The National Emblem of the People's Republic of China contains in a red circle a representation of Tiananmen Gate, the entrance gate to the

Forbidden City The Forbidden City () is a palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples including the Zhongshan Park, the sacrifi ...

, where

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

declared the foundation of the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(PRC) in 1949. Above this representation are the five stars found on the national flag. The largest star represents the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...

(CCP), while the four smaller stars represent the four social classes as defined in

Maoism Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...

. The emblem is described as being "composed of patterns of the national flag":

...The red color of the flag symbolizes revolution and the yellow color of the stars the golden brilliant rays radiating from the vast red land. The design of four smaller stars surrounding a bigger one signifies the unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC). —China Yearbook 2004

The outer border of the red circle shows sheaves of

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

and the inner sheaves of

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

, which together represent agricultural workers. At the center of the bottom portion of the border is a

cog-wheel A gear is a rotating circular machine part having cut teeth or, in the case of a cogwheel or gearwheel, inserted teeth (called ''cogs''), which mesh with another (compatible) toothed part to transmit (convert) torque and speed. The basic p ...

that represents industrial workers. According to ''The Description of the National Emblem of the People's Republic of China'' (), these elements taken together symbolise the revolutionary struggles of the Chinese people since the

May Fourth Movement The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen (The Gate of Heavenly Peace) to protest the Chines ...

and the coalition of the proletariat which succeeded in founding the People's Republic of China.

History

The national emblem appearing in modern times is often designed directly based on European heraldry. But in fact, the development of national emblem design in human society also has a long process. As a symbol of a country, even without the artistic concept of European heraldry, human beings will explore totem worship with similar concept in social practice. For example, there was no legal national emblem in the Qing Dynasty, but the "dragon" totem in the "Yellow Dragon flag" was widely used as a substantive national emblem in the official designs of the government such as silver coins and passports. In the early days of the people's Republic of China, there was also the design of the national seal with the nature of the national emblem. In ancient China, the national seal was the certificate of the emperors of the orthodox dynasties in previous dynasties. Its symbolic power and stamping effect were similar to that of the modern national emblem. When the people's Republic of China was just established, it also took the traditional seal designed based on the traditional seal as an official duty (for example, the national seal "seal of the Central People's Government of the people's Republic of China" in the National Museum of China), but later it was officially changed to the European round seal design.

Beiyang period

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. 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 BC. According to the book, the emperor wished for the symbols to be used on official robes of the state.

Nationalist period

National Emblem of the Republic of China

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 yet internationally recognized

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

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 ...

party symbol. The "Blue Sky, White Sun, and a Wholly Red Earth" flag has remained 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 empl ...

to this day. During this period, 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 Constitution of the Republic of China is the fifth and current constitution of the Republic of China (ROC), ratified by the Kuomintang during the session on 25 December 1946, in Nanjing, and adopted on 25 December 1947. The constitution, ...

, the party flag was removed from such a display and the national flag was moved to the center. 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 Kuominmtang 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.

Communist period

National Emblem of the Chinese Soviet Republic

The first communist government in China known as the

Chinese Soviet Republic The Chinese Soviet Republic (CSR) was an East Asian proto-state in China, proclaimed on 7 November 1931 by Chinese communist leaders Mao Zedong and Zhu De in the early stages of the Chinese Civil War. The discontiguous territories of the ...

had the emblem adopted in 1934. It consisted of an hammer and sickle on a globe, and the grain ears are placed under and on both sides of the earth. Above the earth and the five-pointed star is written the "Chinese Soviet Republic" on the top, and the "

Workers of the world, unite! The political slogan "Workers of the world, unite!" is one of the rallying cries from '' The Communist Manifesto'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (german: Proletarier aller Länder, vereinigt Euch!, literally "Proletarians of all c ...

" written on the bottom. On July 10, 1949, the government held a public competition for the design of the national emblem, however no satisfactory designs were selected. Therefore, on September 27, 1949, the First Plenary Session of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) decided to invite designers for the proposals of the national emblem and two groups from two universities were selected in September 1949. Three proposals were selected for the first round discussion: *The designers from

China Central Academy of Fine Arts The Central Academy of Fine Arts or CAFA is an art academy under the direct charge of the Ministry of Education of China. The Manila Bulletin calls the school "China’s most prestigious and renowned art academy". It is one of the most selecti ...

