The Blue Sky with a White Sun () serves as the design for the party flag and emblem of the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

, the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

of the

flag of the Republic of China A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employ ...

, the national emblem of the Republic of China, and as the naval jack of the

ROC Navy The Republic of China Navy (ROCN; ), also called the ROC Navy and colloquially the Taiwan Navy, is the maritime branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces (ROCAF). The service was formerly commonly just called the Chinese Navy during World W ...

. In the "Blue Sky with a White Sun" symbol, the twelve rays of the white Sun representing the twelve months and the twelve traditional

Chinese hour Chinese units of measurement, known in Chinese as the ''shìzhì'' ("market system"), are the traditional units of measurement of the Han Chinese. Although Chinese numerals have been decimal (base-10) since the Shang, several Chinese measures use ...

s (), each of which corresponds to two modern hours and symbolizes the spirit of progress.

Official description

The national emblem of the Republic of China is officially described in the ''National Emblem and National Flag of the Republic of China Act'':

History of the Blue Sky White Sun design

The "Blue Sky with a White Sun" flag was originally designed by

Lu Hao-tung Lu Zhonggui (30 September 1868 – 7 November 1895), courtesy name Xianxiang, better known as Lu Haodong, was a Chinese revolutionary who lived in the late Qing dynasty. He is best known for designing the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag that beca ...

, a martyr of the

Republican revolution The "Republican Revolution", "Revolution of '94", or "Gingrich Revolution" are political slogans that refer to the Republican Party (GOP) success in the 1994 U.S. mid-term elections, which resulted in a net gain of 54 seats in the House of ...

. He presented his design to represent the revolutionary army at the inauguration of the

Society for Regenerating China The Hsing Chung Hui (Hanyu Pinyin romanization: Xīngzhōnghuì), translated as the Revive China Society (興中會), the Society for Regenerating China, or the Proper China Society was founded by Sun Yat-sen on 24 November 1894 to forward th ...

, an anti-

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

society in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, on February 21, 1895. During the Wuchang Uprising in 1911 that heralded the Republic of China, the various revolutionary armies had different flags. Lu Hao-tung's "Blue Sky with a White Sun" flag was used in the southern provinces of

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

, and

Guizhou Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

, while the " 18-Star Flag", " Five-Colored Flag", and other designs were used elsewhere. When the government of the Republic of China was established on January 1, 1912, The "Five-Colored" flag was adopted as the national flag, but Sun Yat-sen did not consider its design appropriate, reasoning that horizontal order implied a hierarchy or class like that which existed during dynastic times. Thus, when he established a rival government in

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

in 1917, he brought over the "Blue Sky with a White Sun" flag for the party and the "Blue Sky, White Sun, and a Wholly Red Earth" () flag, which was then the naval ensign, for the nation. This officially became the

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours ...

in 1928 while the "Blue Sky with a White Sun" flag was adopted as the naval jack. The "Blue Sky, White Sun, and a Wholly Red Earth" flag has remained the

to this day.

National emblem and history

Beiyang period

The national emblem of the Republic of China was derived from the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag. The emblem was designed by He Yingqin at

Whampoa Military Academy The Republic of China Military Academy () is the service academy for the army of the Republic of China, located in Fengshan District, Kaohsiung. Previously known as the the military academy produced commanders who fought in many of China's ...

in 1924 and was set as the national emblem by the ''Law of national flag and national emblem of the Republic of China'' in 1928. On the national emblem rays of sun have some distance to the edge, symbolizing the broadness of the sky, while on Kuomintang emblem the rays reach the edge, symbolizing the spirit of revolution is as powerful as the sun. The national emblem of the Republic of China from 1913 to 1928 is called Twelve Symbols national emblem, based on the traditional symbols on clothes of ancient Chinese emperors. It was designed by

Lu Xun Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. W ...

