The Irish standard., 1886-10-02
CHINESE MASONRY.
Brief History Of a Powerful Organ.
ization of Rebels.
The Laws, Regulations and Influence oi
the Order of Chez Kung Tong--The
Terrible Punishment Melted Out to
Unfaithful Members.
LSan Francisco Alta

and pencil.
'It's brief history of the Chinese order
of Masons. Now, J. suppose you think
theirs is like all other Masonry, and E
branch of the great organization estab
iished by King Solomon. You must dis
abuse your mind Oh that score, if such il
your opinion. To be sure it is society for
mutual benefit and protection, but lis orig
inal and present purpose as well, is entire
~ revolutionary. The birth Of the order
occurred soon after the Mongolians in
vaded China and established the present
Ming dynasty, which isnearly four hundred
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 small at
6rst but the years added to their strength.
Each member educated his children to a
belief in the doctrines of the order, until
now their numbers include nearly one
third of the entire population of the En-
pire. There are also about thirty thou
sand i'll the United States. The influence
of the society is naturally very great.
From its inception, four centuries ago, the
society has instigated innumerabls rebell-
ions, md all tue members naturally i'm
bibed strong martial spirit As conse-
quence the order has developed many
famous soldiers, and among them the
great General 10y Yee, who, st the age Of
eighty years, was the Cc1nmander-in-C Chief
IF all the forces Of the Empire. His ap-
pointnen5 to this position was, OF course,
!. measure adopted by the Emperor to con-
riliate the society to which he belonged
Many of China's foreign Ministers also owe
their positions to this policy. Being states
mon of great ability they naturally be-
come q power to be feared by the Govern
ment, and are accordingly appointed as
Ambassadors to some foreign court in Or
der to get them out of the way, Chin Lin
Pan, the first Minister to the United States,
was ono OF these, and il the truth were
known, would not be surprised if every
Minister since was Chinese Mason, or &
member of the Chez Kung Tong, Us the
society is called. You will gain some idea
of the strength Of this organization when
inform you that the great Tai Ping re-
beliion Of '57 was brought about by its
leaders aad fought by it's soldiers. The
famous armies known as the Black Flags
and Yellow Flags, which performed such
bloody work III Tonquin during the recent
war with France, We're also composed en-
tirely Of che members Of the Chez Kung
Tong and led by it's officers The head
quarters Of the order are in the district Of
Quong Ton, or Canton, as it is known to
u.s. The queue worn to-day by Che Chinese
people is symbol of their bondage to tlle
Mongolian Emperor, and is g. constant ra-
mindor t., them Of their snbjection.
"The rites of the societys Yes, Ikncw
so many and in such Infinite variety
that my knowledge Of them is neces~
sarily limited. There are thirty-thrse
oaths TO be taken, and regular ctst-iron
ones, TOO, before an applicant can become
fully constituted member of the society.
He can, however. withdraw before taking
the last oath, provided he promises eternal
secrecy about what he had previously seen
and heard Of the ritual. If this agreement
should be violated, OF q member OF the
order should in any way disgrace himself
in the eyes Of his brothers, punishment,
swift and terrible, is meted cut to him. In
China it is death, but in this country that
is impossible, though they go through all
the formula of an execution without the
final elimination. The accused is always
allowed trial, but is seldom acquitted.
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, prostrating themselves upon the
floor at the feet Of the Oldest of the wise
men, they present their charges The Sc
cused 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 flat upon his
on the floor. When this is over
the head man announces his decision in
long and impressive speech, which is in
terrupted at the end of every sentence by
the others prostrating themselves and ut
tering words of assent The judge next
claps his hands and in comes the execu-
tioner with a long sword and a wooden
bowl, the latter being for the purpose Of
catching the blood that is not spilled. Co.
ing up to the condemned man, who is still
lying face downward upon the floor, the
bares his neck for the fatal blow. Three
VlIu6S bN0 SWOIA Is AttlocO 1uO OlVUSut
down with terrific force until within
half an inch of the kneeling mans
neck, where it stops This concludes
the ceremony, but the victim's pun
is not yet over, il he happens to
be SO fortunate as to live in this country.
Great placards announcing his disgrace
are posted on all the dead walls through
out the Chinese quarter, and as soon as the
news becomes known the guilty man is
ostracised by his old associates,
and in fact by all the society. He can get
no work from his own people, and if he
goes into business for himself he will get
no customers. His lot then is hard, indeed.
and according to our views his punishment
is greater than his crime. OF the three
who have been so served in the United
States one committed suicide: another is
insane and the third is fugitive murderer.
who took to life of crime after his dis
grace, and went from bad to worse. Where
he is now no one knows.
''But there, thatis enough for this time.
Come again some other sday when / am at
leisure and I will tell you another story"
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An Ex-Goyernor's Funny Yarn.
[Boston Globe.7