The National Symbols of the Republic of China

The 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.

The National Anthem

The words of the ROC national anthem were first delivered as an exhortation at the opening ceremony of the Whampoa Military Academy on June 16, 1924, by Dr. Sun Yat-sen. This exhortation was designated as the Kuomintang's (KMT) party song in 1928, after which the KMT then publicly solicited contributions for a tune to fit the words. The melody submitted by Cheng Mao-yun was the undisputed winner out of 139 contenders.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Ministry of Education held two separate competitions for lyrics for a national anthem, using the KMT party song in the meantime as a temporary national anthem. None of the entries reviewed by the Ministry of Education were deemed appropriate, so Dr. Sun's composition was finally adopted as the official national anthem of the Republic of China in 1937. 

The anthem first declares the Three Principles of the People to be the foundation of the nation and guides to a world commonwealth of peace and harmony; and then calls upon the people to be brave, earnest and constant in striving to fulfill the nation's goals. 

The piece was honored as the world's best national anthem at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

The National Flower

The Plum Blossom

The plum blossom was officially designated by the Executive Yuan of the ROC Central Government to be the national flower on July 21, 1964. The plum blossom, which produces shades of pink and white and gives off a delicate fragrance, has great symbolic value for the Chinese people because of its resilience in harsh winter weather. The triple grouping of stamens (one long and two short) represents Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People, while the five petals symbolize the five branches of the ROC government.