Qian Daosun Qian Daosun 錢稻孫 (1887–1966) was a Chinese writer and interpreter. Since 1900 Qian lived in Japan, where he studied in a French language school. Afterwards he also lived in Belgium and Italy, graduated from the University of Rome and return ...

and

Xu Shoushang Xu Shoushang (; 1883–1948) was a Chinese writer. He was one of the co-authors of the Twelve Symbols national emblem The Twelve Symbols national emblem () was the state emblem of the Empire of China (1915–1916), Empire of China and the ...

on August 28, 1912, and was set as national emblem in February 1913. It remained as the national emblem during the Empire of China from 1915 to 1916. After the

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The ...

it was replaced by the Blue Sky with a White Sun national emblem in 1928.

Nationalist period

Since 1928, under the KMT's political tutelage, the Blue Sky with a White Sun Flag shared the same prominence as the ROC flag. A common wall display consisted of the KMT flag perched on the left and the ROC flag perched on the right, each tilted at an angle with a portrait of National Father Sun Yat-sen displayed in the center. After the promulgation of the Constitution of the Republic of China, the party flag was removed from such a display and the national flag was moved to the center. To promote a sense of national identity, the design of the national emblem was freely available to use and was featured prominently in corporate logos, art during the era. File:廣州市市徽 (1926-1949).svg, Emblem of the City of Canton (1926–1949) File:Coat_of_arms_of_Cardinal_Paul_Yü_Pin.svg, Coat of arms of Cardinal Paul Yü Pin, Archbishop of Nanking File:Roundel of Eurasia Aviation.svg, Roundel of

Eurasia Aviation Corporation Eurasia Aviation Corporation () was a Chinese airline headquartered in Shanghai. The company had a Sino-German joint-venture with Deutsche Luft Hansa. Eurasia, classified as a state-owned airline by the Ministry of Communications of China,Ballant ...

, a defunct Chinese airline headquartered in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. Ballantine, Collin and Pamela Tang. "Chinese airlines: airline colours of China." Airlife, 1995. p
6
"Chinese Ministry of Communications which declared Eurasia to be a Chinese State-owned airline. The airline then fell into more trouble as a direct result of the continuing Japanese occupation. The fleet of airliners was based in Hong Kong ..

Taiwanese period

Since the ROC government moved to Taiwan and especially in the years since the end of

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

the KMT flag has lost some of its prominence. However, it is still frequently seen on KMT party buildings, in political rallies and other meetings of KMT and the

pan-blue coalition The pan-Blue coalition, pan-Blue force or pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and Young ...

. The flag and the symbol made news during the ROC legislative elections of 2004, when President Chen Shui-bian suggested that the Kuomintang's flag and party emblem violated the ROC's National Emblem Law for being too similar to the national emblem of the Republic of China. Chen stated that the law forbids the ROC's emblem and flag from being used by non-governmental organizations and warned that the KMT would have three months to change its flag and emblem if his Democratic Progressive Party won a majority of seats in the legislature. The KMT responded by asking the government to change the national emblem, saying the KMT emblem existed first. However, the pan-green coalition failed to win a majority, and Chen took no action for the remainder of his presidency. On 29 January 2021, the Legislative Yuan passed a resolution proposed by the New Power Party on 29 January instructing the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) to look into ways of addressing the issue of the similarity between the national emblem, in use since 1928 for all of China, and the KMT party flag. The MOI responded that through their analysis of the current situation, the change "should not be taken lightly," though suggesting that symbols of political parties could be changed. File:KMT Kaohsiung City Division 20140724.jpg, left, The KMT and ROC flags displayed at a party building in

Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...

. Emblem of the Kuomintang.svg, The Taiwan Railway Administration also used KMT emblem as their logo from 1945 to 1950.

Use in other countries

The design of "Blue Sky with a White Sun" was used in the unit insignia or coats of arms of some units of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

that fought in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The most famous unit was Merrill's Marauders (officially named the "5307th Composite Unit (Provisional)"), which has the "Blue Sky with a White Sun" as part of its badge. The usage by US troops was a result of cooperation between US and Chinese Expeditionary Force in the

China Burma India Theater China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was officia ...

