The flag,the most common symbol(象征) of a nation in the modern world,is also one of the most ancient.With a clear symbolic meaning,the flag in the traditional form is still used today to mark buildings,ships and other vehicles related to a country

The flag,the most common symbol(象征) of a nation in the modern world,is also one of the most ancient.With a clear symbolic meaning,the flag in the traditional form is still used today to mark buildings,ships and other vehicles related to a country
The flag,the most common symbol(象征) of a nation in the modern world,is also one of the most ancient.With a clear symbolic meaning,the flag in the traditional form is still used today to mark buildings,ships and other vehicles related to a country.
The national flag as we know it today is in no way a primitive(原始的)artifact.It is ,rather,the product of thousands of years' development.Historians believe that it had two major ancestors,of which the earlier served to show wind direction.
Early human beings used very fragile houses and boats.Often strong winds would tear roofs from houses or cause high waves that endangered travelers.People's food supplies were similarly vulnerable.Even after they had learned how to plant grains,they still needed help from nature to ensure good harvests.Therefore they feared and depended on the power of the wind,which could bring warmth from one direction and cold from another.
Using a simple piece of cloth tied to the top of a post to tell the direction of the wind was more dependable than earlier methods,such as watching the rising of smoke from a fire.The connection of the flag with heavenly power was therefore reasonable.Early human societies began to fix long pieces of cloth to the tops of totems(图腾) before carrying them into battle.They believed that the power of the wind would be added to the good wishes of the gods and ancestors represented by the totems themselves.
These flags developed very slowly into modern flags.The first known flag of a nation or a ruler was unmarked:The king of China around 1000 B.C.was known to have a white flag carried ahead of him.This practice might have been learned from Egyptians even further in the past,but it was from China that it spread over trade routes through India,then across Arab lands,and finally to Europe,where it met up with the other ancestor of the national flag.
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The flag,the most common symbol(象征) of a nation in the modern world,is also one of the most ancient.With a clear symbolic meaning,the flag in the traditional form is still used today to mark buildings,ships and other vehicles related to a country
旗帜是一个国家在现代世界中最常见的,也是最古老的象征.今日,旗帜由于明确的象征意义仍然作为传统的形式去标明建筑物、轮船或其他交通工具与国家之间的关系.
正如我们今天所知道的国旗是绝不是一个原始的人工制品,而是几千年发展的产品.历史学家相信它有两个主要在早期起到了展示风向的祖先.
早期的人类使用非常脆弱的房屋和船.大风常常将屋顶撕离房屋或引起威胁旅行者的狂浪.人类的食品供应亦同样易受伤害.即使他们学会后如何种植谷物,他们仍然需要自然界的帮助以保证良好的丰收.因此他们担心和依赖于风可以从一个方向带来温暖和从另一个带来寒冷的的力量.
用一小条布绑在标竿的顶部去确定风的方向比以前的方法更可靠,比如看燃烧产生的上升的烟.将旗帜与天的力量链接起来因此更合理.
在他们投入战斗之前,早期人类社会背着在顶部系着长幅布的图腾.他们相信风的力量将会加入自己的图腾所代表的神和祖先的美好愿望.
进入现代,旗帜发展十分缓慢.第一面代表一个国家或统治者的旗帜没有被记录：公元前1000年左右,中国国王背着一面白旗.这种惯例可能已经从埃及人甚至更久远的过去那里学来的,但它是从中国通过贸易到达印度,然后穿过阿拉伯土地,最终到达了遇到了国旗的其他祖先的欧洲.