Scott No: 1599-1601
Serial number: J55
Values in set: 3
Date of issue: April 13, 1980
Denomination: 76 fen
Designer: Sun Chuanzhe
Size of stamps:
40*30mm for Value 1,3;
30*40mm for Value 2
Perforation:
11*11.5 for Value 1, 3;
11.5*11 for Value 2
Sheet composition:
50(5*10) for Value 1, 3;
50(10*5) for Value 2
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

J55 "The Return Tour of the Statue of the Venerable Jianzhen" commemorative stamps were issued on April 13, 1980. The set consists of 3 stamps, printed by photogravure, designed by Sun Chuanzhe, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory. (3-1)(3-3) measure 40 mm × 30 mm, perforation gauge 11 × 11.5, 50 stamps per sheet; (3-2) measures 30 mm × 40 mm, perforation gauge 11.5 × 11, 50 stamps per sheet.

Theme of the Set

Jianzhen was a famous eminent monk of the Tang dynasty. After six eastward voyages he finally reached Japan, spreading Buddhist teachings and the high Tang culture of medicine, architecture, and sculpture, and was an important envoy in the history of Sino-Japanese cultural exchange. In 1980, the dry-lacquer hollow-core seated statue of Jianzhen, treasured at Tōshōdai-ji in Nara, Japan, was escorted back to China for a touring exhibition. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications issued this set to commemorate this friendly exchange activity, remember Jianzhen's contributions to Sino-Japanese cultural exchange, and carry forward the history of friendly exchanges between the two countries.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Yangzhou Jianzhen Memorial Hall

The main subject is the Yangzhou Jianzhen Memorial Hall, a Tang-style imitation building designed by Liang Sicheng with reference to the style of Tōshōdai-ji, located within the Daming Temple in Yangzhou. The hall's form is antique and dignified, and it is an important domestic site commemorating Jianzhen.

Statue of the Venerable Jianzhen

The image is the dry-lacquer hollow-core seated statue of Jianzhen enshrined at Tōshōdai-ji in Japan. The master sits cross-legged, with a calm and peaceful expression, and the years of his birth and death, 688–763, are marked below the statue. This seated statue was created by Jianzhen's disciples after his passing and is a national-treasure-level cultural relic.

Jianzhen's Eastward Voyage Ship

The design depicts the ancient sailing ship on which Jianzhen traveled east, with sails raised and the ship cleaving through the waves on the sea, restoring the arduous course of Jianzhen braving wind and waves a thousand years ago in his determination to voyage east.

Artistic Design Features

The set adopts a neat and delicate realistic painting style. The three stamps correspond in sequence to the domestic commemorative building, the master's true-body statue, and the eastward voyage ship, with a coherent narrative thread. The tones are antique and soft, and the architecture, statue, and ancient ship each have their own temperament, balancing the sense of historical documentary with Eastern classical charm. It is a classic among stamps on the theme of Sino-Japanese cultural exchange.