If you are looking to improve your Lunar New Year collection, Macau’s 2023 stamp program is the place to go.  Macau started their year with 廖文暢Liu Man Cheong’s watercolour rabbits. If you aren’t familiar with Liu Man Cheong’s work, then you are in for a treat.  Three of his earlier stamp designs were award winners:

• 1993 Macau Post and Telecommunications Department competition – first prize for Chinese Immortals and  Macau Temple 
• 1993  Portuguese Postal Association – Best Macau Stamp Art Award
• 1994 Macau Post and Telecommunications Department competition – Eight Views of Macao

He carved out a decades long career in cinema painting and advertising before shifting focus to watercolours of wildlife and nature in the early to mid 2000s. If you compare his 2000 – 2003 Chinese New Year stamps with his current 2023 Rabbits, you will see a startling change in style:

This set has a distinct poster art look to them. They are fun, and the dragon and snake almost feel like they are looking directly at the reader.  Now compare that trio to this year’s Rabbits:

The contrast is so sharp, it’s difficult to believe it’s the same artist.  I wish I could provide more info him, but most of the links I found were out of date or simply rehashed the same information. Here’s hoping Macau has more plans for Liu Man Cheong’s artistry. 

In an attempt to create more order through the years, I’ve started setting up thematic categories, and posting them under each title. These are my own descriptors, and will help me string related themes and content together over the years. I think it will be fun watching themes and ideas weave together, year after year. Later in the month, I’ll update 2022 and 2021 with similar categories. 

 The best way to keep up to date with any changes to this page, or the site in general is through my weekly newsletter. It includes weekly updates, links to new articles and subscriber only content. Bonus? It’s free. Just sign up and it’ll magically appear in your inbox – unless I go out with friends and have a bit too much wine and good cheer. Then the newsletter comes out on Monday. 

Cheers 
Catpaw

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January 

Lunar New Year – Year of the Rabbit
Series: Chinese New Year

4 stamps, 2 info sheets, 1 stamp on souvenir sheet,  sheets of  16, FDC, cancel, FDC joint issue with China, info leaflets, postcards, folder, postage pack
offset lithography   

The design concept of the fourth series expresses the change of time with four seasons. This set of four stamps and one souvenir sheet, created by Macao artist Liu Man Cheong, features a watercolor painting of long-eared short-tailed rabbits against seasonal flowers, daffodils, lotuses, chrysanthemums and plum blossoms representing spring, summer, autumn and winter. Macau Post press release Issuance of “Year of the Rabbit” philatelic products
03/01/2023

You can see more Year of the Rabbit stamps, from around the world here Lunar New Year – Year of the Rabbit 2023 (bittergrounds.com)

Designer: 廖文暢 Liu Man Cheong
His name is also written Liao Wenchang in some articles. Translating names into English is tricky and can mistranslate a lot. 

Wenchang designed his first stamp for Macau in 1992, Gods of Chinese Mythology (series one). His first Lunar New Year stamp was the 1996 Year of the Rat which was followed up with  the 1997 Year of the Ox, 1998 Year of the Tiger, 1999 Year of the Rabbit, 2000 Year of the Dragon,  2001 Year of the Snake,  2002 Year of the Horse and 2003 Year of the Goat. 

He has created over 25 sets for Macau and it looks like this year’s Rabbit  stamp is his first stamp in 20 years.  

Release date: January 5, 2023

February

Year of the Rabbit (postage label)
Series: Chinese New Year

1 postal label, FDC, cancel, info sheet
offset lithography

Designer: 馮寶珠 Feng Baozhu
Baozhu also created the 2022 Year of the Tiger labels

Release date: February 1, 2023

March

110th Anniversary of the Macau Chamber of Commerce
Theme: history

4 stamps, 1 stamp on souvenir sheet, 2 FDCs, cancel, info sheets
offset lithography

Macao Chamber of Commerce – History (acm.org.mo) has a good history of the organisation available in English.

Designer: 陸曦 Lu Xi

Release date: March 1, 2023

The 30th Anniversary of the Promulgation of the Basic Law of Macao
Theme: history

2 stamps, 2 sheets of 50, FDC, cancel, info sheet
offset lithography

Designer: Li Yonghan 李永漢

Release date: March 31, 2023

April

World Stamp Exhibition 2023

1 commemorative cover and cancel

This year’s World Stamp Fair will be held in Tokyo, Japan. 

Release date: April 21-23, 2023

May

World Telecommunication and Information Society Day
Commemorative Post Mark

1 cancel, special cover

Release date: May 17, 2023

June

The Five Great Ancient Chinese Beasts

5 stamps, 1 stamp on souvenir sheet, 2 FDCs, cancel, sheet of 20, 2 info sheets
offset lithography with microprinting

Dragon, Turtle, Phoenix, Pixiu and Kirin

Chinese Bestiary | Immortal Mountain (wordpress.com)

Designer: Wu Wenyan 伍文燕

 Release date: June 6, 2023

Luban Temple
Theme: history | architecture

2 stamps, 1 stamp on souvenir sheet, 8 stamps on sheetlet, 2 FDCs, cancel, 2 info sheets

 Designer: Lu Zeqiang  
呂澤強

Release date: July 28,2023

September

Visit Macau
Theme: tourism

4 stamps, souvenir sheet, 2 FDCs, cancel, sheet of 12, 2 infosheets
offset

Designers: Tung Man Kei, Chan Siu Ming 董文祺、陳紹明

Release date: September 1, 2023

10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative

1 stamp on souvenir sheet, FDC, cancel, info sheet, souvenir pack
offset with cold stamping & pearlescent ink

China and Hong Kong both issued stamps celebrating the anniversary

Designer: Wang Hhuming  王虎鳴

Release date: September 9, 2023

October

Celebrate

2 stamps, FDC, cancel, info sheet, souvenir sheet
offset

Designer: Che Sin Teng 謝倩婷

Release date: October 9, 2023

The Centenary of the Birth of Henrique de Senna Fernandes (1923-2010)
Theme: history | people 

2 stamps, souvenir sheet, 2 FDCs, cancel, 2 sheets of 50, 2 info sheets
offset with microprinting

Writer and scholar.   If you are interested in a decent deep dive into Fernandes life, see The Bewitching Braid Henrique de Senna Fernandes translated by David Brooksha w. It’ll open to a pdf. A Hong Kong University Press publication. It starts with a good primer on the background of Macau’s colonial period. 

Henrique de Senna Fernandes was … was a member of a generation of intellectuals wh o began to explore and express the cultural 
foundations of the Macanese and their social predicament at a time when their homeland began to undergo profound changes, and when the Portuguese colonial empire came under threat.

page 4 The Bewitching Braid Henrique de Senna Fernande s translated by David Brooksha w (hku.hk)

Designer: 馬偉達 Ma Weida 

Release date: October 13, 2023

November

70th Macau Grand Prix
Theme: sports

2 stamps, souvenir sheet, 2 FDCs, cancel, sheet of 12, 2 info sheets
offset with microprinting

Designer: 余思 Yu Si

Release date: November 16, 2023

The 100th anniversary of Kiang Wu Nursing College of Macau
Theme: history

4 stamps, souvenir sheet, 2 FDCs, cancel, 4 sheets of 50, 2 info sheets
offset with microprinting

Designer: Lu Chong 陸翀

Release date: November 23, 2023

December

40th Community Chest Walk

2 stamps, souvenir sheet, 2 FDCs, cancel, 2 sheets of 50, 2 info sheets
offset with microprinting

The 4oth walk took place December 10. 

Designer: Ng Wai Kin 吳衛堅

Release date: December 10, 2023