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    Stamps Manifesting Respect for Teachers and Education

    Written by: Qian Guohong, Shijiazhuang Daily
    Posted on: October 03, 2018 | | 中文

    Country female teacher stamp issued in China

    In 1985, China decided that September 10th should be considered the National Teacher's Day, and since then it is an annual celebration held in the country. In the following year of 1986, the General Administration of Post and Telecommunication of China issued one special stamp, J131, to commemorate the day and to express the respect towards teachers from all over the country. The 8-cent par valued stamp had a simple pictorial design, composed of a blackboard, a lecture stage and a bunch of flowers. The elements covered the basic content of teaching work and reminded people of the arduous efforts which teachers devote to their profession.

    A set of 4 Teacher's Day commemorative stamps issued in 1947

    A set of 4 Teacher's Day commemorative stamps issued in 1947

    As a matter of fact, China had issued a set of stamps for teachers as early as August 27th, 1947, the date when it is believed that Confucius was born. The whole set had four pieces, with content regarding the holy spiritual ideal of Chinese people. The first one was a portrait of Confucius, an adoption of the work of Guang Huinong, a painter from Guangdong Province, and the second one was the Apricot Altar of Dacheng Pavilion of Qufu Confucius Temple. The third stamp was Confucius's cemetery in Confucius’ Steles Forest and the forth one was the Dacheng Pavilion of Confucius Mansion.

    Inspired by the first commemorate stamp for the Teacher's Day, quite a number of stamps and stamp-related souvenirs were published in places across the country on the same theme with the group image of teachers repeatedly presented. For instance, on the first Teachers’ Day, Beijing Stamps Company issued the souvenir cover with patterns of flowers, images of teachers and the inscription given by  Deng Xiaoping, the highest leader of the country at the time, on the  goals of China's education, i.e. “Education should be oriented towards modernization, the world and the future.”

    The former General Administration of Post and Telecommunication of China issued a five-piece set protocol envelope, with postages in 1995, with the third piece dedicated to teachers especially. The Post Administration of Fujian Province issued a 2-piece set of postcards for the day, with each of them named as Devotion of Teachers and Paybacks from Students, and Like Weaving Silkworms and Harvesting Peach Trees: Teachers Never Speaking for Themselves. China Netcom Company promoted a set for two CNC IP cards during the Teachers' Day in 2000 with Confucius as the main content. On September 10th of 2001, China National Post Bureau issued a two-piece postcard set with postage named Respecting Teacher and Education, and with the two cards subtitled respectively as, Remembering teachers always while growing up and Appreciating teachers not merely on this Day.

    Shepherd Primary School

    Shepherd Primary School

    But for collectors and fans, the most precious stamps on Teachers’ Day would include the following three special ones: 13-16 Senior Learning, J8-13 Primary Schools at Pastoral Areas and T9 Village Teachers. They were the presentations of images of male teachers, female teachers of Tibetan Ethnic people and female teachers of rural areas.

    According to the statistics, the images presented on the stamps could be classified into two categories: contemporary and old educators, and personages who used to work in education sector. 

    Translated by Wu Jinying


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

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