TTI - F, SECRET SOCIETIES OF CHINA. T N our article of last
week on the situation in China, we dwelt upon the importance of the part played by the great Secret Societies in modern Chinese politics, and alluded to the hatred entertained by these organisations for the Manchu dynasty. Unquestionably they are the most momentous factor now at work in the Celestial Empire, and their aims and the extent of their powers should be studied by all who desire to understand the Chinese pro- blem. Opportunely for those on the outlook for such in- formation, the September number of Harper's Magazine contains an article which collects the most important facts known in regard to the Secret Societies. The writer, Mr. Frederick Boyle, does not seem to have had a personal acquaintance with the Societies, but he has evidently studied the authorities very carefully, and is thus enabled to give a very curious and valuable account of their doings.
The first thing to remember about the Secret Societies of China is, that they are well-nigh innumerable, and that they exist for every sort of purpose, political, philanthropic, and social. Next, it must be borne in mind that they are not confined to China, but exist all over the East. Wherever a few hundred Chinamen are to be found, there is a Secret Society. Lastly, though some are much more hostile to the Tartars than others, all the Secret Societies are more or less " agin' the Government." It is the fixed official policy to persecute them, and therefore they all join in disliking it. What makes men desire to belong to Secret Societies is one of the most puzzling questions ever propounded by the Sphinx of anthropological research. It cannot be an oppressive Government, because we find the South Sea Islanders, who are possessed of no regular polity, devoted intensely to a sort of primitive Freemasonry. Again, England and America, the places where Govern- ment interferes least with individual action, are especially given over to the formation of secret organisations. In the United States, indeed, it is almost impossible to find any grown man who is not either a " Sir Knight," a " Good Templar," a Freemason, or a Son of St. George, St. Andrew, or St. Patrick. It must, then, be something other than oppression that makes Secret Societies grow. There can, however, be no doubt that a tyrannical alien Government provides an excellent manure, and it is under such rule that Secret Societies gain the greatest promi- nence. The great organisations of China doubtless grew out of the persecution of the native race by the Tartars. The Chinese found their best hope in -combination, and accordingly they banded themselves together to overthrow the present dynasty, and to restore the ancient line, and, pending this revolution, to form a league of mutual protection and defence. The most important of these Societies is the T'ien-Ti-Hwey. This body, and all its branches, aim at destroying the present Imperial line, and even lodges formed in Mel- bourne and San Francisco forward a certain per-centage of their subscriptions to the central organisation. What we know of this Society is principally derived from a set of books and papers belonging to a lodge at Padang, which were seized in the house of a person suspected of theft. A certain amount of information on the subject was, however, collected by Mr. Pickering, the Protector of Chinese and Registrar of Secret Societies at the Straits Settlements. He managed so far to win the confidence of the leaders of the Hung, that they actually allowed him to be present at their meetings. It is probable, however, that a special series of rites was inaugurated for his benefit, and that he was not allowed to witness the true ceremonies. The T'ien-Ti, or Hung League, of course claims an immemorial antiquity. The better opinion, however, seems to be that, in its present form, it dates from 1664, about twenty years after the conquest. The Hung tradition is, that the Association was derived from five Buddhist monks—" the five ancestors " of the Society —who, after their monastery had been fired and their com- panions burned, suffered endless persecutions :—" For years they were hunted over the Province of Hok-kien. At length, walking on the banks of the Sam-ho River, they beheld a censer floating, on the bottom of which was inscribed the new motto, Overthrow the Ching [the Manchu], restore the Ming [the native dynasty],'—in the Hok-kien dialect, Cheng' and Beng.' With this watch- word they took up arms. Many thousands joined them, and they routed the Imperial army. But their hero Bang- lung fell. Thereupon the second-in,command dismissed every man to his home, there to enlist recruits and to preach eternal hatred to the Tartar. Thus the Hung League was formed." But though " Hoan Cheng Hok Beng "—" Drive out the Cheng, restore the Beng "—is the working motto of the T'ien-Ti or Hung League—" Hung" means the universe—they have another, which is, theoreti- cally at least, predominant. It runs : " Obey Heaven and do righteousness." This motto is placed on every page of the League's handbooks. In all probability it shows that the Hung before the Manchu conquest was a harmless society of mystics practising an esoteric religion, and that it was the conquest of the Tartars which converted them into Chinese Carbonari. A proof of this theory is to be found in one of the Vanguard General's replies in the book of ritual. The Master asks him : "Do you know that there is a Greater and a Less T'ien-Ti ?" He answers : "Yes. The Greater was founded in Heaven ; the Less at the waters of the Three Rivers,"—that is, on the banks of the Sam-ho. The words " T'ien-Ti-Homey " mean the League of Heaven and Earth. Its symbol is a triangle, man being the base. The unity of God and his intimate relations with mankind are tenets strongly insisted on. The League's moral code is not less pure. The equality of all men, the duty of benevolence, the forgiveness of injuries, are inculcated again and again. The practice is, however, very different to this lofty ideal. Into the claim of the Hung to recruit its members by violence, and to force unwilling persons to join it, we cannot enter. We must mention, however, that the meetings