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Ribbon bars of the armed forces of China

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The military ribbon bars of the armed forces of the People's Republic of China (Chinese: 中华人民共和国军人勋表; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó jūnrén xūnbiǎo) are a set of around 200 ribbon bars ([勋表], sometimes called badges [略章]) used by the People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police to mark a number of awards, accomplishments, positions, and time in service on their uniforms. The current standard was issued in January 2023, and it's called the "Type 23" ribbon system, intended to be used as formal components of the "Type 19/21" uniforms.[1] The Type 23 system supersedes the Type 07 system, that only had 22 ribbons.[1]: 17 

The Type 23 ribbon system includes four categories of ribbon bars: 97 military honors ribbons, 63 service experience ribbons, 24 position grade ribbons, and 14 ribbons to show years of service.[1]: 4  The system is somewhat broader in use than most Western ribbon bar systems, as while some ribbons do correspond to specific awards and medals, many are indicators of posts and occupations, closer in use to the service stripes, tabs, and badges used in the US and other Western militaries.

Structure of the Type 23 system

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On 28 January 2023, Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission, signed an order to issue the "Regulations on the Administration of Military Medals" (军人勋表管理规定), which were implemented retroactively from 1 January 2023.[2] The ribbon bars are meant to emphasize the highlights of every career, showing not just the seniority but the career development paths and accomplishments of every officer and soldier, using a system of 39 sets (项目) of ribbons, each set fitting in one of the four overall categories (类).[3]

Granted to

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Military ribbons may be awarded to active officers, NCOs, conscripts (enlisted), and cadets of military academies, but not to civilian cadres, reserve personnel, or retired veterans.[1]

When to wear

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Officers and servicemen should wear the ribbons when wearing formal uniforms (礼服), daily uniforms (常服), and work uniforms (作业服). They should not wear the ribbons when wearing other military uniforms (i.e. combat/operations/training and athletic), or with casual clothes.[1]: 7 

NCOs, enlisted, and cadets may not wear national defense service experience ribbons. Enlisted may not wear military service time ribbons. When wearing the ribbon bars, the corresponding merit medals, award medals, and commemorative medals may be worn at the same time.[4]

Where to wear

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The position of the ribbon rack is determined according to the military uniform. The bars are worn in the center above the left breast pocket cover, with the bottom edge flush with the upper edge of the pocket cover; if there is no jacket pocket, the center line of the ribbons is located on the extension line of the left breast dart line, and the bottom edge is flush with the bottom horizontal line of the name tag worn on the right chest (or the chest badge [胸标] if there is no name tag).[3]

Order of Wearing

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According to guidelines issued by Ministry of Defense in April 2023, the four types of ribbon are typically arranged from top to bottom and from left to right in the order of: position grade, military honors, service experience, and service years. Ribbon bars are organized into rows on an officer’s ribbon rack, with each row holding up to three ribbons, and no more than seven rows allowed in total. If the wearer is entitled to more than 21 ribbon bars, priority is given to job grade and honors ribbons.[1]: 7 

Position grade ribbons are placed in the center of the first row of ribbons, which may hold either one, two or three ribbons. Rules for honors ribbons include placing personal honors first, followed by collective honors (unit awards); wartime honors first, followed by peacetime honors; military-wide awards first, followed by service branch or People’s Armed Police ribbons; medal ribbons in the same category go orders (勋章), awards (奖章) and commemorative medals (纪念章). Within a set, top-class awards go first and lower classes second. Military service experience ribbons are arranged in the order of the 14 items specified in Article 8 of the Regulations.[5] A “digital accessory” (数字配件), meaning a small Arabic numeral pin attached to the face of the ribbon (similar to British and American devices), is used to mark multiple awards of the same type awarded in the same "situational context".[1]: 7 

Years-of-service ribbons are worn additively in pairs (so, twelve years of service mean one 10-years ribbon plus one 2-year ribbon), with the larger number on the left.[1]: 7 

List of ribbons of the Type 23 system

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Meritorious service honors ribbon bars (功勋荣誉表彰)

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Type Name Example Comments Times awarded
Order of the Red Banner The top wartime honors 2023－
Order of the Red Star
Wartime honorary titles, and model unit honors Special class combat hero
First class combat hero
Second class combat hero
Special class heroic exemplar unit
First class heroic exemplar unit
Second class heroic exemplar unit
Peacetime merit awards

Collective merit honors

Individual First Class
Individual second class
Collective
Honorary titles for major military operations other than war
Collective merit titles 		Individual
Collective
Wartime merit awards
Collective merit honors 		Individual First Class

The flag marks award for commanding operations, a red start marks award for participating in combat, and a red bastion around a silver star marks award for support actions. The silver star marks a general award.[1]: 12 
Individual Second Class

