Republic of China Armed Forces rank insignia

The Republic of China Armed Forces in Taiwan has five rank schemes among different military branches, including Army,[1] Navy,[2] and Air Force.[3] The Marine Corps,[4] although being a part of the Navy, maintains a different insignia to other naval fleet personnel. The Military Police has insignia very similar to the Army, just with a slightly different green color. Under the current regulations, military ranks contain the following:

• Officers (軍官) can be classified into three(3) levels (generals, colonels, captains), and to ten(10) ranks,
• Non-commissioned officers (士官) can be classified into six(6) ranks, and
• Enlisted personnels (士兵) can be classified into three(3) ranks.

The official military rank names in Traditional Chinese are identical across all different military branches, but their English translations may be different.

History

Insignia of General of the Armies

The rank system of the Republic of China Armed Forces was originally based on that of the Wehrmacht of Germany (Weimar Republic and early era of Nazi Germany) during the era of Sino-German cooperation in the 1930s. Due to the German influence, the rank of one-star general or admiral does not use the French-style title of Brigadier General, but the German-style title of Major General (Army, Air force and Marines) or Rear Admiral (Navy).

After the government of the Republic of China relocated to Taiwan in December 1949, the military rank system had a large reform in 1956. The rank structure is getting closer to the one used by the United States Armed Forces.

Before 2000, General of the Armies (Chinese: 特級上將; pinyin: Tèjí Shàngjiàng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Te̍k-kip Siōng-chiòng) was the highest military rank of the Armed Forces. It was bestowed only once, to Chiang Kai-shek in 1935. This rank was abolished since 2000.

The rank of full general (Chinese: 一級上將; pinyin: Yījí Shàngjiàng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: It-kip Siōng-chiòng) was designed for the Chief of the General Staff and some senior military strategy advisors in the Office of the President. Since 2013, the new regulations have all these positions shall be with lower rank generals. The rank of full general will be granted only in wartime.

Officers

Level	Generals				Colonels			Captains
Rank	一級上將	二級上將	中將	少將	上校	中校	少校	上尉	中尉	少尉
Mandarin	Yījí Shàngjiàng	Èrjí Shàngjiàng	Zhōngjiàng	Shaojiàng	Shàngxiào	Zhōngxiào	Shàoxiào	Shàngwèi	Zhōngwèi	Shàowèi
Taiwanese	It-kip Siōng-chiòng	Jī-kip Siōng-chiòng	Tiong-chiòng	Siáu-chiòng	Siōng-hāu	Tiong-hāu	Siáu-hāu	Siōng-ùi	Tiong-ùi	Siáu-ùi
Hakka	Yit-khi̍p Song-chiông	Ngi-khi̍p Song-chiông	Chûng-chiông	Seu-chiông	Song-káu	Chûng-káu	Seu-káu	Song-ví	Chûng-ví	Seu-ví
Equivalent NATO Code	OF-9		OF-8	OF-7	OF-5	OF-4	OF-3	OF-2	OF-1
Republic of China Army
Rank	General	Junior general	Lieutenant general	Major general	Colonel	Lieutenant colonel	Major	Captain	First lieutenant	Second lieutenant
Insignia
Republic of China Navy
Rank	Admiral	Junior admiral	Vice admiral	Rear admiral	Captain	Commander	Lieutenant commander	Lieutenant	Lieutenant (junior grade)	Ensign
Insignia
Republic of China Marine Corps
Rank		Junior general	Lieutenant general	Major general	Colonel	Lieutenant colonel	Major	Captain	First lieutenant	Second lieutenant
Insignia
Republic of China Air Force
Rank	General	Junior general	Lieutenant general	Major general	Colonel	Lieutenant colonel	Major	Captain	First lieutenant	Second lieutenant
Insignia

