French postal service company La Poste on Saturday issued two stamps to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year of Tiger.     1    (feature) a crouching tiger on a red background, one stamp applies to the domestic mail service in France for a face value of ￠1.16. The other,     2     a standing tiger looking to the distance on a blue background, has a face value of ￠l.65 for international mail service.

Chinese artist Chen Jianghong, designer of the stamps, said the two tigers represent     3    (respective) power and hope. Evident in Chinese culture thousands of years ago, a tiger’s strength,     4     (brave) and skills inspired soldiers. And carrying of small tiger-shaped pieces     5    (be) popular during the Ming Dynasty.

"Tiger     6     (see) as ‘the King of the beasts’ in China. It also bears witness to the extraordinary efforts of the Chinese people in the protection of biodiversity and the     7    (harmony) coexistence of man and nature," Chinese ambassador to France Lu Shaye said at the issuing ceremony.

Philippe Wahl, president and chief executive officer of La Poste, said that the zodiac(生肖) is one of     8     most essential parts of Chinese culture. The Chinese Zodiac is represented by 12 animals     9     (record) the years and reflect the characteristics of people. La Poste has issued special-event stamps of the Chinese zodiac for many years.     10     is important is that stamps can help the French people understand Chinese culture.

“A letter from family is worth ten thousand in silver.” This line from ancient poet Du Fu (712-770) reflects the deep    1    (emotion) that the Chinese people have for their family and homeland.

More than a century ago,    2    electronic forms of communication were not available, overseas Chinese had to find ways to send messages back home. Qiaopi,    3    unique form of mail comprising a letter and a remittance(汇款), emerged and served as a bond between Chinese emigrants and their families back home.    4    the difficulties they encountered, these people, who worked as cooks, barbers, tailors and small traders,    5    (usual) sent every dime saved back home when writing to their families. The letters expressed their longing     6    (reunite). Today, these yellowed pieces of mail have become a    7    (nation) cultural treasure.

In 2004, a museum     8    (dedicate) to Qiaopi opened in Shantou City, Guangdong, where almost all families have saved such letters in their homes. These letters recorded the struggling    9    (survive) of the old generation of overseas Chinese and their profound love for the hometown and the motherland.

Over the years, efforts     10    (make) to collect and preserve qiaopi, to remind people of the nation’s humiliating sufferings in modern history and promote integrity in society.

One solar term gives way to another as summer takes hold. After Xiao man, or “grain buds”, it’s time for Mang zhong, or “grain in ear”,     1     Chinese solar term for summer. This year, Mang zhong starts on June 6. According to this solar term, most of China will see the hot dry days of summer     2     the areas around the Yangtze River will experience rain.

Mang refers to the thistle (蓟) on the seeds of grain plants and zhong refers to harvesting and sowing,     3     happen at the same time. The beginning of Mang zhong means the grains are fully grown and waiting to     4    (harvest). So like other solar terms, it also     5    (reflect) agricultural phenology (物候学).

In Chinese, mang has the same     6    (pronounce) as another mang, which means “busy”. Mang zhong is also regarded by Chinese farmers     7     “busy farming”.

Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi described the busy scene of people     8    (work) on farmlands during the period in his poem, titled Guan Yimai (Watching the Wheat Harvest): “Farm families have few leisurely     9    (month). In the     10    (five) lunar month, they are twice as busy. The southern breeze arises in the evenings. Covered fields of wheat now turn yellow… Married women and unmarried girls carry round bamboo containers on poles full of food. Children follow with pots of food and water. Following each other into the fields to serve food and drink for the strong men in the southern fields.”