Martin Li

    martin.mouse@163.com

    WHEN a new Year of the Horse stamp, with a face value of 1.2 yuan (US$0.20), was issued Jan. 5, collectors around China rushed to buy it, pushing its price to several hundred yuan.

    The popular stamp was created by Chen Shaohua, a well-known Shenzhen-based designer, who also created zodiac stamps for the Year of the Monkey (2004), Pig (2007), Ox (2009) and Dragon (2012).

    According to China’s 12-animal zodiac cycle, 2014 is the Year of the Horse. The national post office’s annual release of a zodiac stamp has long been a tradition in China.

    He is a member of Alliance Graphique Internationale, and his signature works also include the logo for China’s bid for the 2008 Olympic Games.

    Art education

    Chen was born in Zhejiang Province in eastern China in 1954. He moved with his father to Xi’an in northwestern Shaanxi Province when he was a child.

    At the age of 18, Chen and his father visited the home of an art designer, where he heard words such as sketching for the first time, which he considered a novelty.

    Following two months of self-study, he made it into the Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts.

    After graduation, he continued to study interior design at the Central Academy of Art and Design, which is now known as Academy of Art & Design of Tsinghua University. He was taught by such masters as Yuan Yunpu, Wu Guanzhong and Yu Bingnan, and started teaching at Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts after graduation.

    New start in SZ

    “I was rebellious when I was a child and have never blindly believed in so-called authority. I always had a desire to look for loopholes,” Chen said in previous interviews with Chinese-language media.

    Chen described sketching courses at school as mechanical.

    “Many painters devote themselves to painting their whole life, but no charm is seen in their paintings. Living things become dull in their works,” said Chen.

    A dull campus life made Chen leave in 1988. He arrived in Shenzhen and started working as a company employee.

    “I didn’t come to Shenzhen for money. Instead, I wanted to find a job through which I could devote myself to my talents,” Chen said.

    In the following years, Chen opened his studio with several partners and later established his own company, CSH Design Co. Ltd.

    Stamp design

    Chen said in a recent interview with Chengdu Economic Daily that his first stamp design was unintentional.

    China hosted the 4th World Conference on Women in 1995 and Chen was tasked to design a four-piece set of stamps to mark the event.

    Chen’s work grew his reputation for stamp design.

    In 2002, Chen’s design stood out from submitted works in a national collection of logos for Beijing’s bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games.

    Chen included tai chi elements in his design, which was collected by the Beijing Municipal Archives.

    Soon Chen was tasked to design stamps marking the years of the monkey, sheep and dragon, all of which achieved popularity.

    Dragon stamp dispute

    Chen designed the stamp marking the Year of the Dragon in 2012, which triggered a nationwide debate on the dragon pattern, which someone described as ferocious and intimidating.

    Chen defended his design by saying that pictures don’t transfer real meaning as clearly as language, so misunderstandings happen easily.

    “The dragon is a legendary creature. If it is designed to appear lovely and soft, it will not fit the image of a dragon in most Chinese people’s minds,” said Chen in an earlier interview with the Beijing-based Global Times.

    Chen said that his design derives from the pattern on “dragon robes” worn by Chinese emperors in the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) and also referred to the design and color of the famous Nine Dragons Wall in Beijing’s Beihai Park.

    “Dragons can drive out evil spirits and prevent disasters, so we need a tough image to express this,” said Chen.

    “Chen Shaohua is a critical, straightforward person and always calls a spade a spade,” Wang Shouzhi, dean of Cheung Kong School of Art & Design, Shantou University, said of Chen on his Weibo account.

    Continuing with horse stamp

    It took Chen more than half a year to design the stamp marking the Year of the Horse.

    “It is very difficult to design a stamp, which has to meet strict standards. It can’t be too artistic or vulgar. It also has to match the taste of philatelists. However, it is still worth doing,” said Chen.

    Chen tried to present the horse’s power and strength by employing geometrical figures. Instead of a galloping horse, a carefree and elegant white horse appears in Chen’s design.

    He originally drew a black horse wearing armor, but it failed to satisfy China Post, distributor of the zodiac stamp. He then changed it white and enlarged the horse’s cheek, which finally satisfied the distributor.

    The stamp also features patterns of bats and peonies, which are considered auspicious in traditional Chinese culture.

    It is very difficult to design a stamp, which has to meet strict standards. It can’t be too artistic or vulgar. It also has to match the taste of philatelists. However, it is still worth doing.”

    — Chen Shaohua, a well-known Shenzhen-based designer, who created zodiac stamps for the Year of the Monkey (2004), Pig (2007), Ox (2009), Dragon (2012) and Horse (2014)