Scott No: 2756-59
Serial number: 1997-5
Values in set: 4
Date of issue: April 8, 1997
Designers: Ren Yu
Size:
30*50mm for Value 1 and 2
50*30mm for Value 3 and 4
Perforation: 12
Sheet composition: 40
Printing process: offset

The special stamp set Tea, catalog number 1997-5, was issued on April 8, 1997. It consists of four stamps, produced using offset printing. Two stamps measure 30×50 mm, and two measure 50×30 mm. The perforation gauge is 12 degrees. Each sheet contains 40 stamps. The stamps were designed by Ren Yu and printed by Henan Post and Telecommunications Printing Factory.

This stamp set takes Chinese tea culture as its theme, following the threads of the origin of tea, the people of tea, the vessels of tea, and the elegance of tea, selecting four representative aspects of tea culture. China is the original homeland of the tea plant. The history of tea cultivation, processing, and drinking stretches back thousands of years, giving rise to a profound and extensive tea culture. From ancient tea tree remains, the Sage of Tea, ancient tea vessels, and literati tea gatherings, the stamps systematically present the deep historical heritage of tea as the national drink and promote the long-standing civilization of Chinese tea.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Tea Tree

The main subject is a thousand-year-old transitional-type ancient tea tree in Bangwai Village, Lancang, Yunnan. The ancient tree is tall and lush, growing in a mountain tea garden. This ancient tea tree is a precious living fossil of the transition from wild tea trees to cultivated tea trees. It provides strong evidence that China is the original homeland of the tea plant, resolving the academic controversy over the origin of tea trees, and is a physical witness to the source of tea culture.

Sage of Tea

The design features the bronze statue of Lu Yu in the China National Tea Museum in Hangzhou, with a tea garden in the background. Lu Yu was a tea scholar of the Tang Dynasty and is revered by later generations as the Sage of Tea. His work The Classic of Tea is the world's first monograph on tea, systematically summarizing the complete theories of tea cultivation, processing, and drinking in and before the Tang Dynasty, laying the foundation of Chinese tea culture.

Tea Vessels

The image shows a Tang Dynasty gilt silver tea roller with a wild goose and flowing cloud pattern, unearthed from the crypt of Famen Temple in Shaanxi. It was an imperial tea utensil offered by Emperor Xizong of Tang. During the Tang Dynasty, tea was commonly boiled. The tea roller was used to grind tea cakes. The artifact is exquisitely crafted, reflecting the refined tea-drinking fashion of the Tang imperial court. It is a rare treasure of ancient gold and silver tea vessels.

Tea Gathering

The design is taken from a section of Tea Gathering at Hui Mountain by Wen Zhengming of the Ming Dynasty. The painting depicts Ming Dynasty literati traveling in the mountains and gathering to taste spring water. Under a pavilion, literati sit around brewing tea and chatting, displaying the elegant artistic conception of ancient literati making friends through tea and finding solace in mountains and waters. It is a classic image of traditional literati tea ceremony.

Artistic and Design Features

The stamp set integrates multiple media: actual photography, sculpture, artifacts, and ancient paintings. Vertical and horizontal formats alternate, and each stamp features a red seal-engraved title, rich in antique charm. The four images follow a coherent logic, from the physical tea tree, to the tea scholar, to imperial tea vessels and literati gatherings, fully outlining the development of tea culture. The tones are warm and serene, simple and elegant. It is a classic work in the category of tea culture stamps.