Imperial Dragon Flag

I found an flag in my old (1844ish) atlas for China: yellow with a black dragon, fringed with blue.

Josh Fruhlinger, 11 May 1996

There are many images of the Chinese flags with the dragon made by western people who were unaware of the meaning of the number of talons on it. For the booklet of Mr. Ziggioto ("Dove l'Oriente e' rosso", supplemento alla Rivista Marittima n. 6 June 1996, A. Ziggioto) I drew up to five different versions of the dragon for the 1872 and 1890 flags, and, at the end, the two I sent were chosen. The dragon of the 1890 flag is taken from the U.S Navy flag book, while the one for the 1872 flag comes from Smith's book. In another version I drew, the dragon has five talons, but I must admit I don't have any source that can confirm the correct design for the 1872 dragon. By the way this flag derives from the war ensign adopted (or better that the Europeans adopted for China) in 1862 which was green with a yellow St. Andrew cross in the centre of which the dragon was placed. Sources like Rosenfeld show the dragon with four talons.

I am quite convinced that in the 1872 jack the dragon had five talons, but I lack evidence.
Mario Fabretto, 17 June 1997

This flag was the 1863 jack which became, in 1872 the State flag and naval ensign (partially modified in 1873).
Mario Fabretto, 14 June 1997

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According to C. P. Fitzgerald, 'China, a short cultural history', London, 1988 (reprint), p. 112:

'The dragon was the rain spirit of the ancient Chinese. Unlike the western monster, the Chinese 'lung' was not an evil creature malevolent to mankind, but the rain giver who gathered the clouds, brought the welcome moisture and presided over the water courses.'

Jarig Bakker, 7 December 1998

This flag was the State flag and naval ensign from ~1890 until 1911.
Mario Fabretto, 14 June 1997

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Ed Haynes found the following item in H-Net list for Asian History and Culture

Subj: Late Qing National Flag
From: Robert Bickers 

This must be the imperial yellow flag, embroidered with a dragon, which represents Chinese-Texans, and flies among the flags of other immigrant groups outside the ?Institute for Texas Cultures?, in San Antonio, where I saw it earlier this year. Possibly the only place in the world were the Qing standard still flies?