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Biography
Xiao (Chinese: 校, Wade–Giles: Hsiao) is the rank held by field officers in the militaries of China and Taiwan. The Chinese military (PLA) uses four grades while the Taiwanese military uses only three, with the rank equivalent to the fourth being treated as a general officer rank.This difference is found in other militaries as well: in the British Army a brigadier is considered a field officer, while the equivalent rank in the United States Army, brigadier general, is considered a general officer. The Chinese use the same rank names for all services, prefixed by hai jun (海军, Naval Force) or kong jun (空军, Air Force).While the Taiwanese military (ROC) does the same for enlisted ranks and company-grade officers, it has distinct names for the higher naval ranks.
| Rank | Literal translation | Army translation | Navy translation | Chinese army insignia | Chinese navy insignia | Chinese air force insignia | Taiwanese army insignia | Taiwanese navy insignia | Taiwanese air force insignia | NATO rank equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Da xiao (大校) | Grand field officer | Senior colonel | Commodore |  |  |  | No equivalent | No equivalent | No equivalent | OF-6 |
| Shang xiao (上校) (shang hsiao) | Senior field officer | Colonel | Captain |  |  |  |  | OF-5 | ||
| Zhong xiao (中校) (chung hsiao) | Middle field officer | Lieutenant colonel | Commander |  |  |  |  | OF-4 | ||
| Shao xiao (少校) (shao hsiao) | Junior field officer | Major | Lieutenant commander |  |  |  |  | OF-3 |