National flag
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
|
|
C? đ? sao vang
("red flag with a golden star")
C? T? qu?c
("flag of the Fatherland")
|
Use
| Civil
and
state flag
|
---|
Proportion
| 2:3
|
---|
Adopted
| 23 November 1940
; 83 years ago
(
1940-11-23
)
(Cochinchina uprising)
2 September 1945
; 78 years ago
(
1945-09-02
)
(
Democratic Republic of Vietnam
)
1955
; 69 years ago
(
1955
)
(current version)
1976
; 48 years ago
(
1976
)
(
reunified
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
)
|
---|
Design
| A large
yellow
star centered on a
red
field.
|
---|
Designed by
| Nguy?n H?u Ti?n (disputed)
|
---|
|
|
|
|
Use
| War flag
|
---|
Proportion
| 2:3
|
---|
Design
| A golden star centered on a red field, and yellow words
Quy?t th?ng
(Determining to win) in the upper canton.
|
---|
Designed by
| Design is a variant of the flag of Vietnam
|
---|
|
|
|
|
Use
| Police flag
|
---|
Proportion
| 2:3
|
---|
Design
| A golden star centered on a red field, and yellow motto
B?o v? an ninh T? qu?c
(Protecting the security of the Fatherland) in the upper canton.
|
---|
Designed by
| Design is a variant of the flag of Vietnam
|
---|
|
|
|
|
Use
| Naval ensign
|
---|
Proportion
| 2:3
|
---|
Adopted
| 15 January 2014
|
---|
Design
| A white flag with an emblem referring the
Vietnam People's Navy
in the top with the red label
H?i quan Vi?t Nam
(Navy of Vietnam) and a blue strip below.
|
---|
Designed by
| Vietnam People's Navy
, with the influence from the
naval ensign
of the
Soviet Navy
|
---|
|
The
national flag
of
Vietnam
, formally the
National Flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
(
Vietnamese
:
Qu?c k? n??c C?ng hoa xa h?i ch? ngh?a Vi?t Nam
),
[1]
[2]
locally recognized as
c? đ? sao vang
(
lit.
'
red flag with a golden star
'
[a]
) or
c? T? qu?c
(
lit.
'
flag of the Fatherland
'
), was designed in 1940 and used during an uprising against the French in
southern Vietnam
that year.
[3]
The red background symbolizes revolution and bloodshed. The golden star represents the five main classes in Vietnamese society?intellectuals, farmers, workers, entrepreneurs, and soldiers.
[4]
The flag was used by the
Viet Minh
, a communist-led organization created in 1941 to oppose Japanese occupation. At the end of
World War II
, Viet Minh leader
Ho Chi Minh
proclaimed Vietnam independent and signed a decree on 5 September 1945 adopting the Viet Minh flag as the flag of the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam
.
[5]
The
DRV
became the government of North Vietnam in 1954 following the
Geneva Accords
. The flag was modified on 30 November 1955 to make the points of the star straighter.
[6]
Until the
end of the Vietnam War
in 1975,
South Vietnam
used a
yellow flag
with three red stripes. The red flag of North Vietnam was later adopted as the flag of the unified Vietnam in 1976.
[7]
The flag of Vietnam is the only flag amongst
ASEAN
that does not contain the colour white, with red and yellow/gold being its historical national colours.
[8]
Design and history
[
edit
]
Vietnamese flag colours have often been various designs of red and bright yellow. According to Article 141 of the 1992 constitution: "The National Flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is rectangular in shape, its width is equal to two thirds of its length, in the middle of fresh red background is a bright five-pointed golden star".
[9]
The flag is blazoned:
Gules, a mullet of five points or.
The flag first appeared in the
Southern uprising (Nam K? Kh?i ngh?a)
of 23 November 1940, against French rule in southern Vietnam.
[10]
A series of articles by S?n Tung on the origin of the flag were published in the state media in 1981.
[11]
S?n Tung stated that the flag was designed by Nguy?n H?u Ti?n, a leader of the uprising who was arrested by the French in advance of the failed uprising and executed 28 August 1941.
[10]
Ti?n, who was born in the northern village of L?ng Xuyen, was unknown to the Vietnamese public before Tung's research was published. According to a poem Ti?n wrote, the red background came to represent the blood of the people, whilst the yellow foreground came to represent "the colour of our people’s skin" which was written during times of oppression from Japanese rule. The five points of the star represents intellectuals, peasants, workers, traders and soldiers.
[12]
Yellow and red has long been common amongst Vietnamese flags. Yellow/Gold was a traditional color of Vietnam for more than 2,000 years. In April 2001, Vietnam's Ministry of Culture reported that there was no documentation to support the claim that Ti?n designed the flag. In 2005, Le Minh đ?c, an official of
Ti?n Giang
province, suggested that the flag was designed by another
cadre
, Le Quang So, a native of
M? Tho
Province in the
Mekong delta
. đ?c's theory is based on statements by So's son as well as So's 1968 memoir. According to đ?c, yellow was chosen to represent Vietnam while the red background was inspired by the flag of the Communist Party and represents revolution. So experimented with stars in various positions and sizes before choosing a large star in the center for aesthetic reasons. In April 1940, the flag was approved by Phan V?n Kh?e, the Communist party chief of M? Tho. It was subsequently approved by the national party in July.
