Chinese Artist Huang Yongyu’s Year of the Rabbit Stamps Are Being Labelled “Scary”

Acclaimed Chinese contemporary artist Huang Yongyu was tapped to create two new stamp artworks for China Post’s celebration of the Lunar New Year. Yongyu, 99, is one of the nation’s most revered living artists and had created postal artwork several times before, most notably for the 1980 Year of the Monkey stamp — which garnered nearly $300,000 USD when it sold at auction in 2017. This year’s stamps have come with mixed reviews, however, as many in the online community are labelling the artwork “evil” and “scary” looking.

The first stamp is titled “The Rabbit Sending Blessings” and features Yongyu’s washy ink aesthetic as he creates a blue rabbit with bright red eyes holding a pen and letter. According to a press release by China Post, “such an image suggests that Chinese people think all the more of their loved ones during the Spring Festival and therefore send them their best wishes by letters. It also conveys the meaning that Chinese people will work together to draw a grand “blueprint” of China in the coming year.” Online bloggers felt differently: “This blue rabbit is designed to be horrific, like a demon possessed,” according to one reviewer. “It’s not cute at all. It’s even a bit scary,” said another.

The latter stamp is called “Endless Cycle for Vitality” and features three rabbits as they endlessly encircle one another. “Drawing a rabbit stamp is a happy thing,” said Yongyu via a livestream unveiling the work on January 5. “Everyone can draw rabbits, so it’s just a matter of drawing them to make people happy and congratulate them on the Lunar New Year.”

Despite some of the arid reviews, the stamps sold out within minutes when released earlier this month — perhaps due simply to the artist’s reputation and the lucrative auction sales.

Elsewhere in art, National Portrait Gallery in London will showcase previously unseen photographs taken by Paul McCartney.