# Bing (rank)

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, lit. 'a wounded soldier'), but rarely (usually in technical context in armed forces) per se.
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. 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.

## 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, lit. 'soldier with no rank'), also known as hullyeonbyeong (Korean: 훈련병; Hanja: 訓鍊兵, lit. 'trainee soldier'), 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.
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.
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, lit. 'the executive members'), 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).

## Chinese variant
### People's Liberation Army

The same rank names are used for all services, prefixed by haijun (simplified Chinese: 海军; traditional Chinese: 海軍; lit. 'naval force') or kongjun (simplified Chinese: 空军; traditional Chinese: 空軍; lit. 'air force').
| Rank group | Enlisted | Enlisted |
| Chinese | 上等兵 | 列兵 |
| Pinyin | Shàngděngbīng | Lièbīng |
| Literal translation | Upper class soldier | Line soldier |
| PLA Ground Force | | |
| PLA Navy | | |
| PLA Air Force | | |
| | 上等兵 Shàngděngbīng | 列兵 Lièbīng |
| Rank group | Enlisted | Enlisted |

### Republic of China Armed Forces

| Rank group | Enlisted | Enlisted | 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 |
| Republic of China Army | | | |
| Republic of China Navy | | | |
| Republic of China Air Force | | | |
| Republic of China Marine Corps | | | |
| Republic of China Military Police | | | |
| | 上等兵 Shàngděngbīng | 一等兵 Yīděngbīng | 二等兵 Èrděngbīng |
| Rank group | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted |

## Korean variant

| Rank group | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | 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 |
| Republic of Korea Army | | | | |
| Official translation | Sergeant | Corporal | Private first class | Private |
| Republic of Korea Navy | | | | |
| Official translation | Petty officer second class | Petty officer third class | Seaman | Seaman apprentice |
| Republic of Korea Air Force | | | | |
| Republic of Korea Marine Corps | | | | |
| | 병장 兵長 Byeongjang | 상등병 上等兵 Sangdeungbyeong | 일등병 一等兵 Ildeungbyeong | 이등병 二等兵 Ideungbyeong |
| Rank group | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted |

## Vietnamese variant

| Rank group | Enlisted | Enlisted |
| Vietnamese | Binh nhất | Binh nhì |
| Chữ Hán | 兵一 | 兵二 |
| Literal translation | First soldier | Second soldier |
| Vietnam People's Ground Force | | |
| Vietnam People's Navy | | |
| Vietnam People's Air Force | | |
| Vietnamese | Binh nhất | Binh nhì |
| Rank group | Enlisted | Enlisted |

### South Vietnamese variant

| Rank group | Enlisted | Enlisted |
| Native name | Binh nhất | Binh nhì |
| Chữ Hán | 兵一 | 兵二 |
| Literal translation | First soldier | Second soldier |
| Army of the Republic of Vietnam (1967-1975) | | No insignia |
| Translation | Private first class | Private |
| Republic of Vietnam Navy (1967-1975) | | No insignia |
| Translation | Seaman | Recruit |
| Republic of Vietnam Marine Division (1967-1975) | | No insignia |
| Translation | Private first class | Private |
| Republic of Vietnam Air Force (1967-1975) | | |
| Translation | Airman first class | Airman |
| Native name | Binh nhất | Binh nhì |
| Rank group | Enlisted | Enlisted |