The Chinese Triad

Hole of Justice

By Peter G. Jimenea

The Chinese Triads

The Chinese secret societies have more than three hundred years of history behind it. They are represented by equilateral triangle, each side signifies one of the three basic Chinese concept of Heaven, Earth and Man.

Members are bound by blood oaths, with pledge to overthrow the Barbarian Manchus who conquered their country and restore the Ming dynasty which previously ruled China. The Chinese Triad was founded in the 17^th century 1,500 years before Christ.

They hated the despot rule of the Barbarian Manchus from Mongolia who put an iron grip on the Northern two-thirds of China. But the continued rebellion in the South has disturbed the Barbarians despot rule in the North.

An anti-Manchu sentiment in the South was initiated at the Foochow monastery where 128 militant Buddhist monks organized the local population into pockets of resistance. In 1674, the Barbarians consolidated their hold on Northern China with plan to invade the South.

They sent a contingent to attack the monastery but according to legend, despite the relentless Barbarians assault with their superior armed troops, the monks who developed kung fu as self-defense had held them out for three weeks.

A traitor monk, however, helped the Barbarian troops. They disguised as water-boys for the rebels and entered the monastery’s secret underground tunnel and surprised the defenders. Only eighteen monks had escaped the slaughter. Sad to sat, they were chased by the invaders and another thirteen were killed.

The five monks with noble purpose who survived the onslaught are credited in the founding of the first Triad society. They vowed to overthrow the despot rule of the Barbarians and restore the Chinese imperial government.

Over the years, the Triads developed complex initiation rituals combining the method of astral worship of the Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian philosophies, all mixed with mythology. Soon the secret societies spread like fever in Southern China.

They were instrumental in launching the seventeen-year “Taiping Rebellion” which resulted to over twenty million deaths and devastation of 600 cities. Triads also launched the unsuccessful “Red Turban Uprisings” which ended in their eventual defeat.

More than one-million were beheaded by the Barbarians. During this campaign of death, the Triads fled China to Hong Kong. The exodus was so great. In 1847, British officials in Hong Kong estimated that nearly three-quarters of the colony population were Triad members.

By mid 1800s, faced by possible extinction, a large part of these Chinese secret societies turned to illegal activities like piracy, smuggling, extortion and others. The Mainland Triads sent some of their members abroad to protect the various kind of vice and crime among homeless settlers.

Triads had almost all criminal elements but by late 1800 they became legitimate as nationalistic organization. The bulk of money from the many popular Triads came from illegal sources. But without it, the Mainland Triads would never have withstood the Barbarians onslaught!

Triads realized that enormous profits are derived from underworld business. Many members turned away from their political belief and concentrated mainly in criminal enterprise. In 1911 the Triads were able to overthrow the Barbarians and Dr. Sun yat sen, a senior Triad member, formed the first government.

Next issue – The Triads under a New Government.