Special 189 Ancient Chinese Paintings - Lohans - Postage Stamps & Souvenir Sheet (1982) (D189)

Stamp SN : D189
Stamp Name : Special 189 Ancient Chinese Paintings - Lohans - Postage Stamps & Souvenir Sheet (1982)
Stamp Cat Standard : Special Stamps
Stamp Cat : Mammals,Calligraphy & Paintings
Issue date : 1982-11-12
Dimension of stamps(mm.) : 33.6x48.4
Printer : China Color Printing Co. Inc.,R.O.C.
Sheet composition : 10×5
Process : Deep etch offset
Paper : Locally-made mat finished,
Perforation : 13x12 1/2
Photographer : Huang Po-hsiung

Three hanging scrolls of Lohan by Liu Sung-nien, recommended by the National Palace Museum, Taipei, comprise the designs for this set of stamps. The set consists of three stamps with values 2.00, 3.00 and 18.00, as does the souvenir sheet (140×102 mm.). Liu Sung-nien (fl.late 12th to early 13th century), a native of Chien-tang, Chekiang Province, lived near the Ching-po Gate and was subsequently called Liu Ching-po. He entered the Painting Academy during the Shun-hsi period (1174-1189) and was promoted to tai-chao (painter-in-attendance) in the Shao-hsi era (1190-1194). In landscape and figure painting he followed the style of Chang Tun-li, and eventually surpassed his master. Liu's paintings are characterized by a pure and exquisite spirit. The dates of the artist's birth and death cannot be ascertained. The three hanging scrolls, ink and colors on silk, used as the designs for this set of stamps are described briefly as follows： In the first scroll, 117×55.8 cm. in size, a Lohan, a Buddhist saint, is depicted leaning against a sala tree with his arms resting on its bough. To his left a monkey is handing down a peach in its outstretched arms; a boy attendant is spreading his sleeves preparing to receive it. A pair of tame deer stand in the foreground. The Lohan in the second painting, 117.4×56.1cm. in size, is seated on a rattan stool. His staff rests on his shoulder. A monk carrying a scroll of sutra is requesting him to expound it. The third painting, 118.1×56 cm. in size, portrays a Lohan seated in meditation with a bare right shoulder, bare feet and his back against a screen-like rock. A tribal king from a foreign land offers homage with a dish full of treasures.