Scott No: 3186
Serial number: 2002-5
Values in set: 1 (souvenir sheet)
Denomination: 8.00 yuan
Date of issue:16th march 2002
Designer: Wang Huming
Size of S/S stamp: 142*50mm
Size of S/S: 160*82mm
Printing process: gravure
Printer: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing House

The stamp set is cataloged as 2002-5, titled Bunian Tu (souvenir sheet). It was issued on March 16, 2002. The set consists of one souvenir sheet in a photogravure edition printed by Beijing Stamp Printing Works. The designer is Wang Huming, and the original painting is by Yan Liben of the Tang Dynasty. The face value is 8 yuan, with a print run of 12.9 million copies. The souvenir sheet measures 160×82 mm, and the stamp measures 142×50 mm.

Bunian Tu is listed among China's ten great classical paintings. The original authentic work has been lost; the surviving version is a Northern Song copy, housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing. It is a cultural relic prohibited from being exhibited abroad. The scroll records the historical scene of the Tubo king Songtsen Gampo sending envoy Gar Tongtsen to Chang'an in the 14th year of the Zhenguan era to seek a marriage alliance and pay homage to Emperor Taizong of Tang. It is a precious visual historical document of friendly exchanges between the Han and Tibetan peoples, bearing witness to the major historical event of Princess Wencheng's entry into Tibet and the promotion of ethnic integration.

Stamp Design and Historical Background

Bunian Tu (Emperor Taizong Receiving the Tibetan Envoy)

The design fully reproduces the complete ancient handscroll. On the right side is the central figure, Emperor Taizong of Tang, seated on a palanquin, surrounded by nine palace maids who either carry the palanquin, hold fans, or raise ceremonial canopies. The figures are relatively small, which accentuates the emperor's dignified and majestic presence. On the left side of the scroll, three figures are arranged in sequence: the master of ceremonies, the Tubo envoy Gar Tongtsen, and an interpreter. Gar Tongtsen wears distinctive Tubo clothing, standing respectfully with a calm and wise expression, fully displaying the dignity of an envoy from afar. The painter Yan Liben used iron-wire line drawing to outline the figures' clothing, with rounded and flowing lines, using the contrast in figure size and expression to highlight the primary and secondary relationships. This historical event led to Princess Wencheng's marriage into Tubo, bringing advanced Central Plains techniques in agriculture, weaving, medicine, and crafts, promoting social development on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. For centuries, it has been a historical witness to the unity of Han and Tibetan peoples.

Artistic and Design Features

The stamps use the photogravure process, finely reproducing the texture of the original silk painting, color layers, and line details, faithfully preserving the original figures' expressions and the antique, elegant coloring style. The souvenir sheet uses a long horizontal format, fitting the viewing style of an ancient handscroll. The stamp border features classical decorative framing, with a plaque-style title "Bunian Tu" at the top, fully preserving the original painting's inscriptions and seals. The overall tone is antique and substantial, with no extraneous embellishment, fully conveying the dignified and elegant character of Tang Dynasty figure painting and reproducing the historical and artistic value of this national treasure-level painting in a small format.