New Issue: Chinese Classic Novel “Journey to the West” Postage Stamps (Issue of 2010)／Les nouveautés:Le Roman Classique chinois “Le Voyage en Occident” les Timbres (l'Édition de 2010)

Date of Issue: July 7, 2010

In order to present the beauty of Chinese classic literature, Chunghwa Post is following up with a new set of four stamps on Chinese classic novel “Journey to the Wes,t” “Complete Enlightenment,” “Sun Wukong Wreaks Havoc in Heaven,” “Dreaming of Beheading the Jing River Dragon King,” and “Stealing the Ginseng Fruits.” The designs follow:

1. Complete Enlightenment (NT$ 5): The monkey king of Mt. Huaguo in the Water Curtain Cave, desiring immortality, made off to the Three Star Cave to study under the Buddhist Patriarch Subodhi, who gave him the name Sun Wukong, and from whom he learned secrets of magic. Later, because Sun would recklessly show off his magic, Subodhi renounced
him as a student. Furthermore, Subodhi gave him a pointer: “Whence one comes, one returns.”

2. Sun Wukong Wreaks Havoc in Heaven (NT$5): The Jade Emperor conveyed on Sun Wukong the title “Great Sage Equal of Heaven,” and sent him off to administer the garden of Queen Mother of the West’s peaches of immortality. Sun stole and ate some peaches, pills of immortality and wine prepared for Heaven’s Peach Festival. The Jade Emperor dispatched his forces to capture him and the monkey was imprisoned in Mt. Wuhang by Tathagata.

3. Dreaming of Beheading the Jing River Dragon King (NT$12): The Jing River Dragon King disobeyed the Jade Emperor’s directive to create rain. Consequently, the emperor sent Wei Zheng to behead the Dragon King, and the Dragon King appeared in Emperor Tang Taizong’s dream to ask for help. To divert Wei Zheng’s attention, Emperor Tang Taizong invited him to his palace to discuss affairs of state and then play chess. During the game Wei Zheng dozed off, at which time his spirit left his body to behead the dragon.

4. Stealing the Ginseng Fruits (NT$25): The Ginseng fruit was a great treasure of Longevity Mountain. After Sun Wukong and Pigsy were scolded for secretly eating Ginseng fruits, Sun Wukong destroyed the orchard in a fit of pique. Eventually the dew drops of the Goddess of Mercy saved the Ginseng fruit trees.

FDC from Myanmar(Burma)／FDC du Myanmar(Birmanie)

60th anniversary of People's Republic of China-Myanmar Union diplomatic relationship／

60e anniversaire de la République populaire de Chine-Union du Myanmar relations diplomatiques

FDC from Bosnia and Herzegovina (Republika Srpska)／FDC de la Bosnie-Herzégovine (La République serbe de Bosnie)

2010 FIFA World Cup／

Coupe du monde de football de 2010

FDC from North Korea／FDC de la Corée du Nord

2010 FIFA World Cup／

Coupe du monde de football de 2010

The 2010 FIFA World Cup is the 19th FIFA World Cup, the premier international association football tournament. It is being held in South Africa, beginning on 11 June and scheduled to conclude on 11 July 2010. The tournament is the culmination of a qualification process that began in August 2007 and involved 204 of the 208 FIFA national teams. As such, it matches the 2008 Summer Olympics as the sports event with the most competing nations.

This is the first time that the tournament has been hosted by an African nation, after South Africa was selected over Morocco and Egypt in an all-African bidding process. Italy is the defending champion, having won the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. The draw for the finals took place on 4 December 2009 in Cape Town, South Africa.

La Coupe du monde de football de 2010 est la dix-neuvième édition de la Coupe du monde de football et se déroule du 11 juin au 11 juillet 2010 en Afrique du Sud. Il s'agit de la première phase finale de Coupe du monde se disputant sur le sol africain. Le pays organisateur a été choisi en mai 2004.

