Long tinh flag


Long Tinh Flag, also known as the Long Bội Tinh Flag, was a flag with a yellow field and a vertical red stripe at the center, designed based on the ribbon of the Đại Nam Long tinh. The flag was originally used as a ceremonial flag to welcome the emperor, and was later adopted as the national flag of Đại Nam in the early 1940s.

History

From the reign of Emperor Khải Định, during his northern inspection tour to Bắc Kỳ in 1918, records mention an “Annamese flag” being flown together with the French tricolour and those of “allied nations” for the people to welcome the emperor on his visit to his native land of Thanh Hóa, and later to Hà Nội and Hải Phòng. However, it remains unclear whether this flag was the Long tinh Flag.
The design of the Long tinh Flag was created by Emperor Khải Định, based on the ribbon of the Long Bội Tinh, featuring a vertical red stripe on a yellow field. In 1922, the flag accompanied Emperor Khải Định during his visit to France. Visual records show the Long tinh Flag appearing during the Huế court ceremony of “Tứ tuần khánh thọ”, celebrating the emperor’s 40th birthday in 1924. It was regarded as a flag of the imperial court of Đại Nam and was used when the emperor was in attendance.
During World War II, Emperor Bảo Đại formally designated the Long tinh Flag as the first national flag. According to a speech delivered at a school in Hải Phòng, the red colour of the flag represented the happiness of the people, while the surrounding yellow symbolized the dignity of the Emperor. The book Hymnes et pavillons d'Indochine, published in 1941 by the Imprimerie d'Extrême-Orient in Hanoi, noted this flag as the national flag. The Huế court designated the Long tinh Flag as the national flag to be used by the public on festive and celebratory occasions; meanwhile, a yellow flag bearing the French tricolour in the canton was flown by government offices.
The Long tinh Flag remained in use until mid-1945, when the Trần Trọng Kim government officially adopted the Ly trigram flag as the national flag of the Empire of Vietnam.

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