[4]
As of 2006, the state media has not commented on đ?c's version of events.
[13]
The flag was displayed at a conference on 19 May 1941, at which the Viet Minh was founded.
[14]
The Viet Minh proclaimed it a "national flag" on 17 August 1945, at a meeting held in the village of Tan Trao in the North.
[15]
When the Japanese surrendered at the end of
World War II
, the Viet Minh entered Hanoi and proclaimed the "Democratic Republic of Vietnam" on 2 September. On 5 September, DRV President
Ho Chi Minh
signed a decree adopting the Vietminh flag.
[5]
French troops returned in October and restored colonial rule in the South. The National Assembly voted unanimously to adopt the flag on 2 March 1946.
[16]
Following the
Geneva Accord
between Viet Minh and France in 1954, the DRV became the government of North Vietnam.
On 30 November 1955, the flag's design was modified slightly to make the star smaller and its rays straighter.
[6]
This followed a similar modification of the
flag of the Soviet Union
. The flag was adopted in the South after the end of the
Vietnam war
, and North and South were unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on 2 July 1976.
[7]
The flag of the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam
(the Viet Minh-controlled areas in Northern and Southern Vietnam and later just
North Vietnam
) from 1945 to 1955 was similar to the current flag of Vietnam but with the points of the star set at a more obtuse angle.
[17]
Despite its historical connotations, nowadays, the red background (or red field) on the Vietnamese flag is commonly a symbol of bloodshed, struggle, and the success of revolution, inspired by communist symbolism. The yellow star centred on the red field symbolizes one of five classes of society?entrepreneurs, farmers, workers, intellectuals and soldiers representing each point of the star. The flag may also be flown with the flag of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Colour scheme and design
[
edit
]
This is a color approximation of the Vietnamese flag. The Vietnamese lawmakers never nominate the standardized color schemes, and flags with different color shades are physically and digitally displayed by both civilians and state media as long as they obey the "red background with a centered yellow star" symbolism.
Historical flags
[
edit
]
Traditional images show the
Trung sisters
wearing yellow turbans during their revolt against North (China) in AD 40.
[18]
These were unwrapped and waved to signal the beginning of a fight.
[19]
A yellow banner with a red circle in the center was adopted as a standard by Emperor
Gia Long
(r. 1802?1820).
[20]
The French, who gradually gained control of Vietnam in the late 19th century, flew the national
flag of France
. The
colony of Cochinchina
(1862?1945) was under exclusive French authority. In contrast,
Annam
and
Tonkin
were protectorates with parallel systems of Vietnamese and French administration. Several flags were flown in these regions: the French flag, the protectorate flag, and
Long tinh flag
[
vi
]
.
Japan occupied Vietnam in 1941?1945. In March 1945, the Japanese deposed the French colonial authorities and proclaimed an
Empire of Vietnam
with
B?o đ?i
as emperor. The
Qu? Ly flag
[
vi
]
, a red qu? Ly (one of eight
trigrams
used in the
I Ching
[19]
[21]
) on a yellow background, was adopted in June. Among other things,
qu? Ly
? symbolizes the direction south. B?o đ?i abdicated in August when Japan surrendered. The
Democratic Republic of Vietnam
, proclaimed on 2 September 1945, adopted the red flag with a golden star. The French returned in 23rd of the same month, but were challenged by the Vietminh, especially in the North. The French proclaimed Cochinchina an autonomous republic in June 1946. This puppet state adopted a flag with three blue stripes on a yellow background.
In 1947, the name of the Cochinchina government was changed to "Provisional Government of Southern Vietnam" in preparation for a merger with the
Provisional Central Government of Vietnam
outlined in the H? Long Bay agreements between France and B?o đ?i. The
flag of the State of Vietnam
was adopted by Emperor
B?o đ?i
in 1948.
[22]
The three stripes represented the
Qu? Can
, or Qian
trigram
.
Qu? Can
is the divination sign for heaven.
[19]
On 2 June 1948, Prime Minister of the Provisional Central Government
Nguy?n V?n Xuan
, signed an ordinance to adopt this flag: "The national emblem is a flag of yellow background, the height of which is equal to two-thirds of its width. In the middle of the flag and along its entire width, there are three horizontal red bands. Each band has a height equal to one-fifteenth of the width. These three red bands are separated from one another by a space of the band's height."
[19]
The flag of the
State of Vietnam
was later also used by its successor the Republic of Vietnam, commonly known as
South Vietnam
.
On 8 June 1969, the
National Liberation Front of South Vietnam
(Viet Cong) adopted a tricolor flag modelled from that of North Vietnam, which is the red half at the top, the blue half at the bottom, and a yellow star in the center. This replaced the yellow flag after the
fall of Saigon
, and was used until the reunification with North Vietnam on 2 July 1976.
