Flag of the Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

Name	Yellow Dragon Flag (黃龍旗)
Use	National flag and ensign
Proportion	5:8
Adopted	1889
Design	Blue dragon on plain yellow, with a red pearl at the upper left corner.
Variant flag of national flag Qing Dynasty
Name	Early version of Yellow Dragon Flag
Use	State and war flag, state and naval ensign
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	1862

The flag of the Qing dynasty was an emblem adopted in the late 19th century featuring the Azure Dragon on a plain yellow field with the red flaming pearl of the three-legged crow in the upper left corner. It became the first national flag of China and is usually referred to as the "Yellow Dragon Flag" (simplified Chinese: 黄龙旗; traditional Chinese: 黃龍旗; pinyin: huáng lóng qí).

Ruling China from 1644 until the overthrow of the monarchy during the Xinhai Revolution, the Qing dynasty was the last imperial dynasty in China's history. Between 1889 and 1912, the dynasty represented itself with the dragon flag.

Throughout the history of China's imperial dynasties, yellow was considered the royal color of successive Chinese emperors. The legendary first emperor of China was known as the Yellow Emperor (Chinese: 黃帝, Simplified Chinese: 黄帝). Members of the imperial family of China at that time were the only ones allowed to display the color yellow in buildings and on garments. The Emperor of China usually used a Chinese dragon as a symbol of his imperial power and strength. Generally, a five-clawed dragon was used for emperors only.

In Chinese culture, a flaming pearl is shown on top of the dragon's head. The pearl is associated with wealth, good luck, and prosperity.

The design of the flag was largely based on the Plain Yellow Banner of the Eight Banners.

The Arrow Incident of 1856 occurred as a result of Chinese civilian vessels flying foreign flags as the Qing dynasty had no official flag at the time. In 1862, sailors from the Chinese and British navies clashed at Wuhan on the Yangtze River. In response to the British navy's claim of being unable to distinguish between Chinese governmental or navy ships and civilian vessels, Yixin (Prince Gong) urged Zeng Guofan to create a governmental flag for the Qing, and suggested use of a yellow dragon flag, which was also used as one of the Eight Banners of the Manchu as well as in the Chinese army. After due consideration, Zeng Guofan concluded that a square flag bore too close a resemblance to the Plain Yellow Banner of the Eight Banners with the potential to be viewed as an endorsement of the Eight Banners hierarchy, he instead removed one corner to create a triangular flag.