The Twelve Symbols national emblem () was the state emblem of the

Empire of China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapte ...

and the Republic of China from 1913 to 1928. It was based on the ancient Chinese symbols of the Twelve Ornaments.

History

The Empire of China during the Manchu-led

Qing dynasty 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-spea ...

did not have an official state emblem, but the flag featured the azure dragon on a plain yellow field with a red sun of the

three-legged crow The three-legged (or tripedalism, tripedal) crow is a Legendary creature, mythological creature in various mythology, mythologies and arts of East Asia. It is believed to inhabit and represent the Sun. Evidence of the earliest bird-Sun motif or to ...

in the upper left corner. It became the first national flag of China and is usually referred to as the

Yellow Dragon Flag The flag of the Qing dynasty was an emblem adopted in the late 19th century featuring the Azure Dragon on a plain yellow field with the red flaming pearl in the upper left corner. It became the first national flag of China and is usually referred ...

. Following the end of Manchu rule, new national symbols were deemed necessary by the leaders to represent the changed circumstances. The renowned writers

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. ...

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 ...

from the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

were tasked with designing a new national emblem. It was presented on August 28, 1912, and was adopted as national emblem in February 1913. President-Emperor

Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 1859 – 6 June 1916) was a Chinese military and government official who rose to power during the late Qing dynasty and eventually ended the Qing dynasty rule of China in 1912, later becoming the Emperor of China. H ...

continued its use during his short imperial reign from 1915 to 1916. Coins issued during this time feature the emblem. A variation of the emblem was shown on orders and illustrations. 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 ...

led by General Chiang Kai-shek and 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 ...

party led to the overthrow of the fractious but legitimate

Beiyang government The Beiyang government (), officially the Republic of China (), sometimes spelled Peiyang Government, refers to the government of the Republic of China which sat in its capital Peking ( Beijing) between 1912 and 1928. It was internationally ...

in 1928. This ushered in a

one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...

under the Kuomintang known as the

Nanjing decade The Nanjing decade (also Nanking decade, , or the Golden decade, ) is an informal name for the decade from 1927 (or 1928) to 1937 in the Republic of China. It began when Nationalist Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek took Nanjing from Zhili clique ...

. The state emblem was therefore replaced with the Kuomintang party symbol

Blue Sky with a White Sun 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 th ...

Design

Douze emblemes des rites memoires historiques V3c23 205

Douze emblemes des rites memoires historiques V3c23 204

The emblem is based on the ancient symbols of the Twelve Ornaments. These are first mentioned as already ancient in the '' Book of Documents'' by Emperor Shun, who was one of the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Oral tradition holds that he lived sometime between 2294 and 2184 BCE. According to the book, the emperor wished for the symbols to be used on official robes of the state. The symbols were considered most auspicious and therefore as a set were reserved only for the emperor to be shown on his ceremonial robes. The national emblem arranges these symbols in such a way to reflect the order of achievement in western heraldry.

Symbols

*The supporter sinister is a dragon, which symbolizes strength and adaptability. The azure dragon already featured on the national flag during the preceding Qing dynasty. *On the back of the dragon is fire, which symbolises light and brightness. *Behind the head of the dragon is the crescent

moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

of the

moon rabbit The Moon rabbit or Moon hare is a mythical figure in East Asian and indigenous American folklore, based on pareidolia interpretations that identify the dark markings on the near side of the Moon as a rabbit or hare. In East Asia, the rabbit is ...

who is constantly pounding the

elixir of life The elixir of life, also known as elixir of immortality, is a potion that supposedly grants the drinker eternal life and/or eternal youth. This elixir was also said to cure all diseases. Alchemists in various ages and cultures sought the means ...

. *The supporter dexter is a ''

fenghuang ''Fènghuáng'' (, ) are mythological birds found in Sinospheric mythology that reign over all other birds. The males were originally called ''fèng'' and the females ''huáng'', but such a distinction of gender is often no longer made and ...