D'août 2007 à novembre 2009, les sélections nationales de 203 pays participent à une phase de qualification, dans le but de désigner les 31 équipes disputant le tournoi final en compagnie de l'Afrique du Sud, qualifiée d'office en tant que pays organisateur.

FDC from Japan／FDC du Japon

Anime: Fullmetal Alchemist

Fullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師, Hagane no Renkinjutsushi, literally "Alchemist of Steel"), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is styled after the European Industrial Revolution. Set in a fictional universe in which alchemy is one of the most advanced scientific techniques known to man, the story follows the brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, who want to restore their bodies after a disastrous failed attempt to bring their mother back to life through alchemy.

The manga was serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan magazine (starting August 2001 and ending June 2010) and currently has 25 tankōbon volumes. It was adapted into an animated television series of 51 episodes by Bones from October 4, 2003 to October 2, 2004, later followed by a film sequel that concluded the story of the anime. Fullmetal Alchemist would later spawn a second series called Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which first premiered in Japan on April 5, 2009. A multitude of spin-off novels, original video animations (OVAs), drama CDs, soundtracks, and video games have been adapted from the series. A collectible card game, multiple supplementary books, and a variety of action figures and other merchandise based on the characters of the series have also been released.

The manga has been licensed by Viz Media for publication in the United States, with twenty-two bound volumes released currently. Although there are no major differences with the Japanese version, some pages have been edited to avoid minor references to western theology. Funimation Entertainment has dubbed the anime episodes in the United States and Canada, and has also released them in all English-speaking DVD regions. The English version of the film premiered in a limited number of U.S. theaters on August 25, 2006 and was later released on DVD. Funimation and Destineer have also been releasing the video games from the series.

In Japan, the Fullmetal Alchemist manga has enjoyed exceptional sales of 40 million volumes sold as of 2009. The English release of the manga's first volume was the top-selling graphic novel during the year 2005. In two TV Asahi web polls, the anime was voted #1 most popular anime of all time in Japan. It was nominated in six of the eight categories for which it was eligible at the American Anime Awards in February 2007, winning awards in five of them. Reviewers from several media generally had positive comments on the series.

Fullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師, Hagane no renkinjutsushi?, litt. « l'alchimiste d'acier », abrégé en hagaren), est un manga d'Hiromu Arakawa adapté en série d'animation et diffusé au Japon entre 2003 et 2004, un film sorti en 2005, des OAV sortis en 2006 ainsi que plusieurs jeux vidéo.

Depuis le 5 avril 2009, est diffusée une nouvelle adaptation intitulée Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood et reprenant la trame du manga de manière plus fidèle.

Le manga est publié au Japon tous les mois dans le magazine Shōnen Gangan chapitre par chapitre ensuite réunis (généralement par 4) dans des volumes reliés et cela depuis 2001. La série, désormais achevée, est composée de 108 chapitres. Le dernier, clôturant le manga, est paru le 10 juin 2010.

En France, la série est arrivée fin 2005 et seuls les volumes reliés sont publiés par Kurokawa. Actuellement, il est sorti 23 volumes (au 8 avril 2010) et le tome 24 est prévu pour septembre 2010. Au Japon, le tome 25 est sorti le 22 avril 2010 et la date de sortie du dernier volume n'est pas encore connue.

FDC from North Korea／FDC de la Corée du Nord

Insects／Les insectes

50 won stamp: Vespa mandarinia
The Asian giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia), including the subspecies Japanese giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia Japonica), colloquially known as the yak-killer hornet, is the world's largest hornet, native to temperate and tropical Eastern Asia. Its body length is approximately 50 mm (2 in), with a wingspan of about 76 mm (3 in).


90 won stamp: Cicindela japonica
Cicindela japonica, commonly known as the Japanese tiger beetle, is a species of ground beetles native to Asia.

