China - Young Pioneers Red Scarf.
This small, cotton, red scarf is for a communist Chinese Young Pioneer, and it likely would have been the only article of clothing comprising the "uniform" of that organization. Sometimes called the "Red Scarves", the Young Pioneers were commonplace throughout China. The red conforms to the red of various communist revolutions and symbolizes the blood sacrificed by the martyrs for the cause. This example dates from the 1980s.
The Young Pioneers are the youth group of the Communist Party of China for children between the ages of six and fourteen. Various youth groups were established in the areas under communist control as early as the 1920s, but the organization took its present form and name in the 1950s.
During the Cultural Revolution, the Young Pioneers were suspended and replaced by the "Little Red Guards" until that period of turmoil ended and the Young Pioneers was reestablished.
This example dates from the 1980s.
Provenance: Acquired in China by purchase.
ZFC Collectible Flag
Sources:
Flag Translation by Prof. Benjamin L. Read, Politics Department - University of California Santa Cruz, letter of 17 February 2012, Zaricor Flag Collection Archives
Cultural Revolution, Wikipedia, 2 May 2012, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution
Young Pioneers of China, Wikipedia, 2 May 2012, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Pioneers_of_China
Image Credits:
Zaricor Flag Collection
