Bing (Chinese: 兵; Korean: 병; Hanja: 兵) is the rank usually held by enlisted personnel in some East Asian militaries. The ranks are used in both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan, and both North and South Korea. The rank name is based on one of the four ancient occupations.
Etymology
The Sino-Korean word component "byeong" means "soldier" literally, used in a wide variety of words related with soldiers, like in busang-byeong (Korean: 부상병; Hanja: 負傷兵, ), but rarely (usually in technical context in armed forces) per se.[citation needed]
Byeongjangs, who work closely with their US military counterparts, are frequently addressed as "sergeant" or the equivalent E-5 term in English by the U.S. military.[citation needed] This varies however by unit. In a similar vein, some US E-5s are called hasa by the ROKA members, as their status is one of an NCO.[citation needed]
History
The various ranks of byeong are denoted by stripes worn laterally on a service member's left sleeve. An even lower rank, that of mudeungbyeong (Korean: 무등병; Hanja: 無等兵, ), also known as hullyeonbyeong (Korean: 훈련병; Hanja: 訓鍊兵, ), is usually believed to be held by enlisted recruits in basic training, and those recruits are not allowed to have any insignia on their uniform until they finish the training course, but they are actually regarded to be ideungbyeong (the lowest byeong rank) officially.[citation needed]
In most comparative military scales, a Byeongjang is considered the equivalent of a non-commissioned officer equal to a sergeant. The South Korean military, however, does not generally grant NCO powers to a service member until obtaining the rank of hasa. Still, Byeongjang in South Korea is exceptionally considered as an NCO when holding the squad leader position.[citation needed]
The word byeong (soldier) has a natural context that personnel in those ranks are not in commanding responsibilities, thus not NCOs at all. They are strictly distinguished from the ranks above in many respects. Personnel with ranks of hasa or above are called ganbu (Korean: 간부; Hanja: 幹部, ), as an antonym of byeong. South Korea's South Korean military are retained by the conscription system. If a person is enlisted to an armed force and has not applied for NCO or officer, then his highest rank until he finishes the mandatory service term (21 months in case of the ROK Army, as of 2012) is to be the highest rank of byeong (i.e. Byeongjang).[citation needed]
Chinese variant
People's Republic of China
The same rank names are used for all services, prefixed by haijun () or kongjun ().
| Rank group | Enlisted | |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 上等兵 | 列兵 |
| Pinyin | Shàngděngbīng | Lièbīng |
| Literal translation | Upper class soldier | Line soldier |
| '[1][a] | ||
| '[1] | ||
| '[1] | ||
| People's Armed Police | ||
| 上等兵 Shàngděngbīng | 列兵 Lièbīng | |
| Rank group | Enlisted | |
Republic of China
| Rank group | Enlisted | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | 上等兵 | 一等兵 | 二等兵 |
| Mandarin | Shàngděngbīng | Yīděngbīng | Èrděngbīng |
| Taiwanese | Siōng-téng Peng | It-téng Peng | Jī-téng Peng |
| Literal translation | Upper class soldier | First class soldier | Second class soldier |
| '[2] | |||
| '[2] | |||
| '[2] | |||
| '[2] | |||
| Republic of China Military Police[2] | |||
| 上等兵 Shàngděngbīng | 一等兵 Yīděngbīng | 二等兵 Èrděngbīng | |
| Rank group | Enlisted | ||
Korean variant
| Hangul | 병 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 兵 |
| Rank group | Enlisted | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hangul | 병장 | 상등병 | 일등병 | 이등병 |
| Hanja | 兵長 | 上等兵 | 一等兵 | 二等兵 |
| Romanization | Byeongjang | Sangdeungbyeong | Ildeungbyeong | Ideungbyeong |
| Literal translation | Soldier chief | Superior soldier | First class soldier | Second class soldier |
| '[3] | ||||
| Official translation[4] | Sergeant | Corporal | Private first class | Private |
| '[3] | ||||
| Official translation[5] | Petty officer second class | Petty officer third class | Seaman | Seaman apprentice |
| '[3] | ||||
| '[3] | ||||
| 병장 兵長 Byeongjang | 상등병 上等兵 Sangdeungbyeong | 일등병 一等兵 Ildeungbyeong | 이등병 二等兵 Ideungbyeong | |
| Rank group | Enlisted | |||
Mudeungbyeong
| Hangul | 무등병 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 無等兵 |
Mudeungbyeong (literally "rank-less soldier") is a term describing the lowest possible military rank in the armed forces of South Korea. It is the combined equivalent of an army recruit or seaman recruit in other militaries of the world. The official name is jangjeong (장정), which refers to enlistees before they have been assigned a rank. A jangjeong wears no insignia and the rank is typically only held by those attending initial basic training. The term hullyeonbyeong (훈련병), meaning "trainee," is also sometimes used for those still in boot camp. The North Korean Korean People's Army does not maintain an equivalent position.
