Blue Sky with a White Sun

History of the Blue Sky White Sun design

Lu Hao-tung, a martyr of the Republican revolution, designed the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag and presented it at the inauguration of the Society for Regenerating China in Hong Kong on February 21, 1895. During the Wuchang Uprising in 1911, the flag was used in the southern provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou, while other revolutionary armies used different flags. When the Republic of China was established on January 1, 1912, the Five-Colored flag became the national flag, but Sun Yat-sen objected to its design. In 1917, he established a rival government in Guangzhou and 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 for the nation. The latter officially became the national flag in 1928, while the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag was adopted as the naval jack.

National emblem and history

The national emblem of the Republic of China was derived from the Blue Sky with a White Sun flag. He Yingqin designed the emblem at Whampoa Military Academy in 1924, and it 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, the sun rays have some distance to the edge, symbolizing the broadness of the sky, while on the Kuomintang emblem the rays reach the edge, symbolizing the spirit of revolution as powerful as the sun.

From 1913 to 1928, the national emblem was the Twelve Symbols national emblem, based on traditional symbols on clothes of ancient Chinese emperors, designed by Lu Xun, Qian Daosun and Xu Shoushang on August 28, 1912, and set as national emblem in February 1913. It remained during the Empire of China from 1915 to 1916 and was replaced by the Blue Sky with a White Sun national emblem in 1928 after the Northern Expedition. Under KMT political tutelage, the party flag shared prominence with the ROC flag; after the Constitution was promulgated, the party flag was removed from displays and the national flag moved to center.

The design was freely available for use and appeared in corporate logos and art. Since the ROC government moved to Taiwan and especially after martial law ended, the KMT flag has lost some prominence but is still seen on party buildings and at political rallies.

Use in other countries

During World War II, the Blue Sky with a White Sun design appeared on the badges and coats of arms of several U.S. Army units, most famously Merrill's Marauders (the 5307th Composite Unit). This came from their joint operations with the Chinese Expeditionary Force in the China Burma India Theater. After the war, American units based in Taiwan, including the U.S. Taiwan Defense Command and the Military Assistance Advisory Group, also adopted the symbol. The design remains in use today on the emblem of the U.S. Army's 75th Ranger Regiment.

Other emblems

Taiwan's earliest emblems were used by European colonialists. In 1895, Taiwan was annexed by Japan, and the emblem worn by the Governor's Office featured a Daijishō with a Sycamore leaf and chrysanthemum branch in a brown circle. After the Japanese period, Taiwan was transferred to the Republic of China, which adopted the Blue Sky with a White Sun emblem, still in use today in Taiwan and by the Kuomintang. When the People's Republic of China became an IOC member, the ROC was forced to use the name Chinese Taipei. The crest of the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee includes a stylized plum blossom symbolizing the National Flower of the Republic of China, with the Olympic rings and the Blue Sky with a White Sun in the center; the Olympic flag of Chinese Taipei depicts the emblem on a white field.