Scott No: 1090-94
Serial number: N39-43
Values in set: 5
Date of issue: June 10, 1972
Denomination: 40 fen
Designer: Wu Jiankun
Size of stamps:
60*27mm for N39;
30*40mm for N40, N41, N42, N43
Perforation: 11
Sheet composition:
40(5*8) for N39;
50(10*5) for N40, N41, N42, N43
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

Issued on 10 June 1972, the set contains five stamps, printed in photogravure, designed by Wu Jiankun and produced by Beijing Stamp Factory. N39 measures 60mm × 27mm, perforation 11, sheet composition 40 stamps; N40, N41, N42 and N43 measure 30mm × 40mm, perforation 11, sheet composition 50 stamps.

Main Theme of the Set

On 10 June 1952, Comrade Mao Zedong wrote the inscription "Develop sports and build up the people's physique." The year 1972 marked the twentieth anniversary of that inscription. The stamps select scenes of mass sports activities carried out by different groups — workers, peasants, People's Liberation Army personnel and young people — showing the widespread development of mass sports and the era's picture of active fitness participation in every walk of life. They promote the popularisation of nationwide fitness activities and embody the principle that sports serve the broad masses of the people.

Stamp Designs and Historical Context

Five Ball Games

Set against a red background, athletes of five ball games — basketball, volleyball, badminton, table tennis and football — compete simultaneously within a sports hall. Multiple ball sports are brought together in a single image, showing the rich variety of ball games, which are among the most popular events in mass sports.

Workers Performing Radio Calisthenics

Factory buildings and chimneys form the background. One worker leads the exercises in the foreground, with a number of workers following behind. Radio calisthenics are simple and easy to perform, well suited to being carried out during work breaks in factory areas, and constitute a widely adopted fitness method in industrial and mining enterprises.

Peasants Adapting to Local Conditions with Tug-of-War

In golden rural fields, peasant masses hold a tug-of-war contest, pulling the rope together with one heart. The scene is rich in rustic flavour, reflecting how rural areas adapt to local conditions and use the slack farming season to carry out mass sports activities.

PLA Soldiers on Mountain Route-March Training

Amid mountains and valleys, a PLA contingent conducts field mountain route-march training, with soldiers advancing along mountain paths. It combines physical conditioning with combat-readiness training, embodying the army's requirement to hone skills and build strong physiques.

Young People Diving and Swimming in Natural Waters

By the riverside and among the rocks, youngsters leap into the water to swim and dive, with companions waiting on the bank. The scene echoes the call to exercise in rivers, lakes and seas, showing young people bravely battling the waves and actively taking part in water sports.

Artistic Features of the Design

The whole set adopts a poster style, with bright, vivid colours and lively, forceful figure movements. The first stamp uses a horizontal elongated format while the remaining four are vertical, creating an alternation of horizontal and vertical layouts. The five stamps successively cover different groups — industry and mining, rural areas, the armed forces and young people — presenting a picture of the whole nation taking part in sports. It is a classic work on the theme of mass sports among the numbered stamps.