THE

MEDAL COLLECTOR
The Journal of the
Orders and Medals Society
of America

VOL. 46 JANUARY I FEBRUARY 1995 No.l/2

Korean National Police Agency - Distinguished Police Cooperation Medal

 JOURNAL OF THE Table of Contents
ORDERS AND MEDALS SOCIETY Or AMERICA
January/February 1995
The Journal of the Orders and Medals Society of America (ISSN 0025-6633) is publl~ hcd ten
times per year (monthly except for combined January/February and Augu~ t/Septemlx: r i~~ucs) by
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of its members. Membersip is available upon application under terms specified In tho Society's Features
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current year; subscriptions entered October-December start in January of the next year. Address
c hanges should be promptly reported to the Business Manage r and Secre tary to preclude loss or Three Early Orders of the People's Republic of China 15
delay of issues. Requests for membership information, non-member subscriptions and general PaulL. T. Kua
inquires should be addressed to the Secretary.

Founded in 1950, the Orders and Medals Society of America is devoted to the collection,
preservation and dissemination of information on orders, medals and decorn t lon~ . It fq a Korean National Police Medals 27
non-profit corporation chartered under the laws o f California. Contribution of a rticles is David L. Cabral
encouraged and should be made to the Editor. Priority to publication i~ given to nrtlcles
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unpublished material. Reproduction wit hout permission of the co nt ent~ or tho Journal In whole
or part is prohibited. Advertising is handled by the Secretary ns explained on tho hnck cnvcr.
ur
Copyright 1995 Orders nnd Medals Socluty Auu:rica

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2 The M edal Collector The Medal Collector 3

 Notes: THREE EARLY ORDERS OF THE PEOPLE•s REPUBLIC
OF CHINA
1. War Department, Letter to Mr. Andrew W. Jennings, Adjutant Paul LT. Kua, OMSA 5121
General's Office letter number 1657722, May 25, 1910.
Very little has been written about the awards of the People's Republic
2. John J. Pullen, A Shower of Stars, (1st ed.; Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott
Co., 1966), pp 72-73.
of China (PRC). A brief treatment in English appeared in the March
1967 issue of the Medal Collector, 1 however, only summary informa-
3. Edward M. Rand, Letter to the Secretary of War, letter states 312 men tion on each award was provided. Illustrations, rather than actual pho-
volunteered to remain to defend Washington but only 301 men actually tographs, of the awards were shown; and no color description was
remained, January 19, 1898. available. Mr. E. H. OToole also attempted a similarly cursory review
of the PRC awards in the November 1967 issue of the OMRS Bulletin.
4. Bagman L. Belden, United States War Medals, reprinted by Norm
Flayderman (Greenwich, Norm Flayderman, 1962), p. 15. Having traveled extensively inside China in the past few years, I have
bad the opportunity to learn about PRC awards from several sources.
5. Pullen, op. cit., pp. 171 -172.
In this article, I would like to
Figure 1 share with fellow members
6. Belden, op. cit., p. 17.
some information on three
7. Pollen, op. cit., p. 151. early orders of the PRC, insti-
tuted in 1955.
8. William H. Taft, Letter to General Horatjon C. Kinq, War Department
letter, September 26, 1904. These three orders are signifi-
cant for several reasons. They
9. Charles A. Davis, Application for Medal of Ho nor of New Desjqo and for were the first orders instituted
~.application submitted to the War Department, 16 January 1905.
by the PRC since its founding
in 1 949. They were, and still
10. Carroll H. Paltes, Letter to Colonel Wentworth, letter lists soldiers by
name who remained to defend Washington, July 1st, 1863. are, the most important orders
of the country. And, because
11. War Department, Letter to Mr. Charles A. Davis, Jetter states medal of of the heavy Soviet influence,
honor surrendered by Mr. Davis to receive the 1904 pattern medal of honor is they are of better quality than
being returned to him by registered mail, March 30, 1907. most other Chinese orders and
medals, and are the only deco-
12. Belden, op. cit., p. 19. rations to have a complete
11
class 11 structure (a 3-class Or-
13. Department of the Army, "List of Medal of Honor Reissues," research
der and a Merit Medal, all
request, Adjutant General's Office, Alexandria, VA, 1993. General Ll Xue-san
with appropriate correspond-
ing ribbon bars).

