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| The Lost Sword (front of stamp booklet) |
It was a stormy day in the flood season and a man from the state of Chu
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| The Lost Sword (frontispiece of booklet) |
wanted to cross a river
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| 1981: The Lost Sword (Design - Pan Keming) |
but the water was a raging torrent.
As he crossed the river
the boat was tossed on the waves and his sword slipped from his hand. He loved the sword.
Then he had a brainwave and made a mark on the side (gunwale) where he had dropped the sword. He said to his puzzled companion "I have made a mark here to remind me where my sword fell in the water. Later I will be able to retrieve my sword by the location of the mark"
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| reverse of stamp booklet |
This ancient fable gives rise to the Chinese idiom of 'Finding a Lost Sword'. The moral of the fable is one must take into consideration changes in circumstances and adapt to change. Don't isolate yourself from reality or adhere to fixed rules and patterns. The story is sometimes called Marking the Gunwale. The artist is Pam Keming (b1940) who has said that she enjoys making art from philosophical ideas.
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| My local river in winter - the Duddon, |
Sunday Stamps II prompt this week is - Water - join the flow at
See It on A Postcard.
3 comments:
I usually say that every stamp tells a story... But these ones actually do! Very interesting, and beautiful stamps.
And then did he invent the scabbard, so that he wouldn't drop his sward again?
Interesting proverb and nice sequence of stamps telling the story
Beautiful stamps, and thank you for also sharing the story!
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