Republic of China Armed Forces rank insignia

The Republic of China Armed Forces in Taiwan has five rank schemes among different military branches, including Army,^[1] Navy,^[2] and Air Force.^[3] The Marine Corps,^[4] although being a part of the Navy, maintains a different insignia to other naval fleet personnel. The Military Police has insignia very similar to the Army, just with a slightly different green color. Under the current regulations, military ranks contain the following:

Officers (軍官) can be classified into three(3) levels (generals, colonels, captains), and to ten(10) ranks,
Non-commissioned officers (士官) can be classified into six(6) ranks, and
Enlisted personnels (士兵) can be classified into three(3) ranks.

The official military rank names in Traditional Chinese are identical across all different military branches, but their English translations may be different.

History[]

Insignia of Generalissimo

The rank system of the Republic of China Armed Forces was originally based on that of the Wehrmacht of Germany (Weimar Republic and early era of Nazi Germany) during the era of Sino-German cooperation in the 1930s. Due to the German influence, the rank of one-star general or admiral does not use the French-style title of Brigadier General, but the German-style title of Major General (Army, Air force and Marines) or Rear Admiral (Navy).

After the government of the Republic of China relocated to Taiwan in December 1949, the military rank system had a large reform in 1956. The rank structure is getting closer to the one used by the United States Armed Forces.

Before 2000, Generalissimo (Chinese: 特級上將; pinyin: Tèjí Shàngjiàng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Te̍k-kip Siōng-chiòng) was the highest military rank of the Armed Forces. It was bestowed only once, to Chiang Kai-shek in 1935. This rank was abolished since 2000.

The rank of full general (Chinese: 一級上將; pinyin: Yījí Shàngjiàng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: It-kip Siōng-chiòng) was designed for the Chief of the General Staff and some senior military strategy advisors in the Office of the President. Since 2013, the new regulations have all these positions shall be with lower rank generals. The rank of full general will be granted only in wartime.^{[citation needed]}

Officers[]


Level	Generals				Colonels			Captains
Rank	一級上將	二級上將	中將	少將	上校	中校	少校	上尉	中尉	少尉	尉
Mandarin	Yījí Shàngjiàng	Èrjí Shàngjiàng	Zhōngjiàng	Shaojiàng	Shàngxiào	Zhōngxiào	Shàoxiào	Shàngwèi	Zhōngwèi	Shàowèi	Wèi
Taiwanese	It-kip Siōng-chiòng	Jī-kip Siōng-chiòng	Tiong-chiòng	Siáu-chiòng	Siōng-hāu	Tiong-hāu	Siáu-hāu	Siōng-ùi	Tiong-ùi	Siáu-ùi	Ùi
Hakka	Yit-khi̍p Song-chiông	Ngi-khi̍p Song-chiông	Chûng-chiông	Seu-chiông	Song-káu	Chûng-káu	Seu-káu	Song-ví	Chûng-ví	Seu-ví	Ví
Equivalent NATO Code	OF-9		OF-8	OF-7	OF-5	OF-4	OF-3	OF-2	OF-1
Republic of China Army
Rank	Full general	General	Lieutenant general	Major general	Colonel	Lieutenant colonel	Major	Captain	First lieutenant	Second lieutenant	Third lieutenant
Insignia

Republic of China Military Police
Rank			Lieutenant general	Major general	Colonel	Lieutenant colonel	Major	Captain	First lieutenant	Second lieutenant	Third lieutenant
Insignia

Republic of China Navy
Rank	Full Admiral	Admiral	Vice admiral	Rear admiral	Captain	Commander	Lieutenant commander	Lieutenant	Lieutenant (junior grade)	Ensign
Insignia

Republic of China Marine Corps
Rank		General	Lieutenant general	Major general	Colonel	Lieutenant colonel	Major	Captain	First lieutenant	Second lieutenant	Third lieutenant
Insignia

Republic of China Air Force
Rank	Full general	General	Lieutenant general	Major general	Colonel	Lieutenant colonel	Major	Captain	First lieutenant	Second lieutenant	Third lieutenant
Insignia

Warrant Officers[]

Grade	Rank	Abbreviation	Army	Military Police	Marine Corps	Air Force
WO	Warrant Officer (准尉 Chunwèi)	WO

Enlisted[]


Level	Non-commissioned officers						Enlisted personnels
Rank	一等士官長	二等士官長	三等士官長	上士	中士	下士	上等兵	一等兵	二等兵
Mandarin	Yīděng Shìguānzhǎng	Èrděng Shìguānzhǎng	Sānděng Shìguānzhǎng	Shàngshi	Zhōngshi	Xiàshi	Shàngděng Bīng	Yīděng Bīng	Èrděng Bīng
Taiwanese	It-téng Sū-koaⁿ-tiúⁿ	Jī-téng Sū-koaⁿ-tiúⁿ	Sàm-téng Sū-koaⁿ-tiúⁿ	Siōng-sū	Tiong-sū	Hā-sū	Siōng-téng Peng	It-téng Peng	Jī-téng Peng
Hakka	Yit-tén Sṳ-kôn-chóng	Ngi-tén Sṳ-kôn-chóng	Sâm-tén Sṳ-kôn-chóng	Song-sṳ	Chûng-sṳ	Ha-sṳ	Song-tén Pîn	Yit-tén Pîn	Ngi-tén Pîn
Equivalent NATO Code	OR-9	OR-8	OR-7	OR-6	OR-5	OR-4	OR-3	OR-2	OR-1
Republic of China Army
Rank	First class master sergeant	Second class master sergeant	Third class master sergeant	Staff sergeant	Sergeant	Corporal	Private specialist	Private first class	Private
Insignia

Republic of China Military Police
Rank	First class master sergeant	Second class master sergeant	Third class master sergeant	Staff sergeant	Sergeant	Corporal	Private specialist	Private first class	Private
Insignia

Republic of China Navy
Rank	First class chief petty officer	Second class chief petty officer	Third class chief petty officer	Petty officer first class	Petty officer second class	Petty officer third class	Seaman specialist	Seaman first class	Seaman
Insignia

Republic of China Marine Corps
Rank	First class master sergeant	Second class master sergeant	Third class master sergeant	Staff Sergeant	Sergeant	Corporal	Lance corporal	Private first class	Private
Insignia

Republic of China Air Force
Rank	First class master sergeant	Second class master sergeant	Third class master sergeant	Staff Sergeant	Sergeant	Corporal	Senior airman	Airman first class	Airman
Insignia

Historic ranks[]

Officer rank[]

Rank group	General/flag officers						Field/senior officers			Junior officers				Officer cadet
	特級上將	一級上將	二級上將	中將	少將	代將	上校	中校	少校	上尉	中尉	少尉	准尉	軍校生
	Tèjí shàng jiàng	Yījí shàng jiàng	Èr jí shàng jiàng	Zhōng jiàng	Shào jiàng	Dài jiāng	Shàng xiào	Zhōng xiào	Shào xiào	Shàng wèi	Zhōng wèi	Shào wèi	Zhǔn wèi	Jūnxiào shēng
Republic of China National Army ^[5]^[6]
Republic of China Air Force ^[5]^[6]
Republic of China Navy ^[7]

Other ranks[]

Rank group	Non-commissioned officers			Soldiers
	上士	中士	下士	上等兵	一等兵	二等兵
	Shàng shì	Zhōng shì	Xiàshì	Shàngděngbīng	Yī děng bīng	Èrděngbīng
Republic of China National Army^[6]