14 The Medal Collector The Medal Collector 15

Historical Notes Northeastern provinces of Figure 2
China. Shortly thereafter, it
The Order of August 1st (Ba Yi Xun Zhang), the Order of Independ-
installed the puppet govern-
ence and Freedom (Du Li Zhi Yu Xun Zhang), and the Order of Lib-
ment of Manchukuo to rule
eration (Jie Fang Xun Zhang) were created by the Communist Chinese these provinces, headed by
to reward military personnel for services rendered during three critical
the last Qing emperor, Pu Yi.
"war periods", respectively. This section outlines the backgrounds of
Up to 1937, however, the
these three time periods2• Nationalist government bad
refrained from declaring war
on Japan. The Nationalists
The "Red Army" Period (August 1, 1927 to July 6, 1937) had yet to unify the country,
and were not ready to fight
The Chinese Communist Party was founded in 1921. During this early the well-trained and well-
stage, Lenin saw the importance of cooperating with the popular Chi- equipped army of Japan.
nese Nationalists led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek. Soviet
assistance, in the form of advisers, such as General Galen, as well as
On July 7, 1937, the Kwan-
arms and supplies, were offered to the Nationalists. Chinese Commu- tung Army massed near the
nists such as Chou En-lai also worked closely with the Nationalists. Marco Polo Bridge, 10 kilo-
meters from Peking. It
Ho~ever, the. Communist-Nationalist split occurred soon after. Chiang claimed that a Japanese sol- General Li Ju-kui
Kat-shek dectded to purge the Communist elements in his armies. On dier was missing, and de-
August 1st, 1927, Chou En-lai, and others led a communist uprising in manded to cross the Chinese border to search for him. The Chinese
Nancbang, marking the start of the independent existence of the Com- defense forces refused, and fighting broke out. This was later referred
munist army. August 1st was later established as the anniversary date
to as the "Incidence of July 7th".
for the formation of the Chinese Red Army.
Following this incidence, the Nationalists formally declared war on Ja-
This was the start of ten years of struggles between the Communist and pan. The Chinese Communists agreed to form a united front against
the Nationalist forces. And the period was referred to as the "Agrarian the Japanese invaders, under the command of Chiang Kai-shek. This
Revolutionary War" , or simply the "Red Army" Period. A significant signaled the start of the Japanese Resistance War, which quickly
event was the "Long March" of 1934-36, when various Communist spread through out China.
forces marched through vast areas in Central China, attempting to con-
solidate and regroup in the face of constant Nationalist campaigns. By early 1945, Japan's position in Asia was hopeless. Its navy had been
pra~tically destroyed, and the bulk of its Army was bogged down in
Chma and other parts of Asia. In an effort to speed up Japan's surren-
The Japanese Resistance War Period (July 7, 1937 to September 2 der, the U.S. dropped the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Na-
1945) ' gasaki on ~ugust 6th and 9th, respectively. On August 14th, Japan
announced Its surrender to the Allied forces. Formal acceptance of the
After winning the Sino-Japanese war of 1894, Japan annexed Taiwan. surrender took place on September 2, 1945, on board the battleship
In early 1932, the Japanese Kwantung Army took over three
U.S.S. Missouri.

