Flag of Vietnam - Historical Flags

Historical Flags

Traditional images show the Trưng sisters wearing yellow turbans during their revolt against China in AD 40. These were unwrapped and waved to signal the beginning of fight. A yellow banner with a red circle in the center was adopted as a standard by Emperor Gia Long (r. 1802–1820). This standard was used by supporters of the anti-French Cần Vương, or "Save the king", movement in 1885, effectively making it Vietnam's first national flag. Emperor Thành Thái's flag, adopted in 1890, had a yellow background and three red stripes (cờ vàng ba sọc đỏ). The three stripes represented the Quẻ Càn, or Qian trigram, one of eight trigrams used in the I-Ching, a Taoist scripture. Quẻ Càn is the divination sign for heaven. Later, the stripes were reinterpreted to represent the northern, central and southern regions of Vietnam.

The French, who gradually gained control of Vietnam in the late 19th century, flew the Tricolour, the French national flag. As the colony of Cochinchina (1864–1945), the South was under exclusive French authority. In contrast, North and Central Vietnam were protectorates with parallel systems of Vietnamese and French administration. Several flags were flown in these regions: the French flag, the Vietnamese imperial flag, and a "protectorate flag." From 1920 to 1945, the Vietnamese imperial flag had a yellow background with a single, broad red stripe.

Japan occupied Vietnam in 1941-1945. In March 1945, the Japanese deposed the French colonial authorities and proclaimed an Empire of Vietnam with Bảo Đại as emperor. The Quẻ Ly Flag, also a red trigram on a yellow background, was adopted in June. Among other things, Quẻ Ly symbolizes the direction south. Bảo Đại abdicated in August when Japan surrendered. The French returned in October 1945, but were challenged by the Vietminh, especially in the North. The French proclaimed Cochinchina a republic in June 1946. This puppet state adopted a Quẻ Càn flag with blue stripes on a yellow background.

In May 1948, the name of the Cochinchina government was changed to "Provisional Central Government of Vietnam" in preparation for a merger with the North outlined in the Hạ Long Bay agreements between France and Bảo Đại. Artist Lê Văn Đệ (1906–1966) met Bảo Đại in Hong Kong in 1948 and proposed that the Quẻ Càn flag of Emperor Thành Thái be restored. On 2 June 1948, Chief of State Nguyễn Văn Xuân, 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." This flag was used in the South until 1975. It continues to be used by overseas Vietnamese as the "Heritage and Freedom Flag", but is de facto banned in Vietnam.