Scott No: -
Serial number: 2022-3
Values in set: 4
Date of issue: April 23, 2022
Denomination: 510 fen
Designer: Xiao Yutian
Size of stamps: 40 * 54 mm
Perforation: 13
Sheet composition:
16 for Sheet I;
8 for Sheet II (2 Sets)
Size of sheet:
190 * 246 mm for Sheet I;
216 * 144 mm for Sheet II
Size of S/S: 138 * 93 mm
Size of S/S stamp: 56 * 77 mm
S/S Perforation: 13 * 13.5
Printing process: Photogravure
Printing House: Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

China Post is scheduled to issue a set of 4 special stamps and 1 souvenir sheet themed "A Dream of Red Mansions" (V) – a Masterpiece of Chinese Classical Literature – on April 23, 2022. The stamps are titled Daiyu Burns Her Poems, The Marriage of the "Gold and Jade", Tanchun’s Distant Marriage and Baoyu Renounces the Mortal World respectively, while the souvenir sheet is named Crane Shadow on the Cold Pond. The total face value of the full set is 11.10 yuan. The planned circulation is 8.6 million sets for the stamps and 5.98 million pieces for the souvenir sheet.

A Dream of Red Mansions, also known as The Story of the Stone, The Twelve Beauties of Jinling, The Monk’s Record of Love and The Mirror of Wind and Moon, is one of the most outstanding works in the history of Chinese novels. The novel has 120 chapters in total: the first 80 chapters were written by Cao Xueqin of the Qing Dynasty, and the last 40 chapters are generally believed to have been compiled by Cheng Weiyuan and Gao E of the Qing Dynasty.

Set against the rise and fall of the four prominent families – Jia, Shi, Wang and Xue – the novel takes the tragic love and marriage between Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai as its central thread, presenting a panoramic view of the politics, economy, ideology, culture and daily life in the patriarchal society. It creates a host of artistic figures with distinct personalities, featuring a grand scale, tight structure and elegant language. With high ideological value and outstanding artistic achievements, it is regarded as an encyclopedia of China’s feudal society and a comprehensive compilation of traditional culture.

This set is the fifth group of the "A Dream of Red Mansions" stamp series launched by China Post in 2014, depicting five story scenes from Chapter 76 to Chapter 120 of the novel. The souvenir sheet Crane Shadow on the Cold Pond shows the scene where Daiyu and Xiangyun compose poems together to praise the moon on the Mid - Autumn Night; it uses cold tones to create a bleak, quiet and poetic atmosphere full of literary charm. The first stamp Daiyu Burns Her Poems portrays the bedridden Daiyu burning her poems to cut off her deep affection; through the delicate depiction of the character’s movements and expressions, it conveys the situation where Daiyu has shed all her "payback tears" and made up her mind to die. The second stamp The Marriage of the "Gold and Jade" presents the wedding scene of Baoyu and Baochai; the shocked and pale expression of Baoyu and the helpless drooping head of Baochai implicitly convey the tragic atmosphere of the novel. The third stamp Tanchun’s Distant Marriage shows Tanchun, alone, boarding a boat to marry far away and covering her face in tears; the environmental elements such as the broken kite and the vast, misty sea highlight the character’s reluctance and sorrow. The fourth stamp Baoyu Renounces the Mortal World depicts Baoyu treading on snow with bare feet and drifting away; it emphasizes Baoyu’s determination to cut off all mortal ties and become a monk.

This set of stamps was created by Xiao Yutian, a famous painter and national first - class artist. Using the traditional Chinese meticulous painting technique with heavy colors, the painter has created works with rich compositions, simple and delicate colors, and vivid character portrayals. These works vividly depict the story scenes from the original novel, presenting the novel’s ending of "mourning for the ‘gold’ and grieving for the ‘jade’" and "the dispersion of all talents and beauties", thus bringing a perfect conclusion to the "A Dream of Red Mansions" – Masterpiece of Chinese Classical Literature stamp series.

This set of stamps is printed by Beijing Stamp Factory Co., Ltd. using gravure printing technology. It features saturated colors and fine lines, fully demonstrating the characteristics of six - color high - screen printing and highly restoring the style of the original paintings. Red fluorescent ink is used as anti - counterfeiting ink; under a purple light, the content on the stamps becomes more vivid and three - dimensional.