Hongkong Post issued a special set of stamps featuring Chinese idioms and their stories here Thursday in a step to promote traditional culture in the cosmopolis and cement its cultural roots with the Chinese mainland.

"For many people, stamps are used to prepay postage; seldom do they realize the cultural significance that such tiny stamps have come to represent," said Joanna Choi, acting Postmaster General for Hong Kong at the special stamps issuing ceremony.

"The Chinese idioms are the essence of the language," Choi said, "Concise yet expressive, they contain profound meaning calling for deep thought."

"With this set of special stamps, we aim to promote philately and arouse the interest of Hong Kong children and students in Chinese culture," she said.

Among the special stamps are four carefully chosen Chinese idioms on family harmony, learning, personal development and community relations, namely "Xiangjing Rubin" (meaning "respect makes successful marriage"), "Kaijuan Youyi" (meaning "reading is always rewarding"), "Wenji Qiwu" (meaning "rise at cockcrow and practice kung fu, or prepare for success") and "Tongzhou Gongji" (meaning "cross the river in the same boat", or pull together in times of trouble).

The design for the four stamps combines traditional Chinese dress and personal adornment with modern cartoon painting techniques. Images with bold design and vivid color visualize the messages the idiom stories which dated back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC-475 BC).

Michael Fung, designer of the special stamps, said he himself also learned a lot of knowledge about Chinese idioms during his 9-month design for the stamps.

"The four idioms were chosen because they concentrate the core value of Chinese culture and they are simple to express in images," said Fung, who once designed stamps on late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and traditional industries in Hong Kong.

Hongkong Post said other postal products on Chinese culture and value may continue to debut in the market in future.

(Xinhua News Agency June 16, 2006)