Individual Third Class

Individual Fourth Class

Collective First Class
Collective Second Class
Collective Third Class
Collective Fourth Class
Peacetime merit awards
Collective merit honors
（may be granted 2-20 times） 		Individual First Class

A shield with guns in saltire marks merit in combat readiness training; a book marks merit in education management, an atom marks merit in national defense science and technology, and a bastion marks merit in service support. A blank ribbon does not differentiate between situations.[1]: 12 
Individual Second Class

Individual Third Class

Collective First Class
Collective Second Class
Collective Third Class
Major MOOTW meritorious service awards
Collective merit honors
（may be granted 2-20 times） 		Individual

Collective

Peacetime citations
Collective honor citations
（May be added 2-20 times) 		Individual

A shield with guns in saltire marks commendable combat readiness training; a book marks commendable education management, an atom marks commendable national defense science and technology, and a bastion marks commendable service support. A blank ribbon does not differentiate between situations.[1]: 13 
Collective
Major MOOTW citations
Collective honor citations
（may be added 2-20 times） 		Individual
Collective
Commendations
（may be added 2-20 times） 		First Class
Second Class
Third Class
Collective First Class
Collective Second Class
Collective Third Class
Outstanding grassroots officer or soldier
（may be added 2-20 times） 		First Class For junior officers or enlisted
Second Class
Third Class
Medal of Valor For those disabled in combat.[6]
Dedication to National Defense Commemorative Medal For those disabled in the line of duty.[7]
Army Vanguard Honors First Class
Second Class
Third Class
Navy Deep Blue Warrior Honors First Class
Second Class
Third Class
Air Force Sky and Space Iron Fist Honor First Class
Second Class
Third Class
Rocket Force Sharpening Sword Vanguard honor First Class
Second Class
Third Class
Strategic Support Vanguard Honor First Class
Second Class
Third Class
Joint Logistics Support Pioneer Honor First Class
Second Class
Third Class
PAP Loyal Guardian Honor First Class
Second Class
Third Class
Source[1]: 11–14 

Service experience ribbon bars (服役经历)

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Type Name Example Comments Period awarded
Combat experience

The name and date of the battle are engraved in the back of the ribbon. 2023－
Experience in major MOOTW
(may be added 2-20 times)
Major special mission experience
(may be added 2-20 times)
Overseas service experience First Class
Second Class
Third Class
Border defense service experience First Class
Second Class
Third Class
Unit command experience Theater Command grade
Theater Command deputy grade
Corps grade
Corps deputy grade
Division grade
Division deputy grade
Regiment grade
Regiment deputy grade
Battalion grade
Battalion deputy grade
Company grade
Administrative or functional organ work experience Central Military Commission

The main leaders of the organs have a silver star to the left. The leaders of bureau-level internal departments have a golden star to the right. The leaders of division-level internal departments have a bronze star to the right.[1]: 14–15 
Theater Command grade organizations

Theater Command deputy grade organizations

Corps grade organizations

Division, brigade, and regiment grade organizations

Joint post experience Senior
Intermediate
Junior
PLA and PAP service experience PLA Ground Force
PLA Navy
PLA Air Force
PLA Rocket Force
Strategic Support Force After the dissolution of the SSF, it is unclear what ribbons the three new arms will use.
Joint Logistics Support Force
People's Armed Police
National Defense Mobilization Department unit experience
Military institution educational officer (instructor) experience Full-time
Part-time
Specialized technical position service experience Senior
Deputy senior
Intermediate
Junior
Command education and training experience Senior
Intermediate
Junior
Special technical officer training experience Senior
Intermediate
Junior
NCO promotion-related training experience Senior
Intermediate
Junior
International education and training experience
(may be added 2-20 times)
Source[1]: 14–15 

Position grade ribbon bars (岗位职务层级)

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Type Name Example Comments Period awarded
Command officer CMC Vice-Chairman grade 2023－
CMC member grade
Theater Command leader grade
Theater Command deputy leader grade
Corps leader grade
Corps deputy leader grade
Division leader grade
Division deputy leader grade
Regiment leader grade
Regiment deputy leader grade
Battalion leader grade
Battalion deputy leader grade
Company leader grade
Deputy company leader grade
Platoon leader grade
Specialist technical officer Senior
Deputy senior
Intermediate
Junior
NCO Administrative Position Staff sergeant
Platoon leader
Deputy platoon leader
Squad leader
Deputy squad leader
Source:[1]: 16–17 

Time in service ribbon bars (服役年限)

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Type Name Example Comments Period awarded
Time in service ribbon 1 year 2023－
2 years
3 years
4 yrs

5 years

6 years
7 years
8 years
9 years
10 years
20 years
30 years
40 years
50 years
Source[1]: 17 