On the other hand, in January 2017,
San Jose
, which has the largest population of Vietnamese emigrants from what was formerly South Vietnam in the United States, banned the Vietnamese flag from being displayed on city flagpoles. This was motivated by a 2016 policy adopted by
Westminster
, California, forbidding the display of the flag on city property.
[23]
[24]
Nearby
Milpitas
also banned the flag from municipal display on 5 September 2017.
[25]
Historical and foreign-involved flags
[
edit
]
Gallery
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
In
Vietnamese
, "golden star" and "yellow star" are both called
sao vang
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Government of Vietnam.
"About Vietnam: National flag, emblem, anthem, declaration of independence"
.
VIETNAM GOVERNMENT PORTAL
. Retrieved
3 April
2022
.
- ^
"Qu?c k?, Qu?c huy, Qu?c ca, Tuyen ngon (National flag, National emblem, National anthem, Declaration (of Independence))"
.
C?NG THONG TIN đI?N T? CHINH PH? (VIETNAM GOVERNMENT PORTAL)
(in Vietnamese)
. Retrieved
3 April
2022
.
- ^
"History of the Vietnam flag"
. Retrieved
10 October
2020
.
- ^
a
b
"Vietnam Flag, Meaning of Vietnam Flag, History of Vietnam Flag"
. Archived from
the original
on 7 October 2013
. Retrieved
5 October
2013
.
- ^
a
b
"Decree number 5 of 5 September 1945"
(Vitnamese)
Archived
23 April 2013 at the
Wayback Machine
,
Archive of Vietnamese legal documents
.
- ^
a
b
"Resolution number 249/SL of 30 November 1955"
,
Archive of Vietnamese legal documents
.
- ^
a
b
"
Resolution of 2 July 1976
(Resolution of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam About the Country’s Name, Flag, Emblem, Capital, National Anthem) (Vietnamese)",
Archive of Vietnamese legal documents
.
- ^
"Flag of Vietnam"
.
Encyclopedia Britannica
. Retrieved
4 March
2021
.
- ^
"National Flag"
.
Viet Nam Government Portal
.
Government of Vietnam
.
Archived
from the original on 24 September 2023
. Retrieved
24 September
2023
.
- ^
a
b
"
VN Embassy : Flag Designer Urban Myths Squelched
",
Embassy of the Socialist Republic in Vietnam in the United States of America
.
- ^
S?n Tung's writing was published in installments in the newspaper
Sai Gon Gi?i Phong
and later as a book entitled
Nguy?n H?u Ti?n
(1981).
- ^
"Flag designer urban myths squelched"
.
vietnamnews.vn
. Retrieved
4 March
2021
.
[
dead link
]
- ^
"
Tac gi? qu?c k?: v?n la d?u ch?m h?i
",
Tu?i Tr?
, 23 November 2006
- ^
Ho Chi Minh
, Foreign Languages Pub. House, 1988, p. 76. "on 19 May 1941 Viet Minh Front officially made its appearance, and holding high the gold star red flag."
- ^
Cima, Ronald J., ed. (1990). "The General Uprising and Independence".
Vietnam : A Country Study
. Dept. of the Army.
ISBN
978-0160181436
.
The following day, the Congress, at a ceremony in front of the village dinh, officially adopted the national red flag with a gold star, and Ho read an appeal to the Vietnamese people to rise in revolution.
- ^
Phut Tan Nguy?n,
A Modern History of Viet-nam (1802?1954)
, 1964. p. 502. "The Assembly then adopted national Anthem and national flag, approved a new Cabinet and a Committee in charge of the drafting of the Vietnamese Constitution."
- ^
"Vietnam"
.
CIA World Factbook
. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from
the original
on 26 May 2013
. Retrieved
29 May
2013
.
- ^
Van Tan, "
The Insurrection of the Two Trung Sisters
"
- ^
a
b
c
d
Kh?i Chinh Ph?m Kim Th?, "
The National Flag of Free Vietnam
Archived
4 February 2009 at the
Wayback Machine
"
- ^
Nguy?n đinh Sai, "
Qu?c K? Vi?t Nam: Ngu?n G?c va L? Chinh Th?ng
", Vietnam Reform Party. A translation is given
here
Archived
6 November 2013 at the
Wayback Machine
.
- ^
Compare to
Flag of South Korea
.
- ^
Nguy?n, Ng?c Huy. (March & April 1988) "National Flags and National Anthems of Vietnam"
T? Do Dan B?n
magazine, issue: 27 & 28. Re-published in July 2015.
Archived
from
original
(in Vietnamese). p. 3 of 15
- ^
"California City Bans Display of Vietnam National Flag on City Poles"
.
NBC News
. 28 January 2017.
- ^
"San Jose council unanimously approves banning communist Vietnamese flag"
.
The Mercury News
. 26 January 2017.
- ^
"Milpitas council bans city's display of Socialist Republic of Vietnam flag"
.
The Mercury News
. 22 September 2017.
External links
[
edit
]
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National flags
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National coats of arms
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