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China Republic, 1913 state ensign

by Mark Sensen, 1996-06-26

1911-1913 Flags of North and South China

1912 Southern War Ensign

The southern government used a white flag with a red canton bearing a white sun with nine black rays presumably only during 1912 as a war ensign. This was soon replaced by a red flag with a canton similar to the Kuo-min-tang flag, but with a simplified sun. Later, in 1913 or 1914, this was replaced by the flag that became the national flag of China until the communists took over.

1913 State Ensign

The 1913 state ensign is white with a red canton. On the canton is a black nine pointed star. At the tip and through (for lack of a better word) each point is a white ball. The Merchant ensign is just the canton, used also as war flag. Whitney Smith gives the symbolism as follows:

. . . the dawn of a new day in China. Its red field bore in the center a black star with eighteen gold balls - one for each province of the land. Red corresponded symbolically to the south where the revolution [of 10 Oct. 1911] had been raised, but it also was recognized as the national color of the Han or Chinese people, rising against the yellow (Manchu) dynasty to which they had been subjected . . ."

Nathan Augustine, 1995-12-05