Historical ribbons

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The system of military honors in the People's Liberation Army and the People's Armed Police consists of merit medals (勋章, also called "Order medals"), award medals (奖章, usually called Awards), commemorative medals (纪念章), and a complementary system of honorary titles (荣誉称号), plus citations (嘉奖), commendations (表彰), and certificates (证章).[8]

Even though the early Communist Party was adverse to individual awards as damaging to the collectivist revolutionary spirit, the earliest awards of medals, awards, and commemorative medals can be traced back to the First Civil War between the Kuomintang and the CCP. In the history of the Chinese Communist armed forces, there have been three large-scale awarding events, namely: the August 1st Army Day of 1933, when the Chinese Soviet Republic was founded: the Red Star Medal was awarded to officers and soldiers of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army who had made special contributions. In 1955, the People's Republic of China awarded the August 1st Medal (1955 version), the Order of Independence and Freedom Medal and the Order of Liberation Medal to meritorious personnel who had served in the First Civil War between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, the Agrarian Revolutionary War, the Anti-Japanese War, and the Second Civil War.[9][10][11] In 1988, the Medal of Honor (a commemorative medal) was awarded to retired military personnel in three leveles, depending on whether they had joined between 1927-1937, 1937-1945, or 1945-1949.[12]

In addition, at various points in time, the Central Military Commission and various military departments had awarded various standard medals and commemorative medals in a relatively ad hoc manner. It was not until 23 March 1979 that the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army issued the "Notice on the awarding of wartime Heroic Exemplar Medals and meritorious service medals" and then on 20 October of the same year, the "Notice on the awarding of meritorious service medals and Heroic Exemplar Medals to personnel who have made meritorious service and are awarded honorary titles in peacetime" was issued and implemented in December. Only then did the central government unify the standards and rules of military awards.[13]

The revised "Discipline Order" (纪律条令) in 2010 adjusted and integrated the names of some medals, awards and commemorative medals. The Heroic Exemplar Medal was adjusted up to the Order of the Heroic Exemplar, and five new commemorative medals were added, including medals for national defense service, defending the country and guarding the border, dedication to national defense, peace missions, and executing combat and major tasks.[14]

On August 1, 2011, new medals, awards and commemorative medals were issued. The new rules and regulations only exchanged the original Heroic Exemplar Award to the Order of the Heroic Exemplar Medal, and adjusted the overall styles of the medals, awards and commemorative medals. They were designed by the General Political Department and approved by the Central Military Commission.

In 2017, the new August 1st Medal was re-established as the highest honor of the military.[15] In April 2018, a new version of the "Discipline Regulations" was promulgated, exchanging the original Second Class honor titles to First Class, and merging the two levels of Heroic Exemplar Medals into a single Heroic Exemplar Award Medal.[16]

Order of August 1st

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Main article: August 1 Medal

The ribbon separately awarded with the Order of August 1st medal is different to the ribbon used in the standard Type 23 ribbon rack to represent the honor.

Type Name Example Comments Dates awarded
Order of August 1st The highest honor available for members of the military. 2017-present

Grade ribbons

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Main article: Grades of the armed forces of China

In 2007, active-duty officers and civilian cadres of the People's Republic of China began to wear grade and service time ribbons, to indicate the length of service and grade of the military personnel. This badge system was discontinued in 2023 due to the promulgation of the "Regulations on the Management of Military Ribbon Bars".[1]: 18 

Type Name Example Comments Period awarded
Grade ribbons Vice-chairman of the CMC

Golden stripe
Grade marked with a golden star surrounded by a wreath of olive leaves

2007－
2023
Member of the CMC
Theater Command grade

Yellow-orange stripe
Full grade positions with two golden stars, deputy grade positions with one golden star

Corps grade

Orange stripe
Full grade positions with two golden stars, deputy grade positions with one golden star

Division grade

Red stripe
Full grade positions with two silver stars, deputy grade positions with one silver star

Regiment grade

Purple stripe
Full grade positions with two silver stars, deputy grade positions with one silver star

Battalion grade

Deep blue stripe
Full grade positions with two silver stars, deputy grade positions with one silver star

Company grade

Light blue stripe
Full grade positions with two silver stars, deputy grade positions with one silver star

Platoon grade

Light green stripe
All of grade marked with one silver star

Time in service ribbons
 一
2 years
3 years
4 years
5 years
10 years

Padding ribbon

Source:[1]: 18 

2010s

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Type Name Example 说明 Period awarded
Order of the Heroic Exemplar First Class 2011－
2018
Second Class
Heroic Exemplar Medal Please upload image 2018－2022
Meritorious Service Medal First Class Please upload image 2011－2022
Second Class Please upload image
Third Class Please upload image
Medal of National Defense Service Gold Medal
Silver medal
Bronze Medal
Medal of Guarding the Frontiers Gold Medal
Silver Medal
Bronze Medal
Medal of Devotion for National Defense Gold medal
Silver medal
Bronze medal
Commemorative Medal of Peace Mission
Medal of Performing Combat Mission
Medal of Performing Vital Mission
Air Force Meritorious Flight Officer Gold Medal of Honor Please upload image
Meritorious Flight Officer Medal Gold Medal Please upload image
Silver Medal Please upload image
Bronze Medal Please upload image
Air Staff Medal of Honor Gold Medal Please upload image
Silver Medal Please upload image
Bronze Medal Please upload image
Source:[17][18][19][20][21]

