China Post launches special stamps of "Calabash Brothers" and plans to issue 7.5 million sets

China Post officially announced that a set of special stamps named "Animation - Calabash Brothers" will be officially released on Children's Day, June 1, 2020. This set of stamps contains 6 stamps, each of which is painted with a famous scene from the classic animation "Calabash Brothers". It is understood that the full set of "Animation - Calabash Brothers" special stamps has a face value of 6.40 yuan, and the planned issuance quantity is 7.5 million sets.

List of 6 stamps of "Animation - Calabash Brothers":

China Post official introduction:

China Post is scheduled to issue a set of six special stamps of "Animation - Calabash Brothers" on June 1, 2020. The names of the stamp patterns are: Seven-Colored Gourd, Dream Cave, Life at the End of the Road, Miraculous Achievements of Water and Fire, Wishful Deception, and Seven Sons of Heart. The face value of the whole set of stamps is 6.40 yuan. The planned issuance quantity is 7.5 million sets.

"Calabash Brothers" is a 13-episode paper-cut animation series originally produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio in 1986. It is one of the representative works of the second prosperous period of Chinese animation and has become a Chinese animation classic. Since its broadcast, the animation has been loved by the audience, especially children.

In terms of design, the picture of "Seven Color Gourds" of this set of stamps mainly tells the story of a kind old grandfather who planted gourd seeds and soon produced seven gourds of different colors. The old grandfather was so happy that he held one in his left hand and one in his right hand, and talked to the little gourds affectionately.

The scenes of "Dream Cave Maze" mainly tell the story of Erwa, who possesses the power of clairvoyance and super hearing, going to the demon cave to rescue his elder brother and grandfather. A snake demon uses a poisonous trick to trick Erwa into entering the maze palace, and Erwa eventually falls into the snake demon's trap.

The scene of "Survival at the End of the Road" mainly tells the story of Sanwa's battle against a group of monsters, making them run away in panic. The scene shows Sanwa using his magical power to cut off the Scorpion Demon's precious sword, causing the Scorpion Demon to be terrified.

The scene of "The Miraculous Power of Water and Fire" mainly tells the story of how the Water Boy and the Fire Boy put out a forest fire to save lives. One sprayed water to put out the fire, and the other opened his mouth to suck the fire into his belly, inadvertently saving the two monsters, the snake and the scorpion, who set the fire.

The scene of "Seizing Ruyi by Cleverness" mainly tells the story of how Liuwa, who possesses the power of invisibility, cleverly and bravely stole the snake demon's treasure "Ruyi" and rescued his brothers.

The picture of "Seven Children Connected by Heart" mainly tells the story of seven calabash brothers who were locked up in an alchemy furnace by a demon to refine the "Seven Star Pill". At this critical moment, the grandfather, regardless of his own safety, risked his life to take out the "Seven-Color Lotus" given by the mountain god, so that the seven calabash brothers could connect as one heart and eventually destroy the demon. Stamp version 1 uses a calabash shape composed of seven-color lines as the border of the picture. The element expression is very distinctive and complements the theme of the stamp.

This set of stamps was designed by Song Jian and printed by Beijing Stamp Factory using photogravure. Under ultraviolet light, each stamp presents a stunning picture effect. The gourd-shaped perforations on both sides of the stamps add to the fun of playing with them.