The military ribbon bars of the armed forces of the People's Republic of China () 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. The Type 23 system supersedes the Type 07 system, that only had 22 ribbons.
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. 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 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. 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).
Granted to 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.
When to wear 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.
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.
Where to wear 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).
Order of Wearing
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.
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. 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".
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.
List of ribbons of the Type 23 system
Meritorious service honors ribbon bars (功勋荣誉表彰) Type Name Example Comments Times awardedOrder of the Red Banner Currently reserved for wartime, the highest decorations awarded to personnel of the PLA, PAP, Reserves and Militia 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 awardsCollective 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. 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. 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 citationsCollective 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. Collective Major MOOTW citationsCollective 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.Dedication to National Defense Commemorative Medal For those disabled in the line of duty.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
Service experience ribbon bars (服役经历) Type Name Example Comments Period awardedCombat 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. 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
Position grade ribbon bars (岗位职务层级) Type Name Example Comments Period awardedCommand 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:
Time in service ribbon bars (服役年限) Type Name Example Comments Period awardedTime 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
Historical ribbons 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).
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. 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 and 1937, 1937–1945, or 1945–1949.