Chinese Year Of The Monkey

Year of the Monkey 2004 stamps and SS's by Mongolia, Vietnam, Singapore and Macau.

To celebrate the Year of the Monkey 2004, Thailand issued a single stamp features the image of Hanuman Monkey-god, servant of god Rama, hero of the Hindu epic - the Ramayana.

Golden Langur ((Trachypithecus geei), issued by Bhutan in 2004 to celebrate the Year of the Monkey

To celebrate the 2004 Year of the Monkey, six Oceanian island countries and Liberia issued stamps in a unified format: a single stamp, a miniature sheet containing four copies of the stamp, and a souvenir sheet. All of them feature monkeys in Chinese art.

Let's start with Tuvalu which shows two paintings by Chang Dai-Chien (1899-1983).

Monkey and old tree.


Two monkeys.

"White Gibbon" by Giuseppe Castiglione, known as Lang Shin-Ning (1688-1768), issued by St. Kitts in 2004 to mark the Chinese New Year of the Monkey.

"Moon-Struck Gibbon", by Gao Qi-Feng (1889-1933), issued by Micronesia in 2004 to mark the Chinese New Year of the Monkey.

"Green Bamboo and a White Ape" by Ren Yu (1854 - 1901), issued by Palau in 2004 to mark the Chinese New Year of the Monkey.

"Romping Monkeys" by unknown Chinese artist in Sung dynasty (960 - 1279 AD), issued by Bequia - Grenadines of St. Vincent in 2004 to mark the Chinese New Year of the Monkey.

"Monkey and Cat" by Yi Yuan-Chin (11th century), issued by Union Island - Grenadines of St. Vincent in 2004 to mark the Chinese New Year of the Monkey.

"The Monkey and the Pine Tree", by Liu Kui Ling (1885-1967), issued by Liberia in 2004 to mark the Chinese New Year of the Monkey.

Year of the Monkey 2004, souvenir sheets by Tokelau, Jersey, Marshall Islands and Tajikistan.




Tajikistan SS feature the "Three Wise Monkeys".

The three wise monkeys embody the proverb "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil." They are known as Mizaru, who covers his eyes and sees no evil; Kikazaru, who covers his ears and hears no evil; and Iwazaru, who covers his mouth and speaks no evil. Traditionally, the motif promotes moral discipline in thought, speech, and action, while in the Western world it is often used ironically to describe willful ignorance or the deliberate overlooking of wrongdoing.

To celebrate the Chinese Year of the Monkey 2004, the Nederland's Antilles issued on that year two single stamps. One of them was issued in a very attractive mini sheet in which the stamp and the margins show together Chinese fan with a painting of a monkey holding a peach.

Second stamp shows the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana), a monkey lives in China:

Vervet Monkey (Cercopithecus Aethiops), issued by Namibia in 2004 to celebrate the Chinese Year of the Monkey.

The USA issued a single stamp to celebrate the Chinese Year of the Monkey 2004.

Official USPS postcard franked with three copies of the stamp and mailed to Israel

Chinese Year of the Monkey 2004, issued by the Kingdom of Tonga.

- Spider monkey (Ateles (genus; commonly Ateles geoffroyi for the Geoffroy's spider monkey))
- Ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta)
- Cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus)
- White-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys)