National
Flag
The "white
sun in a blue sky" portion of the Republic of China's national
flag was originally designed by Lu Hao-tung
,
a martyr of the Chinese revolution. Lu presented his design upon
the founding of the Hsing-chung Hui
(Society
for Regenerating China) in Hong Kong on February 21, 1895. It
was redesigned to include a crimson background during the years
just prior to the revolution. This design is still used today
as the national emblem.
Before
the Wuchang Uprising
in
1911, the revolutionary armies in different provinces had different
flags: the one used in the Wuhan area had 18 yellow stars, representing
the 18 administrative divisions of China at the time; the Shanghai
army adopted a five-color flag of red, yellow, blue, white, and
black, representing the five main ethnic groups of China; and
Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou provinces used the "white
sun in a blue sky."
When
the Provisional Government
was
first established, the five-color flag was adopted as the national
flag, the 18-star flag was used by the army, and the "white sun
in a blue sky" by the navy. The five-color national flag was replaced
by the current ROC national flag on May 5, 1921; however, it was
only used in the south. It was officially adopted by the new national
government on December 17, 1928, following the successful completion
of the Northern Expedition and the unification of China. Thereafter,
it was used nationwide.
The
12 points of the white sun in the emblem represent the 12 two-hour
periods of the day, symbolizing unceasing progress. At one level,
the three colors of blue, white, and crimson stand for the Three
Principles of the People: nationalism
,
democracy
,
and social well-being
.
At another level, the colors embody qualities that evoke other
concepts enumerated in the Three Principles: the blue signifies
brightness, purity, freedom, and thus a government that is of
the people
;
the white--honesty, selflessness, equality, and thus a government
that is by the people
;
and the crimson--sacrifice, bloodshed, brotherly love, thus a
government that is for the people
.
 |
AB:AC
= 2:3
ab:EF = 3:8
|
Angle
of each
point: 30° |
bc
= ab/15
de:GH = 2:4
|