, Zhang Ding, Zhang Guangyu, Zhou Lingzhao and Zhong Ling, handed out their proposals with 5 variations on September 25, 1949. The symbolism of their first design was: The red star symbolizes Communism and the CCP. The cog and wheat/rice symbolizes unification of industrial workers and peasants. The rising earth with China in red symbolizes the socialist revolution in China and the world revolution ideal on Asian counties. 31 rays behind the earth symbolizes the 31 provincial administrative divisions at that time. The name of the People's Republic of China is written on the red ribbon below. The design was based on their design of the emblem of CPPCC, and was influenced by Socialist heraldry of the Eastern Bloc. *The designers from the Department of Architecture at

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbr. THU) is a national public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. The university is a member of the C9 League, Double First Class University Plan, Projec ...

Liang Sicheng Liang Sicheng (; 20 April 1901 – 9 January 1972) was a Chinese architect and architectural historian, known as the father of modern Chinese architecture. His father, Liang Qichao, was one of the most prominent Chinese scholars of the early ...

Lin Huiyin Lin Huiyin (; known as Phyllis Lin or Lin Whei-yin when in the United States; 10 June 1904 – 1 April 1955) was a Chinese architect and writer. She is known to be the first female architect in modern China and her husband the famed "Father of M ...

, Mo Zongjiang, Zhu Changzhong, Li Zongjin and Gao Zhuang, handed their proposal on October 30, 1949. According to their proposal, the design was a mixture of traditional Chinese culture and

Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...

New Democratic Revolution New Democracy, or the New Democratic Revolution, is a concept based on Mao Zedong's Bloc of Four Social Classes theory in post-revolutionary China which argued originally that democracy in China would take a path that was decisively distinc ...

ideals. The design imitated the style of mirrors in

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 ...

, symbolizing brightness. The disc was made of jade, a symbol of peace and unity. Decorative carvings on the disc was in Tang dynasty style. The stars from national flag and a cog were placed in the center of the disc, surrounded by wheats, symbolizing unity of working class and socialism. The red ribbon tied a smaller jade ring, symbolising the unification of Chinese people. *The other proposal by Zhang Ding, Zhang Guangyu, Zhou Lingzhao, was a perspective depiction of Tian'anmen gate. Emblem of China Draft CAFA 1949-9.jpg, Proposals of China Central Academy of Fine Arts, September 25, 1949 PRC_Emblem_Draft_Lin_Huiyin.jpg, Proposal of Tsinghua University, October 30, 1949 The China National Emblem's Design, Tsinghua University

The China National Emblem's Design, Tsinghua University

Members of the first CPPCC committee discussed these three proposals on June 10, 1950. The result of the discussion was, the China Central Academy of Fine Arts proposal was too colourful to be regarded as trademarks, and proposal from Tsinghua University was regarded as bourgeois due to its use of traditional symbols. The committee suggested the groups include the Tian'anmen Gate, a symbol of Chinese revolution that served as the location of the

and foundation ceremony of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949. The two groups then worked on a second round of proposals. The second proposal from Tsinghua University standardized the design of the Tian'anmen Gate on the emblem and selected red and yellow as the main colours. Their proposal was selected and the design was standardized and simplified by Gao Zhuang. This design was officially made the national emblem on 20 September 1950 by the Central People's Government. Draft Zhangding.jpg, Proposal of China Central Academy of Fine Arts
June 15, 1950 Emblem of China Draft CAFA 1950-1.jpg, Proposal of China Central Academy of Fine Arts Emblem of China Draft THU 1950-6-17.jpg, Proposal of Tsinghua University
June 17, 1950 Drafted Emblem of China THU 2.jpg, Proposal of Tsinghua University Drafted Emblem of China THU 4.png, Proposal of Tsinghua University Drafted Emblem of China THU No.9.png, Proposal of Tsinghua University Drafted Emblem of China THU 3.png, Proposal of Tsinghua University The emblem is also displayed, along with the national flag, at the end of a video clip with the national anthem, '' March of the Volunteers'', regularly played on Chinese television such as state-run China Central Television (CCTV) on a daily basis.

Construction

National standard of China: GB 15093-2008 specifies the construction, material and color of the national emblem.