Vietnamese variant
| Rank group | Enlisted | |
|---|---|---|
| Vietnamese | Binh nhất | Binh nhì |
| Chữ Hán | ||
| Literal translation | First soldier | Second soldier |
| '[6][b] | ||
| '[6] | ||
| Navy sailor suit[7] | ||
| '[6] | ||
| Vietnam Border Guard[6] | ||
| Vietnam Coast Guard[6] | ||
| Vietnamese | Binh nhất | Binh nhì |
| Rank group | Enlisted | |
South Vietnamese variant
| Rank group | Enlisted | |
|---|---|---|
| Native name | Binh nhất | Binh nhì |
| Chữ Hán | ||
| Literal translation | First soldier | Second soldier |
| ' (1967–1975)[8] | No insignia | |
| Translation[8] | Private first class | Private |
| ' (1967–1975)[8] | No insignia | |
| Translation[8] | Seaman | Recruit |
| ' (1967–1975) | No insignia | |
| Translation | Private first class | Private |
| ' (1967–1975)[8] | ||
| Translation[8] | Airman first class | Airman |
| Native name | Binh nhất | Binh nhì |
| Rank group | Enlisted | |
See also
Ranks used in Chinese character-using countries
- General officer: Jiang (rank)
- Senior officer: Sa (rank), Xiao (rank), Lyeong
- Junior officer: Wei (rank)
- Non-commissioned officers: Shi (rank)
- Enlisted ranks: Bing (rank), Shi (rank)
Notes
- ^ Same insignia for the Rocket Force, Aerospace Force, and Cyberspace Force.
- ^ Same insignia for the Mausoleum Command.[6]
References
- ^ Ping, Xu (7 August 2017). "我军建军九十年军衔制度沿革" [The evolution of our military rank system over the ninety years of its establishment] (in Chinese). mod.gov.cn. Ministry of National Defense. Archived 28 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 June 2021.
- ^ "Lùhǎikōng jūnfú zhì tiáolì fù tú" [Drawings of the Uniform Regulations of the Army, Navy and Air Force]. Gazette of the Presidential Palace. ' (6769): 65–67. 7 November 1996. Archived 6 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
- ^ "gyegeubjang-ui jesig(je7joje2hang gwanlyeon)" [Rank insignia (related to Article 7 (2))] (in Korean). law.go.kr. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- ^ "Meaning of Military Insignia". army.mil.kr. Republic of Korea Army. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
- ^ "해군계급장/해군흉.휘장" (in Korean). navy.mil.kr. Republic of Korea Navy. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ "Quy định quân hiệu, cấp hiệu, phù hiệu và lễ phục của Quân đội nhân dân Việt Nam" (in Vietnamese). mod.gov.vn. Ministry of Defence (Vietnam). 26 August 2009. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
- ^ "Trang phục Học viên đào tạo sĩ quan, Hạ sĩ quan - Binh sĩ" [Uniforms for Officer and Non-commissioned Officer Training Cadets - Soldiers]. Ministry of National Defense. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
- ^ Armed Forces Information and Education (1968). Uniforms of Seven Allies (DOD GEN-30). Department of Defense. pp. 26–28. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
