HOME | DD

Description
I was reading a sci-fi novel and the author automatically assumed a future civilization would use the American NCO rank system, which is actually rather unwieldy. A cruel part of me thought they were just as likely to be using Chinese!
This system is based on that used in mid-20th century China and Japan. Conveniently all the ranks go in threes. The main insignia for all ranks are collar patches as shown bottom left. Officers may wear epaulettes. Insignia without a star is for officer-cadet.
Additional insignia for the formal uniforms of officers are shown on the right. Colour of the jewel in the dragon's mouth indicates level within a rank tier. A red jewel for the highest rank, white for the lowest. Formal officer's headgear may have one to three bands and a jewel of correct colour. Formal uniform trousers have one stripe for a company officer, two for a field officer and three for a general.
Rank tiers are bing (privates), shi (corporals), junshi (sergeants), wei (company officers), xiao (field officers), jiang (general officers). Levels, from low to high, are shao, zhong, shang. Hence a captain is a shang-xiao.

Description
I was reading a sci-fi novel and the author automatically assumed a future civilization would use the American NCO rank system, which is actually rather unwieldy. A cruel part of me thought they were just as likely to be using Chinese!
This system is based on that used in mid-20th century China and Japan. Conveniently all the ranks go in threes. The main insignia for all ranks are collar patches as shown bottom left. Officers may wear epaulettes. Insignia without a star is for officer-cadet.
Additional insignia for the formal uniforms of officers are shown on the right. Colour of the jewel in the dragon's mouth indicates level within a rank tier. A red jewel for the highest rank, white for the lowest. Formal officer's headgear may have one to three bands and a jewel of correct colour. Formal uniform trousers have one stripe for a company officer, two for a field officer and three for a general.
Rank tiers are bing (privates), shi (corporals), junshi (sergeants), wei (company officers), xiao (field officers), jiang (general officers). Levels, from low to high, are shao, zhong, shang. Hence a captain is a shang-xiao.