The Chinese postal service”™s Lunar New Year observance with a new stamp celebrating the Year of the Rabbit has generated a wave of criticism with China”™s social media sphere, with many people expressing disdain for its none-too-cuddly design.
According to a South China Morning Post report, the new stamp by 99-year-old artist Huang Yongyu features a blue rabbit with red semi-circular eyes outlined with black and stark whiskers. The rabbit”™s gaping red mouth is guarded with prominent teeth and its hands look strangely human.
The design sparked a debate on Weibo, China”™s Twitter-style social media platform, with detractors condemning the rabbit as “evil,” “very odd” and “scary.” One Weibo observer stated, “This blue rabbit is designed to be horrific, like a demon possessed. It is too evil to appreciate.”
But the negative reviews didn”™t scare away stamp collectors ”“ sheets of the stamp sold out when it became available online, with some sheets being resold to philatelists at three times their value.
Photo courtesy China Post
