I Also Found This Some Time Ago???
The Hung Society
The Model for many later Chinese secret societies including today’s tongs and triads.
by Peter Huston
It was only relatively recently in Chinese history, within the past five hundred years or so, that relatively modern secret societies (distinct from religious cults) became widespread. Although there was a great deal of variation from time to time and place to place, these tended to follow common, culturally prescribed patterns.
The Structure and Organization of a Hung society branch
During the Ching dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.) two styles of secret society became prevalent. By style we are referring to a certain set of organizational structures, carefully preserved traditions and patterns of behavior which their members were expected to follow. The first of these, the Hung society, was most common in the south. As most overseas Chinese came originally from the southern provinces of Fujien (Fukien) or Guangdong (Canton), this is also the style of secret society most commonly seen outside of China, including in North America or South East Asia. The term “Hung” means Red, but it is also a ****nym for the Chinese word for “brave.” Although Hung societies continue to exist today, they are often modified in various ways. Furthermore, although it might not be exactly correct, since we are discussing the original version of the Hung societies for simplicty and clarity this chapter will use the past tense, except when referring to something that specifically refers to the present.
The second common variety of secret society are the Ching or “Green” societies. These are based on a style more common originally in the North of China. The Ching societies will be covered in full in a later chapter.
The basic unit of the Hung society was the lodge or local branch. It was to the local branch that the members of a sworn brotherhood owed their primary loyalty. This is the group that held meetings and from time to time called together members of the society. In some locations, there existed higher levels of organization, but these had limited duties. These “headquarters branches” or “master lodges” (as some texts call them) would not normally interfere in the day to day running of the local chapters of the society. Although members of these headquarters branches tended to be old and respected members of the sworn brotherhoods, they were chosen by the majority decision of the senior officials of the local branches. It is believed that generally their role among the local chapters was quite limited and consisted primarily of arbitrating inter-chapter disputes so as to avoid needless and unprofitable inter-chapter conflicts. In some places and times, the headquarters branch had strict regulations preventing all but themselves from starting additional branches of the Hung society. At other times, however, just the opposite was true and anyone familiar with the rituals of the Hung society could start a new branch any time they were able to recruit sufficient followers.
Footnote One Although a society member would see those in other chapters as people who he had a great deal in common with and should help if possible, it is important to remember that the Hung society organizations were primarily local institutions based in a particular place and time. At times, the local chapters of a society might work together to accomplish certain goals or aid one another, but it must be understood that the local groups were generally only loosely united, if at all. During times of national crisis or a large scale uprising of some sort, the groups might combine forces. Nevertheless, when this occurred it was not uncommon for there to be a great deal of difficulty or friction over the process of choosing a combined leader. Often this proved impossible and Hung society uprisings were frequently spasmodic disorganized affairs which bore more resemblance to a widespread riot or prairie fire than they did to a military operation.
For example, in Guangdong province in 1854-1855, a Hung-style organization known as the Red Turbans rose up in revolt against the Ching government. Although this was a widespread uprising which spread across several counties and involved tens of thousands of people fighting in some battles the rebels never developed a centralized leadership. Footnote Two Similarly, even during the large turn of the century Boxer uprising, effective centralized leadership of the Boxers proved to be a problem. Footnote Three
Even the members of the so-called headquarters branch saw themselves primarily as members of their local chapter rather than as members of a larger organization. In fact, this localized aspect of the institution may have been one of the key reasons why the societies spread so quickly and easily. Frequently, the loose organizational structure made it surprisingly easy to start a branch of the society. No centralized permission was needed, merely a knowledge of the oaths and rituals and the desire to do so. This cell-like structure meant that if one branch died, became exposed to authorities or were otherwise destroyed there was little effect on other branches. No single individual could betray the entire organization, because no single individual had the ability to do so.
Clearly, it is entirely incorrect to see the many secret societies of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as a single, large, centrally controlled organization held under the sway of a tyrannical despot who ruled from hiding. Not only did the technology prohibit attempts to control the geographically widespread societies in such a fashion, there was little benefit to the group as a whole from such centralization.
In many ways, the headquarters branch of the organization was not really a headquarters at all, but instead more of an “inter-branch council.” Any levels of organization above this tended to be highly dependent on the personalities of the people involved. Individuals might arrange for cooperation among the different chapters for a limited amount of time or a limited enterprise, but this level of organization was not a normal aspect of secret societies. These alliances would be more dependent on the power, ability, experiences, levels of respect, or even favors owed, of the individuals involved, rather than their official ranks within the organization.
The details of the physical meeting site of the lodge or branch could vary widely. If a society existed in a place where it was legal, it could own property or even own an elaborate temple. When a tong was outlawed, as many were in the former British Crown Colony of Malya, it might simply hold intricate initiation rituals in jungle clearings or other secluded outdoor locations. Lookouts were posted to ensure secrecy and provide warning in the event of a police raid.
Ward and Sterling, writing from the early 1920s, have left us with a detailed description of the Hall run by the “Ghee Hin Society” in Singapore in the late nineteenth century when the organization was legal and flourished openly. (It was later banned in the colony of Singapore.) The hall was located at number 4, China Street and apparently had two stories. As Ward and Stirling’s book is virtually impossible to obtain today, and the description is rather interesting, it seems worth quoting from at length:
"Upstairs, attached to the wall, was a shrine containing the tablets of the Five Ancestors, (note: prominent characters in the legend of how the Hung society was founded.) and before it a table on which was an incense burner with incense. In front of this first altar stood another, on which was a second tablet with the incense burner dedicated to the late brethren, and over this hung a red lamp, i.e. the ‘Hung Lamp.’ On either side were two chairs. One for the Master and the other for the Instructor or White Fan. Along the wall on either side were ten chairs for other officials.
The temple, or lodge room, was square and had four gates; -north, east, south and west, -and on the uprights and the lintels were written verses as follows:-
On the Eastern Gate,
'To the East where the element of wood stands it is difficult to go,
Sun, Moon, mountains, and streams all come from the Eastern seas.’
On the Southern Gate,
'The fiery road to the element of fire is hot,
But in the distance Chang, Ts’uen, P’ing and Nankin it is cold.’
On the Western Gate,
'On the narrow road of the element of metal you must be careful,
Of the two paths it is clear that there is no impediment on the one which leads to the West.’
On the Northern Gate,
'At the sign of Yin-kui the water is deep and difficult to cross,
But in Yun-nan and Sze-Chuen there is a road by which you can travel.’
On the top of each door was a pavilion, surmounted by a calabash, which was an emblem carried by one of the Eight Immortals. (note: The Eight Immortals are prominent characters in Taoist mythology and ancient Chinese literature.)
The walls were decorated with squares and triangles, and over the various Gates were hung different types of weapons. The stones at the bottom of the wall and the boards of the gate were made to look like dragons’ scales. In the middle of the Hall were three gates, one in front of the other, and beside each gate two men were stationed who wore red kerchiefs on their heads and carried swords in their hands.