T21 -- Build up Health for Revolution from Childhood

After the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, the central government convened a national congress of physical culture workers, at which the call to "develop a national, scientific and popular new sports cause" was issued.

On June 10, 1952, Chairman Mao Zedong wrote down the inscription, "develop sports, enhance people's physique," which pointed out the new direction China was to take in the world of sports.

On June 1,1978, in celebration of International Children's Day, the Ministry of the Posts and Telecommunications of People's Republic of China released a set of five stamps about children's sport and physical training activities.

(5-1) 20 fen, Build up health for revolution from children  从小锻炼为革命
(5-2) 8 fen, Little football bringing us closer together  小小足球传友谊
(5-3) 8 fen, Not afraid of wind or waves  大风大浪不可怕
(5-4) 8 fen, Gymnastic performance to celebrate bumper harvest  体操表演庆丰收
(5-5) 8 fen, Take long marches and climb high peaks  万里征途攀高峰

(5-1)【Build up health for revolution from children】The first stamp is a larger stamp of the set.  The stamp design showed eight children doing morning exercises, with the rising sun in the far background.  These children are wearing different costumes, symbolizing the different ethnic groups of the nation.

 

Stamps 2 to 5 respectively depicted the sport activities for Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter:

 

(5-2)【Little football bringing us closer together】Spring - The stamp showed children playing soccer in a green field, with migratory birds returning in the backgroundy.

 

(5-3)【Not afraid of wind or waves】Summer - The stamp showed children going swimming at a beach on a summary day.

 

(5-4)【Gymnastic performance to celebrate bumper harvest】Autumn -  The stamp showed two girls performing gymnastic in celebration of a bumper harvest.

 

(5-5)【Take long marches and climb high peaks】Winter - The stamp showed children playing in winter.

T21 – Build up Health for Revolution from Childhood  从小锻炼为革命 Issue Date: 1978.6.1
Serial Number:	T21
Scott Number:	1400-1404
Michel Number:	1410-1414
Number of stamps in Set:	5
Denomination:	20 fen for stamp 1 8 fen for stamp 2, 3, 4, 5
Quantity of Issue:	16,000,000 for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Perforation:	P11½
Sheet Composition:	40 (4 X 10) for stamp 1 80 (8 X 10) for stamp 2, 3, 4, 5
Size of stamps:	52 X 31 mm for stamp 1 26 X 31 mm for stamp 2, 3, 4, 5
Designer:	Lu Tianjiao  卢天骄
Printing Process:	Photogravure
Printing House:	Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works

T14 - Children of New China

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the nation has attached much importance to the youth and the children, emphasising on their healthy growth and knowledge development, so that they can serve the country after they grow up.

On December 1, 1975, a set of five stamps depicting childen's lives was issued.

(5-1) 8 fen, Conferring a red scarf  授红领巾
(5-2) 8 fen, Writing children's song to the battle field  我写儿歌上战场
(5-3) 8 fen, Study well  好好学习
(5-4) 8 fen, We love labour  热爱劳动
(5-5) 52 fen, Physical training  体育锻炼

(5-1)【Conferring a red scarf】The Young Pioneers of China (中国少年先锋队) is a mass youth organization for children aged six to fourteen in People's Republic of China.  The red scarf is the only "uniform" item.  The investiture ceremony often consists of new members having their scarves tied for them by existing members.  The stamp shows an older member of Young Pioneers of China tying a red scarf for a new member.

(5-2)【Writing children's song to the battle field】This stamp showed the political climate at the time of the stamp issue.  The left side of the stamp depicts the cultural revolution movie shot for Pang Dongzi (潘冬子), an eight year old child who participated in the revolution war in the movie "Twinkle Twinkle Red Star"《闪闪的红星》.  The back of the stamp showed the bulletin "Writing children's song to the battlefield" (我写儿歌上战场).  During the Cultural Revolutionary era, the criticizing campaign (大批判活动) was also held among children.  A girl in the foreground of the stamp arranging bulletins criticizing Lin Biao and Confucius.  Because of this girl's action, this set (T14) was also known as "small critcize" (小批), while the set (T8) was known as "big critcize" (大批).

(5-3)【Study well】Chairman Mao Zedong's inscription for children "Study Well, Day After Day" (好好学习, 天天向上).

(5-4)【We love labour】The stamp shows children of China love and participate in labour activities.

(5-5)【Physical training】The stamp shows a group of children participating in a game of tug-of-war.  Beside studying, physical training is also important for the children.
 　　

T14 – Children of New China  新中国儿童 Issue Date: 1975.12.1
Serial Number:	T14
Scott No.:	1245-1249
Michel No.:	1255-1259
Number of stamps in Set:	5
Denomination:	8 fen for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4, 52 fen for stamp 5
Quantity of Issue:	10,000,000 for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4 2,000,000 for stamp 5
Perforation:	P11½
Sheet Composition:	50 (10 X 5) for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Size of stamps:	31 X 38.5 mm for stamp 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Designer:	Cheng Chuanli  程传理
Printing Process:	Photogravure
Printing House:	Beijing Postage Stamp Printing Works