China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Inspired by a childhood friend
Zhou Lingzhao, 99, remembers a dog from long ago as he designs stamps, released on Friday, for the upcoming Chinese New Year. Lin Qi reports.
Graphic designer and muralist Zhou Lingzhao, 99, still remembers his best friend from childhood, a dog his family had in his native village in Central China’s Hunan province.
“The black dog often accompanied me when I went into town,” says Zhou, a retired professor from Beijing’s Central Academy of Fine Arts. “He protected me from wild dogs.”
A year ago, Zhou was commissioned by China Post to design a postage stamp to celebrate the Year of the Dog in the Chinese lunar calendar, which will begin on Feb 16.
He then depicted the dog from his childhood for the stamp. And he paired it with another stamp for which he drew a dog and her puppy from a breed often referred to as the zhonghua tianyuan quan (Chinese rural dog).
The set of two stamps were issued nationwide on Friday. Each has a face value of 1.2 yuan (18.5 US cents).
The stamps highlight canine loyalty and a blessing of safety, says Li Guohua, the general manager of China Post.
He says the stamps also convey wishes for good fortune, as wang — the Chinese word for a dog’s woof — is pronounced just like a character that means prosperity.
China Post has issued special stamps every year featuring the Chinese zodiac animal that corresponds to the lunar year since 1980.
The dog that signifies the upcoming Chinese New Year is the 11th animal in this repeating cycle of 12 creatures.
China Post has regularly commissioned renowned artists to design stamps for Chinese New Year, including Han Meilin for the Year of the Rooster in 2017 and Huang Yongyu for the Year of the Monkey in 2016.
Zhou is hailed as a visual designer of New China.
At 30, he and his wife Chen Ruoju painted the first portrait of the late chairman Mao Zedong that was hung on the Tian’anmen Gate’s tower before the inauguration ceremony of the People’s Republic of China on Oct 1, 1949.
Zhou was also involved in the designs of the national emblem and the previous series of renminbi notes.
This year marks the second time he is designing New Year stamps for China Post.
He created a Year of the Dog stamp in 1982. Then, he drew inspiration from the decorative patterns and a vibrant palette of Chinese ethnic groups.
Speaking about his work, his daughter Zhou Rong says: “He has cut the decorative elements this time but has adopted a simple and true-tolife style.”
Her father wants to highlight the physical features and temperament of endemic dogs, she says.
Chinese New Year stamps are still very popular across the country, although few people today use stamps.
In cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, buyers waited in lines outside post offices before they opened on Friday, according to Li.
Meanwhile, an exhibition showcasing Zhou’s stamp designs and all New Year stamps that have been issued by China Post over the years is showing at the National Post and Postage Stamp Museum in Beijing. It will run through February.