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Early 20th Century Chinese Flags

1912 Republic of China

In 1912 China was a single republic with two different governments. North China, with capital Beijing, was governed by General Yuan Shih-k'ai, while the South was governed by Sun Yat-Sen and the Kuo-min-tang. The only common flag between them was the national flag (with five colours), which was also used as the merchant (civil) ensign. All other flags were different.
Mario Fabretto, 1997-10-20

by Mark Sensen, 1996-06-26

The 1912 Chinese flag had five horizontal stripes; each color representing a people but there are at least two different assignments:

red = Manchurians
yellow = Han Chinese
blue = Mongolians
white = Muslims
black = Tibetans

from "Outlines of Chinese Symbolism and Art Motives" by C.A.S. Williams (Shanghai: Kelly & Walsh, 1941, reprinted by Dover, 1976) Bruce Tindall, 1995-12-05

red = Han Chinese
yellow = Manchuria
blue = Mongolians
white = Tibet
black = Muslims

from a book by Whitney Smith Nathan Augustine, 1995-12-07

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

by Mark Sensen
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 1995-12-5

1913 War flag (Conquest of Wuhan)

A red flag with a black nine-pointed star and yellow disks was used during the conquest of Wuhan on 10 October 1911. It was later considered a "historical" flag and was used as the war flag by the army. It was never used for civil purposes.
Mario Fabretto, 1997-10-20

Japanese invasion of China, 1940

Following the creation of a Chinese central government in Nanking, 30 March 1940, under Japanese control, a national flag was adopted by the pro-Japanese government of China. It consisted of the five stripes (red over yellow over blue over white over black) with a flame in the centre with the words "Peace, Reconstruction, Anticommunism" (in Chinese characters).
Jaume Oll�, 1996-07-06

The Dragon flag (1890's)

Ed Haynes found the following item in H-Net list for Asian History and Culture

Subj: Late Qing National Flag
From: Robert Bickers (BICKERS@cole.nuff.ox.ac.UK)

This must be the imperial yellow flag, embroidered with a dragon, which represents Chinese-Texans, and flies among the flags of other immigrant groups outside the ?Institute for Texas Cultures?, in San Antonio, where I saw it earlier this year. Possibly the only place in the world were the Qing standard still flies?

Dr Robert A. Bickers

Subj: "Dragon flag" of Qing
From: "Xu, Xiaoqun (David)" (XXu@ACS2.FMARION.EDU)

In May 1889 Zhang Yinhuan, a former official in the Zhonli Yamen and then in charge of the Capital Mineral Affairs and Railroad Bureau (Jingshi kuangwu tielu zongju), proposed to the imperial court to make this a "national flag." The yellow color represented the Manchu and the dragon represented the emperor. The proposal was adopted and the flag began to be used in 1900.

Source: Zhongguo Jindai Lishi Cidian (Jiangxi renmin chubanshe, 1986)

Xiaoqun Xu

Circa 1844 Flag

I found an flag in my old (1844ish) atlas for China: yellow with a black dragon, fringed with blue.
Josh Fruhlinger, 1996-05-11