Order of the Cloud and Banner 雲麾勳章

-


 Probably one of the most well known medal of the Republic of China is the Order of the Cloud and Banner (雲麾勳章). There are several English names as over time the Chinese translation has evolved. Some of these include the literal translation, Yun Hui, and Order of the Resplendent Banner. It came in nine classes, which would be awarded based on the rank of the awardee. It was awarded for actions that contributed to the national defense. Many Americans in the Chinese theater of war during WWII were awarded this medal. Most of the awards were given out post war around 1946 from the research I have conducted based on surviving medal documents. After 1949, these were also awarded to Americans who also helped to contribute to the national defense of Taiwan.

The original full set from WWII and a few years after, came with a certificate with envelope, outside box cover, medal box, a ribbon bar, and the medal itself. There would also be a translated document that would be included. The outer box, certificate, medal, and translated certificate would all have a serial number matching. 

Later Taiwan period ones had the same items, but without an outer box and also came with a mini medal. The certificate did not always have a matching serial number or have a serial number at all.

I have several in my collection. It is pictured below. I also included a pictures from a full set from a collector friend, Jcwater.

Classes 6th - 9th

From Jcwater collection, 8th class

Awarded to Sgt. Pearson on Aug. 21, 1946

The Chinese certificate would translate the English name into Chinese and state their rank.




Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 19, 2020 at 10:59 PM

    sometimes much can be learned about a culture from its medals. why clouds instead of lightning bolts, wreaths, or laurels? does size matter after a certain amount? are patterns or shapes repeated?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chinese MilitariaNovember 20, 2020 at 8:46 PM

      Hello,

      Thank you for your message! That is a very good question and it is something I have not thought about. I am not too sure about the cloud symbolism. I think the banner is something that ancient chinese armies would have carried into battle probably. It would be great to know why this design was chosen.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome and First Post

-
Image
I would like to start off this blog by introducing items that were some of the first items for my Chinese militaria collection. These items originally came from my father, who served in the Republic of China Army (ROCA) in the late 1950s and early 60s. He didn't have a lot of items and I could only find a few documents of what he had from the army. I would like to dedicate this blog to him. The United States supplied the ROCA with many old and new gear, uniforms, and other equipment. Tensions were high between Taiwan (Republic of China) and mainland China. During this time the 823 Incident or also known as Second Taiwan Strait Crisis was occurring on Kinmen/Quemoy (金門島), a small island group just off the coastline of mainland China.   Above is a the photo above of my father dressed up for a photo shoot. From what I have researched about US military items, he is wearing a T7 parachute assembly (harness and main chute on back) with reserve chute on the front. By this time, the T7 ass
Read more

Chinese Air Force Officer's Dress Dagger 中華民國空軍 短劍

-
Image
Chinese air force officers wore these daggers with their everyday uniforms. These daggers were used from around the 1930s up to the end of WWII. The handle wrapping came in different colors, such as green, pink, yellow, and white (pictured). The eyes of the bird were mostly made of glass and some were of cut rubies.  Recently, there are fakes being sold on online auctions. These are being sold directly from China. One of the biggest sign it is fake is the polished steel scabbard. The originals are nickel plated.
Read more