Scott No: 1607
Serial number: T51
Values in set: 4
Date of issue: June 1, 1980
Denomination: 32 fen
Designer: Wan Weisheng
Size of stamps: 40*30mm
Perforation: 11*11.5
Sheet composition: 50(5*10)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

T51 "Fairy Tale — 'Plop'" special stamps were issued on June 1, 1980. The set consists of 4 stamps, printed by photogravure, designed by Wan Weisheng, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory. Stamp size 40 mm × 30 mm, perforation gauge 11 × 11.5, printed in a horizontal strip of five, with the fifth being a non-denominated appendix stamp (se-tenant label) bearing the story text and not valid for postage. This set was also accompanied by the first stamp booklet issued in New China.

Theme of the Set

"Plop" is a widely circulated folk fairy tale of ethnic minorities. The story tells of a ripe papaya falling into a lake and making a "plop" sound; a rabbit hears it and flees in panic, and the other animals follow and run wildly without thinking, until the truth is finally clarified. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications chose to issue this set on International Children's Day, telling the fable through continuous picture-story-style images and guiding children to think calmly and not follow the crowd blindly when something happens. It is China's first fairy-tale picture-story stamp set and holds a unique place among children's-themed stamps.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

"Plop—"

The image is a lakeside scene: a papaya falls from the tree and drops into the water, splashing, and a rabbit nearby hears the sound and, startled, is about to flee—the beginning of the whole story.

"Plop" Is Coming

In the image the rabbit runs desperately forward, with a monkey close behind, and the rabbit shouts "Plop is coming!" as it runs; the panic begins to spread.

"Plop"!?

In the image a lion stands in the forest, stopping the animals fleeing in all directions, with a steady expression, halting everyone's blind flight and guiding them to seek the truth.

Ah! Papaya

All the animals return to the lakeside, and everyone finally sees the papaya floating on the water and understands that "plop" was only the sound of the papaya falling into the water—the false alarm is resolved.

Appendix Stamp

Non-denominated, the image is the story's explanatory text, linking together the whole fairy tale plot and joining with the four stamps as a component of this se-tenant set.

Artistic Design Features

The set adopts a bright, childlike decorative painting style, with fresh, soft colors and simple, cartoonish forms. The four stamps narrate continuously in the order of the story, like a color picture-story book, with coherent plot and smooth rhythm. The animal images are vivid and lovely, and the background is simply set off with forest and lake water, not complicated, fitting children's aesthetics. The horizontal se-tenant layout is also a highly innovative attempt among New China's stamps. It is a household-known classic children's-themed stamp set.