The Mongolian national flag is an upright tricolor, red at both ends and blue in the middle, with the state emblem Soyombo centering the left red band. The blue band embodies the eternal blue sky, while the red bands stand for "always flourishing".
Soyombo
In 1686, St. Zanabazar, the spiritual leader of Khalkh Mongols, created the Soyombo script which consisted of 90 letters, derived from Mongolian, Tibetan and Sanskrit characters. The head letter of the script, currently on the national flag, contains all the characteristics of its following letters.
Since then, the head of Soyombo has been used as the state stamp, head of books, and as decoration for temples over hundreds of years.
Meaning of Soyombo
The very top character is a fire with three ends pointing upwards. This means to grow and succeed in each generation of the past, the present and the future. The following two characters are the sun and the moon, which not only represent the eternal blue sky but also peace and longevity. These together with the fire on top, act as a means of "Mongolia thriving forever"
The horizontal rectangular shapes, under the upper triangle and above the lower triangle, stand for being straight-forward or honest, and having strict ethics and rules. The circle in the center characterizes two fishes; Mongolians had a long custom of symbolizing fishes for alertness and reproduction as they never close their eyes and grow in great numbers. In addition. they also represent a male and a female person, signifying the importance of all people(regardless of their gender) to be aware, and to grow and develop the motherland.
Finally, the two vertical blocks epitomize wall/castle meaning that if Mongolians stay in harmony for their country, they are stronger than a castle made of iron.
To sum up, Soyombo embodies a deep philosophy of Mongolians: to thrive like fire, to shine like sun and moon, to be honest and straight like an arrow, to be strong as an armor, to grow and be alert like fish, to defend Mongolia like a double castle.
Soyombo is the ultimate symbol of Mongolian independence, freedom and defense.
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