Special 409 Ancient Chinese Art Works (D409)

Stamp SN : D409
Stamp Name : Special 409 Ancient Chinese Art Works
Stamp Cat Standard : Special Stamps
Stamp Cat : Antiques
Issue date : 2000-01-12
Dimension of stamps(mm.) : 409.1,409.4─41.1x 30.8(mm) 409.2,409.3─30.8 x 41.1 (mm)
Printer : Helio Courvoisier S.A.,Switzerland
Sheet composition : 20 (409.1,409.4- 5 x 4 ) (409.2,409.3- 4 x 5 )
Print color : Colorful
Process : Photogravure
Paper : Phosphorescent stamp paper
Perforation : 11 3/4

To promote Chinese culture and introduce exquisite ancient Chinese art works to the world, the Directorate has taken the suggestion of the National Palace Museum to base a set of four stamps on the traditional “four treasures of the Chinese study”: the writing brush, the ink stick, the writing paper and the inkstone. The four chosen examples are the following: “Colored Cloud Dragon” writing brushes belonging to the Ming Emperor Chia-Ching, the “Imperial Dragon Fragrance” ink stick belonging to the Ming Emperor Lung-Ching, “Clear Heart House” calligraphy by Tsai Hsiang in the Sung Dynasty, and a “Celadon Toad Inkstone” produced at the Ge Kiln during the Sung Dynasty. Mr. Chien Sung-tsun of the National Palace Museum is in charge of planning the stamps.
A brush, ink stick, inkstone and paper are the writing tools most characteristic of Chinese culture. They have shouldered the duty of helping to pass down Chinese history and culture, and it is only because of them that the Chinese arts of calligraphy and painting were able to develop. Brushes, ink sticks and inkstones already existed during the Neolithic Age. Paper was invented by Tsai Lun during the Eastern Han Dynasty and is one of the great contributions Chinese have made to the world. After the Tang Dynasty, because of economic advance and demand among literati for better quality writing and painting tools, the manufacture of brushes, ink sticks, paper and inkstones entered a golden age. During Tang Dynasty, the paper-making techniques spread to the west, where they encouraged the rapid development of a world civilization and made a great contribution to the development of human culture.
First-day covers, stamp mounting cards, folders with crystal mounts,
loose-leaf album pages and maximum cards will be released along with the stamps. These will go on sale January 10, 2000. Precancelled FDCs with the full set of stamps or with just one lower-value stamp and precancelled maximum cards will go on sale January 12, 2000, the stamps’ date of issue. For further information, please refer to the upcoming Philatelic Bulletin or Postal Service Today.