. Postwar US military units stationed in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, including the United States Taiwan Defense Command (USTDC) and the

Military Assistance Advisory Group Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) is a designation for United States military advisors sent to other countries to assist in the training of conventional armed forces and facilitate military aid. Although numerous MAAGs operated around ...

(MAAG), also used the design in their badges. Up to now, the "Blue Sky with a White Sun" can still be seen in the emblem of the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

75th Ranger Regiment The 75th Ranger Regiment, also known as Army Rangers, is the U.S. Army's premier light infantry unit and special operations force within the United States Army Special Operations Command. The regiment is headquartered at Fort Benning, Georgi ...

. File:China Burma India Seal.svg, China Burma India Theater File:Merrills Marauders.svg, Merrill's Marauders File:75th_Ranger_Regiment_Distinctive_Unit_Insignia.svg, 75th Ranger Regiment File:US MAAG Taiwan Badge.svg,

in Taiwan File:Badge of the United States Taiwan Defense Command (USTDC, 1955-1979).svg, United States Taiwan Defense Command File:Flag_of the People's Action Party of Vietnam.svg, Flag of the People's action Party of Vietnam

Other emblems

Historical Taiwanese emblems

Taiwan's earliest emblems were used during the European periods. In 1895, Taiwan was annexed by

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The emblem was worn as an official clothing of the Governor's Office in Taiwan which featured a Daijishō with a Sycamore leaf and chrysanthemum branch in a brown circle. After the end of Japanese period, Taiwan was transferred to the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

which adopted the Blue Sky with a White Sun emblem. This symbol remains in use to this day in Taiwan and by the Kuomintang.

Chinese Taipei

After the People's Republic of China became an IOC member, the ROC began to use the name

Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...

for its competitions. The crest of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee includes symbols of the Olympic Committee and the Chinese Taipei team. At the periphery is a stylized plum blossom that symbolizes the National Flower of the Republic of China. The center of the emblem contains the Olympic rings and the Blue Sky with a White Sun (note that the proportion of the blue field is between that of the

National Emblem of the Republic of China The Blue Sky with a White Sun () serves as the design for the party flag and emblem of the Kuomintang, the canton of the flag of the Republic of China, the national emblem of the Republic of China, and as the naval jack of the ROC Navy. In t ...

and the Party Emblem of the

). The Olympic flag of Chinese Taipei depicts the emblem on a white field.

Subdivisions

Provinces (streamlined)

File:Fukien Provincial Government Seal.svg,

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

(1945–2019) File:Taiwan Province Government emblem.svg,

(1945–2018)

Counties

File:Emblem of Changhua County.svg,

Changhua County Changhua County (Mandarin Pinyin: ''Zhānghuà Xiàn''; Wade-Giles: ''Chang¹-hua⁴ Hsien⁴''; Hokkien POJ: ''Chiang-hòa-koān'' or ''Chiong-hòa-koān'') is the smallest county on the main island of Taiwan by area, and the fourth smallest ...

File:Emblem of Chiayi County.svg, Chiayi County File:Hsinchu County Emblem (2016-2019).svg,

Hsinchu County Hsinchu County (Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a county in north-western Taiwan. The population of the county is mainly Hakka; with a Taiwanese aboriginal minority in the southeastern part of the county. Zhubei is the county capital, where ...

(2016-2019) File:Hsinchu County Emblem.svg,

File:Emblem of Hualien County 2010.svg, Hualien County File:Emblem of Hualien County.svg, Hualien County (before 2010) File:Emblem of Kinmen County.svg,

Kinmen County Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It lies roughly east of the city of Xiamen in Fujian, from which it is separate ...

