The national flag of the People’s Republic of China, also known as the Five-Star Red Flag, features a Chinese red field with five golden stars located in the upper left corner.
The flag was designed by Zeng Liansong and was first hoisted by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on a pole overlooking Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on October 1, 1949, at a ceremony proclaiming the establishment of the People’s Republic of China.
Taking a step back… the first national flag of China, known as the “Flag of the Qing Dynasty,” was used during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912). This flag featured a dark blue field with a golden dragon at its center, symbolizing imperial power. The dragon was surrounded by five colored stripes at the top and bottom, representing various ethnic groups within the empire.
After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the “Five Races Under One Union” flag emerged as a symbol of the Republic of China in 1912. This flag had five horizontal stripes—red, yellow, blue, white, and black—representing the five major ethnic groups of China: Han, Manchu, Mongol, Hui, and Tibetan.
The flag adopted in 1862 was triangular, but the dynasty adopted a rectangular version of the dragon flag in 1889.
On July 4, 1949, the sixth working group of the Preparatory Committee of the New Political Consultative Conference (PCNPCC) issued a notice requesting submissions for national flag designs. The notice was published in several newspapers and included the following requirements for the flag:
- Chinese characteristics (geography, nationality, history, culture, etc.)
- Power characteristics (people’s democratic government, led by the working class and based on the worker-peasant alliance)
- The shape should be rectangular, and the length-to-breadth ratio should be 3:2
- The color should mainly be bright red.
Zeng Liansong, a citizen from Wenzhou, Zhejiang, wanted to create a flag design to express his patriotic enthusiasm for the new country. His inspiration for the design came from observing how stars shine in the night sky. He viewed the Chinese communist party (CCP) as the great savior of the Chinese people, symbolized by the flag’s largest star. The idea for the four smaller stars came from Mao Zedong’s speech “On the People’s Democratic Dictatorship,” which defined the Chinese people as consisting of four social classes: the workers, the peasants, the urban petty bourgeoisie, and the patriotic capitalists. Together, the stars signify the unity of the Chinese people under the Communist Party’s guidance.
The red background represents the communist revolution and the bloodshed that occurred during that tumultuous period in Chinese history. Red is also traditionally associated with good fortune and happiness in Chinese culture, making it a color of positivity and prosperity.
The choice of yellow is significant as well; it is a color deeply rooted in Chinese history and culture. In fact, we can see that all emperors’ palaces were embellished with gold, symbolizing superiority and prestige.
On the morning of September 23, representatives of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) discussed the national flag designs but reached no conclusion. Some disliked the symbolism Zeng attached to the four smaller stars, arguing that it should not include the “bourgeoisie.”
The design that Mao and others liked the most had a giant golden star in the corner on a red flag with a golden horizontal bar, symbolizing “The Yellow River” (Huang Hé). However, this design was strongly opposed by Zhang Zhizhong, who saw the golden bar as symbolizing China being divided in two. Furthermore, other national flags did not include geographical characteristics, so it was deemed unnecessary.
In the end, during a meeting, Mao Zedong persuaded everyone to adopt Zeng’s design with some slight modifications: the hammer and sickle were removed, as it resembled the flag of the Soviet Union.
In China, the flag is treated with great respect and is displayed in various settings, including government buildings, schools, and public spaces. It is common for citizens to observe flag-raising ceremonies, especially during national holidays like National Day on October 1st.
Flag desecration is prohibited in China. The penal code provides for imprisonment of up to three years, criminal detention, public surveillance, or deprivation of political rights for “anyone who desecrates the National Flag or the National Emblem of the People’s Republic of China by intentionally burning, mutilating, scrawling on, defiling, or trampling upon it in a public place.”
In conclusion, the Five-Star Red Flag of China is more than just a national banner; it represents the country’s history, culture, and the unity, strength, and resilience that characterize the nation.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_China#:~:text=The%20national%20flag%20of%20the,set%20off%20towards%20the%20fly.
https://www.registrationchina.com/articles/the-flag-of-china/
0 Comments