Ancient Chinese Paintings from the National Palace Museum Postage Stamps — 24 Solar Terms (Spring)

First day of issue: February 3, 2023
Sheet composition: 12（6 × 2）
Paper used: Phosphorescent stamp paper
Designer: Chart Design Co., Ltd.
Printer: Southern Colour Print Ltd. (New Zealand)
Stamp size: 36 × 64.5 ( mm )
Color: Colorful
Process: Offset
Perforation: 14

Following earlier releases of “Ancient Chinese Paintings from the National Palace Museum Postage Stamps — 24 Solar Terms” Autumn on August 3 and Winter on November 3 of 2022, Chunghwa Post has issued the third set of stamps drawn from the Ink Marvels from a Forest of Pearls (Ⅳ) by Zhang Ruoai of the Qing dynasty, a work held in the National Palace Museum. The third set contains six stamps, each valued at NT$8, depicting spring with its six solar terms: Beginning of Spring, Rain Water, Awakening of Insects, Spring Equinox, Fresh Green, and Grain Rain. The six stamps are in a se-tenant block and the shaped perforations are at the center of the long sides of the stamps.

The Ink Marvels from a Forest of Pearls is a collection of large paintings gathered into twelve albums in the time of the Qianlong Emperor. The albums are named after the Twelve Terrestrial Branches, the fourth album being entrusted to Zhang Ruoai, who painted the 24 solar terms and expressed each term by landscape painting. The paintings use the styles of the ancient masters to express the climate, show customary activities and the state of the natural world, and depict the variations proper to the given term.

By-issues:
(1) First Day Cover (220 mm × 158 mm): NT$3 apiece
(2) Folder (with or without mount): NT$8 apiece
(3) Loose-leaf album page: NT$16 apiece
(4) Maximum cards: NT$60 a set
(5) Pre-cancelled FDC affixed with a full set of stamps: NT$51 apiece
(6) Pre-cancelled maximum cards: NT$108 a set

To purchase the relative philatelic products, please go directly to the post office branches, Postal Museum or order on line at https://stamp.post.gov.tw.