Scott No: 1117-21
Serial number: N86-90
Values in set: 5
Date of issue: June 1, 1973
Denomination: 40 fen
Designer: Wu Jiankun
Size of stamps: 30*40mm
Perforation: 11.5*11
Sheet composition: 50(10*5)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

Numbered Stamps 86-90 "Children's Songs and Dances" numbered stamps were issued on June 1, 1973. The set consists of 5 stamps, printed by photogravure, designed by Wu Jiankun, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory. Stamp size 30 mm × 40 mm, perforation gauge 11.5 × 11, 50 stamps per sheet (10 × 5), printed as a horizontal five-stamp se-tenant strip.

Theme of the Set

This set was issued to celebrate International Children's Day on June 1, selecting the most representative song-and-dance forms of five ethnic groups—Han, Mongolian, Tibetan, Uygur, and Korean—and using images of ethnic children to display the cheerful and lively spiritual outlook of children of all ethnic groups, embodying the era's atmosphere of ethnic unity and children growing up healthily, and also reflecting the rich appearance of China's multi-ethnic folk song-and-dance art.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Yangge Dance

The picture shows a little Han girl with two braids, wearing an apron, waving colored silk with both hands and dancing yangge, with a cheerful posture. Yangge is a representative folk dance of the Han people popular in the north, originating from agricultural labor and mostly performed at New Year and festival celebrations. Dancers dress as various characters and hold props such as handkerchiefs, fans, and colored silk, accompanied by gongs, drums, suona, and cymbals; the form is simple and lively, with a warm and jubilant atmosphere, and there are different schools such as northern Shaanxi, northeastern, Hebei, and Shandong Jiaozhou.

Playing the Morin Khuur

The picture shows a little Mongolian boy, holding a morin khuur and playing it while dancing. The morin khuur is a traditional Mongolian bowed string instrument, called "choor" in Mongolian. Its body is wooden, about one meter long, with a trapezoidal sound box covered with horsehide or sheepskin, tuned in fourths with two bundles of horsehair strings, and played with a horsehair bow inserted between the two strings; its tone is round, low, gentle, and deep, capable of playing double stops and harmonics, and it is the most important Mongolian instrument for solo, accompaniment, and ensemble. A horse's head is carved at the top of the neck; legend says it originated from a herdsman who made the instrument in memory of a dead foal.

Hada Dance

The picture shows a little Tibetan girl, holding a hada up with both hands and dancing gracefully. Hada is a transliteration from Tibetan; it is a silk scarf used by Tibetans and some Mongolians in greetings and farewells, gifts, worship of deities, and daily etiquette to express respect and congratulations. It comes in various lengths, mainly white, with red, yellow, light blue, and other colors also used. Holding up a hada and dancing expresses sincere blessings to guests.

Hand Drum Dance

The picture shows a little Uygur boy, beating a hand drum and dancing. The hand drum dance is a dance form popular among the Uyghurs of Xinjiang, named because it is accompanied by a hand drum during the dance. The drum rhythms are varied, and the dancer spins and leaps with the drumbeats, with a warm and cheerful mood; it is one of the most representative performances in Uygur folk song and dance.

Long Drum Dance

The picture shows a little Korean girl, tying the long drum in front of her body and dancing while beating it. The long drum dance is a Korean folk dance, mostly performed by women: the dancer beats the drumhead with the left hand and strikes the drum with a thin bamboo drumstick in the right hand, with expansive and graceful movements. The long drum, also called "janggu," is about seventy centimeters long, with a wooden cylindrical body that is thin and solid in the middle and thick and hollow at both ends, with drumheads of stretched hide fastened by ropes. When played, it is hung on the chest or placed on a wooden stand, and the two hands alternate rhythms with great variety.

Artistic Design Features

The set adopts the art form of Chinese folk paper-cutting, with stiff, expansive lines and strong decorative forms. The designer uses the popular window-flower patterns as borders, making the main pictures and borders harmonious and unified. The five stamps use the layout of a horizontal five-stamp se-tenant strip, arranged from left to right, with the figures' dance postures, instruments, and ribbons echoing one another and song and dance blending into one. The five stamps joined together form a complete long scroll of ethnic song and dance, symbolizing the unity and friendship of children of all ethnic groups and also carrying the meaning that children are the hope of the motherland's future. It is a classic work among the numbered stamps in which layout design and folk art are combined excellently.