Special 148 Origin and Development of Chinese Characters Postage Stamps (1979) (D148)

Stamp SN : D148
Stamp Name : Special 148 Origin and Development of Chinese Characters Postage Stamps (1979)
Stamp Cat Standard : Special Stamps
Stamp Cat : Antiques,Calligraphy & Paintings
Issue date : 1979-01-17
Dimension of stamps(mm.) : 51x36
Printer : China Color Printing Co. Inc., R.O.C.
Sheet composition : 5×10
Process : Deep etch offset
Paper : Locally-made mat finished,
Perforation : 13 1/2
Photographer : Huang Po-hsiung

Chinese characters have had a long history of development, and are regarded as one of the oldest written languages in the world. The style of the earliest stage was based on Hsiang-hsing (Imitative Symbols). Later it developed into Chih-shih (Indicative Symbols), Hsing-sheng (Phonetic Compounds), Hui-i (Logical Combinations), Chuan-chu (Expression by Reciprocation), and Chia-chieh (Borrowed Words). This shows that in the process of the development, Chinese characters gradually underwent changes from symbol to abstraction. The four styles of Chinese characters shown on this set of stamps are as follows： 2.00 Chia-ku-wen (Oracle Inscription), Yin Dynasty Antique： Oracle bones of Yin Dynasty kept in the Academic Sinica 5.00 Chin-wen, Spring and Autumn period Antique： 〝Leh-chi〞 cauldron of the Spring and Autumn period kept in National Palace Museum 8.00 Hsiao-chuan (the Small Seal Style), Western Han Dynasty Antique： Seal engraved 〝Chin-shih-chiang-chun-chang〞of the Western Han Dynasty kept in National Palace Museum 10.00 Li-shu(the Square-plain-style), Eastern Han Dynasty Antique： Writing on Stone of the Eastern Han Dynasty kept in National Museum of History