In order to promote Chinese culture, and to introduce exquisite art works of ancient China, the Directorate has often chosen ancient paintings from the National Palace Museum as material for stamps, which have been very well received by both foreign and domestic stamp collectors. For the latest of such stamp series, we took the suggestion of the National Palace Museum to base a series of 20 stamps on the Bird Manual works created by palace painters during the Ching dynasty. The 2O, moreover, are being printed next to each other on a single sheet of stamps.    Originally there were twelve Bird Manual volumes. of which four survive in the National Palace Museum collection. Each page spread has a painting of the bird on the right and commentary in Chinese and Manchu on the left. The birds depicted in these works include the Purple-capped Lorikeet, the Green Magpei, the Blue crowned Hanging Parrot, the Niltava, two varieties of Brandt's Mountain Finch, the Red-billed Blue Magpei, the Giant Babax, the Brambling, the Common Hose finch. the Long-tailed Minivet, the Black-naped Oriole, the Yellow-throated Bunting. the Bohemian Waxwing, the Brown Crested Mynah, the Java Sparrow, the Long tailed Parakeet, the Black-winged Starling, the Hairy footed Pigeon, and the Northern Wryneck.