As Lunar New Year approaches an online war of words has broken out over the relative aesthetic merits of stamps issued for the Year of the Rabbit in mainland China and in the country’s two Special Administrative Regions.
A Weibo blogger posted a photo comparison of three designs from the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau which has attracted hundreds of comments and reposts.
Hong Kong’s creation – which has been described as “decent and cute” – comes in four different colours, its main image being a white rabbit with a floral print on its body in the centre of the stamp.
Macau’s – described as “elegant and beautiful” is in the style of a traditional Chinese ink painting and depicts four rabbits, the middle one showing its grey and white fur.
The overwhelming view of online observers was summed up by one who said of the Hong Kong and Macau philatelic creations: “These stamps are all better looking than the ones on the Mainland.”
However, it is a different story for mainland China’s blue rabbit – which has been described by online posters as “horrific”, “evil”, “very odd” and “scary” due to its prominent teeth and red semi-circular eyes outlined with black and stark whiskers.
“This blue rabbit is designed to be horrific, like a demon possessed,” said one poster, while another said, “It is too evil to appreciate.”
“It’s not cute at all. It’s even a bit scary,” said a less than impressed online observer.
Two stamps have been issued by China Post, one of them is a blue bunny denoting “wisdom” and good wishes for the new year.
They were designed by famous Chinese painter and designer, Huang Yongyu. Born in 1924, Huang was a professor and head of the print making department at the Central Academy of Fine Arts.
Huang is a leading figure among Chinese painters. His paintings are perennially coveted. He is also considered to be the pioneer of Chinese zodiac stamps.
In 2017, a 1980 Year of the Monkey stamp created by Huang was sold at auction for a record price of 2.01 million yuan (almost US$300,000).
According to mainland media reports, this Year of the Rabbit stamp will be the 99-year-old artist’s last.
On January 5, Huang appeared on a live-stream and said: “Drawing a rabbit stamp is a happy thing. Everyone can draw rabbits, so it’s just a matter of drawing them to make people happy and congratulate them on the Lunar New Year.”
Despite the controversy, the stamp became an instant hit as soon as it went on sale, selling out online and in some cases, fetching three times its face value.
Hong Kong’s stamp was designed by internationally renowned designer, Kan Tai-keung, who also created the official logos for Chongqing City and Hong Kong Baptist University.