Enlisted

Level	Non-commissioned officers						Enlisted personnels
Rank	一等士官長	二等士官長	三等士官長	上士	中士	下士	上等兵	一等兵	二等兵
Mandarin	Yīděng Shìguānzhǎng	Èrděng Shìguānzhǎng	Sānděng Shìguānzhǎng	Shàngshi	Zhōngshi	Xiàshi	Shàngděng Bīng	Yīděng Bīng	Èrděng Bīng
Taiwanese	It-téng Sū-koaⁿ-tiúⁿ	Jī-téng Sū-koaⁿ-tiúⁿ	Sàm-téng Sū-koaⁿ-tiúⁿ	Siōng-sū	Tiong-sū	Hā-sū	Siōng-téng Peng	It-téng Peng	Jī-téng Peng
Hakka	Yit-tén Sṳ-kôn-chóng	Ngi-tén Sṳ-kôn-chóng	Sâm-tén Sṳ-kôn-chóng	Song-sṳ	Chûng-sṳ	Ha-sṳ	Song-tén Pîn	Yit-tén Pîn	Ngi-tén Pîn
Equivalent NATO Code	OR-9	OR-8	OR-7	OR-6	OR-5	OR-4	OR-3	OR-2	OR-1
Republic of China Army
Rank	First class master sergeant	Second class master sergeant	Third class master sergeant	Staff sergeant	Sergeant	Corporal	Private specialist	Private first class	Private
Insignia
Republic of China Navy
Rank	First class chief petty officer	Second class chief petty officer	Third class chief petty officer	Petty officer first class	Petty officer second class	Petty officer third class	Seaman specialist	Seaman first class	Seaman
Insignia
Republic of China Marine Corps
Rank	First class master sergeant	Second class master sergeant	Third class master sergeant	Staff Sergeant	Sergeant	Corporal	Lance corporal	Private first class	Private
Insignia
Republic of China Air Force
Rank	First class master sergeant	Second class master sergeant	Third class master sergeant	Staff Sergeant	Sergeant	Corporal	Senior airman	Airman first class	Airman
Insignia

NATO comparative listing

NATO listing

Officers

Equivalent NATO code	OF-10		OF-9		OF-8		OF-7		OF-6		OF-5		OF-4		OF-3		OF-2		OF-1						OF(D) and student officer
Republic of China Army	No equivalent								No equivalent
			Full general	General	Lieutenant general		Major general				Colonel		Lieutenant colonel		Major		Captain		Lieutenant			Second lieutenant			Officer cadet
			一級上將	二級上將	中將		少將				上校		中校		少校		上尉		中尉			少尉			軍校生
Republic of China Navy	No equivalent								No equivalent
			Full Admiral 一級上將	Admiral 二級上將	Vice admiral 中將		Rear admiral 少將				Captain 上校		Commander 中校		Lieutenant commander 少校		Lieutenant 上尉		Lieutenant (junior grade) 中尉			Ensign 少尉			Officer cadet 軍校生
Republic of China Marine Corps	No equivalent								No equivalent
			General 二級上將		Lieutenant general 中將		Major general 少將				Colonel 上校		Lieutenant colonel 中校		Major 少校		Captain 上尉		First lieutenant 中尉			Second lieutenant 少尉			Officer cadet 軍校生
Republic of China Air Force	No equivalent								No equivalent
			Full General 一級上將 Yījí Shàngjiàng	General 二級上將 Èrjí Shàngjiàng	Lieutenant General 中將 Zhōngjiàng		Major General 少將 Shàojiàng				Colonel 上校 Shàngxiào		Lieutenant Colonel 中校 Zhōngxiào		Major 少校 Shàoxiào		Captain 上尉 Shàngwèi		First Lieutenant 中尉 Zhōngwèi			Second Lieutenant 少尉 Shàowèi			Officer cadet 軍校生 Jūnxiào shēng

