1. Fact Sheet No. 5 CHINA Designed by Zeng Liansong There a conflicting opinions over the meaning of the Chinese flag. One side states that the red color in China's flag symbolizes the revolution and the fact that the political power of China was achieved through the bloodshed of revolutionary martyrs who fought heroic struggles for the revolution. The big star is said to represent the Communist Party of China; while the four smaller stars are said to represent all of the ethnic groups that make up China. Much can be read into the fact that one point of the flag's big star points up the flag; while each of the smaller stars has a point aiming towards the centre of the big star. This is believed to signify that the Communist Party is the force at the core of the leadership of all Chinese people. The stars are yellow as an indication that the cause of socialism has a bright future in China. japan Designed by Nichiren (according to the legend) The national flag of Japan is a white flag with a large red circle (representing the rising sun) in the center. The flag's official name in Japanese is Nisshōki (日章旗,
sun flag
?) but the flag is more commonly known as Hinomaru (日の丸,
sun disc
?). The Hinomaru was widely used on military banners in the Sengoku (Warring States) period of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Meiji Restoration the flag was officially adopted for use as the civil ensign by Proclamation No. 57 on February 27, 1870 (January 27, Meiji 3 in the Japanese calendar). However, the flag was not adopted nationally until August 13, 1999, by the Law Concerning the National Flag and Anthem. Along with the national anthem Kimi ga Yo, the Hinomaru is considered a controversial symbol of the militaristic past of the country. Use of the Hinomaru was also severely restricted during the early years of the American occupation of the country after World War II, although restrictions were later relaxed. Japanese law did not designate any particular flag as the national flag from 1885 until 1999, although the Hinomaru was legally the national flag for the brief period from 1870 until 1885. Despite this, several military banners of Japan are based on the design of the Hinomaru, including the sun-rayed Naval Ensign. The Hinomaru was used as a template to design other Japanese flags for public and private use. Passed in 1870, the Prime Minister's Proclamation No. 57 had two provisions related to the national flag. The first provision dealt with who flew the flag and how it was flown, the second dealt with how the flag was made.[18] The ratio, according to the proclamation, was seven units high and ten units wide (7:10). The red disc, which represents the sun, is calculated to be three-fifths of the total size of the hoist length. The disc is decreed to be in the center, but is usually placed one-hundredth (1/100) of the flag width towards the hoist.[19] When the Law Concerning the National Flag and Anthem was passed on August 13, 1999, the dimensions of the flag were altered slightly. The overall ratio of the flag was changed to two units length by three units width (2:3). The red disc was shifted towards dead center, but the overall size of the disc stayed the same.[19] The background of the flag is white and the sun disc is red, but the exact color shades were not defined in the 1999 law.[19] However, the 2000 edition of Album des pavillons suggests the sun disc is Pantone 186; the white field is not mentioned.[20] taiwan Designed by Lu Hao-tung and Sun Yat-sen The National Flag of the Republic of China (simplified Chinese: 中华民国国旗; traditional Chinese: 中華民國國旗; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Mínguó Guóqí) is the National Flag of the Republic of China (ROC). It is commonly referred to in Chinese as Blue Sky, White Sun, and a Wholly Red Earth (simplified Chinese: 青天, 白日, 满地红; traditional Chinese: 青天, 白日, 滿地紅; pinyin: Qīng Tiān, Bái Rì, Mǎn Dì Hóng) to reflect its attributes. This design was first used in mainland China by the Kuomintang (KMT) in 1917 and was made the official flag of the ROC in 1928. It was enshrined in the 6th article of the Constitution of the Republic of China when it was promulgated in 1947. The flag is considered invalid by the People's Republic of China, which now controls mainland China and claims to be the sole legitimate government of the territories currently controlled by the ROC, most notably Taiwan. Within Taiwan, as the former flag of mainland China it is embraced by Chinese reunification supporters as a reminder of the 5 years of unified past under the flag, although some Taiwan independence supporters shun the flag for the same reason.[citation needed] However most of pro-independence majority in Taiwan do use it as a national flag. Its use has been opposed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) because it suggests the continued existence of the ROC, which the PRC regards as defunct and to have been succeeded by the PRC in the Chinese Civil War.[citation needed] However, since the early 2000s, the PRC has had a more favorable view toward the flag, as it began to see the use of the flag in Taiwan as symbolizing a connection between Taiwan and mainland China, and news media in the PRC have often criticized supporters of Taiwanese independence for attempting to replace the flag[which?]. Mongolia The current flag of Mongolia was adopted on February 12, 1992. It is similar to the flag of 1949, except for the removal of the socialist star. It has three equal, vertical bands of red (hoist side), blue, and red. Centered on the hoist-side red band in yellow is the national emblem (
HYPERLINK
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soyombo
Soyombo
soyombo
- a columnar arrangement of abstract and geometric representations of fire, sun, moon, earth, water, and the Taijitu or Yin-Yang symbol). Before 1992, the flag of the Mongolian People's Republic displayed a yellow star on top of the Soyombo, symbolizing socialism. South korea The flag of South Korea, or Taegukgi has three parts: a white background; a red and blue taegeuk (taijitu or
yin-yang
) in the center; and four black trigrams, one in each corner of the flag. King Gojong proclaimed the Taegeukgi to be the official flag of Korea on March 6, 1883. The four trigrams originate in the Chinese book I Ching, representing the four Chinese philosophical ideas about the universe: harmony, symmetry, balance, circulation. The general design of the flag also derives from traditional use of the tricolor symbol (red, blue and yellow) by Koreans starting from the early era of Korean history. The white background symbolizes
cleanliness of the people.
