特壹级青天白日勋章
The historically important Order of Blue Sky and White Sun attributed to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, leader of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army and 1st President of the Republic of China China, Republic of China (Taiwan), Order of Blue Sky and White Sun, 2nd Type breast Badge, silver and enamel, with brass rivet to reverse, reverse with typical local characters stating Blue Sky and White Sun Medal and additionally embossed The Special Chosen One in local characters, obverse with symbolic design of the Republic of China and the Kuomintang, some chipping and wear commensurate with age, very fine, rare and of the highest historical importance
Provenance: Exhibited Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, opened May 1980. Returned to Kuomintang Archives. Exhibited by the family at Yangmingshan National Park (Zhongxing Guesthouse), circa 1990. Purchased from a direct descendant circa 2000. Spink Hong Kong, July 2013 (HK$8,640,000). XRF (X-ray fluorescence) testing undertaken on 5 October 2023 upon the Badge presents the following results: Test 1 Silver (Ag) - 99.38% Copper (Cu) - 0.19% Gold (Au) - 0.43% Test 2 Silver (Ag) - 99.82% Copper (Cu) - 0.18% The Order of Blue Sky and White Sun was founded in May 1929 and has been awarded on just 211 occasions to-date for '...outstanding contributions to National Security under foreign invasion.'; it was last awarded in January 2020. Chiang Kai-Shek, whilst serving as Chairman of the National Government of China, was awarded the Order on 22 February 1930, which would have been the award of the 1st Type Medal.
At that time, it was the highest Order that could be bestowed. The Order of National Glory, which is today the highest Order, was founded in November 1937 and has only been awarded five times, including to Chiang. During the 1936 Xi'an Incident, his Medal was unsurprisingly lost (almost certainly destroyed) and thus this example, specially inscribed on the reverse, was presented to him. It was clearly a prized object for the Generalissimo, for it was repeatedly photographed being worn by him during his career. This Medal was retained by his family after his death and thus passed into private hands a little over two decades ago. When previously offered by Spink Hong Kong in 2012, the authenticity was questioned: after detailed investigations and authentication, it was eventually sold in July 2013. The first claim made was that his Insignia of the Order of the Blue Sky and White Sun is housed in the Republic of China Armed Forces Museum Taipei, having been transferred from the President's Office after his death in 1975. The Museum does indeed hold an example of the Order, however it is the Grand Cordon with Sash Badge. This cannot possibly be attributed to the Generalissimo as the Order was only re-organised with the Sash Badge in 1980, under the Armed Forces Decoration Act. The second claim came from the Ministry of National Defence - stating that three of his Orders (Order of Brilliant Jade, Order of National Glory and Order of Blue Sky and White Sun) were interred in his Mausoleum at his death. This claim can be discredited under by the Resolution passed in the Meeting of the Funeral Committee which gave approval for the National Mint to manufacture examples of those three Orders to be buried with him rather that the originals (In Memoriam; The world mourning President Chiang Kai-Shek, Kai-Shek Chiang, refers). The Order has been inspected by experts in the field worldwide, who universally accept this Badge as of the correct style and manufacturing quality for the period of issue.
