A large yellow star centered on a red field (2:3). The red background symbolizes revolution and bloodshed. The golden star represents the five main classes in Vietnamese society — intellectuals, farmers, workers, entrepreneurs, soldiers.
A yellow field and three horizontal red stripes (2:3). The yellow color traditionally represents Vietnam. Three red stripes symbolized the common blood running through northern, central, and southern Vietnam.
This flag is prohibited in Vietnam since it was the flag of the former Republic of Vietnam. Found mostly amongst overseas Vietnamese communities in liberal democratic countries, it has also been used by some political dissidents in Vietnam.[3]
A yellow field with a single large red stripe (2:3).[8] Designed according to the pattern of the medal riband of the Order of the Dragon of Annam.[7][5] Emerging in the 1920s as a regal flag of the Nguyễn court. In the World War II, adopted as the national flag of Đại Nam,[9] assigned as the civil flag.[7] Other influences:
A yellow field with three red stripes (2:3). Adopted by Chief of State Bảo Đại and signed into law by Prime Minister Nguyễn Văn Xuân in 1948.[9][12] The flag was also used by the State of Vietnam and its successor, the Republic of Vietnam. Influences:
A blue field with the map of Vietnam in gold. The party's name "Đảng VÌ Dân" at the bottom and the slogan "Hòa bình – Tự do – Ấm no – Tiến bộ" (Peace – Freedom – Prosperity – Progress) on top.
A yellow star centered on a red field, and yellow inscription "Bảo vệ an ninh tổ quốc" (Protecting the Fatherland's Security) in the upper canton (2:3).
A green flag with the motto "Tổ quốc, Công minh – Liêm chính" (Fatherland, Justice – Integrity) in the top, the police badge in the middle, and the name "Cảnh sát Quốc gia" (National Police) in the bottom (2:3).
1955–1975
Other variant flag of the Republic of Vietnam National Police[31][32]
RVN police symbol on the South Vietnam’s flag with green background.
A yellow field with two yellow strips and three blue strips. Possibly the inspiration for the yellow flag with three blue stripes featured on the cover of the first issue of the Cahiers franco-vietnamiens (1948).[40]
Flag of the Kingdom of Sedang (1927 Bulletin des Amis du Vieux-Huế variant)[42]
Light blue in colour with a red cross of Malta and in its centre a white star, alternatively it could have been red in colour with a blue cross of Malta and a white star.[d]
1888–1889
Flag of the Kingdom of Sedang (K. Fachinger variant)[43]
Blue with a white St. George's cross and a red star.
1888–1889
Flag of the Kingdom of Sedang (Vexilla Belgica variant)
Three equal stripes of green (top), yellow, and red. These colours stood respectively for the mountains and jungles of the Highlands, the (South) Vietnamese national color, and the spirit of common struggle on behalf of the fatherland.[51]
The 1986 flag of Save the Montagnard People organisation in Greensboro, North Carolina which is supposed to be the flag of all Montagnard / Dega people, was modeled after the earlier flag used by the Movement for Unity of the Southern Highland Ethnic Minorities (MUSHEN) in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The significant difference might be the removal of the yellow colour because it's associated with the Vietnamese. The golden band represents a montagnard bracelet.[h]
A vertical tricolour with the colours blue, green, and red and a photograph of a yellowish-white flower (Plumeria alba) in the middle (green) field.[i] Ratio 3:5.
Seven horizontal stripes, the inner four stripes are white, the outer two are green, while the two stripes in its centre are coloured red (that is: Green-white-red-white-red-white-green). On its upper left area is a squarish canton which takes up five stripes, the canton is blue in colour with a thin yellow Latin cross, representing Protestant Christianity, connected to a laying double concave lens shape that extends to all the sides of the canton.[j]
Red field with the logo of Agribank, on is the text "Ngân hàng Nông nghiệp và Phát triển Nông thôn Việt Nam" (Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development)
Yellow field with the symbol of Vovinam in the middle, the text "Vovinam" in red at the top of the hoist side and "Việt Võ Đạo" in blue at the bottom of the fly side
The Chữ Hán "黨共產東洋" (Đảng Cộng sản Đông Dương) surrounding a hammer and a sickle. Slogans: 1 ° Increase in wages, reduction of the working day, reinstatement of the 21 workers made redundant; 2 ° Punishment of the strongmen and mandarins who harm the masses. Influences:
In Vietnamese culture, five-colour flags (Vietnamese: cờ ngũ sắc) or five elements flags (cờ ngũ hành) are traditionally flown during festivals and religious ceremonies. A five-colour flag consists of five concentric squares in red, green, yellow, and blue, representing the five elements (ngũ hành). The order of colours varies. The outermost square has three ragged edges, similar to fringing. The centre of the flag is sometimes defaced to commemorate a specific concept or personality. Historically, some imperial and military ensigns followed a similar pattern.