The taegeuk represents the origin of all things in the universe; holding the two principles of
Yin
, the negative aspect rendered in blue, and
Yang
, the positive aspect rendered in red, in perfect balance. Together, they represent a continuous movement within infinity, the two merging as one. The four trigrams are: Name in KoreanNatureSeasonsCardinal DirectionsFour VirtuesFamilyFive ElementsMeanings☰Geon (건乾)Sky (천天)Spring (춘春)East (동東)Humanity (인仁)Father (부父)Metal (금金)Justice (정의)☲Ri (리離)Sun (일日)Autumn (추秋)South (남南)Courtesy (예禮)Son (중남子)Fire (화火)Wisdom (지혜)☵Gam (감坎)Moon (월月)Winter (동冬)North (북北)knowledge (지智)Daughter (중녀女)Water (수水)Vitality (생명력)☷Gon (곤坤)Earth (지地)Summer (하夏)West (서西)Righteous (의義)Mother (모母)Earth (토土)Fertility (풍요) Traditionally, the four trigrams are related to the Five Elements of fire, water, earth, wood, and metal. An analogy could also be drawn with the four western classical elements. The red and blue symbol has an origin that is entirely secular. It is derived by graphing the length of the sun's shadow. (If the series of lines are drawn radiating from the middle, as if regularly rotating a parchment impaled by a small shadow-casting stick each day, the design becomes apparent.) Although affiliated with Taoism and called a
Yin-Yang
symbol today, its placement on the flag honors a venerable tradition of accurate record-keeping for the public benefit instated by King Sejong in the 13th century. Unlike the modern version, the depiction on the oldest flag is clearly true to the actual graph. ----- -- -- ----- ----- ----- -- -- ----- -- -- -- -- -- -- ----- -- -- The original flag, dating to 1883, shows them placed as below. This version respects the four European directions with which their elements are traditionally affiliated.
Water
is at upper left;
Heaven
is at upper right;
Earth
is at lower left;
Fire
is at lower right. (In Asian tradition, however, Heaven is usually associated with north-west, and Earth is usually associated with south-west. See also Bagua.) -- -- ----- N ----- ----- E -- -- ----- -- -- ----- W -- -- -- -- S -- -- ----- The taegeukgi was used as a symbol of resistance and independence during the Japanese occupation and ownership of it was punishable by execution. After independence, both North and South Korea initially adopted versions of the taegeukgi, but North Korea later changed its national flag to a more Soviet-inspired design after three years North korea The Flag of North Korea was adopted on September 8, 1948,[1] as the national flag and ensign. The red star of Communism can be seen on this flag on a white disk. North Korea had originally adopted a
HYPERLINK
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taegeuk
Taegeuk
taegeukgi
following independence from the Japanese Empire with a taoist yin-yang symbol similar to that in the South Korean flag but later revised its flag to more closely reflect that of the USSR. The flag was adopted in 1948, when North Korea became an independent Communist state. The traditional Korean flag was red, white, and blue. The regime retained these colors- with more prominence given to the red- and added a red star on a white disk. The disk recalls the symbol found on the flag of South Korea, and represents the opposing principles of nature. The red stripe expresses revolutionary traditions; while the red star is for Communism. The 2 blue stripes stand for sovereignty, peace and friendship. The white stripe symbolizes purity, and red represents Communist revolution. The colour red represents revolutionary patriotism. The blue stripes connote
The aspiration of the Korean people to unite with the revolutionary people of the whole world and fight for the victory of the idea of independence, friendship and peace.
A 300-pound (136 kg) North Korean national flag flies from the world's largest flagpole, which is located at Kijŏng-dong, on the North Korean side of the Military Demarcation Line within the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The flag-pole is 160m tall.