'', or pheasant-phoenix, and represents peace and refinement. *The phoenix holds

pondweed Pondweed refers to many species and genera of aquatic plants and green algae: *''Potamogeton'', a diverse and worldwide genus *''Elodea'', found in North America *''Aponogeton'', in Africa, Asia and Australasia *''Groenlandia ''Groenlandia'' is ...

or algae in its right talon, a symbol of purity and brightness. *Behind its head are three stars, which could be the ''

Fu Lu Shou The Sanxing () are the gods of the three stars or constellations considered essential in Chinese astrology and mythology: Jupiter, Ursa Major, and Canopus. Fu, Lu, and Shou (), or Cai, Zi and Shou () are also the embodiments of Fortune ( Fu), pr ...

'' stars, which symbolise happiness, prosperity and longevity. *Both creatures hold in one of each claws the ''zongyi'' (), which is a sacrificial cup, symbolising devotion and loyalty. The dragon and phoenix represent the natural world. In

yin and yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and ya ...

terminology, a dragon is male ''yang'' and the phoenix a female ''yin''. Therefore, the emperor was often identified as the dragon, while the empress was the phoenix. The inclusion of the phoenix into the national symbol, opposite but equal to the dragon, can be seen as a symbol of women being equal to men, and a visual and poignant representation of women's rights in the new China. *Featuring as the

crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings *The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York *Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...

on top is an abstract symbol of the

sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

of the

. *In the middle functioning as the escutcheon is the

axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...

head, which symbolises courage and resolution, but also executive justice. The blade of the axe head is pointing downwards, the head is shaped like a sloping mountain. *Overlaid on the axe head are grains of rice, which symbolise nourishment and the country's agriculture. It can also be seen as a symbol of the concept of a

moderately prosperous society Moderately prosperous society or Xiaokang society (), is a Chinese term, originally of Confucianism, used to describe a society composed of a functional middle-class. In December 1979, Deng Xiaoping, then paramount leader of China, first propos ...

. *In the center of the axe head framed by a pentagon is a simplified symbol of a rice

ear An ear is the organ that enables hearing and, in mammals, body balance using the vestibular system. In mammals, the ear is usually described as having three parts—the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear consists of ...

, which again stresses the importance of agriculture as the basis of the country's wealth and prosperity. The shape on the emblem is based on a carved stone dating to the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

. *The downward-pointing blade of the axe head features a hardened edge in shape of the four

sacred mountains Sacred mountains are central to certain religions, and are usually the subjects of many legends. For many, the most symbolic aspect of a mountain is the peak because it is believed that it is closest to heaven or other religious realms. Many rel ...

. These represent tranquility and steadiness. The fifth Center Great Mountain is represented by the axe head. The mountains represent earth, the cups metal, the pondweed water, the rice grains wood, and fire, which are all representations of ''

wu xing Wuxing may refer to: Places in China Counties and districts *Huzhou, formerly Wuxing County, Zhejiang, China *Wuxing District (吴兴区), central district of Huzhou Subdistricts (五星街道) *Wuxing Subdistrict, Mudanjiang, in Dong'an District ...

''. *The figure 亞 ''fu'' underneath the axe represents two animals with their backside together. This symbolises the capability to make a clear distinction between right and wrong. *The ''fu'' sign is in the middle of complex interlacing ribbons, which connect the dragon, the phoenix and the axe to each other. The ribbons could symbolise

Great Unity The Great Unity () is a Chinese utopian vision of the world in which everyone and everything is at peace. It is found in classical Chinese philosophy which has been invoked many times in the modern history of China. History The notion of the ...

and

Harmonious Society The Harmonious Society (; also known as Socialist Harmonious Society) is a socioeconomic concept in China that is recognized as a response to the increasing alleged social injustice and inequality emerging in mainland Chinese society as a result ...

References

{{Coats of arms of Asia China National symbols of China Coats of arms with dragons Chinese heraldry

History

Design

Symbols

See also

References