History

The Order of the Imperial Dragon was authorized by Imperial Decree in 1862 and also known as "Bao Xing Merit Medal". The decoration was awarded to both British as well as French government officials and civilians. Initially created to acknowledge those Western participants contributed to the defeat of the Taiping Rebellion between 1850 to 1864, the Bao Xing Merit Medal was influential in the design and creation of the later instituted Order of the Double Dragon in 1882.

The order is designed in the Western Style.

The order was awarded to Professor Heinrich Dubus for his contributions to Chemistry at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. It is known that a similar version of the award, entitled "The Chinese First Class Gold Medal of Pao Hsing", was awarded to William Cartwright in 1868 for services in the Chinese Maritime Customs Service.

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