Last modified: 2020-07-31 by ian macdonald
Keywords: china | banner: china (1500 bc) | ribbon |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
This is a reconstruction of a Chinese flag, circa 1500 BC shown in
Znamierowski's World Encyclopedia of Flags. Znamierowski notes that the number
of stripes indicated rank, ranging from 12 red ribbons for the Emperor to one
for a low level functionary. The flag was attached to a bamboo staff topped with
a metal trident. The red swallowtail ribbon was used to indicate a battle
signal. It is interesting that the representation shows the yellow border being
wider towards the fly than in the hoist.
Phil Nelson, 18 February 2000
Mencius (the Latinized form of Meng-Tseu) was a Chinese philosopher (375?-290 B.C.) who propagated the Confucius' (Khoung-Tseu) ideology. His book, also named Mencius (Meng-Tseu), is the fourth part of the Sse-Chou (The Four Books of Chinese moral and political Philosophy), considered as the basis of Confucianism. In chapter IV of the second part (Hia-Meng) of Mencius, we read:
Wen-Tchang said: "May I venture to ask you a question: Which kind of thing should be used to call the keepers of the royal reserves?" Meng-Tseu said: "A burskin should be used; to call ordinary men, a plain red silk standard should be used; to call scholars, a standard on which two dragons are shown should be used; for the main administrators (ta-fou), a standard ornate with feathers of five colours hanging from the top of the lance should be used."
The context of this discussion is the following (also from Meng-Tseu's text):
"King, koung (prince) of Thsi, who wanted to go hunting, called the keepers of the royal reserves with their standard. Since they did not answer him, he decided to make them die. [...] Why did Khoung-Tseu (Confucius) defend them? He defended them because the keepers did not answer the call since they had not been called with their specific signal. [Here is the discussion reported above]. Since the signal for the main administrators had been used to call the keepers, those, even facing their own death (which would have been the consequence of their lack of answer) did not dare to answer the call. If the signal for the scholars had been used to call the ordinary men, would the ordinary men have dare to answer? Neither would have answered a wise man if the signal for an unwise man had been used!"
One important part of the Confucianism philosophy is the strict respect of
several complicated rituals, usually associated to the different levels of the
social scale. It seems that standards as signals of rallying were important
things in these rituals.
Ivan Sache, 15 May 2000
images by Corentin Chamboredon, 29 January 2017
I found on Wikipedia a photograph of a "section of mural depicting victory of
general Zhang Yichao who expelled the Tibetan from Dunhuang. Cave 156, Late Tang
Dynasty". This mural shows different kind flags :
- a non-square flag with a
yellow field and what seems to be a moon and sun symbol in the middle,
surrounded by dark rays, the flag having a dark spiky border and one thick dark
tail on its upper side (not sure if it's part of the flag or an independent
streamer)
- a variant of this flag with two superposed moon and sun symbols
- a dark rectangular flag with seven tails
- a dark rectangular flag with
four tails (close to the non-square flags)
This mural might have been
contemporary of the event, since the Mogao caves, situated in Dunhuang (Gansu,
China), have been used to store religious manuscripts and paintings for
centuries, before one of them was finally sealed and rediscovered in 1900 with
all its cultural treasure intact. Several national libraries share the thousand
of manuscripts found in the caves. Just to give you a glimpse of the huge mass
of text, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France has the Pelliot collection,
inherited from a single explorer. That means probably more than 20 000
documents, in eight languages.
The event celebrated took place in 851,
afer the Tibetan empire had collapsed in 842 when its last emperor Lang Darma
was murdered. By then, the empire had split in two halves, due to Lang Darma's
two heirs claiming power for themselves. Dunhuang was situated on the silk road,
and as such, was taken (and lost) by many armies over the centuries.
Sources :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dunhuang_Zhang_Yichao_army.jpg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_Yichao
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mogao_Caves
http://idp.bl.uk
Corentin Chamboredon, 2 September 2016
On her blog "Céline en Chine", Céline Monthéard shows the photograph of a "flag bearing the name
of the Ming dynasty". The flag is a yellow right-angled triangle, with a thin black border and Chinese
"wavy teeth" on the upper edge. The name of the dynasty is made of two black sinographs placed on a
white disk bordered in black.
As can be seen on the next photograph shown on the blog, there is a row of such "Ming flags" hoisted
over the Zhonghua Gate in Nanjing. The flag are clearly of modern manufacture but I don't know if they
are replica of historical flag or modern "Ming flags" designed de novo.
The companion text says that a peasants' uprising led by Zhu Yuangzhang overthrew the Yuan Mongol dynasty
in 1356, seized Nanjing and, twelve years later, Beijing. Crowned as Emperor Hongwu, Zhu founded the Ming dynasty.
He set up his capital in Nanjing, where he built a huge palace and thick city walls. In 1420, Yongle, the third
Ming Emperor, moved the capital to Beijing.
