Chinese flag

The flag of the largest country by population was not adopted immediately, but it has been beloved by the people for about a century.

This is what the modern flag of China looks like:

History of the flag

It was officially adopted in 1949 by a meeting of the People’s Political Consultative Council, which shortly before that had organized a competition for a new national symbol. The author of the design is an economist.

The flag was chosen from among the 38 finalists in the contest, undergoing several changes before approval.

The very first flag was yellow, with a dragon with its muzzle facing a red sun. It had been in use since 1644, but had been modified once, with a triangular rather than rectangular shape since 1862.

At the end of the nineteenth century it was returned to its former appearance. The dragon is the power and might of the ruler.

The flag of the Republic of China, which once included the PRC, consisted of five stripes, the colors of which were not chosen by chance – they represented the peoples – the Han, Manchus, Mongols, Hui and Tibetans. It had been in effect since 1912.

Today the Republic of China is referred to as Taiwan. Not to be confused with the PRC.

Later, in 1928 the blue symbol with a white sun in the center was used, which was in effect until 1949.

Description

It is a monochrome cloth with five five-pointed stars – one large, which is located near the staff, in the upper left corner, and four smaller, which form the right side of the first arc, arranged so that one of their ends points to a large star.

Flag colors

It has two colors – red and gold.

Meaning of colors and flag symbol

• Red is a symbol of revolution.
• The use of gold is not interpreted in any way, but it is likely that in this case it has the classic meaning indicated in heraldry – power, greatness and respect.
• It is known for certain that the largest star is a symbol of the leadership of the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of China.
• The meanings of the other stars around the main star are variously explained, but many are of the opinion that they represent the four classes of the Chinese people. But what exactly these classes are is not specified, since no ruler has ever clarified this question.
• Mao Zedong said that these were the working class, the peasantry, the petty bourgeoisie and the national bourgeoisie.
• The people themselves are closer to the version that states that the proletariat, peasantry, intellectuals and the army are represented.

Other Flags

The People’s Republic of China, in addition to its main territory, also has two special parts that have some autonomy. These are the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao.

The flag of Hong Kong is a red cloth with a white flower that has five petals. On each of them is a red star that symbolizes the residents’ love for their homeland. The flower itself is a symbol of the unity of Hong Kong and China on the mainland.

The flag of Macao is green, showing a bridge, water below it, and a lotus above it, above which hang the stars-four small ones and a fifth, a large one depicted in the center. The whole picture is white and the stars are gold.

The country’s armies and troops also have their own symbols.

The People’s Liberation Army of China uses a flag similar to the national flag, which differs only in the fact that it has only a large star and on its right side there are the numbers eight and one, the date of the AF’s foundation.

The PRC Army has a similar symbol, but there is also a green stripe at the bottom of the banner.

The stripe on the flag of the Air Force is blue.

The PRC Navy is distinguished by the presence of white stripes on the blue banner.

The love for the Communist Party is very great in China, so it can be traced even in the symbols, which have not changed over the years.

General information about China

Map of China