AsianIdeas

Flags became mainly used as a heraldic device in battle during the middle Ages, which allows easily identification of a knight. ¹ It also began to be used as a field sign during the medieval period. ¹ It was during early 17th century that ships were expected to carry flags to designate their nationality. These flags then evolved into the national flags and maritime flags of today. Flags became as an ideal means of communications at sea.

The most famous use of a flag is to represent a nation or country and almost of the national flags became an inspiration to other nations in terms of the design of their own flags.

Asian Flags

Here are some common Asian countries flags that everyone might be interested of knowing their history and significance:

Philippine Flag

The colors red, blue and white represents the Philippine flag and each of the color has a symbolic meaning. Equality and fraternity represents the white triangle on the Philippine flag; peace, truth and justice represents the blue portion represents peace, truth and justice; and patriotism and valor for the red field. ² The sun on the flag symbolizes unity, freedom and People’s democracy while its eight rays stand for the eight provinces which revolted against the Spanish colonizers. Finally, the three stars represent the three geographic regions of the Philippines the Luzon, the Visayas and the Mindanao. ²

The country’s state of war and peace can be determined interestingly through the blue and red stripes or panels. It the blue stripe is displayed upwards it means that the country is in state of peace, but if the red stripe is displayed upwards the country is in state of war. ²

North Korean Flag

The customary Korean flag colors are red, white and blue and giving more emphasis to the color red. The red star of Communism is placed on a white disk. ³ The red band or stripe is edged in white symbolizes revolutionary traditions while red star represents for Communism. The blue bands symbolize sovereignty, peace and friendship while the narrow white stripes represent purity, strength and dignity. In September 1948, it was the time when the North Korea became an independent Communist state that the flag was adopted. ³

The North Korean flag has a little similarity of the flags of Costa Rica and Thailand. ³

South Korean Flag

A white backdrop, a red and blue yin-yang symbol in the center, and four black trigrams from the ancient, one each corner of the white portion of the flag composed the South Korean flag. ⁴ Taegukki is another name for the Korean flag which means for the origin of all things in the universe. ⁴ White which symbolizes peace and purity is the common Korean color. The blue color represents the negative aspect or forces of the yin, while the red stands for the opposite positive aspect of the yang. They are in perfect balance and when combined they symbolizes infinity and harmony. ⁴

Japanese Flag

A white background with a striking red disk in the center which represents the sun without rays is the Japanese flag. It is the easiest and the simplest flags to identify. The white color symbolizes peace and honesty while the red represents hardiness, bravery, strength and valor. ⁵ The disk at the center of it is also called Hinomaru, which means disk of the sun and this has been an imperial badge. ⁵ The country of Japan has been known all over the world as “Land of the Rising Sun”, and their flag shows this outlook.

Chinese Flag

Chinese flag stands for the communist revolution, and it is the customary color of the Chinese people. ⁶ The big gold star represents communism while the four small stars stands for the social classes of the people. The five stars altogether indicate the significance given on the number five in Chinese idea and history. ⁶ The five gold stars are placed in the upper left hand corner with a solid red background. The star on the outermost left portion is bigger than all the others and the other four smaller stars are spread out, surrounding the largest star and are positioned equally in distance away from the larger star and from each other. ⁶ It was on October 1, 1949 when the flag of China was officially adopted. ⁶

Flag of Mexico

The Mexican flag is composed of vertical tricolor of green, white and red with the national coat of arms charged in the center of the white portion. ⁷ The color red represents hardiness, bravery and strength; white symbolizes peace and honesty; green stands for hope, joy and love and in many cultures it have a sacred significance. ⁸ While the Mexico’s coat of arms symbolizes an olden Aztec legend is a fiction of God telling a group of wandering Aztec Indians that when they came across an eagle eating a snake, on top of nopal cactus growing out of a rock filled of water, that is where they were to build their home and this place eventually became Mexico City. The image of the eagle eating a snake is shown on the Mexican coat of arms. ⁸

Here at AsianIdeas.com, we bring you the different Asian countries flags for you to choose from without breaking your budget. Enjoy every flag’s history and significance that it will give you.

References:

1. http://www.ask.com/wiki/Flag
2. http://www.philippinesflag.net/color-and-symbol-of-the-philippines-flag.htm
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_North_Korea
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_South_Korea
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Japan
6.http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/flags/countrys/asia/china.htm
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Mexico
8.http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/01280/Mexico/Flag_description.html