120 won stamp: Locusta migratoria
The migratory locust (Locusta migratoria) is the most widespread locust species. It occurs throughout Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. It used to be common in Europe but has now become rare there. Because of the vast geographic area it occupies, which comprises many different ecological zones, numerous subspecies have been described. However, not all experts agree on the validity of some of these subspecies. The main ones are:
* Locusta migratoria migratoria (West and Central Asia, eastern Europe)
* Locusta migratoria migratorioides (mainland Africa and Atlantic islands)
* Locusta migratoria capito (Madagascar)
* Locusta migratoria manilensis (eastern Asia)
Other common locusts are Schistocerca gregaria and Nomadacris septemfasciata.

140 won stamp: Aphaenogaster famelica
Total length of workers around 3.5 - 8 mm. Body color dark reddish brown, head and gaster blackish brown. Scapes, mesosoma and legs long. Pronotum varying from feebly punctate with opaque intervening surfaces, to distinctly punctate with shining intervening surfaces. Rugae are sometimes developed on the lateral pronotal surfaces of larger workers. Pronotal humeri not angulate. Mesonotum covered with rugae, its dorsum raised to a variable degree. Propodeal spines broad basally and acute apically, their dorsal outlines straight and ventral outlines concave in lateral view.

FDC from North Korea／FDC de la Corée du Nord

National musical instruments／

Instruments de musique nationaux

The stamp were issued to show the Korean national musical instruments.

12 won stamp: Saenap
As a traditional wind instrument it has been widely used in the army and peasant music and dancing group from late Koryo.

80 won stamp: Drum
It is a national percussion instrument which has been widely used from olden times together with Janggo.
One can play it by striking in the right hand while laying it on the wooden frame or carrying it on the shoulder.

140 won stamp: Sogonghu
It has been used at a national stringed instrument from ancient times.

170 won stamp: Flute
It is a national wood-wind instrument.
It has been widely used in playing instrumental music including solo, ensemble since it has elegant and lonesome timbre.

New Issue: Taiwan Sculpture Postage Stamp／Les nouveautés: Timbre-poste de Taïwan Sculpture

Taiwan Sculpture Postage Stamp／

Timbre-poste de Taïwan Sculpture

To introduce the beauty of Taiwan sculpture, Chunghwa Post will issue a souvenir sheet on “Water Buffaloes” by Huang Tu-shui. The souvenir sheet has a denomination of NT$25. To demonstrate the beauty of sculpture, it is also embossed while printing.

Huang Tu-shui (1895-1930) was Taiwan’s first contemporary sculptor and a pioneer in fusing western and traditional sculptural elements. “Water Buffaloes,” one of Huang’s masterpieces and his most representative work, is featured on this souvenir sheet. “Water Buffaloes” depicts a scene in a banana grove at the height of the summer: a refreshing breeze lightly sways the banana leaves as five water buffaloes mill about in a pasture. There are two naked shepherd boys: one on the back of a water buffalo, with a bamboo rod in hand and a bamboo hat on the tip of the rod, and another standing in front of the calf, caressing it with his hands. There is another boy, who is wearing a bamboo hat and sitting on the back of a buffalo. The air and posture of the boy touching the calf gives the work a sense of peace and stability, and the intermingling of the buffaloes provides a sense of balance. The piece vividly records a simple rural scene characteristic of early Taiwan. The sculpture is now on display in the Guangfu Auditorium of Zhongshan Hall in Taipei City.

Note: It's first stamp which print by "Offset plus embossing" in Taiwan.

FDC from Bulgaria／FDC de la Bulgarie

World Chess Championship 2010／Championnat du monde d'échecs 2010

The World Chess Championship 2010 match pitted the defending world champion, Viswanathan Anand, against challenger Veselin Topalov, for the title of World Chess Champion. The match took place in Sofia, Bulgaria from April 24 to May 13, 2010, with a prize fund of 2 million euros (60% to the winner). In a dramatic finish, Anand won the match 6½–5½ to retain the title.

