1925 Republic of China Map office Propaganda Map of Beijing / Peking

A rare 1925 propaganda map of Beijing, China issued by the ROC Mapping Office to commemorate the 15th year of the Beiyang Government / Republic of China. The map is large an impressive. At top, it is surmounted by the Five-Colored Flag of the Republic of China, used from 1911/12 to 1928, when it was replaced the Kuomintang flag. Below the flags there is a large map of China, flanked on either side by maps of the Western and Eastern and eastern hemisphere, underscoring China's culturally central position as the 'Mandarin Zhongguo' or 'Middle Kingdom.' Below is a detailed map of Beijing, with keys to either site highlighting important sites and buildings.

Five-Colored Flag of the Republic of China

This map boldly features the 5-color flag of the Republic of China, embodying the 'Five Races Under One Union' racial integration ideology. Each color represents one of China's 5 main ethnic groups: the Han (red); the Manchu (yellow); the Mongols (blue); the 'Hui' (white); and the Tibetans (black). It also relates to the five elements, red for fire, blue for wood, yellow for earth, white for metal, and black for water; and the cardinal directions: north, east, west, south, and 'middle.' The flag was officially adopted at the birth of the Republic of China, the 1911 Xinhai Revolution. It remained in use under the Beiyang until 1928, when it was superseded by the blue Kuomintang flag. The 5-color flag was briefly resurrected several times during the 1940s by various Japanese puppet states, including the Provisional Government of the Republic of China in the north and the more central Reformed Government of the Republic of China, but was fully abandoned after WWII.

The Republic of China 1916 - 1928

The Republic of China (ROC) dominated mainland China between 1912 and 1928. It was established in January 1912 when the Qing, China's last imperial dynasty, were overthrown by the Xinhai Revolution. The Republic's first president, Sun Yat-sen, led briefly before handing over the position to Yuan Shikai, the leader of the Beiyang Army. Despite winning general elections, Sun Yat-sen's political party, the Kuomintang (KMT) were increasingly in conflict with Yuan Shikai, who maintained full control of the Beiyang. In 1915, Yuan proclaimed himself the Hongxian Emperor of China only to abdicate 83 days later due to public outcry. Yuan died shortly thereafter of uremia (or possibly poison), leaving a power vacuum that resulted in the collapse of the Beiyang into multiple sub-armies, bringing forth the Warlord Era. Meanwhile, Sun's party, the Kuomintang, established itself as a rival ROC government in Canton and began the 1926 Northern Expedition, which overthrew the Warlords and briefly reunited China in 1928. The Kuomintang ROC itself was displaced by the Communists and in 1949, relocated to Taiwan.

Publication History and Census

The present example, 1925, appears to be the first edition and bears the 5-color Republic of China flag. A second edition was issued in 1928, with the 'Taiwan' flag and the 'Blue Sky and White Sun' Kuomintang ensign. Rare. Noted in the OCLC, but not holdings cited.