Sources: www.celine-en-chine.com
Direct
link to the image of the flag
Direct
link to the image of the Zhonghua Gate
According to Wikipedia,
the sinograph 明 means "light, brightness". The tradition says that Hongwu adopted the
Ming name to be supported by the Manichean movement Mingjiao ("Ther School of the Light"), which had contributed
to the fall of the Mongol dynasty. However, Hongwu repressed the Manicheans.
Ivan Sache, 16 November 2008
Such flags also appear in TV programs dedicated to events which took place
during the Ming period, most notably the expeditions of Zheng He. The programs,
which have been broadcasted on channels like Discovery or Viasat History during
previous several years, show such flags in the reconstructed scenes from the
imperial palace. The flag field may be yellow, green, red or black, with white
disc charged with black character U+660E and a white serrated border all round
(no border along the hoist edge); in these examples, if the field is other than
black, there is no black border around the disc, not the black fimbriation
between the field and white border either. The fifth variant of the flag is all
white, except the black character. Flags in five colors were always shown
together, clearly standing for
five cardinal
directions and symbolizing Emperor's sovereignty over the whole world. While
this does not give the answer to the question of these flags' authenticity,
there are examples of joint use of five flags, each in one of these five colors,
in Chinese paintings from earlier periods of Chinese history.
Tomislav Todorović, 09 November 2014
Lady Wenji's return to China.
Plain green flag:
image
by Tomislav Todorović, 09 November 2014
Plain red flag:
image by Tomislav Todorović, 09 November 2014
Plain white flag:
image by Tomislav Todorović, 09 November 2014
Plain black flag:
image by Tomislav Todorović, 09 November 2014
Plain yellow flag:
image by Tomislav Todorović, 09 November 2014
After the contribution about joint use of five plain flags attributed
to Ming dynasty, here follows the description of such flags'
attribution to Han dynasty, which is seen in the paintings dating from
Song to Ming dynasties:
A number of Chinese paintings by various authors are depicting the
story of Cai Wenji [1], a Chinese lady who lived in the late Eastern
Han period (exact dates of birth and death unknown): she was captured
in 194 or 195 AD by the Xiongnu nomads and lived in present-day
Mongolia until 207 AD, when she was ransomed and returned to China,
leaving her family behind (during her stay with the Xiongnu, she was
married to a high chieftain and had two sons with him). She expressed
the mixed feelings she had about her returning in a number of poems,
the best known being a cycle named "Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute",
which inspired several series of paintings depicting her story,
usually counting as many as the poems in the cycle, each painting
being accompanied to one of them.
In many of depicted scenes, five plain flags are shown, each in one of
the cardinal directions' colors - green, red, white, black and yellow,
corresponding to east, south, west, north and center, respectively
[2]. The flags' width is much greater than the length and they have
three long, narrow, pointed tongues at the fly; they are also
accompanied with a tassel in field color, attached to the bottom of
the finial. There is sometimes also a sixth flag, similarly shaped,
the main body being yellow, with white borders extending into the
tongues, with a red serrated border for both the main body and the
tongues.
Such flags are shown in several paintings from the album named "Lady
Wenji's Return to China", which was created in 12th century (Song
dynasty) and is kept in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan [3,
4]. The five plain flags are first seen in the scene titled "Being
captured" [4], flying from the staffs stuck into the ground. They are
next seen in scenes titled "Looking at the Stars", "Evening Thoughts"
and "Giving Birth" [4], completely furled around their staffs, which
are tied together and crossed so that they support each other while
standing, as if put aside. The flags are then seen in the scene
"Sending Off" [4], carried by the horsemen at the end of the
procession which is led by the people carrying the sixth flag. Five
flags and their carriers are also shown in the scene titled "After the
Departure", while the sixth flag alone is shown in the scenes "On the
Way Back" and "The Return Home" [4].
The paintings depicting the same story form parts of a scroll named
"Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute: The Story of Lady Wenji", which was
created in 15 century (MIng dynasty), after a model from the Song
period, and is kept at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
[5, 6]. Here, the five flags appear in the scene #1, which is
strikingly similar to the first scene of the Taipei album [4], but
also in the scene #2, where they are carried by a group of horsemen
[6]. Then they appear as if put aside, as in the latter scenes of the
Taipei album [4], in the scenes #5, #6, #7 and #8, hoisted in scene #9
and put aside again in scene #10 [6]. In scene #13, they are held by
the horsemen, who are standing by their horses, with the sixth flag
shown in the same manner nearby, all behind the procession preparing
for the departure [6]. In the scene #14, the procession is on its way,
led by the multi-colored flag and ending with the five plain flags,
while the scene #15 shows only the end of the procession with the five
flags; both scenes have their counterparts in the Taipei album [4, 6].
Scenes #16 and #17 show only the leading flag, while the scene #18,
corresponding to the final scene of the Taipei album, shows no flags
[4, 6]. The five plain flags are depicted in the same way in both
sources, while the multi-colored flag differs only in the tassel
attached to the finial, which is red in the Taipei album and green in
the New York scroll [4, 6].
