Xiang Army
One view is that it is more likely it began as an offshoot or alternative name of the so-called "Brotherhood Clique" within the Xiang Army. It is believed that some 30% of the Xiang Army may have been Gelaohui members, and after the disbandment of the army in the aftermath of the Taiping Rebellion it spread along the Yangtze to become a Triad order. The Geolaohui became increasingly associated with the revolutionaries of Dr. Sun Yatsen's Tongmenhui during the 1880s, participating in the Xinhai Revolution against the Qing, and infiltrating the army and education system.