Hey Flag!—Asia

Hey Flag! —Asia

Hey, flag! Tell us about yourself! I am the Hinomaru, which means “ sun disc. ” The sun disc, which is actually my red circle, has been the symbol of Japan for centuries. Many Japanese flags have used the sun disc. You may have seen a different flag in a war movie. It is called the Rising Sun.

The Japanese navy used it during World War II. Some people think that it was the Japanese national flag during the war, but they are mistaken. The Rising Sun was only a military flag. I have been the Japanese flag for a long time. In the year 1274, the Mongols attacked Japan.

Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist priest, presented a sun flag to a very powerful Japanese warrior. He believed that with this symbol, the Japanese could defeat the Mongols. Ever since then, the sun disc has been an important symbol for the Japanese. Hey, flag! Tell us about yourself. I am the flag of the People’s Republic of China.

I have been used since 1920, but I looked a little different back then. I got my new look in 1949. Red is the color of the Communist Revolution, which happened almost one hundred years ago. During the revolution, many people died to make China a communist country. In a communist country, the goal is for all the people to be treated equally and for them to share all the wealth.

So the Chinese people are proud of my red color. I have five yellow stars. The large star represents the Communist Party of China. The Communist Party leads all the Chinese people. The four small stars represent the Chinese people.