Enlisted

Equivalent NATO code	OR-9						OR-8		OR-7		OR-6						OR-5						OR-4				OR-3		OR-2						OR-1
Republic of China Army
	Master sergeant first class 一等士官長						Master sergeant second class 二等士官長		Master sergeant third class 三等士官長		Staff sergeant 上士						Sergeant 中士						Corporal 下士				Specialist 上等兵		Private first class 一等兵						Private 二等兵
Republic of China Navy
	Command master chief petty officer 一等士官長						Master chief petty officer 二等士官		Senior chief petty officer 三等士官長		Chief Petty Officer 上士						Petty Officer 1st Class 中士						Petty Officer 2nd Class 下士				Seaman 上等兵		Seaman apprentice 一等兵						Seaman recruit 二等兵
Republic of China Marine Corps
	First class master sergeant 一等士官長						Second class master sergeant 二等士官		Third class master sergeant 三等士官長		Staff sergeant 上士						Sergeant 中士						Corporal 下士				Lance corporal 上等兵		Private first class 一等兵						Private 二等兵
Republic of China Air Force
	Master Sergeant First Class 一等士官長 Yīděng shìguānzhǎng						Master Sergeant Second Class 二等士官長 Èrděng shìguānzhǎng		Technical Sergeant 三等士官長 Sānděng shìguānzhǎng		Staff Sergeant 上士 Shàngshì						Sergeant 中士 Zhōngshì						Corporal 下士 Xiàshì				Specialist 上等兵 Shàngděngbīng		Airman First Class 一等兵 Yīděngbīng						Airman 二等兵 Èrděngbīng

Historic ranks

National Revolutionary Army (1925–1947)

Officers

	General officers					Senior commissioned officers			Junior commissioned officers			Warrant officers
Insignia [5][6]
Title	Generalissimo 特級上將	Colonel General 一級上將	General 二級上將	Lieutenant general 中將	Major general 少將	Colonel 上校	Lieutenant colonel 中校	Major 少校	Captain 上尉	Lieutenant 中尉	Second lieutenant 少尉	Warrant Officer 准尉

Other ranks

	Non-commissioned officers			Soldiers
Insignia [6]
Title	Staff Sergeant 上士	Sergeant 中士	Corporal 下士	Superior private 上等兵	Private first class 一等兵	Private second class 二等兵

Chinese Nationalist air force (1937–1945)

Officers

	General officers			Senior commissioned officers			Junior commissioned officers			Warrant officers
Insignia [7][6]
Title	General 二級上將	Lieutenant general 中將	Major general 少將	Colonel 上校	Lieutenant colonel 中校	Major 少校	Captain 上尉	Lieutenant 中尉	Second lieutenant 少尉	Warrant Officer 准尉

Other ranks

	Non-commissioned officers			Soldiers
Insignia [6]
Title	Sergeant major 上士	Sergeant 中士	Corporal 下士	Senior private 上等兵	Private first class 一等兵	Private second class 二等兵

See also

• Ministry of National Defense (Republic of China)
• Republic of China Armed Forces
• Comparative ranks of Nazi Germany
• Military ranks and insignia of the Japan Self-Defense Forces
• Singapore Armed Forces ranks

Notes

References

1. Republic of China Army (Since 1981)
2. Republic of China Navy (Since 1981)
3. Republic of China Air Force (Since 1981)
4. Republic of China Marine Corps (Since 1981)
5. DI (15 June 2015). "World War 2 Allied Officers Rank Insignia". Daily Infographics. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
6. Mollo 2001, p. 192.
7. DI (15 June 2015). "World War 2 Allied Officers Rank Insignia". Daily Infographics. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2018.

• Mollo, Andrew (2001). The Armed Forces of World War II: Uniforms, Insignia & Organisation. Leicester: Silverdale books. ISBN 1-85605-603-1.

External links

• Act of Commission for Officers and Noncommissioned Officers of the Armed Forces Commission Act for Officers and Noncommissioned Officers of the Armed Forces
• Act of Military Service for Volunteer Enlisted Soldiers
• The International Encyclopedia of Uniform Insignia around the World