China An unknown Chinese medal

[Ulsterman]

I bought this off ebay for almost nothing (75 new pence ). It is surprisingly well made-heavy and the enamel work is real-not paint.

The ring is a "key chain" type, but apart from that somebody put some effort into this medal.

It is probably Chinese, but maybe Singaporean.

Anyone know what it is or can translate it?

I'll offer a small prize as a bonus (TBD).

Sorry for the gold "flash" from the scanner light.

Thanks-

Edited June 12, 2006 by Ulsterman

[Ulsterman]

here is the back

[jinjin]

Taiwan army medal. The name is 宝星奖章(one star).

[jinjin]

night star is the top.

[jinjin]

Here is another.http://cgi.tw.ebay.com/_W0QQitemZ6634325118QQcategoryZ36059QQcmdZViewItem

[Bishop]

It's a common seen Taiwanese military medal called "Treasure Star".

Divided in 8 classes. It's more like a service medal rather than an order

of merit.

Market value : around USD$ 5.00 ~ 7.00 / ea.

[Bishop]

Oh...Another thing worth to mention..

I used to sell a shoe box full of this kind of Taiwanese military medals

among with all sorts different variety for only USD15.00-.

I got tons of them from a friend of mine, a MP colonel.

That was some 8 years ago....

[Hugh]

Taiwan has a profuse and interesting array of awards for their military and police. In addition to awards specific to the Army, Navy Air Force and Police, they also have a General Medals list and a General Awards list, as well as an Excellence Awards list (Marksmanship, flying, study, riding, boat skills, "Special skills (Te-chi) and the August 07 flood award. They also have a range of Achievement Marks, campaign medals, service medals, Central Party Committee (of the KMT) awards, qualification medals (e.g., Airborne, missile, etc.), service at the various military academies and staff colleges, service at MND, Army or AF HQ. ALL of these come with a ribbon for your chest! A TW general is truly a resplendent sight!

This one, Treasured Star (Bao Shin), ranks at the end of the list of Army-specific awards, and is commonly available in the military tailor shops in Shi Men Ding (Taipei) for around $5 - 8 US. The Government chart shows it with a single star on the ribbon, and a higher grade with four stars. I infer that it might be awarded with up to 8 stars, as this is the typical pattern for TW awards.

[Ulsterman]

Government chart!? Egad!!!

How may I obtain this chart? OMSA would love one!

Thanks!

Ulster

[Hugh]

I bought it off the wall in a shop in Shi Men Ding. Don't remember the price, but it wasn't cheap, and shows ribbons only. Unfortunately, I don't travel there anymore.

[Hugh]

ROC MND also has a website. ODM are shown in the section http://www.mnd.gov.tw/division/~defense/mi.../a/index_01.htm. I just tried it and got a 404, but it has been available in the past. I can connect to the basic MND site, but it's all in Chinese, and I can't sort through it. The English version is more limited.

[Dave Danner]

ROC MND also has a website. ODM are shown in the section http://www.mnd.gov.tw/division/~defense/mi.../a/index_01.htm. I just tried it and got a 404, but it has been available in the past. I can connect to the basic MND site, but it's all in Chinese, and I can't sort through it. The English version is more limited.

Try this: http://www.mnd.gov.tw/Publish.aspx?cnid=302

Click on the individual pages in the list. The first section, headed 勳章, has pages for orders. The second section, headed 獎章, covers medals. The third section, headed 附錄 ("appendix") links to statutes and regulations.

[Ulsterman]

thanks Dave!

It's a medal for excellent efficiency! Good stuff.

[Hugh]

That's it! Well done, Dave.

[Hugh]

That's it! Well done, Dave.

[Ed_Haynes]

I am not sure how good it is (we all know the limitations of online translation), but the new Google site seems better than the usual gibberish, and it does both Chinese Chinese and Taiwanese Chinese.

http://www.google.com/language_tools

[Hugh]

That's it! Well done, Dave.

[Hugh]

Sorry for the barrage of "Well Done's"; I'm still figuring out the software.

The translations are interesting, and not much worse than some of the "handmade" translations I've seen in Taiwan and especially mainland China. With a little bit of background knowledge and imagination, you can actually wring some substance out of these. Thanks, Ed.