As a quintessence of the art of Chinese language, idioms have contributed to the inheritance and development of the millennia-old Chinese culture with their concise expressions, deep-hidden meanings, profound connotations, and vivid stories. This set of stamps includes four Chinese idioms often used to enlighten and encourage people.
China National Philatelic Corporation will release two FDCs.
Qingming (Pure Brightness) Festival, also known as Tomb Sweeping Day, is a traditional festival featuring folk customs, named after one of the 24 solar terms on traditional Chinese calendar. It was early documented in an astronomical book of the Western Han (206B.C.-A.D.24), and became a popular festival during the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties, falling in the third lunar month, or around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar. Traditional customs for the festival, such as sweeping tombs, going out for a walk in the countryside, and planting trees, have remained prevalent till today.
Qingming embodies Chinese cultural traditions of worshipping the national and family ancestors and keeping remembrance of those of virtue of the older generations, and is observed as a spring ceremony to go closer to nature and plant seedlings as well. In 2006, the festival was included on China"s National Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
China National Philatelic Corporation will issue a FDC and a commemorative cancellation respectively.
The horizontal ink-and-wash scroll painting "Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains" is the magnum opus of renowned Yuan Dynasty painter Huang Gongwang (1269–1354). A native of Changshu, Jiangsu, Huang was revered as the first of the Four Great Masters of the Yuan, the other three being Wu Zhen, Ni Zan, and Wang Meng. Most of his paintings were devoted to the beautiful natural landscapes in the regions south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including Fuyang, Zhejiang, where he spent the last years of his life.
This painting, with a precise layout, vivid strokes, and a profound meaning, depicted the enchanting scenery along both banks of the Fuchun River, and exerted a deep influence upon Chinese landscape paintings in the following generations. Unfortunately, the painting was burnt into two pieces in the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Today, one piece is kept in the Zhejiang Provincial Museum in Hangzhou, while the other is preserved in the Palace Museum in Taipei.
China National Philatelic Corporation will issue a set of two FDCs and a commemorative cancellation respectively.
Twenty years ago, in 1990, Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange were successively established, marking the beginning of China's capital market. Over the past two decades, Chinese capital market has developed and expanded steadily and healthily. Its growth was accompanied by the settlement of such major issues as equity division, constant improvement of mechanisms, maturity of core market participants, and the eventual formation of a multi-level capital market. Remarkable contributions have been made to the development of national economy and the optimization of resource allocation. Today, Chinese citizens have built awareness of capital, and China is accelerating its efforts to advance from an underdeveloped capital market to a capital-intensive nation.
Selling method: Starting from the issuing date, the stamps will sold in designated post offices around China and on www.cpi.net.cn for six months.