China - Shipping houseflags

The China Merchants Group still exists. Nowadays it has its headquarters in Hong Kong, and it has a website (www.cmhk.com). Its history page (available only in Chinese) lists the important events throughout the company's 130-year history. Here I will quote only a few relevant ones.

• 1872 - Dec 26: China Merchant Steam Navigation Company established with the approval of the Imperial Government.
• 1873 - July: CMSNC changed its flag from the 'twin fish-dragon flag' to the red flag with 'the yellow moon'.
• 1884 - July 29: Sino-French War broke out. CMSNC 'sold' its fleet to an American sister company to allow the ships to sail under the neutral US Flag.
• 1885 - May 17: The 'sold' ships reverted to flying the CMSNC Flag.
• 1951 - Feb 1: CMSNC was 'communized' to become Chinese People's Shipping Company. [The website does not say this, but the house flag would thereafter be a white-red-white horizontal tricolour with a yellow star between yellow zig-zags (three layers of 'M's on each side) in the red.]
• Feb 14: The Hong Kong branch petitioned the head office to retain the name CMSNC.
• Mar 15: The head office approved the retaining of the name CMSNC in Hong Kong.
• 1980 - Jan 8: The shipping branch of CMSNC was renamed Hong Kong Ming Wah Shipping Company.
• 1985 - Nov 12: CMSNC renamed China Merchants Group.
• 1988 - Mar 25: China Merchant Group bought over a dozen ships (combined full displacements 1.6 million tonnes) from the 'Tung's Shipping Group' (Oriental Overseas Container Line Ltd

In light of this information, I can say that while the yellow disc on red flag was, strictly speaking, the house flag of CMSNC, it was the de facto Chinese merchant ensign during the monarchy. Moreover, the list does not mention the variant flags with one or two dragons inside the disc - so my old assertion that these variants were fantasy flags still stands. In any case, The yellow moon flag is no longer flown nowadays... but at least they still remember it.
Miles Li, 7 December 2003

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According to the COSCO website, 1949 saw the bulk of the China Merchants Steam Navigation Co. seized by Taiwan. Thereafter the fleet appeared in Lloyds as China Merchants Steam Navigation Co. Ltd. based in Taipei.

As Miles says it appears that the yellow moon flag is no longer flown.
Neale Rosanoski, 9 August 2007

See also:

China Merchants Steam Navigation Co. (Taiwan)

China Merchants Steam Navigation Co. (Hong Kong)

Recently at Boone Scripophily was a 1939 Chinese share for ‘Shanghai Inland River Steamer Transport Co. Ltd’ in the ‘Navigation’ section.

As noted:

10 Shares. brown, yellow, black. No 52. Fine vignettes of two of the company's river-steamers on the river. Also the company's flag, also seen on the steamers. Text all in Chinese. Two punch-holes near edge.

Jan Mertens, 2 September 2006

One of the gems offered in Boone Scripophily’s recent auction was a share of the Yangtze River Transport Co.

Comments: “50 Shares, 2500 yuan. blue, green, black, red. No 210. Issued during the period of Japanese occupation of Shanghai. Company flag. Text in Chinese.”

Year of issue was 1943. The house flag is shown at the top of the document and is horizontally divided: the background being white, on the upper half are placed four red stripes whereas the lower half contains a red saltire touching the lower stripe.
Jan Mertens, 20 March 2006

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The flag is a highly modified version of the Chinese ideogram 長 (Chá ng) from 長江 (Cháng Jiāng), the modern Chinese name of the Yangtze River. It was common for many flags in Japan and Japanese-controlled areas to adopt flags bearing highly modified ideograms. Examples include:

• Japanese Lightship flag used in Korea
• Beacon Control vessels in Korea (Japan)
• Japanese Postal Flags
• Manchuria (China)
• Japanese Service Flags (H for Harbourmaster)

Miles Li, 23 March 2006