T1 -- Gymnastics

Modern gymnastics was introduced into China in the middle of 19th century.  In 1908, a gymnastics school was established in Shanghai.  After the founding of the People's Republic of China, gymnastics developed rapidly.
 
Since 1950s, Chinese gymnastic team began to attend all kinds of contests such as World Gymnastics Championships and gained better achievements.

Gymnastics was first contested at the 1974 7th Asian Games, held in Tehran, Iran, from September 1, 1974, to September 16, 1974.   It was the first time that gymnastics was included as the medal sport in the Asian Games.

The Chinese gymnastics men team and women team won the first team titles and won six gold medals, eight silver medals and two bronze medals.

Gold:- Men's Team, Men's Pommel horse, Men's Horizontal bar, Women's Team, Women's Individual all-around, Women's Floor exercise, Women's Uneven bars, Women's Beam.

Silver:- Men's Individual all-around, Men's Pommel horse, Men's Rings, Men's Vault, Men's Parallel bars, Women's Individual all-around, Women's Floor exercise, Women's Beam.

Bronze:- Men's Horizontal bar, Women's Individual all-around

(6-1) 8 fen Floor exercise 自由体操
(6-2) 8 fen Flying rings 吊环
(6-3) 8 fen Balance beam 平衡木
(6-4) 8 fen Parallel bars 双杠
(6-5) 8 fen Uneven bars 高低杠
(6-6) 8 fen Pommel horse 鞍马

(6-1)【Floor exercise】 Men's and Women's event.  Floor exercise has its root in ancient Egypt.  It first became a sporting event in 19th century Germany.  At the 9th World Artistic Gymnastics Championship, held in Luxembourg in 1930, floor exercise became one of the Men's events.  Then, at the 11th World Artistic Gymnastics Championship, held in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1938, floor exercise became one of the Women's events.  The stamp shows the classic routine for floor exercise from a female gymnaste.

 

(6-2)【Flying rings】Men's event.  In this event the gymnast grips a pair of rings, approximately shoulder width apart, swinging and executing a series of stunts.  Flying rings has its root in France, and later got into Germany and Italy.  Flying rings is one of the Men's event since the very first Olympic Games at Athens, Greece in 1896.   The stamp shows a male gymnast on the flying rings.

(6-3)【Balance beam】Women's event.  Balance beam routines consist of a mixture of acrobatic skills, dance elements, leaps and poses.  Balance beam originated in Germany.  At the 11th World Artistic Gymnastics Championship, held in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1938, balance beam became one of the Women's events.  The stamp shows a female gymnaste on the balance beam.

(6-4)【Parallel bars】Men's event.  A typical performance will involve swinging skills in a support position (on the hands), a hanging position, and an upper arm position.  Each routine ends with a dismount from either the ends of the bars or the side of the apparatus.  The parallel bars were invented by German Friedrich Ludwig Jahn in 1810's.  Parallel bars is one of the Men's event since the very first Olympic Games at Athens, Greece in 1896.   The stamp shows a male gymnast on the Parallel bars.

(6-5)【Uneven bars】Women's event. The bars are placed at different heights allowing the gymnaste to jump from bar to bar. It was developed from men's parallel bars, originated in the late 19th century Europe.   At the 12th World Artistic Gymnastics Championship, held in Basel, Switzerland in 1950, uneven bars became one of the Women's events.   The stamp shows a female gymnaste on the uneven bars.

 

(6-6)【Pommel horse】Men's event.  A typical pommel horse exercise involves both single leg and double leg work.  Single leg skills are generally in the form of scissors.  For double leg work, the gymnast swings both legs in a circular motion (either clockwise or counterclockwise) and performs such skills on all parts of the apparatus.  The pommel horse was developed in ancient Roman's era as an artificial horse used by soldiers to practice mounting and dismounting skills.  Pommel horse is one of the Men's event since the very first Olympic Games at Athens, Greece in 1896.  The stamp shows a male gymnast with double leg work on the pommel horse.

T1 – Gymnastics  体操运动 Issue Date: 1974.1.1
Serial Number:	T1
Scott No.:	1143-1148
Michel No.:	1162-1167
Number of stamps in Set:	6
Denomination:	8 fen for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Quantity of Issue:	10,000,000 for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Perforation:	11½ X 11
Sheet Composition:	50 (10 X 5)
Size of stamps:	30 X 40 mm
Designer:	Zou Jianjun  邹建军
Printing Process:	Photogravure
Printing House:	Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works