Scott No: -
Serial number: 2014-18
Values in set: 2 + 1
Date of issue: August 28, 2014
Denomination of Stamps: 240 fen
Designer of Stamps: Dai Honghai
Size of stamps:
30 * 50 mm
Perforation: 13.5
Sheet composition:
16 for Sheet I;
8 for Sheet II (4 sets)
Size of sheet:
150 * 240 mm for Sheet I;
150 * 176 mm for Sheet II
Size of S/S: 84 * 118 mm
Size of S/S Stamp: 38 * 62 mm
S/S Perforation: 13 * 13.5
Designer of S/S: Dai Honghai, Zhang Wang
Printing process: Offset
Printing House: Liaoning Provincial Postage Stamp Printing Works

The special stamp set featuring Zhuge Liang was issued by China Post on August 28, 2014. The set consists of two stamps, "Emergence of the Sleeping Dragon" and "Utmost Devotion unto Death," along with a souvenir sheet featuring a half-length standing portrait of Zhuge Liang. The total face value is 8.40 yuan. This is the first stamp set issued by China Post solely dedicated to Zhuge Liang. The first-day issuance ceremonies were held simultaneously in Xiangyang, Hubei Province, and Lanxi, Zhejiang Province. The souvenir sheet was designed by Zhang Wang, using a vertical format, with the background incorporating eight historical episodes, including "Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage" and "Borrowing Arrows with Straw Boats."

The stamps combine traditional gongbi (meticulous brushwork) with baimiao (line drawing) techniques. The first stamp depicts Liu Bei's three visits to the thatched cottage and Zhuge Liang's analysis of the strategic situation, while the second stamp portrays Zhuge Liang presenting his memorial to the throne before leading the Northern Expeditions. China Post had previously featured Zhuge Liang in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" stamp series in 1988.

Zhuge Liang (181–234), courtesy name Kongming, was a native of Yangdu, Langya (present-day Yinan, Shandong). He was a statesman and military strategist of the Shu Han state during the Three Kingdoms period. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, to escape the turmoil of war, he lived in seclusion in Longzhong, farming and studying the affairs of the world, earning him the nickname "Sleeping Dragon" (Wolong). After Liu Bei's three visits, Zhuge Liang emerged from seclusion and became Liu Bei's chief strategist. He helped Liu Bei form an alliance with Sun Quan to defeat Cao Cao at the Battle of Red Cliffs, and later assisted Liu Bei in establishing the Shu Han regime. As the Chancellor (prime minister), he governed with diligence, rewarded and punished fairly, implemented land reclamation policies, improved relations with the ethnic groups in the southwest, and promoted local economic development. He launched five Northern Expeditions against Wei in an attempt to reclaim the central plains, but ultimately died from exhaustion at the Wuzhangyuan front. Zhuge Liang's lifelong dedication, encapsulated in the phrase "Utmost devotion unto death," has made him an enduring symbol of loyalty and wisdom in traditional Chinese culture.