Original Chinese WWII Multi-Piece Constructed National Flag of the Republic of China by Te Tai & Co – 3’ x 5’ Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. The flag of the Republic of China, also known as the Blue Sky, White Sun, and a Wholly Red Earth and retroactively the National Flag of China, consists of a red field with a blue canton bearing a white disk surrounded by twelve triangles; said symbols symbolize the sun and rays of light emanating from it, respectively.

The flag is a larger size measuring at approximately 3’x5’ and is of multi-piece construction, with all fields being separately sewn together including the White Sun and its Rays. The flag is in good condition with minor tearing and mothing present. The hoist side still retains faded marking in both Chinese Characters as well as English. It states that the flag was made by Te Tai & Co Flag & Sail Makers. While we were unable to locate any information on this business, their phone number 42627 is listed in the 1947 Shanghai phone directory.

Comes ready for display.

The flag was originally designed by the anti-Qing group, Revive China Society in 1895 with the addition of the red field component in 1906 by Sun Yat-sen in his speech. This was first used in mainland China as the Navy flag in 1912, and was made the official national flag of the Republic of China in 1928 by the Kuomintang. It was enshrined in the sixth article of the Constitution of the Republic of China when it was promulgated in 1947. The flag is no longer officially used in mainland China, as the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949. As the islands of Taiwan and Penghu were under Japanese rule until 1945, the flag was not in use in two territories, until the ROC took control in 1945. The flag is now mostly used within Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other outlying islands, where the ROC relocated in 1949 after its defeat in the Chinese Civil War.

The public display of this flag is still seen in historical museums and war cemeteries across mainland China but its use remains illegal as tools for subversion of state power.

Supporters of Taiwanese independence reject the flag due to its association with Chinese nationalism and as a statement of opposition against the Kuomintang.

The specific designs of the flag are located in the “Law about the national flag and emblem of the Republic of China.” The ratio of the flag is 2:3, with most of it being red. One-fourth of the flag is blue, which contains the 12 pointed sun. Each sun ray is 30 degrees, so the total sun rays will make up a complete 360 degree circle. Inside the sun, the blue ring is the diameter of the white sun divided by 15.

In later years, more details regarding of the canton area (also used as the flag of the KMT), were codified into law. In the drawing released in “Law on the Party and National Flag Manufacturing and Methods” (黨旗國旗之製造及使用辦法), the sun was drawn in more specific detail and mathematical values were given to all elements in the flag. In the law, the canton still had a ratio of 2:3, but the math values given were 24×36 meters. The diameter of the sun with rays is 6⁄8 of height of the canton, so in this case, it will be 18. The diameter of the white sun without the sun rays is 1⁄4 of the width of the canton, so it is 9. The blue ring that is on top of this sun and part of the rays is 1⁄15 diameter of the white sun, so the size will be 0.6. The angle of the rays, 30 degrees, and the total number of rays have not changed.

The colors of the national flag are dark red, white and dark blue. However, the KMT party flag only uses white and dark blue; both flags are to be topped with a golden finial. The law does not list any specific color processes, such as Pantone, to manufacturing or drawing the flag. The Ministry of the Interior provides colors only for reference. Other publications, such as the Album des pavillons nationaux et des marques distinctives, have given approximations for Pantone colors: the dark blue as Pantone 301c and the dark red as Pantone 186c. Album des pavillons also gave the approximate CMYK colors for the flag; dark blue is 100-45-0-10 and dark red is 0-90-75-5.