of the Society are held in secret places, and carefully guarded. At the first gate of the lodge stands the executioner. It is his duty to behead any stranger who cannot recite the couplet which gives admittance ; and according to Mr. Boyle, this duty is strictly interpreted. One of the chief oaths sworn by the members of the Hung excludes them from ever seeking redress in a Court of Justice. They are to lay any grievances before the Master of their lodge. Only at his orders may they give evidence in a Court of Law. This exception is made for a very signifi- cant reason. One of the chief engines of oppression employed by the Hung is the fabrication of false charges, and for this purpose witnesses are required. The branches of the Hung to be found in our Colonies are often ex- ceedingly powerful. Their chiefs, too, often accumulate vast sums of money. On this point Mr. Boyle furnishes some very curious facts. " Chang Ah Kwi, a leading member of the Gin-Seng branch at Penang, was proved to possess two millions sterling when tried for murder. His fellow-prisoner, Chin Ah Yam, was said to be as rich. The District Grand Master, Khu-Tan-Tek, who was actually sentenced by the Supreme Court, declared that the Govern- ment dared not hang him, and he proved right, so far, at least, that the Government did not." It is a curious cir- cumstance that when the weight of Tartar oppression is removed, the branches of the Hung fall to fighting among themselves. The chief difficulty connected with the Secret Societies in our Colonies consists, indeed, in making them keep the peace. On one occasion Penang was occupied for over a week by bodies of Chinamen forty thousand strong, intent on cutting each other's throats. During similar disturbances in Perak, the leaders of the Hung, " at a conference in his own drawing-room, once threatened to hang the Resident, Sir Hugh Low." Again, the English rulers of Sarawak have had constant difficulties with the Chinese Secret Societies and their feuds. On one occasion Sarawak was regularly invaded by the brethren, and the late Rajah Brooke had only just time to escape in his night-clothes. On this occasion, however, the Hung got very much the worst of it. The Malays rose and did them no little damage, while " Mr. Charles Johnson, the present Rajah Brooke, sent round the spear' at Sakarran, mustered ten thousand Sea Dyaks in forty-eight hours, and marched, raising the country on his way." The result was the practical annihilation of the Chinese. Four thousand men perished, and not more than two hundred escaped. The policy at first pursued by us in our Colonies in the Far East was one of tolerance. We allowed those Secret Societies which registered themselves to exist. Experience, however, has shown that nothing short of complete suppression is of any avail, and accordingly in 1888 the Societies were forbidden in English territory. It is said that at Singapore the policy has been quite successful, and that the dangerous Societies have been blotted out. It is, however, possible that the Hung may only be lying low. Next to the Hung League, the most important Society is that of the Wu-Wei Keiou, variously translated to mean " Do nothing " and " No hypocrisy." This League is believed to be the direct descendant of the White Lotus, an association which played a. terrible part in Chinese history. Its chief theatre of activity is around Nankin, and its influence appears to be spreading. It is, we take it, this Society which has lately been giving trouble. It is mainly composed of rich people, and so can command large funds. Its members are vegetarians, and it is probably more influenced by religious considerations than the other Leagues. It is further said to win influence over the common people by the magical acts of its members. Mr. Boyle quotes some evidence as to this supplied by another writer on this subject, Mr. Balfour. The latter seems to believe that some of the leading members can hold their breath, through long practice, for an incredible space of time. " They get black in the face and perfectly rigid ; meanwhile the soul is supposed to leave the body and collect information of a more or less miscellaneous kind. When the trance is over, it comes back, the breath returns, and the revelation is divulged. A man once failed to recall his errant soul, and died—a mishap which caused much disruption among the members." The stories connected with the subject of breath-holding and tongue- swallowing, which Mr. Stevenson has used so cleverly in " The Master of Ballantrae," are very curious. We should much like, however, to see the evidence properly sifted. We should not be surprised to find that there does exist among the Eastern races a plan for suspending animation by voluntary action,—that is, that those who know the secret and dare use it, can throw themselves into a species of cata- leptic trance. The greatest actual achievement of the White Lotus League took place about 1876. In that year a large portion of China went mad with panic because men's pig- tails were suddenly dropping off on all sides. " In private chambers, as in the street, when asleep in their own beds or when gathered in convivial meetings, suddenly, without notice or reason, the cherished appendage came off.' " To Chinamen the portent was more horrible and more ill- ominous than even the mutilation of the HermEe, and the whole Empire was aghast. At last, however, the trick was discovered. The tails were snipped off by a tiny pair of scissors, which could be concealed in the palm of the hand, and was as sharp as a razor. The victim was engaged in earnest conversation, while the operator stole behind and did the trick. Into the details connected with the other Societies we have no time to enter. We must, however, just mention one Society which is known to exist, but about which one fact, and one fact alone, can be dis- covered. Its members indulge in the practice of eating small dumplings,—" doubtless a symbolical act." Grotesque though this fact is, it is unquestionably fraught with horror. De Quincey had a show of reason when he said that he would sooner live with brute-beasts than with Chinamen.
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