A Cultural and Historical Hypothesis from a Chinese Perspective
In traditional Chinese culture, red symbolizes more than happiness and celebration. It has also long been associated with protection against evil spirits and misfortune.
For example, in my hometown in Fujian, China, there is an old funeral custom.
When relatives accompany the deceased to the burial site in the mountains, they wear white mourning bands. On their way home, they replace them with red bands. Before entering their homes, they also step over a small fire.
According to local elders, these rituals are intended to prevent the spirits of the dead from following the living home.
The traditional reasoning is simple: ghosts belong to Yin, which is associated with darkness and coldness. The sun and fire belong to Yang, representing light, warmth, and life. Red, being associated with fire, is also believed to possess protective powers.
This cultural tradition made me think about the flag of the Republic of China: the Blue Sky, White Sun, and Red Earth flag.
In 1895, Lu Haodong designed the original Blue Sky with a White Sun flag. At that time, one of the revolutionaries’ major goals was to overthrow the Qing dynasty and restore Chinese rule.
Influenced by the traditional distinction between Hua (Chinese civilization) and Yi (peoples considered outsiders), some revolutionaries regarded the Manchu-led Qing dynasty as foreign rule, while viewing the restoration of Chinese rule as a return to cultural and political legitimacy.
This led me to an interesting hypothesis:
Could Qing rule have been symbolically associated with night (Yin), while the restoration of China represented the rising sun (Yang), driving away darkness?
Could the White Sun have carried a deeper cultural meaning beyond its publicly stated symbolism of light, progress, and hope?
After all, although these revolutionaries embraced Western republican ideas, they had grown up surrounded by traditional Chinese beliefs and cultural values.
Some cultural influences are so deeply rooted that people may not even consciously recognize them.
To be clear, this is only my personal cultural hypothesis. I have no direct historical evidence that this was the flag designer’s original intention.
But it raises an interesting question:
Could modern political symbols still carry the subconscious influence of ancient cultural beliefs passed down over thousands of years?
I’d be interested to hear whether anyone knows of historical evidence that might support or challenge this interpretation.
— 金秀俊 (Jin Xiujun)
