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Cao Dai

located by Miles Li, 23 March 2022
based on image located by Ned Smith, 20 May 2007

Description of the flag

Description of the flag

Cao Dai is presently the third largest religion in Vietnam, with an estimated two-to-three million adherents there, with tens of thousands of others in the Vietnamese diaspora in the West. See Cao Dai article at Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cao_Dai ). During the 1950's the Cao Dai establishment commanded a large militia in South Vietnam, and controlled portions of the countryside.

A Vietnam War-era publication by the US Navy describes the religion's flag as follows: "a three section horizontal flag with the top one third yellow, the middle third blue, and the lower one third red. These colors represent the major elements of Cao Daism and also the virtues or qualities admired by the CAO DAI. The red is for Confucianism or courage and authority, the blue is for Taoism or freedom, and the yellow is for Buddhism or the virtues of peace and love" [note all photographic evidence indicates that they must have meant a *vertical* flag with horizontal stripes] See http://www.sacred-texts.com/asia/rsv/rsv12.htm.

A very good image of the flag can be found at http://www.thegodhead.net/flag.html. It can be seen that the topmost yellow stripe bears text and the center blue stripe bears two emblems. The upper of the two is an eye (specifically the left eye of God) and below that is the second emblem, whose significance I do not know. A photo of the flag flying at a Cao Dai temple (in fact the religion's headquarters the Tay Ninh Holy See) can be seen at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cao-dai-temple1.jpg.

A banner based on the flag which was being displayed at a Tet parade in San Jose, California (US) has both the Vietnamese text and English text in the yellow stripe- the English text reads THIRD AMNESTY OF GOD and it is tempting to speculate that is also the meaning of the Vietnamese text on the flag. See www.saigonusanews.net/tincongdong/06Jan29TetParade/DSC05728.JPG. (Caodaists describe their religion as "the Great Religion for the Third Amnesty of God.")

A b&w photo of Caodaists raising the South Vietnamese and the Cao Dai flag over one of their compounds can be seen at http://www.personal.usyd.edu.au/~cdao/frames1/ci143.htm/a>.
Ned Smith, 20 May 2007

A good image of the flag can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/18006599@N02/4280322483. There's also a variant of the Cao Dai flag without any symbols on it (only the tricolor flag), seen here: http://i66.servimg.com/u/f66/10/06/06/36/cao_1910.jpg (Source: http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=397097&page=4).

An unknown Cao Dai can also be seen here: http://i66.servimg.com/u/f66/10/06/06/36/normal10.jpg (Source: http://www.wehrmacht-awards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=397097&page=4)). The picture's caption (originally in French) reads: "The Cao Dai Pope has built up an army of 18,000 men who are fighting on our sides against the Viet Minh". This flag is horizontal (unknown background color), has a cogwheel on the top left of the flag, and what seems to be a Chinese description in the middle.

Cao Đài (Vietnamese: Cao Đài (help.info) Chữ Nôm: 道高台) is a syncretistic, monotheistic religion, officially established in the city of Tây Ninh, southern Vietnam, in 1926. Đạo Cao Đài is the religion's shortened name, the full name is Đại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ (Great Religion [of The] Third Period [of] Revelation [and] Salvation). Concerning the term Cao Đài, literally, Cao means "high" and Đài means "dais, as in a platform raised above the surrounding level to give prominence to the person on it." Figuratively, it means that highest spiritual place where God reigns. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cao_Dai.

For further information please refer to:br>Cao Dai (official website): http://www.caodai.org, http://www.caodai.net, http://caodaivn.com, http://btgcp.gov.vn/Plus.aspx/vi/News/38/0/162/0/957/GIOI_THIEU_KHAI_QUAT_VE_DAO_CAO_DAI (The Vietnamese Government Committee for Religious Affairs)
Esteban Rivera,, 6 June 2011

located by Miles Li, 23 March 2022

The flag of Cao Đài is a vertical flag in the form of a yellow-blue-red horizontal tricolor. Yellow represents Buddhism, blue represents Taoism, and red represents Confucianism.

The yellow stripe bears the Chữ Nôm 大道三期普度 (Đại Đạo Tam Kỳ Phổ Độ) written from right to left in blue, meaning Great Religion of the Third Amnesty (the full name of the Cao Đài religion).

The blue stripe bears the left eye of God (Eye of Providence), above the symbols of Three Religions: in the middle a yellow vase bearing an emblem, usually the Chữ Nôm 法 (Pháp), meaning Dharma, which represents Buddhism; on the right a blue fly-whisk which represents Taoism; and on the left a red book bearing the Chữ Nôm 春秋 (Xuân Thu), meaning Spring and Autumn Annals, which represents Confucianism.
Miles Li, 23 March 2022