Scott No: -
Serial number: 2019-16
Values in set: 5
Date of issue: August 3, 2019
Denomination: 600 fen
Designer: Wang Huming
Size of stamps: 76 * 30 mm
Perforation: 13
Sheet composition: 10
Sheet Size: 185 * 210 mm
Size of M/S: 108 * 195 mm
Printing process: Offset and Engraving
Printing House: Henan Provincal Postage Stamp Printing Works

China Post is scheduled to issue a set of 5 special stamps and 1 miniature sheet themed "Painting of the Five Great Mountains" on August 3, 2019. The stamps bear the following design titles: Sunrise at Riguang Platform (Mount Tai), Clear Autumn at Huashan Mountain, Rainy Scenery at Zhurong Peak (Mount Heng, Hunan), Snow-Covered Pass at Hengshan Mountain (Shanxi), and Two Peaks Competing in Grandeur (Mount Song). The total face value of the complete stamp set is 6 yuan, and the miniature sheet is priced at 9 yuan.

The "Five Great Mountains" (Wuyue) is a general term for Mount Tai (the Eastern Great Mountain) in Shandong, Mount Hua (the Western Great Mountain) in Shaanxi, Mount Heng (the Southern Great Mountain) in Hunan, Mount Heng (the Northern Great Mountain) in Shanxi, and Mount Song (the Central Great Mountain) in Henan. These mountains boast both towering and precipitous natural landscapes and profound humanistic landscapes.

The Painting of the Five Great Mountains scroll was created by Song Xu of the Ming Dynasty. It is a colored silk scroll, divided into five sections in total. Each section measures 24.7 cm in height and approximately 75.9 cm in width, and is now collected in the Palace Museum. In terms of composition, the painting adopts a panoramic perspective and a moving viewpoint technique, presenting the interweaving and echoing relationship between the mountain ranges and highlighting the magnificent and grand momentum of the Five Great Mountains.

Sunrise at Riguang Platform depicts the scene of the rising sun over Mount Tai in Shandong.

Clear Autumn at Huashan Mountain portrays the landscape of Mount Hua in Shaanxi during the clear autumn season.

Rainy Scenery at Zhurong Peak shows the rainy scene at Zhurong Peak of Mount Heng in Hunan.

Snow-Covered Pass at Hengshan Mountain presents the snow-covered landscape of Mount Heng in Shanxi.

Two Peaks Competing in Grandeur displays the spectacular scenery of Taishi Mountain and Shaoshi Mountain of Mount Song in Henan.

As a classic work that perfectly combines realistic landscape painting with traditional techniques and literati feelings, this scroll not only adds a unique charm to the portrayal of the Five Great Mountains on silk, but also exerts a profound influence on the creation of realistic landscape paintings by later generations.

The stamp design fully presents the original appearance of the Painting of the Five Great Mountains scroll. It features simple and elegant colors, a concise and magnificent design, and an overall fresh and refined style. The stamps are printed using the offset-engraving combination process. Engravers used vivid and forceful carving techniques, as well as skilled dot and line expressions, to convey the profound artistic conception of the painting, with alternating shades of color and contrasting virtual and real elements.

This set of stamps was designed by Wang Huming, Deputy Chief Designer of the Stamp Printing Bureau. It was engraved by Yin Hairong, Zhao Chuan, Niu Kai, Liu Yimin, and Bai Jin—engravers of China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation—and printed by Henan Post and Telecommunications Printing Factory.