, 1891-01-27
CHINESE SOCIETIES.
A PEEP AT THEIR SECRET ORGAN
cations AND PASSWORDS.

@A-N AN-NAH - 80
Parts OF the worId-Its Secrecy.
There are grand secret societies in
China, the Tien-Ti. Heaven and Earth"
or Triad" the Wu-Nei KenOu, White
Lily" or DO Nothing" and. the Ko Lao,
Elder Brother" OF less important as-
sociatious the name is legion. All those
cited appear 10 have some relation 10 Free
masonry; but IL is indirect. no doubt, in
the case Of the latter two, which modelled
their procedure upon that OF the Tieu-Ti.
This trpmeuduusOrEauiZatiuu Is older than
all records, Its supreme grand master-if
one there be-haS more subjects probably
than the pope Of Rome. His sway extends
all over China, and, in theory ut least, over
all emigrunt lodges from the Philippines
to Burmah and san Francisco and Mel
bourne. As for his "poteutialities Of
wealth, a mere member Of the council in
a subordinate lodge may be worth two
millions sterling. But who he Is OF where
he dwells no man knows; the Chinese
government would dearly like to get that
information. II death be the penalty for
belonging TO the Ticu-Ti ia Dutch and
Spanish colonies in some English also, 20
be suspected Of belonging entails the same
fate in China. The word must not hc ut
tered in presence Of natives. With what
patience East-rBA tbs-i added
with what good luck-Gu-tnye Sehlr--l
gathered the materials for his striking
book, The Hung League under this
state Of things may be imagined So far
as know, il is still our only authority for
the secrets Of the association at home At
Singapore, however, when all Hpeys were
recognized for a good many years before
the suppression lately, abundance Of facts
were collected by Mr.. Pickering
now TIES-TI VAS STARTED.
Unfortunately, these emiErants have lost
all traditions of the craft Ia It's early form
or il may be they disregard the record.
At one point Of the ritual. indeed, the lodge
master asks, do you know that there is a
Greater and a Less Tien-TiY'' and the wan
guard officer replies, Yes. The Greater
was founded In heaven; the Lesser at the
waters Of the Three Riyers"-in Hok-Kieu.
But this Is all. For unlearned members
the league had its beginning in the year
1914, and perhaps it will be best, with IA
great subject to discuss in little space. TO
tell the storyo Of the foundation as recitrd
in the books of ritual, Thu Mnnchu Tar
tars expelled the native dynasty Ia 1914.
Twenty years later the Eleuth Tartnrs in
vhded the realm and overran "a great part.
The emperor made n desperate appeal To-
his subjects, and "A certain Buddhist abbot,
kim-Tat, Of Hok-kien. putting himself Mt
the head Of his monks, drove them out.
But n traitorous general denounced the
49, NEA 80 AFf ~ AAANANANA mn
which was done, and the monastery burned.
after surprising adventures. Five monks
escaped and took refuge in u temple. As
they walked along tho bank Of the Sam-po
they beheld "a censor floating. which upuu
examination proved 20 be inscribed, over
throw the Cheng; restore the ~Bcng"-tlnt
Is, Drive out the Mauchus; restore the
native line 50, under persecution, the
late defenders Of the emperor became reb-
els. After this a number Of miracles oc
Cured, all teaching the same lesson.
Five horse dealers joined the monks, and
a hermit-nll very famous in the after.
time. They swone brotherhood on the
miraculous censor, adopted its motto. and
prepared to overthrow the Cheng. Agrand.
son Of the last Chinese emperor revealed
himself, and the Insurgents marched under /
command OF a giant, Ban-Lung. They
met the imperial army at the Mountain
Of the Phoenix aud routed IL, but Bang.
Lung fell in the moment 81 victory, aud
hin-Latm, second in command, perceived
that tho day OF success Ind not yet dayyned.
Gathering the army around him he dis
missed each man TO bis own house. there
To enlist recruits for the good cause, living
always in secret. concealing even their
names. Thus the Tien-Ti was founded
LODGES OF TtEN-TL
For the mother lodges, with which
Schlegcl dealt, this Legend does not repre-
sent the establishment but tile trausforma-
ton Of the society. And thus it becomes
Ineligible, The original password, almost
forgotten in the emigraut lodges. was
obey heaven and do righteousness. " Men
who accepted that rule Of lie would sub
init 10 a ~conGueror, as by all accounts the
Tien-Ti submitted to the Manchus for
twenty years. But the second emperor, rs
we may guess, feared and hurusscd them
In the province Of Hok-KtCu they lose.
stirred up by monks, perhaps, and headed
by those champions whose names are still
revered. The rebellion was stamped ont.
and a charitable brotherhood ofhigh philu-
sophie aims developed into a vast con
spiracy. With scarcely a pause it has raised
disturbances, greater or smaller. since that
date, The Tacping rebellion was its work.
And every C~LIuamau, as every Mauchu, Is
well assured that soDucr o. later the Ticu
Ii will triumph.
In the first place the original aim OF the
society. still professcd in China. was the
search for pure light-that is. truth. The
grand symbol Of the league Is "A triangle, f.
formed by the Chinese character Juh, to
enter into, % like an inverted "" and
Yih. ''one, ~ a dash; thus heaven and earth
combine to ENTER into man. The triangle
appears In every ceremony, while the foot
rule, the scales and weights are laid in the
sacred "bushel" upon the altar before the
opening of n lodge. The lodge must be
square, standing due north. II has four
gates, Of which the eastern is holy and bears
:so significant in-scriptions-Une declaring
that myrinds stream through when II il
opened at tie generals command; the
other, the east, in the wood, il is
difficult TO walk fast. The sun which np-
pears above the hills rises in the eastern
sea"
That expression lin the word" constant
ly recurs, abiding to the persecution which
the initiated suffer. After resolving ussur-
anee that the lodge Is TILED. the master
asks, How high, brother, ia this lodgcE'
The Tsong-Lir first officer, replies, AS high
as ourcyes can see. ~ Glow broad. brotherf"
"As broad as the two capitals and thirteen
provinces meaning the whole world.
Whence do YOU Gomez leone from the
east" AT what time did You comes" Il
came at sunrise. when the east was light"
st. james Gazette.
\ Stage Victim.