16 The Medal Collector The M edal Collector 17

The War of Liberation (September 3, 1945 to June 30, 1950)
After the Japanese surrendered, the Nationalists and the Communists
resumed their struggle for control of China. In November, 1945, Presi-
dent Truman sent General George C. Marshall to China to help bring
about "Unification of China by peaceful, democratic methods3 ." In
January, 1946, a cease-fire agreement was signed in Chungking, and a
three-party military coordination office was set up.
Despite efforts by both sides and the American mediator to achieve
cease-fire, clashes were frequent and increasingly severe. From mid-
1946 to mid- 1947, the Nationalist had a numerical superiority of
around 3 to 1, and the Communists were largely on the defensive. Af-
ter mid-1947, the Communists embarked on a number of offensive
campaigns to "liberate" various regions from the Nationalists. Follow-
ing several decisive victories from 1948 to 1949, they finally won total
control of mainland China. This was referred to as the War of
Liberation.
Award Regulations:
In February 12, 1955, the National People's Congress approved a set of
regulations titled "The Granting of Orders and Merit Medals to Mem-
bers of the People's Liberation Army Who Contributed to the People's
Revolutionary War4 ." There are 13 articles. Article 2 outlines the basic
rules governing the awards:
ARTICLE2:
(i) The Order of August 1st (Ba Yi Xun Zhang) and the August 1st
Merit Medal (Ba Yi Jiang Zhang) will be granted to those who partici-
p ated and performed meritorious acts in the Revolutionary War during
the ''Red Army" Period (August 1, 1927 to July 7, 1937.)
(ii) The Order of Independence and Freedom (Du Li Zhi Yu Xun Zhant
and the Independence and Freedom Merit Medal (Du Li Zhi Yu Jiang
Zhang) will be granted to those who participated and performed
18 The Medal Collector
meritorious acts in the Revolutionary War during the Japanese Resis-
tance War Period (July 7, 1937 to September 2, 1945.)
(iii) The Order of Liberation (lie Fang Xun Zhang) and the Liberation
Merit Medal (l ie Fang Jiang Zhang) will be granted to those who par-
ticipated and performed meritorious acts in the Revolutionary War
during the War of Liberation Period (September 3, 1945 to June 30,
1950.)
The Order ofAugust 1st, the Order ofIndependence and Freedom, and
the Order ofLiberation each come in three classes. The August 1st, In-
dependence and Freedom, and Liberation Merit Medals each come in
one class only. Certification will be granted along with the Orders and
the Merit Medals.
Articles 3, 4 and 5 deal with the requirements for the awards of the
three classes of the orders, and the merit medals. The orders are re-
served for higher-ranking officers, while the merit medals are for jun-
ior officers and rank-and-file personnel. Officers at different ranks
would qualify for different classes of the orders.
For example: Order of Liberation, 1st Class is reserved for command-
ers and senior officers at the army corps (jun) level. 2nd Class is for
officers at the divisional (shi) level, and 3rd Class for officers at the
regiment/battalian (tuan/ying) level. The Liberation Merit Medal is
awarded to those who fought in the People's Liberation Army for two
years or more.
Articles 6, 7 and 8 outline specific prov1Slons for special
cases/exceptions. There are, for instance, provisions for award of the
various classes of the Order of Liberation to Nationalist military com-
manders who surrendered with troops under their command, and thus
contributing to the cause of the Communists.
The regulations also stipulate that the Orders would be approved by the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and awarded
by the Chairman of the People's Republic. The Merit Medals would be
approved by the State Council, and awarded by the Minister of De-
fense. There appears to be no provision for a pension of any kind with
.The Medal Collector 19
 the awards. In 1955, there was a lot of publicity associated with the
Figure 3
award ceremony presided over by Chairman Mao Ze-dong, when the
10 leading PRC generals were made "marshals" of the PRC and re-
ceived the 1st Class version of all the three Orders .

The Orders and the Merit Medals

All three classes of the three Orders consist of a breast star and a rib-
bon bar. There is no sash or sash badge, as commonly found with or-
ders of the Early (Yuan Shi-kai) Republic or the Nationalist Republic.

