The People’s Republic of China has a two-colored flag. The flag is a combination of red (base color) and yellow (five stars). The Chinese flag is a symbol of Chinese history and culture. This flag also represents the unification of the people as one nation after decades of dynasties and divisions.
The flag of China was adopted on October 1, 1949. This flag was officially hoisted for the first time at the Beijing Tiananmen Square at a ceremony announcing the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Before this flag, the country had a different flag. From 1862 to 1912, the flag of China constituted five colors. This was red, yellow, blue, white, and black. The base of the flag was yellow with a blue dragon at the center and a red disk at the upper left corner. The back of the dragon consisted of white and black horizontal bands. The Qing dynasty’s decline culminated in 1912. There were uprisings from various parts of the nation, from the ethnic Miao in Guizhou province to the Hui Muslims and the Nian uprising in 1851-1868. There were attempts to reinstate monarchical rule in 1915 and 1916. During this time, the flag used was made up of yellow, blue, black, white and red. However, the design was different. There was a red X at the center with four triangles at the corner with white, black, blue and yellow colors. The Empire of China had a similar variation of the flag. This flag had a red cross with a yellow rectangle at the top left, a black rectangle at the top right, a blue rectangle on the bottom left and a white rectangle on the bottom right.
China has had different eras throughout its history. Each period had a flag that symbolized the form of governance. During the Soviet era of 1931, the flag was a red base with a globe at the center. The globe had a sickle and a black hammer located within. On top of the globe lies a golden star and laurels appeared on the left and right sides. The flag was later changed in 1934 to consist of the sickle and the hammer appearing at the left side of the red based flag. On the right side of the flag was a symbol saying ‘Chinese Communist.’ The Taiwan flag was once hoisted in China by the Kuomintang (KMT) Nationalist Party. After 1949, the flag of the communist party under Mao Zedong became the flag that outlived them all.
The modern flag of China is associated with its communist past. The flag is a red field with five golden stars in the canton. The red represents China’s communist revolution whereas the five stars are interpreted as a unification of the country’s people under the communist party. The larger star surrounded by the four smaller stars symbolizes the communist party. The four smaller stars stand for the four social classes, “the working class, the peasantry, the urban bourgeoisie, and the national bourgeoisie.” The man behind the design was Zeng Liansong. Zeng’s design was part of a competition that took place in July 1949. The competition was held by the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPCC). There were more than 3000 entries at the beginning of the competition. According to the flag’s designer, the large yellow star symbolizes the communist party (CCP). The four smaller stars represent the unity of the country’s social classes. This meaning was mentioned by Mao Zedong in his June 1949 speech on “The People’s Democratic Dictatorship.”
a) Colour
The flag of the People’s Republic of China is commonly referred to as ‘The Five Star Red Flag- ‘五星紅旗.’ The red base has two meanings. First, it is the color of the communist revolution. The golden yellow color of the stars also has several meanings. First, this color is a representation of the Machu dynasty. Yellow is a symbolic color in Chinese history. It is an imperial color or the color of an emperor.
The flag has five stars. The large star is the communist party, whereas, the four smaller stars forming a vertical arc represents the social classes of the traditional Chinese society. These social classes are all unified under China’s communist party. The five-pointed stars also represent the five elements in Chinese culture. These elements include those of water, fire, earth, wood, and metal, which are associated with the emperor of China.
b) Shape
The flag is rectangular with a width to length ratio of 2:3. The details of the design are recorded in the 1949 presidential plenary session held by the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPC). The construction is based on the following units:
Do you know any other interesting facts about the flag of China? Share your thoughts below.
Please do not post:
Thank you once again for doing your part to keep Edarabia the most trusted education source.
It really helped my daughter do well on her china project!
By Khushi Sharma (Apr, 2022) |
It is hard to know if your flag is a lot of colors
By Jayden (Dec, 2021) |
I love flags
By Umani Bryant (Jan, 2021) |
Twitter
I love learning about flags. My freinds daughter is doing a presentation on China's flag. This website helped a lot.
By Ria (May, 2022) |