Ｔｈｅ Ｃｏｌｏｒｆｕｌ Ｈｉｓｔｏｒｙ ｏｆ Ｃｈｉｎｅｓｅ Ｓｔａｍｐｓ

ＨＵＯ　ＪＩＡＮＹＩＮＧ

IN August 1982，the First Congress of the All-China PhllatelicFederation convened in Beijing，and the Chinese Ministryof Post and Telecommunications issued a stamp sheetlet incommemoration．The stamp motif depicts an ancient couriergalloping on horseback，while in the background wild geese fly ingraceful formation．Wild geese are migratory birds，and every au-tumn they can be counted on to set off on their thousand-kilome-ter migration southward to warmer climes．With no better meansof communication．ancient Chinese who wished to send messagesover great distances took advantage of the birdsnorth-South odys-sey by attaching tiny scrolls to their feet．The phrase，“hongyanchuan shu”(wild geese deliver messages)，has survived the mil-lennia to become one of the oldest idioms in the modem Chineselanguage．