Scott No: 3286
Serial number: 2003-11
Values in set: 4
Denomination: 4.40 yuan
Date of issue: 29th June 2003
Designer: Lao Si
Size of stamps: 30*50 mm
Perforation: 12.5*13
Sheet composition:
16 for sheet I
8 for Sheet II
Printing process: photogravur
Printer: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing House

This is a set of four special stamps titled Suzhou Gardens – Master-of-Nets Garden, issued on June 29, 2003, with a total face value of 4.40 yuan, designed by Lao Si and printed by Beijing Stamp Printing Works using the photogravure process. The set is printed in a continuous horizontal format of four stamps.

The Master-of-Nets Garden is located in the southeast of the ancient city of Suzhou. It was first built during the Southern Song Dynasty, originally named the Hall of Ten Thousand Volumes, and was renamed the Master-of-Nets Garden after being rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. The name evokes the idea of a fisherman angling and retreating from the world. The garden covers just over eight mu and is a representative mid-sized classical garden in Suzhou, known for its compact and exquisite design and its ability to reveal the grand within the small. The layout of mountains, water, architecture, and plants is ingenious, with rich spatial layers that integrate the literati's reclusive sentiments into the garden scenery. In 1982, the Master-of-Nets Garden was listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level, and in 1997 it was inscribed on the World Heritage List. This stamp set features four core landscapes within the garden, using a continuous format to fully present the garden design art of this famous Jiangnan garden, embodying the aesthetic principles of classical Chinese gardens—where every step reveals a new view and poetry is painted into the scenery.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Peony Hall

The Peony Hall is an independent small courtyard on the west side of the Master-of-Nets Garden. Its name is taken from the poetic line "Still keeping the peony to grace the spring breeze," with "Dianchun" referring to late spring. The courtyard covers less than one mu and has a simple, elegant layout, including the main Peony Hall, the Cold Spring Pavilion, the Emerald-Reflecting Spring, and a peony garden. The architecture is in the Ming Dynasty style, with a rounded roof, surrounded by corridors, and dotted with rockeries and plants. This courtyard is renowned overseas; the Astor Court at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States was modeled after the Peony Hall, making it a landmark work of Chinese garden culture reaching the world. The stamp depicts the quiet and secluded atmosphere of the small courtyard, with pavilions, springs, rocks, and plants complementing one another.

Pavilion of Moon and Wind

The Pavilion of Moon and Wind is located on the west bank of the Rosy Cloud Pond, built by the water and surrounded on three sides by it. The pavilion's name is taken from the poetic line "When the moon reaches the heart of the sky, and the wind comes upon the water." Inside hangs a couplet by a famous Qing Dynasty calligrapher, making it an excellent spot for moon viewing and listening to the wind. Standing in the pavilion, one can take in the pond, rocks, and trees. On moonlit nights, the moonlight reflects on the water, and a gentle breeze passes by, creating an ethereal and distant mood. The stamp presents the pavilion standing by the pond, with calm water and distant mountains and trees, fully displaying the elegant mood of a Jiangnan garden on a moonlit night.

Pavilion Beyond the Bamboo

The Pavilion Beyond the Bamboo is adjacent to the Rosy Cloud Pond and is an open waterside pavilion. Its name is derived from a famous line by Su Shi about plum blossoms. The pavilion faces the pond, with clusters of green bamboo beside it. The structure is open and light, without heavy, enclosed walls, allowing people inside to directly face the landscape. As a viewing structure in the garden, it serves as a transition between the courtyard and the water, achieving a balance of solid and void, and is a classic example of architectural spatial handling in the Master-of-Nets Garden. The stamp uses the pond and bamboo to set off the pavilion, displaying its ethereal and elegant character.

Hall of Ten Thousand Volumes

The Hall of Ten Thousand Volumes is the main hall of the Master-of-Nets Garden and was also the garden's original name. It was the primary place for the garden owner to receive guests and study. The hall is dignified in scale, a typical Jiangnan residential hall style, with simple wooden construction and elegant furnishings, situated at the core of the residential courtyard. The building echoes the courtyard and rockery in front, reflecting the ancient literati ideal of collecting books and pursuing scholarship. It is the starting point of the garden's humanistic spirit. The stamp presents the solemn and antique appearance of the hall, with lush ancient trees in the courtyard, fully displaying the refined demeanor of a scholarly residence.

Artistic and Design Features

The stamp set uses a four-stamp continuous horizontal format, with the scenes naturally connecting to form a continuous and complete garden scroll, recreating the experience of viewing a garden where every step reveals a new scene. The painting style is a delicate color ink painting, with warm and elegant tones that accurately express the Jiangnan character of white walls, dark tiles, blue water, and green trees. The photogravure printing provides rich layers, meticulously depicting the wooden structures of the buildings, the textures of the rocks, and the details of the plants. It condenses the essence of the Master-of-Nets Garden—small yet exquisite, restrained and understated—into the stamps, showcasing the unique poetic charm of classical Suzhou gardens.