China Cultural Revolution Red Guard Flag.
This red flag with white Chinese characters which reads: "Beijing Chemical Industry Research Inst. Red Guard" (BCIRI) is typical of flags carried by the Red Guards during China's Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976. The decade of upheaval was the response to Mao Zedong's call to reanimate the revolutionary ideals of the Chinese Communist Party and by an extension of China itself.

During this era, the Red Guards made placards, banners and flags and began wearing red armbands, scarves and pins and carried the infamous Little Red Book. The students evolved a cult of Mao as they seized control of many of China's institutions.

The (BCIRI) had been founded in 1958 to do intensive research for the petrochemical industry and its campus became a logical magnet for the student Red Guards. This flag served the Red Guards at the BCIRI until the institute was returned to the control of the Ministry of Chemical Industry.

Provenance: Acquired in 2007 by a purchase in China.

ZFC Important Flag

Sources:


Sinopec Corp, 11 May 2012, from: http://english.sinopec.com/about_sinopec/subsidiaries/research_institutions/20080326/3089.shtml

Flag Translation by Prof. Benjamin L. Read, Politics Department, University of California, Santa Cruz letter of 17 February 2012, Zaricor Flag Collection Archives.

Cultural Revolution, Wikipedia, 2 May 2012, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution

Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection