The National tribune., 1900-12-27
CHINESE aTRIADS.
Powerful Secret Order of Celes-
tials Pledged to Restore Ming
Dynasty.
TESTING A BROTHER.
Secret Work Disclosed by Documents
Secured by British Authorities.

|
tention from the outside world, is in pro-
gress in the South.
While the Boxer uprising in the North
was creating worldwide interest and the
| Powers were pressing their allied col
umns to the relief of the legations DIR.
Sun Vat Sen and his followers were or
ganizing in the Kwang Tung Province. of
which Canton is the capital and most i'm
portant city-an instruction that may
extend its rule TO Picking itself
Necessary to thorough understanding
| Of this rebellion is Il knowledge of the
people of this district. A curious race
| of people, called the Hakkas, form an
admiXture in the population of this part
of China. They came from the northern
Provinces as early as the Using Dynasty,
| about go years before Christ Today
most of them live in the hills STILL driven
there by prosecutions, though in some dis
tricts great numbers live on the plains.
In kwang Tung alone ii is estimated
that there are some 100000 of these
people, but there are some outside of that
Province, in the neighborins one Of Flu
ken and at other points. They are
strongly antiManchu.
The Hakkas are distinctly pugnacious.
1t was they who supplied the TAPPING Re-
belliOn with its leaders. This was nearly
40 years ago. In the great struggle
20,OOO,OOO people lost their lives.
OBJECT OF THE REBELLION.
Now these same people are up in arms
again. 1t is stated that the main object
is to place Chinese Emperor on the
throne. Through this Province there is
great dissatisfaction with the Manchu
rule.
The leader of the present rebellion, DIR.
Sun Vat Sen, received his education in
the United States, and since then has Wis
tied the States several times. He is a
man of about no. well educated and in
telligent and | believe Christian. About
three years ago he was kidnapped on the
streets Of London and imprisoned in the
Chinese Legation. His release was eff
fected through the Intervention of Lord
Salisbury. lJ
Kindness to the vanquished marked
the opening Of the , rebellion. In the
earlier battles victory crowned the arms
of the rebels. ! The famous Black Flag
General Liu, once a rebel himself, led the
Imperial troops and was ingloriously de-
feated.
BY these earlier battles the rebels Sc
cured possession of several important
cities. At that time DIR. Sun Vat Sens
followers neither killed nor plundered, as
~ usual with a victorious Chinese army.
In this way he won the gratitude of the
people. r-r lf-
The Kindness that marked the opening
of the rebellion was succeeded by acts of
violence and barbarisfn. Whole villages
were burned by the rebels on winning a
victory, and farmers who opposed their
advance were Tilassacred.
The rebels so far in their victorious
course have not mOlested foreigners, and
so the Powers have taken neutral po-
sition. Still, it is feared even by foreign
ers that the success of this rebellion
would not benefit China.
TRIAD SOCIETY:
The prime mover in this rebellion is a
powerful secret Order. This is the Triad
Society the oldest and most influential
secret organization in China. 1t has
large membership in this Province, and
also many among the Cantonese in the
United States. Nearly all the Ceestials
in the latter country have taken an active
interest in the success of the society in its
present endeavor.
Secret societies abound in this land.
Most of them are political in nature. Nat
urally, large number of the members
pass to and fro between Hong Kong and
Canton, and it is, in fact, known that
there are lodges of this society in the for
mer island. Hong Kong is under Brit
ish jurisdiction, and by the arrest of a
Triad and the discovery on his person
of certain books and papers. and by his
being charged before an English court
-" 'S H'Nh''i VI "it hiSo"l 81
ciety, much of the secret workings of the
organization has been brought to light.
oT ~ lhe society resembles some
Vi tiiG S1cles societies III the suites, eS
peTiaiiy lhe Maso ms; anu the members 90
can themselves ohlhese Masohs; VI
course, ,Iey are not recognized by the
iesuiar Masoils, as reiiiy there Is noun
ing common pet"eeh inc Two oruerS.
AZ, !, ne pooh aDole henlioheu Is marked
ID, ana contains the secrets Oh the So
ciety' hence IL IL especlaiiy VaiuaDie 10
me AUTHORITIES. II Is Illustrated, ana pic
lures are gwen OF the n'e priinai nags,
when are alotled TO the Gfahd Lodges
IN the dlhereht frovlnces' Tor there are
some lodges OUTSIDE OF hwang Iung
ifoVihce, thougn the number Is small IN
comparison 10 that Withln the PROVINCE
Az least: the pictures OF the nags prove
There is also pictured the alag Of the
limitation y a niece of ouhro;darr, hrn,a ah
ont during the ceremony of the same This
a,o 10 also rogordod os tho etondn,J 20
the sociaty Anotber Nac called ,ba
.tYeliow Flag of Jnitiotion5, 10 msad Cue
tho came n,,Tnoso 40 "'eu i'i
Resides these tb.ro l. ,,o+bor ;+o,oo.
ing banner, styled the Flag of the Gen
erallSSlmo, on which are embroidered the
Jewels or That ofhcer. From this we may
lnfer that organicaily the society was ere
ated Tor the purpose OF some martial &C
ton.
TESTS OF MEMBERSHIP.
The methods by which one Triad rec
ognizes another are extremely crude and
simple Some of them cannot be con-