The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-09-24
CHINESE MASONRY.
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CHEZ kUNG
TONG, A SECRET ORGANIZATION.

TONG, A SECRET ORGANIZATION.
Revolutionary in Its Original and Pres
cnt Purposc-Thirty-t Cast Iron
Oaths in the Observation-Disclosures Of .
Faithless Member-His Disgrace.
"What, may ask, vas the subject of your
ponderingsl Had that roll of papers anything
to do with them."
"Yes; they are notes gathered by AN old
partner of mine, who devoted himself to q
study of the Chinese people and their Gus
toms. I've got whole case full of them
there, and when have nothing else to do l
amuse myself by reading some Of them. l
have gained great deal OF information from
them, which is frequently Of considerable
assistance to me in my practice"
Tel me; what is the story contained in
those papers in your lapF said the reporter,
instinctively producing his note book and
pencil
"It's brief history of the Chinese order Of
Masons. Now, suppose you think theirs is
like all other Masonry, and branch Of the
great organization establi.hed by King Solo
mon. You must disabuse your mind on that
score, if such is your opinion. To be sure, it
is a society for mutual benefit and protection,
but its original and present purpose as well,
is entirely revolutionary. The birth OF the
order occurred soon after the MOngOlians in
vaded China and established the present Ming
dynasty, which is nearly 400 years old. The
society was composed of the old Chinese
mobiles and their followers, who were opposed
to the new emperor. Their numbers were
naturally smah at first, but the years added
to their strength. Each member educated his
children to a belief in the doctrines of the Or
der, until now their numbers include nearly
onethird of the entire population of the en-
Pire. There also about 900 in the
United States The influence of the society is
naturally very great, and its members have
much To do with the formation of Chinese
affairs of state.
oRIGINAToRs % REBELLIONs.
"From its inception, four centuries ago,
the society has instigated innymerable rebel
lions and all the members naturally imbibed
"a strong martial spirit As a consequence,
the order has developed many famous sol
diers, ami amcng them the great Gen. 10y
Yee, who, at the age of 81 years, was the
commander-n-chiefo of all the forces of the
empire. His appointment to this position
was, of course, "A measure adopted by the EN-
peror to conciliate the society to which he be.
longed Many of China's foreign ministers
also owe their positions to this policy Being
statesmen of great ability, they naturally be-
come a power to be feared by the govern
bassadors to some foreign court in order to
get them out of the way. Chin Lin Pan,
the first minister TO the United states was one
of these, and, if the truth were known, !
would not he surprised if every minister since
was u Chinese Mason or a member OF the
Chez Kung Tong, as the society is called.
"You viii gain some idea Of the strength Of
this organization when / inform you that the
great Tai Ping rebellion Of 80 was brought
about by its leaders, and fought by its sol
niiers. The famous armies known as the
BLACK Flags and Yellow Flags, which per-
formed such bloody work in Tonquin during
the recent war with France, were also com
posed entirely of the members Of the Chez
Kuns Tong, and led by its officers. The
headquarters Of the order are in the district
Of Quong Ton, OF Canton, as it is known to
US. 1t is from there the edicts are sent which
so vitality affect the policy of the Chinese
government, and which in time may over
turn the throne and establish a new dynasty.
The queue worn to-day by the Chinese people
Is a symbol Of their bonda5 10 the Mongolian
emperor, and IS a constant reminder to them
of their subjection.
T.III.TY-THREE CAST IRON OATHs.
"The rites of the societyt Yes, 1 know some
thing Of them, though there are many and
in such Infinite variety that my knowledge Of
them Is necessarily limited. There are thirty
three oaths to be taken, and regular cast iron
ones, too, before an applicant can become q
fully constituted member of the society. He
can, however, withdraw before taking the
last oath, provided he promises eternal Sc
crecy about what he had previously seen and
heard of the ritual. II this agreement should
be violated, or u member Of the order should
in any way disgrace himself in the eyes of his
brothers, punishment swift and terrible is
meted out to him In China it is death, but
in this country that is impossible, though they
go through all the formulse of an execution
without the final elimination The accused
is always allowed a trial, but is seldom ac-
quilted. The wise men and patriarchs of the
order assemble together upon that occasion
in some one of their JOSS houses, and there
the accused and accusers are brought before
them. The latter step forward first, and
prostratinS themselves upon tho floor at the
feet of the oldest of the wise men, they pre-
sent their charges.
The accused then prostrates himself and
places the foot Of the wise men upon his neck
as a sign of submission After this he tells
his version of the story, still fat upon his
stomach on the floor When this is over the
head man announces his decision in q long
and impressive speech which is interrupted
Mt the end of every sentence by the others
prostrating themselves and uttering words OF
assent The judge next claps his hands and
in comes the executioner with q long sword
and IA wooden bowl, the latter being for the
purpose of catching the blood that is net
spilled Going up to the condemned man,
who is still lying face downward upon tho
floor, the executioner raises him to his knees
and bares his neck for the fatal blow. Three
times the sword is raised and brought down
with terrific force until within half an inch
OF the kneeling mans neck, where it stops.
This concludes the ceremony, but the victims
punishment is not yet over, il he happens to
be 50 fortunate as to live in this country.
Great plaeards announcing his disgrace are
posted ON all the dead walls throughout the
Chinese quarter, and as soon as the news be-
comes known the guilty man is completely
ostracised by his old associates and in fact
by all the society."-San Francisco Alta
Russia's Infant Mortality.