W-series stamps: with many figures and dense layers, only at such a size could faces and gestures be made clear. The perforation is 11.5 × 11, differing horizontally and vertically, and the sheets of 25 are arranged 5 × 5 in a regular layout. The photogravure printing gives full, saturated colour, with red and yellow the most striking; the first stamp creates heat through radiating rays and red flags, the second draws the eye together through the red masses of the palace lanterns, the collar tabs and the quotation books, so that in colour handling one is outgoing and the other restrained. Both designs were transplanted from propaganda posters, and the figure modelling is close to a mixed style of New Year picture and propaganda poster, with simply drawn faces and emphasis on expression and atmosphere. Given their face values and print runs, these stamps were long in postal use, and both fine mint copies and complete mint sets are hard to obtain; the market holds many forgeries made by perforating full-colour, same-size printed reproductions and applying fake gum. Authentication depends on printing method and ink colour: genuine copies are photogravure with pure, bright ink and clear design and lettering under magnification, while forgeries show obvious offset halftone dots, blurred lettering and, under an ultraviolet lamp, dull red and yellow.