Philatelic Friendship

By Tu Xuefan

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Philatelic Friendship

By Tu Xuefan

My stamp collection, named ‘China and the World', brought me into the world of Cultural Dialogue. The knot was tied at the time when I met Wu Yaomin, then chief editor of the magazine and now a bosom friend of mine. It was his vision and understanding of the cultural value of my philatelic accomplishments that paved the way for my 10-year collaboration with the magazine.

My debut as a contributor to Cultural Dialogue is Cultural Exchange through Foreign Stamps, an article based on a special theme stamp collection of mine that shows the colorful cultural communication between China and the outside world delivered by foreign envoys since ancient times.

Coincidentally, the article reached the editorial office of the periodical just before the opening of the 22nd Universal Postal Congress and the China 1999 World Stamp Exhibition in Beijing, and was highlighted as a feature to echo the philatelic carnival that was to unveil in the capital city for the first time in China since its founding 125 years ago. For me, it was quite an honor to appear in the magazine in such a meaningful way and at such a significant time.

Tracing the Ferghana Horse, featured in the 4th issue of the 2007 Cultural Dialogue and highlighted in the cover, is a summary of my lifetime obsession with the legendary horse breed that is believed to be closely related to the Silk Road. Wuwei, called Liangzhou in ancient times of China, is the birthplace of my mother, who sowed the seeds of the Ferghana horse mystery in me when I was a little child.

One day in early summer of 2002, as I can recall, a news story from Xinhua News Agency published in a newspaper caught my attention. The story reported that a 5-year-old Ferghana horse arrived at the Tianjin Airport as a special gift to China from the Turkmenistan state leaders. The Ferghana horse first came to China more than 2,000 years ago and has been given as a state gift to China twice by Turkmenistan since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1992.

Good luck struck again. One day the doorbell rang, and I saw the mailman carrying a heavy registered post. I knew instantly that all my effort of seeking help for my Ferghana horse stamp collection from philatelists all over the world had paid off. Inside the package was a rare collection of a special Ferghana-themed stamp sheetlet issued by Turkmenistan in 2001.

I didn't have to wait long to see another Ferghana stamp newly issued by Turkmenistan arrive at my doorstep. The surprise added weight to the article about my decade-long pursuit of ‘Ferghana' I was busy working on for a special column in Cultural Dialogue.

左圖 巴基斯坦發行賀中國國慶60周年郵票，圖案為五星紅旗和中國地圖。右圖 非洲國家喀麥隆1972年發行的這枚郵票，主圖是一面迎風飄揚的五星紅旗和雄偉的天安門，左側為聯合國大廈和聯合國徽志，顯示中國在國際上的崇高地位。Left is a stamp issued in 2009 by Pakistan in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. Right is a stamp issued by Cameroon in 1972 in celebration of UN's recognition of PRC as the only lawful representative of China in October 1971.

Millennium Pageants

The first decade of the new millennium saw China host two international pageants that drew worldwide attention： the 29th Olympic Games and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. Cultural Dialogue served, again, as a prime platform to share my stamp collection with philatelists all over the globe. The Olympic Passion in Stamps, depicting the colorful connotations of my Olympic-themed stamps, and A Friendship Messenger, portraying the magnificent cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world illustrated by stamps, appeared duly in the ‘Hot Topics' and ‘Expo Special' sections of the magazine.

Zodiac Envoys

My philatelic series in the magazine also include a piece about one of my stamp albums titled ‘Overseas Chinese'. In the article, I introduced my Chinese Zodiac collection to the readers. The Chinese Zodiac tradition has been a global fad among the world's postal stamp designers, and has been playing an increasingly important part in the stamp design of France, as shown by the country's yearly issuance of a Zodiac stamp for the celebration of the Chinese New Year.

The beauty of cultural communication is also magically conveyed by a Year of the Rooster stamp issued by French Post in 2005 and a ‘Year of the Horse' stamp issued by Australia in 2014.