Scott No: -
Serial number: 2007-6
Values in set: 6
Date of issue: Mar.
Denomination: Selected Paintings of Li Keran
Designer: Wang Huming
Size of stamps: 38*50 mm
Perforation: 13*13.5
Sheet composition: 16
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

Issued officially on March 26, 2007, this set of stamps marks the centenary of Li Keran, the great master of traditional Chinese painting. The complete set contains six pieces, each with a face value of ¥1.20, making a total face value of ¥7.20 for the full set. Designed by Wang Huming, the stamps were printed by the Beijing Stamp Printing Factory using the photogravure process.

Li Keran was a grand‑master of modern and contemporary Chinese landscape painting and an art educator. He pioneered a distinctive brush‑and‑ink style for landscape works, excelling at landscapes, buffalo‑herding scenes and figure paintings. He reinvented the artistic conception of Chinese landscape painting with powerful, imposing brushwork and innovative techniques for rendering light and shadow. To commemorate the master’s 100th birthday, China Post selected six diverse classic masterpieces, ranging from grand landscapes and literati sketches to idyllic buffalo‑herding scenes. The collection fully demonstrates the breadth of Li Keran’s painting practice, pays tribute to his pioneering spirit in rejuvenating traditional Chinese painting, and carries forward the cultural heritage of Chinese ink‑wash art.

Stamp Designs and Historical Background

Watching the Waterfall under Pines

This exquisite ink landscape features gnarled, sturdy ancient pines and a waterfall plunging from a cliff. A scholar sits quietly on a rock admiring the cascade. Rich, moist and forceful brushstrokes create a serene, ethereal mountain atmosphere, embodying the traditional literati’s devotion to natural scenery.

All Mountains Dyed Crimson

Li Keran’s most celebrated red‑toned landscape masterpiece. He saturated mountain ranges with vivid cinnabar pigment, depicting forests glowing in autumn hues and mountain dwellings nestled among scarlet trees. Poetically inspired by verses from Mao Zedong, this dynamically coloured painting stands as an iconic example of red‑themed landscape art of New China.

Appreciating a Scroll

A freehand literati sketch portraying three ancient scholars gathered to examine a painting. Concise, expressive brushwork captures the relaxed elegance of a refined gathering dedicated to art appreciation.

Crane‑Releasing Pavilion

A lyrical freehand landscape rendered with fluid ink washes over rocks and a pavilion, as a solitary crane soars across the sky. The minimalist composition with deliberate blank space evokes a tranquil, refined poetic mood.

Herding Buffalo across the Shallow Pond

A classic buffalo‑themed work. Drooping willow branches frame a young cowherd riding a buffalo wading through water. The plain, tranquil aesthetic represents Li Keran’s most heartfelt rural‑inspired buffalo painting.

Spring Rain over the South of the Yangtze River

A misty Jiangnan landscape. Bold ink and colour depict the water towns of southern China shrouded in spring drizzle, with dark‑tiled houses half‑hidden among mist‑wreathed hills. Lush, fluid brushwork perfectly conveys the soft, damp, hazy charm of rainy Jiangnan.

Artistic Design Features

All six stamps adopt a uniform vertical format, faithfully reproducing the composition, inscriptions and seals of the original paintings while preserving the aesthetic form of traditional vertical Chinese scrolls. The thematic arrangement is well‑balanced, alternating sweeping landscapes, intimate literati sketches and pastoral buffalo scenes for rich stylistic variety. The photogravure printing delicately reproduces subtle gradations of ink wash and the deep, saturated layers of cinnabar, precisely recreating the soft brush texture of paintings on rice paper. The master’s signature is uniformly placed on the right‑hand side of each stamp, lending the entire set an elegant and cohesive layout.

This set falls under the special‑issue stamp series celebrating modern and contemporary Chinese painting masters. *All Mountains Dyed Crimson* remains the most sought‑after artwork among collectors. Only two formats are available: individual stamp sets and full sheets. Philatelists frequently assemble thematic collections pairing these stamps with selections of works by celebrated artists such as Wu Guanzhong, Pan Tianshou and Fu Baoshi. It is a classic collectible within chronological stamp series dedicated to modern Chinese painting and calligraphy.