Order of August 1st

While the Regulations do no specifically mention it, it is apparent that

this Order is meant to be the highest Order of the PRC. The Order is a Order of August 1st- 3rd Class
ten-pointed star, with a center medallion containing a red-enamel five-
point star superimposed with the Chinese characters "Ba Yi," or number (Figure 5). The Merit
Figure 4
August 1st. The significance of the date "August 1st" has already been Medal comes with a ribbon
discussed under historical notes. The 1st Class star is in gold, the 2nd bar, and a titled and numbered
Class has alternate gilt and silver points and gold center medallion, and paper envelop.
the 3rd Class (Figure 3) has all silver points and gold center medallion.
The ribbon bar has dark red background with 1 to 3 yellow stripe(s) in Collectors familiar with So-
center, depending on class. The 3rd Class star measures 52mm, and the viet awards will immediately
higher classes are slightly larger. The reverse has inscriptions in Chi- see the heavy Soviet influ-
nese indicating "PRC _Class Order of August lst11 on top, and " 1955, ence. The quality of these
Peking" and the serial number on the bottom. The standard Order awards are similar to those of
comes with a dark red cloth-covered case, titled and numbered . How- the USSR, and considerably
ever, some senior leaders who had been awarded the first class ver- higher than the typical awards
sions of all the three orders were given a single brocade-covered issued by the PRC during or
presentation case housing all the orders. after this period of time. The
design and class structure are
The Merit Medal is simply a round medal similar to the center medal- very similar to Soviet awards
lion of the star. The suspension ribbon, hi-folded and metal-backed, is such as the Order of Suvorov,
in dark red, edged by a broad stripe of patterned yellow (Figure 4). The the Order of Kutuzov, and the
reverse has inscriptions in Chinese indicating "1927- 1937", "PRC Order of Khmehlitsky5• The
August 1st Merit Medal", "1955, Peking" and a five-digit serial August 1st Merit Medal
presence of a Merit Medal de-
rived from the center

20 The Medal Collector The Medal Collector 21

medallion of the breast star par- Figure 5 surrounded by a cloud-like rim. The 1st Class is in gold, the 2nd Class
allels that of the Orders of has silver points with gilt center medallion and rim, and the 3rd Class
Ushakov and Nakimov. Even has silver points and rim with gilt center medallion. The ribbon bar has
the ribbons follow the typical dark green background with 1 to 3 yellow stripe(s) in center, depend-
Soviet style. In view of the ing on class. 3rd Class (Figure 6) measures 52mm, and the higher
close Sino-Soviet relationship at classes are slightly bigger. The reverse has inscriptions in Chinese in-
that time, it is quite likely that dicating "PRC _ Class Order of Independence and Freedom" on top,
these medals were actually and "1955, Peking" and the serial number on the bottom. The Order
manufactured in the USSR. comes with a dark green cloth-covered case, titled and numbered.

The Merit Medal is a round medal similar to the center medallion of

the star (Figure 7). The ribbon is in dark green with a broad stripe of
patterned yellow on the edge. The reverse has inscriptions in Chinese
"1937-1945", "PRC Independence and Freedom Merit Medal", "1955,
August 1st Merit Medal - reverse
Peking" and a six-digit serial number (Figure 8). The Merit Medal
comes with a ribbon bar, and is presented in a titled and numbered
Order of Independence and Freedom paper envelop.
Figure 7

The Order is a eight-pointed star with a center medallion containing

design of a landscape with a Chinese Pagoda (a multi-storied Buddhist
tower) and a small red enamel star on top. The center medallion is

Figure 6

Figure 8

Independence and Freedom Merit

Order of Independence and Freedom - 3rCJ Class Reverse detail Medal

22 The Medal Collector The Medal Collector 23

 Order of Liberation indicating "1945-1950", "PRC Liberation Merit Medal", "1955, Pe-
king" and a six-digit serial number, with the first digit being a Chinese
The Order is a five-pointed star with a center medallion containing a character (Figure 11). The
small red enamel star shining over the Gate of Heavenly Peace Merit Medal comes with a rib- Figure 1o
(Tiananmen) in Peking, a traditional symbol of national unity and bon bar, in a titled and num-
authority. The center medallion is also surrounded by a cloud-like rim. bered paper envelop.

