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First Day Cover text for"Four Great Inventions of Ancient China" stamp issue

Ancient Chinese had an advanced understanding of the sciences of physics, engineering, chemistry and astronomy. Their numerous discoveries and inventions have shaped the development of science and impacted on human civilisations around the world. In this new series of stamps, "Four Great Inventions of Ancient China", Hongkong Post showcases four revolutionary Chinese technologies - the compass, printing, gunpowder and papermaking.

These ancient inventions have profoundly changed the world since they emerged many centuries ago. The compass ushered in a brave new world of exploration and trade; the invention of gunpowder changed warfare tactics through the development of weaponry; and printing and papermaking facilitated the spreading of knowledge to lay the cornerstone for universal education.

The $1.40 stamp shows the ancient compass as a south-pointing ladle. The stamp depicts a hodometer developed from a compass cart and a ship launched by Zheng He (AD 1371-1433), a world-renowned navigator, during his epoch-making expeditions. The sea adventure would not have been possible without the compass.

The $2.40 stamp features a statue of Bi Sheng, the man credited with the invention of movable type printing between AD 1041 and 1048, together with a printing plate, a book so printed and swivel compositor's trays.

The $3 stamp illustrates the use of gunpowder, invented over 1000 years ago, in festivities and in battles - firecrackers for celebration against winged rocket bomb and assault barrow for attack. In the background are formulas for powder making.

The $5 stamp portrays Cai Lun of the Eastern Han (AD 25-220) who developed papermaking. The "Four Treasures for the Study" (paper, brush, ink stick and inkstone) are flanked by a statue of Cai Lun and drawings demonstrating the process of papermaking with a fragment of the oldest "sized paper" survived from Later Qin (AD 384) as the backdrop.

The First Day Cover design presents these four ancient inventions with illustrations of printing, papermaking, a compass and a gunpowder-driven rocket.

Acknowledgements: China Science and Technology Museum