Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam

Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam Ordre Impérial du Dragon d'Annam Ordre du Dragon Vert Đại Nam Long Tinh Nam Việt Long bội tinh
Star of the Imperial Order, 2nd class
Type	Order of Merit^[citation needed]
Awarded for	Useful services to the state or the Emperor^[citation needed]
Description	The badge was an eight pointed star charged with a central medallion of blue bearing the legend "Đồng Khánh hoàng đế" ('Emperor Đồng Khánh'); in Chinese (Seal script) with four radiant suns surrounded by a red band, all suspended from an imperial crown surmounted by a green dragon. The star for Grand Officers and Grand Cross holders was charged with a green dragon holdling the same blue medallion as featured on the badge.[1] There were two ribbons, red with gold border stripes for awards by the Emperor, and green with gold border stripes for President's version.^[citation needed]
Presented by	Jointly by the President of France and Emperor of Annam/Vietnam
Eligibility	Vietnamese, French and foreign nationals
Status	Obsolete from 1945^[citation needed]
Established	14 March 1886
First awarded	1886
Ribbon bar for 5th class
Precedence
Next (higher)	None
Equivalent	Royal Order of Cambodia[2]
Next (lower)	The Golden Decoration of Our Favourite Subject^[citation needed]

The Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam (Vietnamese: Đại Nam Long Tinh / 大南龍星, Nam Việt Long bội tinh / 南越龍佩星,^[3] Nam-Long bội-tinh / 南龍佩星;^[4] French: Ordre impérial du Dragon d'Annam, Ordre du Dragon Vert) was created in 1886 in the city of Huế,^[5] by Emperor Đồng Khánh of the Imperial House of Annam, upon the "recommendation" of the President of France as a jointly awarded French colonial order.^[6] The Order was designed as a reward for services to the state, the French colonial government, or the emperor.^[5]

Awarded individuals are incorporated into the Đại Nam Long Tinh Viện (chữ Hán: 大南龍星院), similar to the French National Order of the Legion of Honour.

Classes and insignia

In its classes and insignia, the Order was modelled on the French National Order of the Legion of Honour and the other French colonial orders.^[6] The star is a composition of asymmetrical arms of rays, its central disc is in blue enamel writing golden word 同慶皇帝 (Đồng Khánh hoàng đế, "Emporer Đồng Khánh") in Seal script, surrounding by gold-red-gold ring, and is climbed by a green dragon.

The order have five classes (hạng) all are cognate with the Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer and Knight of the Legion of Honour, each class have specific term for civilian and military recipients.

• 1st class: Khôi kỳ long tinh (魁奇龍星, for civilian), Trác dị long tinh (卓異龍星, for military)
• 2nd class: Chương hiền long tinh (彰賢龍星, for civilian), Thù huân long tinh (殊勳龍星, for military)
• 3rd class: Biểu đức long tinh (表德龍星, for civilian), Sinh năng long tinh (旌能龍星, for military)
• 4th class: Minh nghĩa long tinh (明義龍星, for civilian), Tưởng trung long tinh (獎忠龍星, for military)
• 5th class: Gia thiện long tinh (嘉善龍星, for civilian), Khuyến công long tinh (勸功龍星, for military)

Reconstitution

On 30 October 2002, the Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam was re-established by Prince Bửu Chánh as first provisional Grandmaster under the protection of the Imperial Nguyễn dynasty of Vietnam.

Gallery

• 
  A grand cross star of the Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam in the Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood, Tallinn.
• 
  A grand cross star badge of the Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam in the Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood, Tallinn.
• 
  A star badge of the Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam with the red riband with gold border.
• 
  A star badge of the Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam with the green riband with gold border, used for awarding by French Government.
• 
  A certificate issued to a recipient of the Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam in 1889 (1st year of Thành Thái). 4th class.
• 
  A certificate issued to a recipient of the Imperial Order of the Dragon of Annam in 1892 (3rd year of Thành Thái). 5th class.

See also

• National Order of Vietnam
• Gold Star Order

References

1. Wyllie, Robert E (1921). Orders, Decorations and Insignia, Military and Civil, With the History and Romance of their Origin and a Full Description of Each. New York: G. P. Putnam's sons. pp. 132–33. The badge is an eight pointed star of rays emanating from a central medallion of blue enamel bearing four characters in the Annamese writing Dong Khang Hoang De in gold and four figures representing radiant suns also in gold surrounded by a band of red enamel tricked in gold. The badge is surmounted by an imperial crown and above that is a dragon of green enamel forming the ring for suspension. The ribbon is green with orange edges. The star for Grand Officers and Grand Cross has the dragon in the centre of the rays holding the medallion before it in its four claws.
2. The American almanac, year-book, cyclopaedia and atlas, Volume 2. New York: New York American and Journal, Hearst's Chicago American and San Francisco Examiner. 1903. p. 163. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
3. Le Livre du Soldat Annamite. Hanoi: Imprimerie Tonkinoise, 1914. tr 107
4. 12 ngày của Ðức Bảo-Ðại tại Bắc-Kỳ. page 82.
5. Werlich, Robert (1965). East Hartford: Its History & Traditions. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Quaker Press. pp. 101–02. ISBN 978-0-685-50738-4.
6. Wyllie, Robert E (1921). Orders, Decorations and Insignia, Military and Civil, With the History and Romance of their Origin and a Full Description of Each. New York: G. P. Putnam's sons. pp. 132–33. Colonial Orders-These are orders pertaining to and established by the native rulers of the various colonies and protectorates of France. They are recognized by the French government and are awarded for services rendered in or for the different colonies. In time of peace ten years of service for a colony is required before admission to one of the orders...They have the same classes as the Legion of Honour and no one can be given a grade higher than Officer in any of them unless he is a member of the Legion neither can he be made a Grand Officer if he is not at least an Officer of the Legion nor can he be given the Grand Cross of a colonial order, unless he is a Commander of the Legion...The Order of the Dragon of Annam...The Royal Order of Cambodia.