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This article will primarily deal with the Triads which have so many other names it would takepages upon pages to give them all. One of the names the Triads have had is the Heaven andEarth Society. Other principal names include the Hung League, and the Three UnitedAssociation.
The Freemasons have been very Interested in the Triads and several Masons have done in depth studies and written books about the Thads including G. Schlegel (The Hung League. 1866), J.S.M.
Ward (The Hung Society - see another quote of his on pg. 2), and W.G. Sterling (The Hung Society.
1925)
(This article will be trimmed back—and perhaps some of the information can be provided In a future The history of China is a history of authoritarian dynasties and the secret societies that opposed them.
Throughout Chinese history, there has basically been only one recourse to opposition to the establishment, that was through secret societies. Secret societies have been a way for the poweriess, to struggle against what ever they perceived as the cause of their misery. There has never been any lack of recruits for chinese secret societies, and there has never been any lack of causes to use to rally the poor masses against for motivating people into joining secret societies. There seems to be no end to the supply of men willing to lead secret societies also. In fact, I know of over 250 Chinese secret societies, some of which are no longer in existence. Obviously, we are not going to cover that many secret societies in this article.
What criteria do I have for selecting what I will write about in this article. First, I desire to show the compatibility of Chinese secret societies to western secret societies. This compatibility is the reason that the Triads can work with the Mafia, the CIA, and the Illuminati. These points of compatibility explain how Freemasonry can work with some of the Chinese secret societies. For instance, I have a copy of The New Age magazine, Sept. 1964, p. 38, which is put out by The Supreme Council 33º
which states,
‘Chinese Wootsu [sic] Society Compared to Freemasonry
‘Brother Morris B. de Pass, 33°, Master of Kadosh of the Peking Scottish Rite Bodies, in his annual report, includes the following interesting story in regard to Wootsu Society. ‘During the past year I had the pleasure of meeting an ‘Old China Hand,’ himself a Scottish Rite Mason, who, learning of my China background, asked me If I had any knowledge of an old Chinese organization similar to Masonry. I felt certain he had in mind the ‘Wootsu Society’ (Woo meaning 5, and Tsu meaning
‘Ancestor’) or, in English, ‘the Society of the Five Ancestors., "...some fornignors living in China ...
were of the opinion that The Society of the Five Ancestors was the Eastern Branch of that movement which developed in Western countries into Freemasonry .... The tenets of the Wootsu Society do have much in common with those of Freemasonry. They pay homage to Buddha, whom they accept as the 9
incarnation of a Supreme Deity they believe in immortality they teach ‘Faithfulness unto Death’; and they practice secrecy. The Society differs from Masonry in that there is no counterpart of the Volume of the Sacred Law as being an indispensable part of its Furniture; ... and it is open to both men and women.’
Perhaps no one better epitomizes the connections and overlap between East and West occult secret societies than the life of Sun-Yat-Sen. Sun-Yat-Sen led China to overthrow the monarchy and create a republic. Sun-YatSen was a leader in several Triad groups, such as the Hong Kong based Chung Wo Tong Society and the Kwok On Wui Society in Honolulu and Chicago. Soon after arriving in Hawaii he formed the Tai Luk Shan, a new Triad group. Sun-Yat-Sen played the key role in setting up 268
other branches of the Triads too. In Japan he set up the T’ung Meng Hui. In Singapore and Malaysla he set up Triad lodges too. He was a high ranking Freemason, and he attended an Anglican school in Hong Kong. Sun-Yat-Sen and the millionaire Chang ChingChang who was an international art dealer worked together. Sun-Yat-Sen travelled in the US. and Europe gaining support for his revolution.
Several other great non-Communist Chinese leaders have also had membership in both the Triads and Freemasonry.
TRIAD RITUALS
Triad rituals were an elaborate affair but have continued to be streamlined over the years. The ritual initiation drew from 3 religious sources: Taoism (magic), Buddhism, and what might be called Confucianism. Taoism emphasized the importance of blood ancestry, of magic, and alchemy. The traditional initiation lasts about eight hours, and includes ritual dance, secret hand-shakes, a blood sacrifice, and pricking the finger of the new initiates.
The Triads have an extremely long history and a lot of heritage. In order to try to capsulize what they are one has to look at what they are doing at a particular moment. At times they are secret fraternity like the Masons, at other times they have more of the appearance of a revolutionary army, and at other times they look like the Mafia. They are all these things. And so they are a much more complex group to understand than some of the other secret societies that might fit into some nice label.
Sometimes their services as hit men are hired out to others. Their heritage and history make them almost a sub-culture, and a sub-culture that is difficult for law enforcement agencies to penetrate.
Their blood oaths and traditions bind them together.
ORIGINS
The White Lotus Society centuries ago amalgamated itself to the Hung Society which in turn changed into the Triad Society also known as the Three United Society. Some people continued calling it the Hung Society. The Hung Society had many local names, and like Freemasonry hid behind trade guilds.
INFILTRATED THE BOXERS
The Triads infiltrated the Boxers and even associated with them, but the Boxers lost against the foreign powers.
SET UP BRANCHES IN THE UNITED STATES
During the California gold rush days many Chinese began coming to America. Triad lodges sprang up in the chinese laundrymen of San Francisco. By 1854, the Triad Society called ‘Five Companies’
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had 35,000 members in California. In the U.S. the Triad lodges became known as Tongs-which means a ‘hail’ or ‘meeting place.’ Whereever the Chinese lived they quietly set up Triad lodges so that soon there were lodges In Laramle, Cheyenne, Kansas City, Seattle, Vancouver, California, New York, Boston, and the Klondike. These overseas Triads came under the jurisdiction of the Hung Mun Society in Canton. This Triad group was in turn under Chi Kung Tong group. Groups got started in Australia and Malaya.
TRIADS & HONG KONG
