
Last modified: 2022-05-21 by ian macdonald
Keywords: opium war | china | qing dynasty | 
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![[Lay Osborne Flotilla ensign]](../images/c/cn-1841.gif) 
 
image by Jaume  Ollé, 02 December 2009 
Tri-star flag used in Opium War against British Invaders Qing Dynasty. The 
black triangle flag charged with white three stars and white fringe.
The First Opium War or the First Anglo-Chinese War was fought between the 
British East India Company and the Qing Dynasty of China from 1839 to 1842 with 
the aim of forcing China to allow free trade, particularly in opium. The Treaty 
of Nanjing, first of the unequal treaties, granted an indemnity to Britain, 
opening of five Treaty Ports, and the cession of Hong Kong Island, ending the 
monopoly of trading in the Canton System. The wars are often cited as the end of 
China's isolation and the beginning of modern Chinese history.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 02 December 2009
Here are some details about the Tri-star flag on 
https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/cn_opium.html#tri.
This flag was 
originally an ordinary flag in a temple, but was used particularly in Sanyuanli 
incident during the Opium War. The civilians of Sanyuanli village gathered at an 
old temple and vowed before the battle against British troops, they took this 
Tri-star flag from the temple as their command flag in the battle.
Ref. 
(in Chinese)
https://www.chinanews.com.cn/cul/2014/11-17/6782345.shtml 
See also
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanyuanli_incident 
Yijia Chen, 
17 April 2022