Scott No: 2438-41
Serial number: 1993-8
Values in set: 4
Date of issue: May 15, 1993
Designers: Zhu Zhengeng
Size:
40*30mm for Values 1,4
30*40mm for Values 2,3
Perforation: 12
Sheet composition: 50
Printing process: offset

The commemorative stamp set Patriotic Democrats (Series I), catalog number 1993-8, was issued on May 15, 1993. It consists of four stamps, produced using offset printing. The stamp sizes are 40×30 mm for (4-1) and (4-4), and 30×40 mm for (4-2) and (4-3), with a perforation gauge of 12 degrees. Each sheet contains 50 stamps. The stamps were designed by Zhu Zhengeng and printed by Shenyang Post and Telecommunications Printing Factory in Liaoning Province.

Thematic Focus of the Set

This is the opening set of the Patriotic Democrats series. It features four pioneering patriotic democrats who had far-reaching influence in the course of modern democratic revolution. In dark and turbulent times, they adhered to a patriotic stance, actively devoted themselves to the democratic movement, and stood together with the Communist Party of China through thick and thin, working together and making important contributions to the birth, consolidation, and development of New China. This stamp set uses solemn portraits to commemorate these sages, recalling the history of multi-party cooperation in sincere unity and sharing weal and woe, and carrying forward the spirit of patriotism and democracy.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Patriotic Democrat – Li Jishen

The stamp features a portrait of Li Jishen. He was a principal founder of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang. In his early years, he devoted himself to the National Revolution and later actively promoted the anti-Chiang patriotic democratic movement. After the founding of New China, he served as Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang Central Committee for a long period, uniting former Kuomintang patriotic figures and working for national reunification and construction.

Patriotic Democrat – Zhang Lan

The stamp features a portrait of Zhang Lan. He was a principal founder of the China Democratic League. He pursued democracy and spoke for the people throughout his life. A man of upright and unyielding character, he persistently struggled for peace and democracy in the Kuomintang-controlled areas. He is a representative figure of the spirit of the China Democratic League and enjoyed extremely high prestige in the patriotic democratic movement.

Patriotic Democrat – Shen Junru

The stamp features a portrait of Shen Junru. He was a leader of the National Salvation Association and an important leader of the China Democratic League. One of the famous "Seven Gentlemen," he devoted his life to the cause of national salvation, upheld the ideals of the rule of law and democracy, and promoted the vigorous development of the patriotic salvation movement.

Patriotic Democrat – Huang Yanpei

The stamp features a portrait of Huang Yanpei. He was the founder of the China Democratic National Construction Association and a famous modern educator and industrialist. He vigorously advocated vocational education, united patriotic figures in industrial and commercial circles, was known for the "question of the cycle," and actively offered suggestions for national construction.

Artistic and Design Features

The set uses brown-toned sketch portraits. The style is simple and substantial, with concise lines and no extraneous embellishment, focusing on portraying the figures' steady and resolute spiritual character. In terms of layout, horizontal and vertical formats alternate. The portrait style is unified and the tones are coordinated. It established a unified visual paradigm for the subsequent second set of patriotic democrats. Solemn and restrained, it is a classic opening of a portrait series in the category of figure commemorative stamps.