February 28th (January 15th in the lunar calendar) is the Lantern Festival, one of the great Chinese traditional festivals. The Chinese people have practiced the custom of lighting festival lanterns to celebrate Lantern Festival for thousands of years. Now, this colorful lantern is also a selected subject of stamps. So far, the stamps with the theme of festival lanterns have been issued in the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan.
On February 19th, 1981, the original Chinese Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications issued a particular collection of stamps: T60 "Palace Lantern" (six in a set).
The palace lantern is a kind of flower-lamp used in the royal palaces, famous for its elegant and courtly manners. It is one of the most distinctive handicrafts of Chinese colored lanterns. Because it was used in the royal palaces for a long time, it has subtle and complicated decorations, which show the wealth and sumptuousness of the royal family. With generous shape-designing and exquisite workmanship, the collection of "Palace Lantern" has the pattern of Flower-basket Lanterns, Dragon-ball Lanterns, Dragon-and-Phoenix Lanterns, Goldmine Lanterns, Herbaceous-flower Lanterns, and Peony Lanterns.
On February 28th 1985, the Chinese Post Office issued a particular collection of stamps titled T104: "Palace Lantern" (four in a set). The patterns of these stamps are the pictures of traditional lanterns made by contemporary folk art masters, such as "Nine Auspicious Lotuses" (Hangzhou of Zhejiang province), "Propitious Dragon and Phoenix" (Foshan of Guangdong province), "Hundreds of Blooming Flowers" (Guangzhou of Guangdong province), "Treasures Fill the Home" (Shanghai).
The lanterns on the stamps follow the traditional pattern, but at the same time show some element of creativity. They are skillfully constructed, and consummate in craftsmanship. "Treasures Fill the Home" is a Goldfish Lantern made by late He Keming, who is called "the Lantern King of Jiangnan." It is patterned with goldfish, lotuses, lotus leaves, and lotus roots, lively and vivid, symbolizing a good harvest.
Print
Save