OX
In ancient times, oxen played a very important role in rituals, and the oracle bone inscriptions have recorded a number of “ox sacrifices” of varying scales. In those earliest times, the three animals, namely ox, goat and pig were called “Tailao”, used for sacrifices by the emperor. With the development of farming, oxen evolved from sacrifice at the ancestral temple to force of farming, playing a key role in carrying loads and transporting people. In the traditional culture, the ox is a symbol of hard work and selfless dedication, of abundance of grain and peace and harmony, and of self-reliance and perseverance. The ox is the second in the Chinese zodiac, and its corresponding earthly branch is "Chou".
The “Yi-Chou Year” stamp issued by China Post in 1985 was the second issue in the first round of zodiac stamps, and Yao Zhonghua designed a majestic ox with its head raised high. In 1997, the second issue of “Ding-Chou Year”, was designed and engraved by Hu Zhenyuan. The first stamp uses traditional paper-cutting, with a spring ox tilting its head back to demonstrate strength and the spirit of hard work and pragmatism. The other stamp features a large red lantern on an orange background with the eye-catching clerical script word "Ox" written on it. At the top of the lantern is a picture of a magpie ascending to a plum blossom, while the lower tasseled portion hides two calves, a symbol of abundance and a good harvest. The third round of “Ji-Chou Year” stamp designed by Chen Shaohua, depicts a running red ox, in a decorative painting style, which symbolizes prosperity every year.
In 2009, Hongkong Post issued the Ox souvenir sheet for the third round of Chinese Zodiac year, including four stamps featuring four different varieties of auspicious oxen, with the background of the hills and meadows outlined in silver lines to give the oxen a more three-dimensional and vivid appearance. The fourth cycle of Xin-Chou Year stamps in 2021, was designed by Kan Tai-Keung. The four stamps are of a boxwood carved ox, an alabaster ox, a bronze ox and a plum blossom porcelain ox. The background is decorated with peony in spring, summer lotus, autumn chrysanthemum and winter plum blossom. The souvenir sheet has one stamp showing a lacquered wood carving of a colourful ox, against a backdrop of rice paddies, symbolizing the abundance of grains and the robustness of the ox in the New Year. The Year of the Ox stamps issued by CTT Macao this year were designed by Li Tak Seng, the maximum postcard is affixed with a stamp featuring a dairy cow with summer foliage.
When it comes to the story of the ox, we have to mention the Seventh Sister’s Birthday Festival on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, which is Chinese Valentine's Day. The Cowherd and the Weaving Maid are able to meet on this day because a group of black-feathered, bald and long-tailed magpies build a magpie bridge in the Tianhe River. In 2010, China Post issued "Legends and Myths - The Cowherd and the Weaving Maid" stamps designed by Li Xin. The main image of the set of four stamps adopts the modeling techniques and color features in Chinese folk art, absorbing the formal beauty of Han portrait bricks, and drawing on shadow puppetry to create the figures of the Cowherd and the Weaving Maid. In 2012, CTT Macao also launched stamps with the same theme painted by renowned artist Lio Man Cheong. Among them, the souvenir sheet "Meeting on the Magpie Bridge" won the ninth place in the "Most Beautiful Stamps of 2012" award at the Vienna International Philatelic Exhibition in 2013 for to its unique design.
In 2009, Christmas Island Post issued a two-stamp souvenir sheet designed by Poon Tak Nai, to celebrate the loyalty of ox. In 1997, Canada Post issued a miniature sheet with two stamps for the Year of the Ox, the golden background sets off the character "blessing" in the couplet, and the ox is outlined with just a few strokes. Designed by Liu Xiangping, a Chinese painter living in Canada, this fan-shaped miniature sheet has a Chinese charm, simple and elegant, with a silhouette of lovely ox. In 2009, La Poste issued the Year of the Ox stamp sheet, designed by French-Chinese artist Li Zhongyao, containing five stamps with an ink painting bamboo forest as the background, where a vibrant Chinese ox in ink painting walks along a pale yellow road in a low-key golden frame. In the upper left corner of the stamp, the Chinese characters “Year of the Ox” are printed in red, while French words are in gold. All stamps have no face value and are limited for domestic mail in France up to 20 grams. The designer chose ink painting precisely because this is an artistic form with Chinese characteristics and symbolizes people's hopes for a prosperous Year of the Ox.
In 2009, New Zealand Post issued a souvenir sheet with three stamps, featuring the Chinese character for “Ox”, a colorful and modern ox, and the Auckland Harbor Bridge decorated with red lanterns. Montserrat Island Post issued a four stamps souvenir sheet to celebrate the Year of the Ox. The Philippines Post and the Irish Post also each issued miniature sheets, respective. The former following the colour and format of the same series of zodiac stamps, while the latter is a sheet of three similarly designed brown calf stamps.
©2025 Communications Museum of Macao, CTT