The word "King" (王, Vương) symbolises the constitutional monarchy.[m] A red background symbolises struggle for independence. A white background symbolises "cleanliness of the people".
17 January 1973
The Reconciliation Flag of Vietnam (Cờ Hoà Giải Của Nước Việt Nam).[73] According to the Flags of the World website the creation of this flag is attributed Nguyễn Thành Trí and Tristan Nguyễn in Saigon (present-day Hồ Chí Minh City), South Vietnam in 1973, following the signing of the Paris Peace Accords.[73][74] In the year 2007 it was later re-introduced in San Francisco, United States.[73]
A vertical tricolour with the colours yellow-green-red and a white 12-pointed star in its centre.[73] The colour yellow is supposed to be a symbol of both the continent of Asia and the Vietnamese people, the colour green symbolises peace, while the colour red symbolises the concept of "revolutionary enthusiasm".[n][73] The white star in the centre of the flag stands for freedom, peace, and national reconciliation. The points of the star correspond to the years of the âm lịch stands for the three values of freedom, equality, and pluralism – which are the values its advocates expect to be the most respected values in a new Vietnam (Tân Việt Nam).[73] The ratio is 2:3.[73]
An untitled flag proposal at a Vietnamese language website by a group of Vietnamese students from USA, Canada, and France, acknowledge the legitimacy of the current red and yellow flags of Vietnam.[73][75]
The proposed flag is a horizontal tricolour with the colours blue-orange-blue divided in the ratio of 1:2:1.[o][73] In its orange centre is a white lotus flower, fimbriated brown.[p][73] The colour blue is said to represent both the sky and the sea and stands for peace.[73] The colour yellow (orange) is said to be the traditional national colour and represents the Vietnamese people.[73] The lotus flower is the national flower of Vietnam.[73][75]
Misattributed flags
This is a list of incorrect, fictitious or unknown flags which have been reported on as being factual and/or historical flags of Vietnam by contemporary or otherwise reputable sources.
Flag that is used by various medias to represent the Vietnamese Tây Sơn dynasty.[76][78][79]The flag was also used during festival and ceremony about the Tây Sơn dynasty (and its second emperor, Quang Trung) despite its questionable origin.[80][81] The plain red banner was likely used as the Vietnamese battle flag, as evidenced in the Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút, while virtually no studies or evidence existed for the variant with the centered yellow disk.
Likely an imperial banner featuring various Sino-Vietnamese symbols such as the thái cực đồ symbol in the form of a spiral, among other symbols, likely the Tứ tượng, Lạc thư and the constellations.
A rectangular flag with many black triangles, resembling a serrated ribbon typically found on Imperial Chinese and Vietnamese flags, surrounding a yellow interior. Likely based on an old imperial Vietnamese (or Chinese) flag where the Europeans didn't know that the flag had a serrated ribbon and "filled it in" as a rectangle. The black triangles are sometimes blue or green based on different interpretations.
It was first described in the year 1825 and is still present on early 20th century depictions. However, the hydrographic service of the French navy, already in the charter of 1889, doesn't mention it; it is therefore believed that the existence of this flag, if it ever was authentic, does not go beyond 1883.[86]
Flag of the Nguyễn dynasty, or flag of Vietnam under Nguyễn dynasty, or reportedly the flag of Tonkin.
Said flag can be found in a chart titled Generaale gezicht der Vlaggen welke meeste Natien ter Zee voeren "A general view of the flags which most nations bear at sea" between page viii and page 1 of the book Alegemeene verhandeling van de heerschappy der zee "General Treatise of the Dominion of the Sea"[87]
Likely based on a flag stated to be flown on ships of the "nation" Tunquin in China. Tonkin was the European exonym during the 17th and 18th centuries for the northern region of modern Vietnam, then nominally reigned by the Revival Lê dynasty (1533–1789) yet effectively ruled by the Trịnh lords (1545–1787).
The flag was also used in real life despite its questionable origin.[88][89]
Several plain yellow flags can be seen displayed along with the tricolour flags of France and a partially seen yellow flag containing red-coloured 大南 (SV: Đại Nam "Great South"), as depicted in the 1903 oil painting Les mandarins et les autorités françaises attendant l’arrivée de l’Empereur Thanh Thai "The mandarins and the French authorities awaiting the arrival of Emperor Thành Thái" by Trần D. Trọng[90]
Found in Nguyễn Đình Sài's article Quốc Kỳ Việt Nam: Nguồn Gốc và Lẽ Chính Thống "The National Flag of Viet Nam: Its Origin and Legitimacy". A visually similar is found on the webpage Vietnam from website Worldstatemen by UConn-affiliated researcher Ben Cahoon.
