Scott No: 3234-36
Serial number: 2002-20
Values in set: 3
Denomination: 3.60 yuan
Date of issue: 21th Sep. 2002
Designer: Yu Xinsheng
Size of stamps: 30*40 mm
Perforation: 11.5
Sheet composition: 20
Printing process: gravure
Printer: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing House

The stamp set is cataloged as 2002-20, titled Mid-Autumn Festival. It was issued on September 21, 2002. The set consists of three stamps in a photogravure edition printed by Beijing Stamp Printing Works. The designer is Yu Xinsheng. The total face value is 3.6 yuan. Each stamp measures 30×40 mm, with a perforation gauge of 11.5 degrees. Sheet I contains 20 stamps. A miniature sheet (Sheet II) was also issued, containing three complete sets of nine stamps in a continuous strip.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is an important traditional Chinese festival, falling on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. The full moon symbolizes reunion. Since ancient times, there have been customs such as moon viewing, eating mooncakes, and worshipping the moon, expressing the beautiful sentiment of family reunion and longing for relatives and friends. This is one of the traditional Chinese festival series stamps. It features three scenes of Mid-Autumn folk customs, using the form of folk New Year prints to express the family affection and romance embodied in the festival.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Reunion

The stamp depicts a scene of family gathering. The whole family, young and old, sits around a round table. On the table are mooncakes, fruits, and wine. Everyone is talking, laughing, and joyful. Outside the window, a full moon hangs high. The core meaning of the Mid-Autumn Festival is family reunion. The full moon symbolizes the reunion of people. On Mid-Autumn night, the whole family gathers for a feast and shares mooncakes. This is a custom passed down for thousands of years, expressing the people's simple wish for family harmony, peace, and fulfillment.

Moon Viewing

The stamp depicts a family of three in a courtyard looking up at the bright moon. In the courtyard are pomegranates, chrysanthemums, and various fresh fruits. The clear moonlight falls on the courtyard. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the autumn air is crisp and the bright moon hangs in the sky. The ancients often set up feasts in their courtyards to watch the moon and quietly enjoy its light. Pomegranates symbolize many descendants, and chrysanthemums symbolize purity. The overall scene is quiet and warm, reflecting the tranquil mood of family members enjoying the moonlight together during the Mid-Autumn season.

The Moon as Matchmaker

The stamp depicts a young man and woman by a stream under the moonlight, exchanging sachets, with the bright moon witnessing their affection. In classical literature, the bright moon often serves as a token of emotion. It carries not only the longing of relatives but also symbolizes pure love. The ancients had a tradition of expressing feelings under the moon, using the bright moon to express mutual affection and the romantic sentiment of longing and staying together, expanding the emotional connotation of Mid-Autumn culture.

Artistic and Design Features

The stamps use the photogravure process, reproducing the simple and passionate style of folk woodblock New Year prints. The lines use the iron-wire drawing technique. The colors are simple and bright. The designs use a warm yellow tone as a unified background. Each stamp features a full moon at the top, creating a series echo. The stamps use a vertical format. The figures are full and vivid, with a rich folk flavor. The designs do not use elaborate background rendering, highlighting the figures and Mid-Autumn folk activities. The stamp set presents the rich humanistic connotations of the Mid-Autumn Festival layer by layer—from family reunion, to courtyard moon viewing, to romantic thoughts under the moon—interpreting the beautiful wish for reunion and peace through the art of traditional New Year prints.