The following is a list of the orders andmedals issued by thePeople's Republic of China since its founding. TheWorking Committee on Party and State Merit and Honor Commendation is responsible for coordinating the work of Party and state merit and honor commendation.
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In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China,Mao Zedong and other leaders believed that the national honor system was a relic ofold society, and that the pursuit of medals would encourage the prevalence ofindividualism and selfishness in society, which was inconsistent with the political moral standards of "selflessness". Therefore, the national honor system of the People's Republic of China had not been fully established before 2016 and was in a blank state during theCultural Revolution period. China, together withSwitzerland,South Sudan,Eritrea, etc., was listed as one of the few countries in the world that had not set up a national honours system, although it did have a list of military medals.
In recent years, calls were made for thegovernment of China to improve the national honour system and make to award national medals. In 2007,the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People's Republic of China announced the decision to establish a national honour system in an effort to "unite the sons and daughters of China with common values."[1] On December 27, 2015, the 18th session of theStanding Committee of theTwelfth National People's Congress passed the Law of the People's Republic of China on National Medals and Titles of Honour, which came into force on January 1, 2016. According to the provisions of this law, the state establishes theOrder of the Republic, which is awarded to outstanding people who have made great contributions and made outstanding contributions to the construction ofsocialism with Chinese characteristics and the defense of the country. TheFriendship Medal will be awarded to foreigners who have made outstanding contributions to China's socialist modernization drive, to promoting exchanges and cooperation with other countries, and to maintaining world peace. TheNational Honorary Title shall be established to award outstanding persons who have made significant contributions and enjoyed high reputation in various fields and industries such as economy, society, national defense, foreign affairs, education, science and technology, culture, public health, sports and so on. TheOrder of July the First is awarded to outstanding party members. These five highest orders of honour in China form the core of its newly established system for merit and honour. The first August 1 Medal and the Friendship Medal were conferred on 28 July 2017 and 8 June 2018 respectively, the Republic Medal and the National Medal of Honour on 29 September 2019, and the July 1 Medal on 29 June 2021.
National medals and titles of national honour are usually awarded once every five years on the fifth and tenth anniversaries of the founding of theChinese Communist Party (CCP), thePeople's Republic of China and thePeople's Liberation Army, and may be awarded at other times if necessary. TheStanding Committee of the National People's Congress is responsible for the proposal of nomination of prospective individuals for inclusion to the national honours list to be awarded for these occasions.
| Name (in English) | Name (in Chinese) | Medal | Issuing authority | Award Criteria | Date of establishment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
共和国勋章 |  | Distinguished personages who have made great contributions and established outstanding achievements in the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the defence of the country | 2016-01-01 | ||
友谊勋章 |  | President of China | Foreigners who have made outstanding contributions to China's socialist modernization drive, the promotion of Sino-foreign exchanges and cooperation, and the maintenance of world peace | 2016-01-01 | |
七一勋章 |  | Chinese Communist Party members who have made outstanding contributions to the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and to the great new project of party building | 2017-07-22 |
| Name (in English) | Name (in Chinese) | Ribbon | Issuing authority | Award Criteria | Date of establishment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
国家荣誉称号 | President of China, Standing Committee of the NPC | Distinguished persons who have made significant contributions and enjoyed high reputation in various fields and industries such as economy, society, national defence, foreign affairs, education, science and technology, culture, health, sports and so on | 2016-01-01 | ||
中国政府友谊奖 | Foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to China's socialist modernization and reform and opening up | 1991 | |||
Aerospace Meritorious Service Award | 航天功勋奖 | CCP Central Committee, State Council,Central Military Commission | Astronauts from thePeople's Liberation Army Astronaut Corps who completed theShenzhou spacecraft missions | 2003-11-07 | |
Outstanding communist party member award | 全国优秀共产党员 | CCP Central Committee | Party members that is ideologically and politically firm, consistent with the Central Committee with strong working style, high prestige, excellent working ability and outstanding achievements. | 2006-06-30 | |
Outstanding party affairs worker award | 全国优秀党务工作者奖 | Central Committee | 2006-06-30 | ||
National model labourers award | 全国劳动模范奖 | Central Committee, State Council | 1950-09-25 | ||
National frontier workers award | 全国先进工作者奖 | Central Committee, State Council | 1960-06-01 | ||
