The record-union., 1891-10-24
THE HUNG LEAGUE.
History of a Remarkable Chinese
Secret Society.
Sworn to Overthrow the Tartars' Dy-
nasty and Restore the Native
The Society Which is Now Disturb
ing China-Ceremonies of Initiation.

The Tien-Ti. or Hung League, claims
an immemorial antiquity. '1Since the
foundations of the earth were laid,' says
the catechism, "we bear the name of
Hung" Again, ''Yin and Yang, Heaven
and Earth, accoupled, produce the sons
of Hung in myriads leagued." But the
only distinct evidence with which | am
acquainted lies in the honor paid to Lii
upi, Chang-fi, and Kwan-yii, heroes who
fourished, as they say, about 184 a. ID.
The fact is that we should not expect to
hear of the Tien-Ii before the Manchu
conquest. In those early days its motto
was, "Obey Heaven and do Righteous
ness" That motto still heads every page
of its hand-books, but in practice it is
overruled by the eternal "Hoan Cheng,
Hok Beng''-Drive out the Tartar, re-
store the native line. The league in it's
present form dates from 1864 A. D., TWEEN
ty years after the conquest. At that time
the Eleuth or Olot Tartars revolted
against their Manchu suzerain, and re-
duced him to the greatest straits. This
is history. By the tradition of the Tien-
IT, certain Buddhist abbot saved the
empire, taking the field with his monks.
| The grateful Monarch made them such
presents that Tang-sing, his favorite, de-
termined to ruin them. By false reports
be obtained an edict commanding him to
destroy those traitors, and he fired the
monastery. Five inmates alone escaped,
by series of miracles; they are now rev.
erenced as the five ancestors 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
i no.,
the Ching [the Manchul, restore the Ming
[the native dynastyl," in the Hok-kien
dialect "Cheng" and Beng" With this
watchword they took up arms. Many
thousands joined them, and they routed
the imperial army. But their hero. Bang
lung, fell. Thereupon the second in COM
mdnd dismissed every man to his home,
there to enlist recruits and to preach eter-
nal hatredto the Tartar. Thus the Hung
League was formed.
We may venture to believe this history
in the main. Putting romance and mar
vels aside, it tells how benevolent asSo-
citation was transformed into d ruthless
conspiracy by persecution. Thus one of
the Vanguard Generals replies in the
book of ritual may be understood. The
Master asks him, "Do you know that
there is Creator and a Less Tien-Ti?''
He answers: ''Yes. The Greater was
founded in Heaven; the Less at the wa
ters Of the Three Rivers'-that is, on the
banks of the Sam-ho.
Tien-T- Hwey means association of
Heaven and Earth. Its symbol is the tri
angle, Man" forming the base. The
unity of God and His intimate relations
with mankind are tenetS SO much insisted
on that Schlegel almost believes it a sur
vival of the monotheistic creed displaced
by Buddhism. It's moral code is not less
pure. The equality Of all men, the duty
of benevolence, the forgiveness of inju-
ries, are inculcated again and again. What
is the practice we shall see.
The society recognizes another name,
Sam-hap, translated Triad" by which
it is better known among foreigners gen
orally: but the meaning is the same
Heaven, Earth, Man. More practically
significant is the title ''Hung League"
Hung stands for Water" also for
"Many''-that is, "Deluge," and figura-
lively, Universal" Upon the strength
of this title the society claims allegiance
from all of Chinese blood. 1t holds itself
justified in taking any means to secure
q convert to further its ends, to punish
those who reject it. The rights of the
Catholic Church in the Middle Ages are
an exact parallel. Thus initiation gener-
ally is enforced, not willing. Each lodge
has varying number of Tai-ma, whose
duty it is to hunt up recruits. Marking
down a person who seems desirable for
by written notice, to repair to such or
such a spot. He who neglects to do so
had best quit the neighborhood, conceal
ing his new address. A savage beating
or false accusation will assuredly fol-
low, and he may congratulate himself II
no worse happen. But man never re-
fuses unless he prefers exile. After all, if
1t must be, membership offers compensa-
tions. Or the tated initiate is stopped in
public place, and told to follow there
and then. Not infreqHently he is alb
Quoted by main force, if occasion serve.
A favored trick is 10 slap him in the face;
he pursues the assailant, and number
of sympathizing passers-by join the
chase, which leads them to a solitary
spot, where on q sudden they fall upon
him.
In all countries where the Tien-Ti is
established, excepting the Straits Settle
ments-there also, perhaps, since the sup
pression-its lodges are held in secret
place, the most difficult of access that can
be found. Every approach is defended
by traps and pitfalls under charge of
armed men, posted in the trees or hidden
in the brushwood-that is, of course,
when the brethren are assembled. The
first gate of the lodge is called 'Ang,"
where the Executioner abides. It is his
duty to behead any stranger who cannot
recite the distich which gives adrnittance.
Mr.. Pickering, no unfriendly witness,
allows that ''the puniShments of the
league were carried out in their integrity
forty years ago." even in Singapore.
ION one occasion some strangers were
actually beheaded for intruding on ameet-
ing held in the Jungle" Elsewhere, by
all accounts, there is no need to use the
past tense. Beyond the Ang Gate lies
the eastern portal, with its garrison of
armed men, sentries and officers. North,
south and west are equally protected,
each gate under its proper General,
whose flag flies above it. The inscrip-
tons are so curious and symbolical that l
regret my space does not allow me to
quote them. Entering from the east we
come to the Red Flowery Pavilion, where
water of the Sam-ho River is provided
to cleanse the soul. Thence we pass
through the Circle of Heaven and Earth to
the Two-planked Bridge, by which sits
the RED YOUTH armed with spear to
destroy any unworthy member who has
escaped the vigilance of the So-Ang
Kuang at the Gate Execution. Accord
ing to the testimony of the Headman,"
Mr.. Pickering says, many victims have
fallen to his spear in Singapore" Be-
yond the bridge lies the Market of Uni
versal Peace and the Temple of Peace
and Happiness, This is the City of
Willows, or the Peach Garden; in the
straits, the Pear Garden, the lodge itself
One who reads of these impediments
and precautions with the idea of four
walled building in his mind may think
them rather childish nake-believe. So
they are, or rather were, in Singapore,
where the societies had built handsome
structures. But elsewhere it is all gray
est reality-the gates solid, the bridge
dangerous, the swords sharp and the
guards only too ready to use them. "A
lodge of the Tien-Ti,'' says Schlegel, ''is
q little encampment." From the Anp
Nafn fn hFa r.Nf
eral miles. with peril for the uninitiated
at every step. il descriptions of the great