Figure 9 The award document is in the

form of a booklet. The book-
let contains information on the
order, its class, its number,
date and number of document
authorizing the award, booklet
number (different from order
number), and biographical
data of the recipient (picture,
name, date of birth, sex, ethnic
origin, and native province).
A note concerning the num-
bering of these orders. It is in-
teresting that Marshal Chen's
numbers for all three orders
are #02010. Chen was one of
only ten Chinese Marshals,
Order of Liberation • 3rd Class Liberation Merit Medal
Figure 11
The 1st Class is in gold, the 2nd Class has silver points with gilt center
medallion and rim, and the 3rd Class (Figure 9) has silver points and suggesting that the numbering
rim with gilt center medallion. The ribbon bar has yellow background sequence for the orders proba-
with 1 to 3 red stripe(s) in the center, depending on class. The 3rd bly starts at #02000.
Class measures 48mm, and the higher classes are slightly bigger. The
reverse has inscriptions in Chinese indicating "PRC _ Class Order of The breast stars of the three
Liberation" on top, and "1955, Peking" and the serial number on the orders are worn on the right
bottom. The Order comes in an orange-red, cloth-covered, case, titled side of the coat, usually in a
and numbered. straight line slanting from
right to left, almost parallel to
Again, the Merit Medal is a round medal similar to the center medal- the slope of the coat's lapel.
lion of the star (Figure 10). Ribbon is in bright red with broad stripe of This appears to be the official
patterned yellow on the edge. The reverse has inscriptions in Chinese Reverse detail way to wear the orders, as it is

24 The Medal Collector The Medal Collector 25

 how all the ten marshals wear them in official portraits. Sometimes,
however, they are worn in a triangular pattern. Photographs of general
Li Ju-kui, a 3-star general, and Li Xue-san, a 2-star general, are shown
here to illustrate the two common ways in which these three orders are
worn (Figures 1 and 2).

The Order of August 1st is worn on top, followed by the Order of Inde-
pendence and Freedom, and the Order of Liberation. These are the
most common orders (and in many cases, the ONLY orders) seen worn
by senior military officers of the PRC on formal occasions. The Merit
Medals, on the other hand, are usually worn around the left breast
pocket. The ribbon bars for these Orders, and the Merit Medals are
seldom worn in public6 •

Notes:

1. See The Medal Collector, Vol. 18, No. 3, March 1967, pp. 30-33. This article was a
reprint of an original from the "Handbook On Unifonns and Insignia of the Sino-
Soviet Bloc Ground Forces," published in 1959 by the Department of the Anny as
Pamphlet or. 30-55. Similar infonnation is also reprinted in a later edition, the
"Handbook on the Chinese Communist Anny," published by the Department of
the Anny in 1960.

2. For more detai ls of history of this period in English see, for example, F. F. Liu, A
Military History of Modem Ch ina, 1924-49, Princeton University Press, 1956.

3. F. F. Liu,p. 238.

4. For full-text of these regulations see Jiang Yi-san, A Compilation of Chinese Com-
munist Military Documents, 1950-64, pp. 170-174 (in Chinese); or The People's
Daily, February 13, 1955 (i n Chinese).

5. For details about Soviet awards see, for example, V. A. Durov, Russian and Soviet
Military Awards, pp. 80-85; or Robert Werli ch, Orders and Decorations of All Na-
tions, 2nd edition, pp. 429-432.

6. The Chinese Communists, unlike the Soviet Russians, have never developed a for-
mal and system for ribbon bars. Many Chinese medals have exactly the same rib-
bon colors, most are issued without ribbon bars at all. While the ribbon bars of
these three orders and the related me rit medals are distinctive and un ique, they are
the exception rather than the rule in the Chinese award system. So it is probably
not unusual that they are not worn.

26 The Medal Collector