1980s

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Type Name Example Explanation Period awarded
Red Star Medal of Honor and Merit First class Please upload image 1988
Second class Please upload image
Meritorious Service Medal of Independence
Meritorious Service Medal of Victory Please upload image
Source:[12]

1970s

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Type Name Example Comment Period awarded
Heroic Exemplar Medal First Class 1979－2011
Second Class
Meritorious Service Medal First Class
Second Class
Third Class
Special Class Please upload image 1979－1988

1950s

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Type Name Example Comment Period awarded
Order of August 1st First Class 1954－1957
Second Class
Third Class
August First Medal
Order of Independence and Freedom First Class
Second Class
Third Class
Order of Independence and Freedom Medal
Order of Liberation First Class
Second Class
Third Class
Order of Liberation Medal
Sources:[22]

Also see

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Francis, Edward; Chang, Jennifer; Allen, Ken (1 August 2024). "The People's Liberation Army (PLA) Type 23 Military Ribbons: Turning Chicken Ribs into Chicken Drumsticks" (PDF). Exovera. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  2. ^ 李萌. "中央军委主席习近平签署命令 发布军人勋表管理规定". 新华社. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b 东部战区 (30 January 2023). "军人勋表佩戴有关问题解答，都在这里！". 腾讯新闻. 中国战略支援. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  4. ^ 许鑫 (27 June 2023). "我与勋表 | 细数科大人戴在胸前的"荣誉墙"". National University of Defense Technology - 国防科技大学. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  5. ^ "新时代军队勋章奖章纪念章式样 - 中华人民共和国国防部". www.mod.gov.cn. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
  6. ^ 徐平 (12 April 2022). "嘉奖、记功、授予勋章……带你看懂我军奖励项目演变！". National Defense Education Network [国防教育网]. Retrieved 13 April 2025. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  7. ^ "加强和改进军队奖励工作的重要举措". www.china.com.cn. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  8. ^ People's Liberation Army Discipline Regulations Chapter Two: Awards (中国人民解放军纪律条令第二章：奖励) (in Chinese), Beijing, China: Xinhua, 23 March 2002, archived from the original on 17 January 2008, retrieved 6 October 2010
  9. ^ 全国人民代表大会常务委员会关于授予在中国人民革命战争时期有功人员勋章的决议. NPC.gov.cn. 2014.
  10. ^ 中华人民共和国全国人民代表大会常务委员会关于授予在中国人民革命战争 时期有功人员一级八一勋章，一级独立自由勋章、一级解放勋章的决议. Xinhuanet. 2014. Archived from the original on 7 September 2014.
  11. ^ 中国人民解放军军事奖章及授勋情况. Xinhuanet (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 10 August 2003.
  12. ^ a b 张宏洲 (13 June 2017). "功勋和荣誉：我军建军90年的那些勋章奖章". 中华人民共和国国防部. Archived from the original on 4 May 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  13. ^ 80th Anniversary of the Birth of the Armed Forces: Introduction to Service and Award Medals (建军80周年：勋章、奖章 闪耀在军人胸前的荣耀) (in Chinese), Beijing, China: Xinhua, 5 July 2007, archived from the original on 25 June 2008, retrieved 6 October 2010
  14. ^ 赵风云. "加强和改进军队奖励工作的重要举措". 解放军报. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  15. ^ "经中央军委主席习近平批准 我军新设立"八一勋章"并组织首次评选". 新华网. 12 June 2017. Archived from the original on 18 June 2017.
  16. ^ "中国人民解放军纪律条令（试行）". Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  17. ^ "国防服役纪念章，不设8年门槛，发给服役期满退役军人，应该更妥_军人荣誉_国家_军旅". www.sohu.com. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  18. ^ "一文读懂！新时代军队勋章奖章纪念章式样详解_共产党员网". www.12371.cn. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  19. ^ "北京两名消防烈士获献身国防金质纪念章-中新网". www.chinanews.com.cn. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  20. ^ sina_mobile (10 February 2022). "一文读懂！我军立功奖章的演变". mil.sina.cn. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  21. ^ "揭秘解放军新式证章：从原版5枚增为17枚(组图)(2)——中新网". www.chinanews.com.cn. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
  22. ^ "八一勋章、独立自由勋章、解放勋章等，你了解多少呢？_奖章". www.sohu.com. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
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