An incorrect reading of the Chinese characters 大南 (SV: Đại Nam "Great South") by foreigners with no experience with the script. The correct flag:
Đại Nam Quốc Kỳ (National flag of Đại Nam), claimed to have been originally issued by Emperor Thành Thái[91]Alleged influences: A description was given that claimed that the flag had a number of symbolic meanings. Yellow, beyond the meaning of a royal symbol, is the traditional colour of Vietnamese nation and the colour of Vietnamese skin, red is the colour of Vietnamese blood together is the "red blood, yellow skin"[note 1] of the Vietnamese. three red stripes symbolised the united Vietnam under three regions Northern Vietnam (Bắc Kỳ), Central Vietnam (Trung Kỳ) and Southern Vietnam (Nam Kỳ)[92][93][94]
The story behind this flag was fabricated by Nguyễn Đình Sài, a former member of the anti-Communist organization Việt Tân, who wrote the article "Quốc Kỳ Việt Nam: Nguồn Gốc và Lẽ Chính Thống” (The National Flag of Viet Nam: Its Origin and Legitimacy) in September 2004. To back up his claim, Nguyền Đình Sài cited a webpage from Worldstatesmen website by Ben Cahoon, an American researcher affiliated with University of Connecticut. However, Nguyễn Đình Sài admitted Cahoon "did not name any specific documents"[note 2] for Cahoon's claim that the yellow flag with three red stripes was used between 1890 and 1920.[95][94] Nguyễn Đình Sài fabricated this story so he could give the South Vietnamese flag more historical legitimacy by connecting it with anti-French resistance and national pride decades before it actually existed.[96]
Inaccurate depiction of the Empire of Vietnam's national flag, Cờ Quẻ Ly "Li Trigram Flag", which is authentic.[10][6] This inaccurate depiction has been present on the World Statesmen website since at least 2005,[97] and was on Wikimedia Commons from 2006 to August 2021.
^The top stripe was blue to symbolise the sea. The central stripe of the flag was the colour red, to symbolise the struggle of three ethnic groups (Montagnards/Degar, Chams and Khmer Krom) which were represented by three white stars. And the bottom stripe was green to symbolise the mountains of inland Vietnam.
^The blue colour was changed into black in this version to symbolise the minorities' loss of the coastal areas and their restriction to the inland mountains, which were represented by the colour green.
^During the final days of the Vietnam War for the critical transition from a period warfare and conflict to peace, the Accords empowered three different commissions to oversee the implementation phase and resolve any differences between the belligerent powers. The Four-Power Joint Military Commission (JMC) represented each belligerent: on one side the United States and South Vietnam, and on the other side North Vietnam and the Việt Cộng. After the 60-day cease-fire, this newly established commission would, in theory, shed its protective outer garment (United States and North Vietnam) and would then become the Two-Power Joint Military Commission, an insular body representing the interests of both the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRG, the Việt Cộng).
^Save The Montagnard People, Inc. is a United States-based organisation with addresses all over the Eastern U.S. and run also by the former Green Berets.
^Montagnard bracelets are often referred to as "kong" or "kong te". The symbols in general are supposed to represent the following:
– Green – mountains and forest
– White – peace and honesty
– Red – blood and struggle
– Elephant – gentle and powerful.
^Note that the official flag uses an actual photograph of the flower and not a mere illustration representing a flower and that the flag is described by the organisation as "the flag of the Cham people" or sometimes "the flag of the Cham diaspora".
^The addition of Protestant Christian imagery is likely due to the mass conversion of Southern Montagnard people to Protestantism following them reconnecting with their family members that make up the Montagnard diaspora in the United States of America, a majority Protestant nation.
^During a meeting of Vietnamese nationalist parties (which were against the Việt Minh) in Hong Kong on February 17, 1947, Former emperor Bảo Đại ordered to connect the broken line in the middle of the Cờ Quẻ Ly to make the Cờ Quẻ Càn, the first hexagram in the Bát Quái Đồ. The Càn is a symbol of Heaven, the sovereign, and power, corresponding to the nation, ethnos and strength of the Vietnamese people. Bảo Đại proclaimed that from then on the Cờ Quẻ Càn would be the national flag of the independent and free Vietnam.[11]
^Unofficial flag that was at times used by the armed forces of South Vietnam.
^Despite fact that the monarchs of the Nguyễn dynasty were officially titled Hoàng Đế (黃帝, "Emperor") they were commonly referred to as Vương (王, "King") and/or Vua (君, "Sovereign") by the common people.
^In this context "revolutionary enthusiasm" means the "readiness to make changes in order to improve the life".
^The orange colour is actually described as yellow and is perhaps meant to be the "saffron colour".
^The shape of the lotus flower on the flag proposal is the same as used by the Đạo Hòa Hảo community in Vietnam, this would suggest that (at least) some of the students that participated in the design of this proposals might have been Vietnam-born adherents of the Hòa Hảo religion as the shape of the lotus flower used by the Vietnamese diaspora Hòa Hảo practitioners differs.