Pioneer of Reform Award | 改革先锋奖 | Central Committee, State Council | People who have made outstanding contributions to China's reform and opening up | 2018-12-18 | |
中国改革友谊奖章 | Central Committee, State Council | Foreigners who have given support and help to China's reform and opening up | 2018-12-18 | ||
国家最高科学技术奖 | Central Committee, State Council | Having made major breakthroughs in the frontiers of contemporary science and technology or made outstanding achievements in the development of science and technology; Scientific workers who create great economic or social benefits in the course of scientific and technological innovation, transformation of scientific and technological achievements and industrialization of high technology. | 2019-01-08 (Medal) | ||
International Science and Technology Cooperation Award | 国际科学技术合作奖 | Central Committee, State Council | Foreigners or organizations that have made contributions to China's scientific and technological undertakings. | 2019-01-08 (Medal) |
| Name (in English) | Name (in Chinese) | Ribbon | Rank | Date of establishment | Present situation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1 Medal | 八一勋章(新) |  | 2017-06-12 | Still issued | |
| Medal of Heroic Exemplar | 英雄模范勋章 |  | 1 | 1979-03-23 | Still issued |
 | 2 | ||||
| Order of Bayi (1955) | 八一勋章 |  | 1 | 1955-02-12 | No longer issued |
 | 2 | ||||
 | 3 | ||||
| Order of Independence and Freedom | 独立自由勋章 |  | 1 | 1955-02-12 | No longer issued |
 | 2 | ||||
 | 3 | ||||
| Order of Liberation | 解放勋章 |  | 1 | 1955-02-12 | No longer issued |
 | 2 | ||||
 | 3 | ||||
| Honor Medal of the Red Star | 红星功勋荣誉章 | 1 | 1988-07-01 | No longer issued | |
| 2 | |||||
| Honor Medal of Independence Merit | 独立功勋荣誉章 | 1988-07-01 | No longer issued | ||
| Honor Medal of Victory Merit | 胜利功勋荣誉章 | 1988-07-01 | No longer issued |
| Name (in English) | Name (in Chinese) | Ribbon | Rank | Date of establishment | Present situation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meritorious Service Medal[2] | 立功奖章 | _-_ribbon_bar.png) | 1 | 1979-03-23 | Still issued |
_-_ribbon_bar.png) | 2 | ||||
_-_ribbon_bar.png) | 3 | ||||
| Good Soldier Badge | 优秀士兵证章 | None | 1996-08-01 | Still issued | |
| Excellent Cadet Badge | 优秀学员证章 | None | 1996-08-01 | Still issued | |
| Commemorative Medal of National Defense Service | 国防服役纪念章 |  | Gold | 2011-08-01 | Still issued |
 | Silver | ||||
 | Copper | ||||
| Commemorative Medal of Defending the Frontiers | 卫国戍边纪念章 |  | Gold | 2011-08-01 | Still issued |
 | Silver | ||||
 | Copper | ||||
| Commemorative Medal of Devotion for National Defense | 献身国防纪念章 |  | Gold | 2011-08-01 | Still issued |
 | Silver | ||||
 | Copper | ||||
| Commemorative Medal of Peace Mission | 和平使命纪念章 |  | 2011-08-01 | Still issued | |
| Commemorative Medal of Performing Combat/Vital Mission | 执行作战和重大任务纪念章 |  | Combat Mission | 2011-08-01 | Still issued |
 | Major Task |
Qualification badges (Chinese:级别资历章) are a series of decorations ofPeople's Liberation ArmyType 07 in the form of small ribbons mounted on small metal bars indicating military rank, billet, or length of service. Only PLA/PAPFofficers can wear qualification badges, PLA/PAPFsoldiers wearNational Defense Service Medal instead.[3]
Each row has three ribbons; a blank white ribbon is used to fill out a row that only has two ribbons. Ranks and billets can be inferred from the number of rows. The rule is:
The ribbon at the middle of top row is called arank ribbon (Chinese:级别略章) and has at least one five-pointed star on it. One star represent for deputy posts (except level of vice chairman of CMC and CMC members and platoon), and two stars for principal posts. The color of stars also differs from ranks, over and include level of corps it is golden and below it is silver.
All ribbons except for the rank/billet ribbon centered at the top row are used to represent the wearer's length of service,[4][5][6][7] similar to the U.S. military'sservice stripes.
| Ribbon class | Ribbon name | Description | Design |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Level of Vice Chairman ofCMC and CMC members[8] | Lemon yellow background with a yellow star surrounded by olive branches in the middle. |  |
| Level of Theater Command | Saffron yellow background with yellow stars in the middle, one for deputy posts and two for principal posts. |
| |
| Level ofCorps | Khaki background with yellow stars in the middle, one for deputy posts and two for principal posts. |
| |
| Level ofDivision | Red background with silver stars in the middle, one for deputy posts and two for principal posts. |
| |
| Level ofRegiment/Brigade | Dark purple background with silver stars in the middle, one for deputy posts and two for principal posts. |
| |
| Level ofBattalion | Dark blue background with silver stars in the middle, one for deputy posts and two for principal posts. |
| |
| Level ofCompany | Light blue background with silver stars in the middle, one for deputy posts and two for principal posts. |
| |
| Level ofPlatoon | Grass green background with a silver star in the middle. |
| |
| Service length | One Year Ribbon | Green background with double yellow single red stripe. |  |
| Two Years Ribbon[9] | Dark blue background with double white stripes. |  | |
| Three Years Ribbon | Yellow background with triple red stripes. |  | |
| Four Years Ribbon | Grey blue background with tetrad yellow strips. |  | |
| Five Years Ribbon | Penta Red, white, dark blue, yellow, dark green strips. |  | |
| Ten Years Ribbon | Decade red, light blue, yellow, light green, yellow, dark blue, yellow, dark purple, yellow, red strips. |  | |
Padding | Supplementary ribbon used when service length ribbons cannot fully fill the row. Its use is avoided where possible. | Light grey |  |
