This site specializes in information on Chinese civilian & military orders, decorations, & medals from the Qing Dynasty, the Republic and the People's Republic periods.

Early Qing Awards

        As indicated in the page on Qing Dynasty awards, western-style medals were developed in late Qing, initially to meet the need to reward foreigners who were involved in a variety of services to the Qing court, including suppression of rebellions such as the Taiping Rebellion, service in the Imperial customs area, and diplomatic services.  (For more details on the historical background of the development of Qing awards and a brief discussion of Chinese-style awards please see the introductory page of this section Qing Dynasty Awards) There were a large variety of awards, and the following only describes a few samples.   

        Typically these awards were authorized by the Emperor or a high-ranking official as the need for them arise, and were struck locally.  As a result, standardization was non-existent and a great variety of medals were struck. 

[ Home ] [ Up ]

Send mail to pkua@netvigator.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © Paul Kua
Last modified: March 23, 2005