The match was to be twelve games, with tie-breaks if necessary, the same format and length as the 2006 and 2008 matches.

The start of the match was delayed one day due to air travel disruptions caused by the volcanic ash emissions from Eyjafjallajökull. Anand was to fly from Frankfurt to Sofia on April 16 and was stranded because of the eruption. He asked for a three day postponement, which was refused by the organisers on April 19. Anand finally reached Sofia on April 20, after a 40-hour road journey. The first game was consequently delayed by one day.

Le Championnat du monde d'échecs 2010 est un match entre le vainqueur du Championnat du monde d'échecs 2008, Viswanathan Anand et Veselin Topalov, vainqueur d'un match contre Gata Kamsky en 2009. Il a lieu à Sofia du 24 avril au 12 mai 2010. Initialement prévu en 2009, il est reporté en raison de la crise économique.

Le titre se joue dans un match en 12 parties à l'issue duquel, en cas d'égalité, des parties rapides départageront les joueurs. Les joueurs se partagent un prix de 2 millions d'euros, 60 % pour le vainqueur et 40 % pour le perdant. Il est remporté par Anand sur le score de 6½ à 5½, grâce à sa victoire avec les noirs dans la dernière ronde.

Topalov a pour secondants les GMI Ivan Cheparinov, Jan Smeets et Erwin L'Ami, et le spécialiste des programmes d'échecs Jiri Dufek, qui a notamment travaillé sur le répertoire d'ouvertures de Rybka 4[1]. Pour sa préparation, il utilise un supercalculateur Blue Gene/P à 8 792 processeurs qui développe 1 pétaflops.

Les secondants d'Anand sont Peter Heine Nielsen, Rustam Qosimjonov, Surya Ganguly et Radosław Wojtaszek. Magnus Carlsen et Anish Giri lui servent ponctuellement de partenaires d'entraînement, et il reçoit de l'aide supplémentaire de la part de Garry Kasparov et Vladimir Kramnik.

Le match est arbitré par les arbitres internationaux Panagiotis Nikolopoulos et Werner Stubenvoll.

FDC from South Korea／FDC de la Corée du Sud

Korea´s Skating Victories at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games／
Victoires de la Corée du patinage à Vancouver Jeux Olympiques d'hiver


In the breathtaking moment of the deciding event, Koreans tightly held hands, fretting that Kim Yu Na might fall during the triple lutz–triple toeloop combination jump. Becoming one with the skaters who raced the clock in a dash toward the finish line, we pushed our will onto the ice chanting “one two, one two.” In the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games where all the Korean people cheered in one voice, the Korean athletes showed incredible flair as if they were repaying the Korean people’s ardent cheering. Kim Yu Na, who with impeccably perfect form rose to the position of the undisputed queen of world figure skating. Mo Tae Bum, Lee Seung Hoon, and Lee Sang Hwa who emerged as new hopes in speed skating. Lee Jung Su, Sung Si Bak, Lee Ho Suk, Kwak Yoon Gy, Kim Seoung Il, Lee Eun Byul, and Park Seung Hi who carried on Korea’s rightful reputation as the global power in short-track. The other 35 members of the Korean representative team also showed the beauty of putting forth their best efforts to the very last moment. Thanks to all of them, Korea was able to achieve its best record in history with 6 gold medals, 6 silver medals, 2 bronze medals and win golden medals in the 3 events of figure skating, speed skating and short track speed skating, rising high as a new, skating power. The 11 Vancouver heroes who won medals are introduced through commemorative stamps, sending loud applause to all 46 athletes who endured lengthy periods of patience and pain, falling dozens, or hundreds or thousands of times on the ice. The deeply touching moments of gazing at the Taegeukgi, the national flag of Korea, rising to the top of the Olympic victory stand will be cherished for a long, long time in our hearts.