These flags are also shown in two paintings, of four total, which make
the 12th-century album "Lady Wenji's return to China", kept in the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston [6, 7, 8]. This album is though to be the
remnant of a larger series of paintings, originally covering all the
scenes shown in the New York scroll, only four of which have remained
[6]. In scene "Encampment by a stream" which is the counterpart of the
scene #5 from the New York scroll, the five flags are put aside [6,
7], while in the scene "Parting from nomad husband and children",
which is the counterpart of the scene #13 from the New York scroll,
they are held by the unmounted horsemen, accompanying the
multi-colored flag [6, 8]. The plain flags are generally depicted in
the same way as in the other sources, although green color seems to be
greatly changed by age; the multi-colored flag also seems to be the
same, although its tassel is not clearly visible (could be red, but it
is almost impossible to tell) [7, 8].
From the composition of the series of paintings, it seems that the
five plain flags were actually captured by the Xiongnu in the same
raid in which Cai Wenji was captured, for they are present in the
scenes preceding the arrival of the imperial envoys (as the war
trophies), and that their returning to China was part of the same
arrangement as Cai Wenji's ransom. They certainly were not created by
the Xiongnu, for their shape, as well as the symbolism, is clearly
Chinese: together, they symbolize imperial sovereignty over the whole
world. The multi-colored flag is a more specific symbol, perhaps
related to the rank of the envoy, for it was brought with him to the
scene.
It is difficult to tell how authentic these flags were, especially
their attribution to the Han dynasty. Certainly, the whole system of
classification of natural phenomena, which included the colors and
cardinal directions, was completed sometime during the Han period [9],
but the joint use of five plain flags might have not been introduced
as early as then. They may have actually been used during the Song
dynasty, when most of these paintings were created, and even during
the Ming dynasty, which might have copied the earlier models. The
multi-colored flag is even more dubious as a Han flag and more likely
to actually be a Song flag dated backwards. On the other hand, the
possibility of such an early use may not be entirely excluded, bearing
of mind the continuity of Chinese civilization. A better insight in
contemporary Chinese histories might help; until then, everything
remains on the level of speculations.
Sources:
[1] Wikipedia page about
Cai Wenji
[2] Wikipedia - Chinese traditional colors of
cardinal directions
[3] National Palace Museum website - album "Lady Wenji's Return to
China" - introduction
[4] National Palace Museum website - album "Lady Wenji's Return to
China" - individual paintings
[5]
Metropolitan Museum of Art website - scroll "Eighteen Songs of a
Nomad Flute: The Story of Lady Wenji"
[6]
University of Chicago, Center for the Art of East Asia, Digital
Scrolling Paintings Project - scroll "Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute: The
Story of Lady Wenji" from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
[7]
Website of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - painting "Lady Wenji's
return to China: encampment by a stream"
[8]
Website of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - painting "Lady Wenji's
return to China: parting from nomad husband and children"
[9] Vilets, Vilijam: Umetnost Kine
Belgrade: Narodna knjiga, 1974
Original title:
William Willets: The Foundations of Chinese Art
(c) Penguin Books Ltd and Thames and Hudson Ltd
[no publishing date of the original work; finished in 1965, according
to the author's introductory note]
Tomislav Todorović, 09 November 2014
image located by Vanja Poposki, 20 August 2012
Flag of Chinese Empire as it was presented in the book "Niewe Hollandse Scheeps
Bouw" by Carel Allard, issued in 1705, and edited and re-issued in
Sankt-Peterburg in Russian with comments in 1911.
Vanja Poposki posted in I Love Flags, 20 August 2012
The source of this flag would appear to be Carel Allard, 1694 or slightly
later. There it is described as "Chinese Flag". Note that it isn't referred to
as "Flag of China", which is the way Allard describes a flag known to represent
an entity. It's merely a flag of some sort that came from China. And it would
appear that later flag charts more or less copied Allard, there.
But what
does it represent, then?: A white flag with in the centre a kind of spiral, one
half of it in one colour, the other half in another colour. Around this spiral
are eight figures, each with its own specific pattern of dots around them. It's
that these figures are actually pictured, rather than merely being represented
by their kwae, but otherwise everybody would immediately recognise Korea.
We show a similar flag, with what appears as
its most significant difference that it merely has the kwae, not the pictorial
representations. That image has "Earliest representation" above it. I'm not sure
when and based on what: Does anyone know enough details to connect images with
texts with dates there? But is it really older than Allard? And either way:
These combinations appear in unsourced illustration of 700 years or more of rule
in Korea. When did this design really start?
Peter Hans van den
Muijzenberg, 24 April 2019
An old Japanese plate posted by Nozomi Kariyasu shows a flag captioned
"China." The plate is date 1876 but flag must be older because the
Chinese flag of 1876 is well known.
Jaume Ollé, 30 June 2001