Flags of Themiclesia

Flags of Themiclesia are used in official occasions as vexillological symbols for the nation in general or specific groups or individuals. For the most part, there are no legal restrictions on who or what association may adopt a flag.

Historical flags

Historically, the use of flags in Themiclesia was more akin to that of a personal or group standard in modern understanding. The rites of court stipulated that the Emepror hoists the "Great Standard" of the three lights—sun, moon, and stars—, the nobility standards bearing dragons and phoenices, the higher administrators of bears and tigers, &c., but there did not appear to be any flag or tangible symbol that represented the country as a whole. Though these standards still remain in use, they are rarely encountered outside of formal ceremonies such as investiture. These standards identified rank by length. The imperial standard was nine njonh tall (each njonh was around seven Themiclesian foot, or about 2.3 metres), giving a total height of 20.7 metres; however, it is also stipulated that the imperial standard is to droop onto the ground. Such a practice would be degratory in other cultures, but in Themiclesia it was a prerogative. Behavioural anthropologists explain this anomalous custom as symbolic of the light reaching and penetrating into the earth.

Details surrounding their historical use are not without dispute. Primary, pictorial sources on these flags reveal contradictory information, and scholars do not agree whether funerary murals, which account for the vast majority of depictions of flags, represent actual events or are embellished with paraphenalia commissioned by the deceased or formulaicly added by the artist. Even if these murals all depict actual scenes, there is still no agreement on which flag represented Themiclesian identity, even though foreign personages are often seen followed by a flag-bearer. In the latter case, it seems Themiclesians were aware of the emergence of modern flag-bearing customs but did not adopt them.

Nor is it supported by primary sources that the army of Themiclesia used flags for identifying allegiances; the navy, on the other hand, did adopt identifiers early in history, but not in the shape of a flag—they painted upwards-rolling eyes on their ships sterns, now affectionately called "bored eyes". The army's late acceptance of flags is usually attributed to their use as signalling devices; as such, soldiers were not allowed to carry flags onto the field, lest their flags are confused for such signalling flags. Bright, solid colours typify these flags, but they do not bear graphical motifs. Only with the advent of more effective methods of command and control were signalling flags abandoned, and conventional military flags accepted.

Modern national flag

The modern flag of Themiclesia (right) consists of a greyish-red field, two circles, and a smaller group of seven linked circles. The two circles, red and blue, represent the sun and moon respectively. The smaller group of linked circles often is interpreted as depicting the Great Dipper, a constellation of seven stars; however, there is no textual evidence to substantiate this widely-held belief.

This flag resembles the imperial standard in many ways, though it lacks the bird and rabbit that appear on that standard.

Rank standards

Imperial standard

The Great Standard (太常, t'-ad-djang) or the (Standard of) Three Lights (三辰, som-djon) is hoisted as part of imperial regalia during major state occasions.