Scott No: 1792-1797
Serial number: T77
Values in set: 6
Date of issue: July 31, 1982
Denomination: 120 fen
Designer: Xu Yanbo
Size of stamps: 52*31mm
Perforation: 11.5
Sheet composition: 40 (4*10)
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

T77 "Ming and Qing Fan Paintings" special stamps were issued on July 31, 1982. The set consists of 6 stamps, printed by photogravure, designed by Xu Yanbo, and printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory. Stamp size 52 mm × 31 mm, perforation gauge 11.5, 40 stamps per sheet.

Theme of the Set

Fan painting is a uniquely distinctive category in China's traditional painting and calligraphy. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, fan art flourished and many famous masters emerged. This set selects six original fan paintings by famous Ming and Qing artists, covering landscapes, figures, and flowers and birds, displaying the artistic characteristics of fan painting and calligraphy—small and exquisite with a distant and profound artistic conception—highlighting the beauty of traditional Chinese painting's brush-and-ink, and carrying forward the excellent painting and calligraphy heritage of China.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Walking Alone in Autumn Woods

A work by Shen Zhou of the Ming dynasty, belonging to ink-wash landscape. In the image the trees are desolate, and a lofty scholar strolls alone among the woods; the rocks and trees are painted with plain, weighty brushwork—the calm and elegant style of the Wu School, using autumn scenery to express the literati's tranquil state of mind.

Withered Trees and Cold Crows

Taken from Tang Yin of the Ming dynasty, ink-wash freehand. The withered trees are gnarled, and cold crows perch on the branches; the picture is clear, simple, and desolate, with free and elegant brushwork, carrying the poet's solitary and desolate sentiment.

Bamboo and Sparrow

By Zhou Zhimian of the Ming dynasty, a flower-and-bird subject. Green bamboo stands tall, and a sparrow perches among the branches, with motion and stillness in harmony and a combination of outline and wash—the representative style of the Ming dynasty "outline flowers, dot leaves" school. This stamp won the Best Printed Stamp Award of the year.

Inscribing a Poem under the Pine

A collaboration by Chen Hongshou and Bai Han of the Ming dynasty, a figure subject. Beneath an ancient pine, a literatus faces a rock and inscribes a poem; the figures' forms are antique, quaint, and extraordinary, with lofty antique lines and a strong decorative quality.

Chrysanthemum

A work by Yun Shouping of the Qing dynasty, boneless (mogu) flower painting. Without outlining contours, colors are applied directly in washes; the chrysanthemums are fresh and warm, refined and unworldly—the typical appearance of Yun Shouping's boneless flower painting.

Paulownia, Bird, and Crape Myrtle

By Wang Wu of the Qing dynasty, a small flower-and-bird piece. Paulownia branches and leaves spread out, crape myrtle blooms in full, and a bird perches among them; the coloring is bright and beautiful, fine and lively—the style of Qing dynasty academy flower-and-bird painting.

Artistic Design Features

The stamps adopt a vertical format, with a white background setting off the main fan painting image, preserving to the greatest extent the original brush-and-ink charm of the ancient fan paintings without adding superfluous decoration. The six works are arranged in sequence, spanning from the Ming to the Qing dynasty, with subjects covering landscapes, literati figures, and flowers and birds, and styles including freehand, fine brush, and boneless—a rich variety of appearances. Among this set, the 70-fen Paulownia, Bird, and Crape Myrtle has the smallest circulation and is the key stamp of the set.