Emblems of subdivisions

Before the Communist takeover of Mainland China, the ROC had provinces design their own emblems. Only two emblems were used so far. On April 15, 1985, Taiyuan City officially announced its emblem, becoming the first city in the People's Republic of China to have a city emblem. Hong Kong and Macao each have their own emblem. The National People's Congress have passed the standardized use of the two special administrative regions' emblems. Under Chinese law since November 1997, only Hong Kong and Macau are allowed to have their own emblems and other localities that had them had to stop using theirs. This rule was ignored in 2011 when the city of Chengdu chose the

Golden Sun Bird The Golden Sun Bird or the Sun and Immortal Birds Gold Ornament ( zh, t=太陽神鳥金飾, s=太阳神鸟金饰, p=Tàiyáng Shénniǎo Jīnshì) is an ancient artifact, unearthed in 2001 from the Jinsha Ruins in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, ...

found under the city's

Jinsha site Jinsha () is a Chinese archaeological site located in the Qingyang District of Chengdu, the capital of China's Sichuan Province. Along with Sanxingdui, the site is the first major discovery in China during the 21st century. It is listed on the UNES ...

as its emblem.

Provinces

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 cap ...

(

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...

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

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 ...

(1945–2018)

Cities

File:Sun and Immortal Bird Emblem in Jinsha.svg,

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese pro ...

File:Kunming Emblem.svg, Kunming (1922-1949) File:廣州市市徽 (1926-1949).svg,

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 ...

(1926–1949) File:City seal of Harbin.png, Harbin File:Emblem of Qingdao City.svg, Qingdao

Special administrative regions

File:Regional Emblem of Hong Kong.svg,

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 Delta i ...

File:Regional Emblem of Macau.svg,

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...

Historical emblems

File:Seal of Ming dynasty.svg, Imperial Seal of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

. File:Seal of Qing dynasty.svg, Imperial Seal of the

. File:Seal of the Taiping heavenly kingdom.svg,

Taiping Heavenly Kingdom The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, later shortened to the Heavenly Kingdom or Heavenly Dynasty, was an unrecognised rebel kingdom in China and a Chinese Christian theocratic absolute monarchy from 1851 to 1864, supporting the overthrow of the Q ...

(1851–1864) File:Twelve Symbols national emblem of China.svg,

National emblem A national emblem is an emblem or seal that is reserved for use by a nation state or multi-national state as a symbol of that nation. Many nations have a seal or emblem in addition to a national flag A national flag is a flag that represents ...

of the Republic of China (1912–1927) and the Empire of China (1915–1916) File:National Emblem of the Republic of China.svg,

emblem of the Republic of China (1928–present) and the Roundel of the

Republic of China Air Force The Republic of China Air Force, retroactively known by its historical name the Chinese Air Force and unofficially referred to as the Taiwanese Air Force, is the military aviation branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces, currently based ...

(1991–present) File:Roundel of the Republic of China Air force.svg, Roundel of the

(1928–1991) File:Republic of China (Taiwan) 1949 -1991.svg, Roundel of the

(1928–1991), light version File:Emblem of Chinese Taipei for Olympic games.svg, Emblem of Chinese Taipei used during the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

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

(1934–1937) File:Seal of the North Shanxi Autonomous Goverment.svg,

North Shanxi Autonomous Government The North Shanxi Autonomous Government (also known as the Jinbei Autonomous Government; ; Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: ''Susumu kita jichi seifu'') was an administratively autonomous component of Mengjiang from its creation in 1937 to its compl ...

(1937–1939) File:Emblem of Mengjiang.svg,

Mengjiang Mengjiang, also known as Mengkiang or the Mongol Border Land, and governed as the Mengjiang United Autonomous Government, was an autonomous area in Inner Mongolia, formed in 1939 as a puppet state of the Empire of Japan, then from 1940 being ...

(1939–1945) File:Emblem of the Emperor of Manchukuo.svg, Imperial Seal of Manchukuo (1932–1945) File:Seal of the Shanghai International Settlement pre-WWI.svg,

Shanghai International Settlement The Shanghai International Settlement () originated from the merger in the year 1863 of the British and American enclaves in Shanghai, in which British subjects and American citizens would enjoy extraterritoriality and consular jurisdictio ...

File:Seal of the Shanghai International Settlement.svg,

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:Seal of the People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China.svg, Seal of the People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China (1949-1959) File:National Emblem of the People's Republic of China (2).svg, Emblem of the

(1950–present)