Scott No: 1586
Serial number: T46
Values in set: 1
Date of issue: February 15, 1980
Denomination: 8 fen
Designer: Shao Boling
Engraver: Jiang Weijie
Size of stamps: 26*31mm
Perforation: 11.5
Sheet composition: 80(8*10)
Printing process: Engraving and photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

T46 "Gengshen Year" special stamp was issued on February 15, 1980. The set consists of 1 stamp, printed by photogravure combined with engraving, with the original painting by Huang Yongyu, designed by Shao Bolin, engraved by Jiang Weijie, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory. Stamp size 26 mm × 31 mm, perforation gauge 11.5, 80 stamps per sheet.

Theme of the Set

1980 was the Gengshen Year of the Monkey in the lunar calendar. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications issued this stamp, opening the curtain on New China's first round of twelve zodiac special stamps. The zodiac is rooted in traditional Chinese folk custom, and bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new and praying for blessings and good fortune are the core connotations of zodiac stamps. This monkey stamp was originally issued as a Spring Festival New Year stamp, without grand narrative, relying on a vivid animal image to convey the meaning of New Year festivity. Its appearance set off a domestic zodiac philately boom, and subsequently zodiac stamps were issued in sequence each year, forming a zodiac stamp series that continues to this day. It holds milestone status in the history of New China's stamps and is commonly known in philatelic circles as the "Golden Monkey."

Stamp Design and Historical Background

Gengshen Year

The background color is a weighty, steady bright red, echoing the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival. At the center of the design is a seated golden snub-nosed monkey, with its body facing left and its head turned toward the viewer, its gaze bright and expressive. The monkey's fur is dense and fluffy, mainly black, with warm brown and ochre applied to the cheeks, ear tips, and inner limbs, with rich layers. The monkey's tail is curled and gathered at its side, with a quiet yet lively posture and no intense movement—a freehand sketch-style animal form. In the upper right corner of the design, the three characters "Geng Shen Nian" (Gengshen Year) are printed vertically in seal script, antique and elegant in font; on the left, the words "Zhong Guo Ren Min You Zheng" (China People's Post) are arranged vertically.

The original painter Huang Yongyu created it with sketching and ink-wash freehand techniques, and when finalizing the design he deliberately gave the monkey round, bright eyes to endow it with spirit. During printing, to enhance the texture of the picture, a combination of photogravure and engraving was adopted: the photogravure plate lays down the colors, and the engraving plate cuts the fine fur texture, solving the problems of the photogravure alone tending to look blurry and the engraving alone having monotonous colors.

Artistic Design Features

The set adopts the photogravure-plus-engraving process, with fine, solid engraved lines arranged along the direction of the monkey's fur growth, rendering the fluffy, soft fur texture of the golden snub-nosed monkey very realistically. The red background is rich and mellow, forming a strong contrast with the black and brown tones of the monkey, with strong visual impact. The composition is compact and concise, with restrained blank space, and all visual focus is concentrated on the monkey's image, without superfluous scenic embellishment.

In image creation, it breaks away from the formulaic monkey image in traditional New Year pictures, carrying a freehand flavor of literati painting, with concise and expressive modeling and abundant childlike charm. The text on the stamp is arranged with restraint, and the seal-script inscription harmonizes with the picture, antique and enduring.

The circulation of this stamp is relatively limited, and together with its enormous subsequent market influence, it has become one of the most famous and highest-value classic stamps in the history of Chinese philately.