File:Emblem of Lienchiang County.svg, Lienchiang County File:Emblem of Miaoli County.svg,

Miaoli County Miaoli County (Mandarin Pinyin: ''miáo lì xiàn''; Hakka PFS: ''Mèu-li̍t-yen''; Hokkien POJ: ''Biâu-le̍k-koān'' or ''Miâu-le̍k-koān'') is a county in western Taiwan. Miaoli is adjacent with Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City to the nort ...

File:Seal of Nantou County.svg,

Nantou County Nantou County (; Hokkien POJ: ''Lâm-tâu-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Nàm-thèu-yen'') is the second largest county of Taiwan by area, located in the central part of the country. It is also the only non-coastal county in Taiwan. Its name derives fro ...

File:Seal of Penghu County.svg, Penghu County File:Emblem of Pingtung County.svg,

Pingtung County Pingtung County is a county located in southern Taiwan. It has a warm tropical monsoon climate and is known for its agriculture and tourism. Kenting National Park, Taiwan's oldest national park, is located in the county. The county seat is Pin ...

File:Emblem of Taitung County.svg,

Taitung County Taitung County (; Mandarin pinyin: ''Táidōng Xiàn''; Hokkien POJ: ''Tâi-tang-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Thòi-tûng-yen''; Paiwan: ''Valangaw'';lit:Eastern part of Taiwan) is the third largest county in Taiwan, located primarily on the island' ...

File:Seal of Yilan County.svg, Yilan County File:Emblem of Yunlin County.svg,

Yunlin County Yunlin County (Mandarin pinyin: ''Yúnlín Xiàn''; Taigi POJ: ''Hûn-lîm-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Yùn-lìm-yen'') is a county in western Taiwan. Yunlin County borders the Taiwan Strait to the west, Nantou County to the east, Changhua County t ...

Gallery

File:Royal Coat of Arms of Spain (1580-1668).svg, Spanish Formosa (1624-1642) File:VOC.svg, Dutch Formosa (1624-1668) File:Flag of Ming Cheng.svg, Emblem on the flag of

Kingdom of Tungning The Kingdom of Tungning (), also known as Tywan by the British at the time, was a dynastic maritime state that ruled part of southwestern Taiwan and the Penghu islands between 1661 and 1683. It is the first predominantly Han Chinese state in Ta ...

(1661–1683) File:Seal of Provincial governor of Fujian-Taiwan.svg, Seal of

Taiwan under Qing rule Taiwan under Qing rule refers to the rule of the Qing dynasty over the island of Taiwan from 1683 to 1895. The Qing dynasty sent an army led by general Shi Lang and defeated the Ming loyalist Kingdom of Tungning in 1683. Taiwan was formally anne ...

(1683-1895) File:Formosa Seal.svg,

Republic of Formosa The Republic of Formosa was a short-lived republic that existed on the island of Taiwan in 1895 between the formal cession of Taiwan by the Qing dynasty of China to the Empire of Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki and its being taken over by ...

(1895) File:Seal of the Government-General of Taiwan.svg, Emblem used during Japanese rule (1895-1945) File:National Emblem of the Republic of China.svg, Emblem of the Republic of China (1945–present) and Roundel of the Republic of China Air Force (1991–present) File:Roundel of the Republic of China Air force.svg, Roundel of the Republic of China Air Force (1928–1991) File:Republic of China (Taiwan) 1949 -1991.svg, Roundel of the Republic of China Air Force (1928–1991), light version File:Emblem of the Republic of China-Nanjing 1940-1945.svg, Emblem of the National Reorganized Government of the Republic of China (1940–1945) File:Emblem of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg, Emblem of

(1981–present) File:Taiwanese passport seal.svg, Emblem of the Republic of China with encircling text as depicted on Taiwan passports (2021–present)

References

Citations

Sources

External links

Kuomintang Official Website

sac.gov.tw:本期專題：奧會模式
{{Chinese Nationalist Party National symbols of Taiwan

Heraldic charges Coats of arms with suns Chinese heraldry Flags of organizations National symbols of China Kuomintang National symbols of the Republic of China (1912–1949) Coats of arms of states with limited recognition