Volume 52 Number 2

Order of the Golden Grain

Top - First Class Breast Star, Obverse (left) and Reverse (right)

Bottom - Fourth Class Breast Badge, Obverse (left) and Reverse (right)

of the order suspended from red neck ribbon with white edges. Forth through Ninth Class insignia consisted of the badge of the order suspended from different colored breast ribbon as follows: Fourth Class - red with white edges and adorned with a rosette; Fifth Class - red with white edges; Sixth and Seventh Classes - blue with red edges; Eighth Class - white with red edges; Ninth Class - black with white edges.

The badge of the order is a star of eight groups of ascen- ding rays in white enamel with a large circular medallion in the center. Each ray group has three rays edged in silver, and each ray has a silver center line. The medal-

lion contains five standing sheaves of grain in green and yellow enamel on a white enamel background. Surround- ing the medallion is a narrow turquoise band edged in gilt with small red, yellow, blue, white, and black dots. These are the colors of the flag of the Chinese Republic, which consisted of five horizontal stripes of red, yellow, blue, white, and black (top to bottom)? In the center of the reverse of the badge is a circular medallion of the same diameter as the obverse medallion. The reverse medal-

1 The five colors represent the five principal races of China, which are the Han, Mongol, Manchu, Hui, and Tibetan.

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The Journal of the Orders and Medals Society of America

Order of the Striped Tiger

The Order of the Striped Tiger was established on 6 December 1912 by President Yuan Shih-Kai as a reward to members of the Chinese Army and Navy for the most exceptional service in war or peace. It could also be conferred upon foreign military advisors under the same conditions as for Chinese recipients. The Chinese con- sider the tiger to be the king of animals and a symbol for tenacity.

Order of the Striped Tiger

Top - First Class Sash Badge, Obverse, Bottom -

First Class Breast Star, Obverse

The badge of the order consists of three superimposed components - a large, circular center medallion colored in enamel, a silver inner star of eight groups of ascending rays, and a larger silver outer star also of eight groups of ascending rays. The medallion contains a yellow tiger striped in black with its tail turn up and seated on green grass beneath a blue sky. Each ray group of the inner star has four beveled rays that end in a cleft, two middle rays of the same height and a two shorter flanking rays. One to three silver five-pointed stars are attached to the upper ray group, which together with the ribbon color pattern indicate the class of the badge. The ray groups of the outer star consist of five fiat rays that end in a cleft, and groups are separated by an open space. Moreover, each ray in a group is colored in enamel with one of the five colors of the flag of the Chinese Republic and edged in silver. The center ray is red and flanked by a yellow and blue ray, and the end rays are white and black. The reverse is plain. Except for the breast star, the badge is suspended by a green enamel wreath tied by red enamel ribbon with the ends extending from the bottom. Stars were attached to clothing by a hinged vertical pin and flanking vertical hook-pins. The reverse of the breast star, neck badge, and breast badge is stamped with "Made by Silver Bureau" in Chinese characters.

lion contains four Chinese characters in gilt on a red enamel background that translate as "Order of the Golden Grain." The breast star is the badge of the order super- imposed over a large star of eight groups of ascending rays in faceted silver. The reverse is plain with a hinged vertical pin flanked by a vertical hook-pin. Stamped in a square in the center is "Made by Silver Bureau" in Chinese characters. The sash, neck, and breast badges are suspended from a device of two adjoining silver cloud symbols.

The order was conferred in nine classes, with the insignia diminishing in size with each successive class. The insignia by class are grouped and described as follows:

First through Third Classes

First Class - Badge of the order suspended from a yellow sash with green edge stripes plus a breast star approximately 95mm in diameter. The upper ray group of the sash badge and the badge of the breast star has three stars.

The order was abolished in 1929 by the Nationalist Government.

Second Class - Same as the First Class except the sash is narrower in width than the First Class sash, and

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the sash badge and breast star are smaller in diameter

than the First Class sash badge and breast star. The

upper ray group of the sash badge and badge of the breast

star has two stars.

Third Class - Badge of the order suspended from

green neck ribbon with red edge stripes. The upper ray

group of the badge has one star.

Fourth through Sixth Classes

The insignia for this group consisted of the badge of the

order suspended from green breast ribbon with red edge

stripes. Fourth Class ribbon is adorned with a rosette.

The upper ray group of the Fourth Class badge has three

stars, the Fifth Class badge two stars, and the Sixth Class

badge one star.

Seventh through Ninth Classes

These classes were awarded to noncommissioned officers

and to enlisted men. Insignia were the badge of the order

suspended from blue breast ribbon with white edge

stripes. The upper ray group of the Seventh Class badge

has three stars, the Eighth Class badge two stars, and the

Ninth Class badge one star.

The order was abolished by the Nationalist Government in 1928.

Other orders instituted by the Republic included the

Grand Order, the Order of the White Eagle, and the Order

of the Precious Brilliant Golden Grain. The Grand Order had one class and was conferred only upon the President

of the Republic and foreign heads of state. The Order of

the Precious Brilliant Golden Grain was conferred for

outstanding civil merit and had five classes. Like the

Orders of the Striped Tiger and the Golden Grain, these orders were established by Yuan Shih-Kai and later

abolished by the Nationalist Government.

General Wu Pei Fu Merit Medal

Among the warlords, Wu Pei Fu (1874-1939) was one of the more capable military commanders and the most not- able of the conservatives. Called the "Philosopher Mar- shal" because of his commitment to Confucian values, Wu joined the Imperial Army in 1898 in reaction against the occupation of Chinese territory by foreign powers. He was also well-educated and was accomplished in classical calligraphy and poetry. From his stronghold city

Volume 52 Number 2

Wu Pei Fu

of Wuhan in central China, he controlled the fertile Yangtze River valley and the important north-south

railroad from Beijing to Canton. At his peak, Wu had an

army of some 250,000 troops stationed in the provinces

of Hunan, Hupeh, and Honan. When the Nationalists

launched the northem expedition from Canton in June

1926, their first objective was to wrestle the Yangtze

valley from Wu. Eventually, Wu was driven north along

the railroad as far as Beijing. Wu retired after the

Nationalist’s victory, but in 1939 he was asked to lead

the newly formed Japanese puppet government in

Beijing. Wu refused for patriotic reasons and was mur-

dered on 4 December 1939 by a Japanese dentist during

oral surgery.

The Merit Medal was one of several distinctions estab- lished by Wu, which included an order for bravery and a marksmanship medal. It was likely intended for his own troops with a few awards to the troops of allied warlords. Specific award criteria are not known, but the name of the medal suggests that it recognized notable military merit.

The badge of the medal is a silver-plated star with a large

obverse and reverse circular medallion in the center that

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