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==Symbolism==
==Symbolism==
The current design uses red as its background and golden for its stars. The red background symbolizes the blood of heroes who died during the revolution. The golden colour mainly symbolizes the glorious history and culture of the Chinese people and was partly inherited from the colours of the [[flag of Soviet Union]], which was also a combination of red and gold, in which case the gold symbolizes the brightness of the communist future.
The current design uses red as itsfucker background and golden for its stars. The red background symbolizes the blood of heroes who died during the revolution. The golden colour mainly symbolizes the glorious history and culture of the Chinese people and was partly inherited from the colours of the [[flag of Soviet Union]], which was also a combination of red and gold, in which case the gold symbolizes the brightness of the communist future.


The larger star symbolizes the leadership of the [[Communist Party of China]] and the four smaller stars that surround the big star symbolize the four classes of Chinese that were considered unitable by Mao at that historical time (from one of Mao's work: On The People's Democratic Dictatorship); these are the Workers, Peasants, Petty Bourgeoisie (i.e. Small Business Class), and National Bourgeoisie (i.e. Chinese non-governmental businessmen). The most popular modern interpretation is the four stars represent the four occupations most esteemed by the Communist Party of China, which are farmers, workers, teachers, and soldiers. An interpretation under a more historical context is the four stars represent the traditional four categories of the people in the state, which are Workers (gōng, 工), Farmers (nóng, 农), Intellectual (shì, 士), and Businessmen (shāng, 商) (see also [[Four occupations]]).
The larger star symbolizes the leadership of the [[Communist Party of China]] and the four smaller stars that surround the big star symbolize the four classes of Chinese that were considered unitable by Mao at that historical time (from one of Mao's work: On The People's Democratic Dictatorship); these are the Workers, Peasants, Petty Bourgeoisie (i.e. Small Business Class), and National Bourgeoisie (i.e. Chinese non-governmental businessmen). The most popular modern interpretation is the four stars represent the four occupations most esteemed by the Communist Party of China, which are farmers, workers, teachers, and soldiers. An interpretation under a more historical context is the four stars represent the traditional four categories of the people in the state, which are Workers (gōng, 工), Farmers (nóng, 农), Intellectual (shì, 士), and Businessmen (shāng, 商) (see also [[Four occupations]]).

Revision as of 16:46, 25 May 2009

Template:Distinguish2

People's Republic of China
Wǔ Xīng Hóng Qí ("Five-stars-red Flag")
UseCivil and state flag, civil and state ensign
Proportion2:3
AdoptedSeptember 27, 1949
DesignA large golden star to the left of an arc of 4 smaller golden stars, in the canton of a red flag.
Designed byZeng Liansong
UseWar flag
Proportion4:5
DesignAs above, with the arc of stars replaced by a subscript reading "eight one".
UseNaval ensign
Proportion4:5
DesignAs above, with 5 horizontal stripes alternating blue and white at the bottom.

The flag of the People's Republic of China, the "Five-stars-red Flag" (simplified Chinese: 五星红旗; traditional Chinese: 五星紅旗; pinyin: wǔ xīng hóng qí), was designed by Zeng Liansong, an economist and artist from Rui'an (瑞安 ruì ān), Zhejiang. He designed it in response to a circular distributed by the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in July 1949, shortly after they came to power. Out of more than 3,000 entries received for the design competition, Zeng's was chosen after being nominated as one of the 38 finalists. Mao Zedong hoisted the first flag on a pole overlooking Tiananmen Square on the day of its unveiling. China's first national flag originated in 1872. It was yellow with a blue dragon, representing the Manchu (Qing) Dynasty, which ruled China for many years. The revolt of 1911 saw the changing of the flag to 5 different colored stripes. Soviet republics were established in the 1920s, each of which was represented by a red flag referring to the Soviet fatherland. The present flag dates from 1949, when the People's Republic was formed.

History of the design

The design went through several changes and was finally approved by the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on September 27, 1949 at their First Plenary Session. The original design plans contained several alterations in comparison with the modern-day flag.

Three of the original flag candidates showed the large golden star (with no additional stars anywhere else) along with one, two, or three yellow bars (horizontal) at the bottom of the flag, representing the Yangtze, Huang He (Yellow River) and the Zhujiang River (Pearl River). They were not chosen by the officials, however, because the very presence of these bars appeared to suggest the idea of a tearing or splitting of the nation.

The final design was red with a large golden five-pointed star and four smaller golden five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner. The color red symbolizes the spirit of the revolution, and the five stars signify the unity of the people of China under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. The flag was officially unveiled in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on October 1, 1949, the formal announcement of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

Symbolism

The current design uses red as itsfucker background and golden for its stars. The red background symbolizes the blood of heroes who died during the revolution. The golden colour mainly symbolizes the glorious history and culture of the Chinese people and was partly inherited from the colours of the flag of Soviet Union, which was also a combination of red and gold, in which case the gold symbolizes the brightness of the communist future.

The larger star symbolizes the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the four smaller stars that surround the big star symbolize the four classes of Chinese that were considered unitable by Mao at that historical time (from one of Mao's work: On The People's Democratic Dictatorship); these are the Workers, Peasants, Petty Bourgeoisie (i.e. Small Business Class), and National Bourgeoisie (i.e. Chinese non-governmental businessmen). The most popular modern interpretation is the four stars represent the four occupations most esteemed by the Communist Party of China, which are farmers, workers, teachers, and soldiers. An interpretation under a more historical context is the four stars represent the traditional four categories of the people in the state, which are Workers (gōng, 工), Farmers (nóng, 农), Intellectual (shì, 士), and Businessmen (shāng, 商) (see also Four occupations).

It is sometimes stated that the five stars of the flag represent the five largest ethnic groups.[1][2] This is generally regarded as an erroneous conflation with the "Five Races Under One Union" flag, used 1912–28 in the early Republic of China, whose different-colored stripes represented the Han, Manchus, Mongols, Hui/Uyghurs, and Tibetans.[1][3]

Cultural sensitivity

Many people of China tend to be sensitive towards the use/alteration of their flag. Cutting or writing on the flag is taboo and even editing an image of a flag electronically is frowned upon.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Shambaugh, David (June 1994). "Book reviews". The China Quarterly (No. 138). CUP for SOAS: 517–520. {{cite journal}}: |issue= has extra text (help)
  2. ^ Mayall, James (1998). "Nationalism". The Columbia History of the 20th Century. ed. Richard W. Bulliet. Columbia University Press. p. 186. ISBN 0231076282.
  3. ^ Zarrow, Peter Gue (2005). "Revolution and Civil War". China in War and Revolution, 1895-1949. Routledge. p. 363. ISBN 0415364485.
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