^ abcNguyễn, Ngọc Huy. (March & April 1988) "National Flags and National Anthems of Vietnam" Tự Do Dân Bản magazine, issue: 27 & 28. Re-published in July 2015. Archived from original (in Vietnamese). p. 3 of 15.
^ abTrần, Trọng Kim (1969). Một cơn gió bụi. Vĩnh Sơn publisher. pp. 60-61. pdfArchived February 5, 2022, at the Wayback Machine (in Vietnamese)
^Smith's Flags Through the Ages and Across the World (1975). Page . 300 (International flags). Quote: "The flags opposite have been presented in a single shape and size. The correct proportions however are provided below each flag." The flag of the Four Power Joint Military Commission is labelled with 1:1 proportions, therefore square.
^Anne-Sylvaine Marre-Noël (photograph) (September 15, 2017). "Animaux & guerres, épisode 10 : Le tigre" (in French). Musée de l'Armée. Retrieved July 31, 2021. Ce pavillon orné d'un tigre blanc a été ramené du Tonkin par l'armée française en 1885, avec huit autres drapeaux. Il est présenté sur l'une des corniches de la cathédrale Saint-Louis-des-Invalides. Les Pavillons noirs ont joué un rôle dans l'opposition à l'impérialisme français au Tonkin à la fin du XIXe siècle. Symbole de la domination et de la férocité pour les Chinois, le tigre blanc représente aussi l'ouest dans les points cardinaux ainsi qu'un des douze signes du zodiaque chinois. Il figure sur le carré des mandarins militaires du 4e rang (sur 9 rangs). Il est enfin associé à l'automne et à la couleur blanche dans les cinq éléments chinois.
^Thomas A. Cseh & John Sylvester Jr – The Flag Bulletin No. 190 1999. Quote: "Green flag with a five-pointed white-outline star similar to that of Morocco, the five points represented the five districts of the Mnong area". Note: "The similarity of their ethnic flag to the Moroccan one can be explained by the presence of the large numbers of the Moroccan troops in the Highlands during the French Indochina wars of 1950s.".
^Title: Flags of Aspirant Peoples – Medium: chart – Main author(s): John Edwards; Ralph G. C. Bartlett – Edition (publisher: place): Flag Society of Australia (Australia) – Language: English – Edition date: 1994 (1st ed.) – Format: 82×60 cm.
^The chart Flags of Aspirant Peoples shows this flag as: 165. "Champa Independent Republic, 1965 (Chams) – Central Vietnam." (image).
^"Vietnam". worldstatesmen.org. Archived from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
^Vice-ambassador Phạm Phú Thứ wrote a record of this trip called 西行日記 (Diary of the Journey to the West). In it, he told an incident of when they were in Suez, the French official Rieuner needed Annamese flag to be hung according to the European custom, but the envoy told Rieuner they only brought a quốc kỳ(?). Rieuner said the flag looks like Egypt Eyalet flag, and told them to write something on it. So they used red threads to write the four Traditional Chinese characters "Đại-Nam khâm-sứ" (大南欽使) on it.
^"Quoc ky dau tien". chimviet.free.fr. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
^Phạm Quang Tuấn (December 5, 2014). "CỜ VÀNG SỌC ĐỎ CÓ TỪ THỜI VUA THÀNH THÁI?" (in Vietnamese). Văn Việt. Retrieved August 19, 2021. Vậy có thể kết luận, việc cờ vàng ba sọc đỏ (dù là quốc kỳ hay hoàng kỳ) có từ thời nhà Nguyễn hay từ thời Thành Thái có thể coi là một tin đồn vô căn cứ, và không hề có là quốc kỳ đó trước khi Quốc Gia Việt Nam được thiết lập năm 1948. Không nên vì nhân danh đấu tranh cho chính nghĩa mà dùng những ngụy tạo theo kiểu anh hùng Lê Văn Tám để bảo vệ quan điểm của mình. Làm như vậy không những vi phạm đạo đức mà còn không chóng thì chầy sẽ bị "backfire" (tác dụng ngược). Translation: "Therefore, it can be concluded that [the rumour about] the yellow flag with three red stripes (as either national flag or imperial flag) existing since the Nguyễn dynasty or Thành Thái's reign can be considered a baseless rumour, and there existed no such flag before the State of Vietnam's establishment in 1948. [One] should not, in the name of fighting for justice, use the fabrications (in the style of the "Hero Lê Văn Tám") to defend [one's] own viewpoints. Doing so is not only a violation of academic integrity, but will, sooner or later, 'backfire' (have the opposite effect)".
^"Vietnam", WorldStatesmen.org, archived on 10 March 2005 at Wayback Machine.
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