The Ritual and Mythology of the Chinese Triads: Creating an Identity 9004119442, 9789004119444

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Ritual & Mythology ofthe Chinese Triads

Ritual & Mythology ofthe Chinese Triads Creating an Identity

Barend J. ter Haar

B R ILL LEIDEN • BOSTON· KOLN

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© Copyright by Koninklijke Brill NY, P.O. Box 9000, NL-2300-PA Leiden, The Netherlands All rights reserved, No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923 , U.S.A. Fees are subject to change. PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS

TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables Preface ... . . . . . . . .. . . ... .. . . ... . . . . ... .. . . . . . . . . . .. ..

IX XI

PART I. PRELIMINARIES 1. Interpreting the Triads (Heaven and Earth Gathering) . . . . . .

1.1. The study of Triad lore 1.1.1 . The contextualisation of Triad lore 1.1.2 . Triad ritual and narratives 1.2. Defining the Triad phenomenon 1.2.1. The different autonyms of the Triads . . . . . . . . . . . 1.2.2. A brief history of Triad groups 1.3. Sources on Triad lore 1.3.1. Internal sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3.2. External Western sources 1.3.3. External Chinese sources PART II.

3 7 7 11 15 15 17 27 28

38 43

PERFORMANCE

Introduction 2. Community and territory 2.1. Creating community: offering incense 2.2. Establishing territory: the bushel and the altar . . . . . . . 2.2.1. The bushel and its contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2.2. The Triad bushel 2.2.3. The altar and the City of Willows 3. Boundaries and passages 3.1. The cycle of birth, life and death 3.1.1. Grotto-worlds, gardens and cities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1.2. Boundaries and passageways. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1.3. Perceiving and influencing the mythical landscape . . 3.2. The Triad initiation j ourney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2.1. The ritual atmosphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 3.2.2. The initiation journey in early confessions . . . . . . . 3.2.3. Through the land of death

51 55 55

63 64 73 80 89

90 90 95 99

101 103 107 114

VI

TABLE OF CONTENTS

3.2.4. The attainment of rebirth. 129 3.3. Ritual as theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 136 3.4. Concluding observations 147 4. The blood covenant in Chinese society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 4.1. The blood covenant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1.1. Early evidence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.1.2 . An ideal type of the blood covenant .. . . . . . . . . .. 4.1.3. The passage through the gate of swords. . . . . . . .. 4.2. The use of writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3. Concluding remarks

151 151 152 156 167 170 177

5. The Hong family and its moral prescriptions 5.1. The Triad blood covenant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.1. The basic ritual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.2 . The maledictions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1.3. Divine witnesses 5.2 . Written covenants: their format and ritual use 5.3 . Creating the Hong fam ily 5.3.1. The Hong fam ily and ancestor worship . . . . . . . .. 5.3.2. Moral obligations 5.4 . Concluding remarks

180 181 181 184 189 195 203 204 210

216

PART ID. NARRATIVES

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 6. The demonological messian ic paradigm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1. Saviors from demons 6.2 . The Ma Chaozhu case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Appendix A mysterious document 6.3. Common themes of the paradigm

221 224 225 236 251 253

7. The messianic origins of Triad lore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 7.1. The dramatis personae 7.2. Other messianic elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3. The demonological structure of the Triads 7.4 . Demonology in action 7.4 .1. The Li Lingkui and Du Shiming incident . . . . . . . 7.4 .2. The incident of Li Laowu 7.4.3. Fan Qi, Lin Chongsan and Su Zhisong 7.5. Concluding remarks

263 264 275 284 290 290 296 299 301

TABLE OF CONTENTS

VII

8. The central place of Triad political ideals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 8.1. Imperial legitimation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.1.1. Imperial legitimation practice 8.1.2. The impact of imperial legitimation . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2. The political ideals of the Triads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2.1. The Triad ideal of restoring the Ming . . . . . . . . . . 8.2.2. Foretelling the advent of the young Zhu prince 8.2.3. The authentication of Triad political claims 8.3. Political ideals in practice 8.3.1. Early awareness of political ideology 8.3.2. Triad political ideals in South-East Asia. . . . . . .. 8.3.3. The Small Swords Uprising. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.4 . The Mandate of Heaven and social relationships

306 306 307 316 324 325 329 333 337 337 344 351 361

9. Defining the Triad mission. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.1. The foundation account 9.1.1. The 1810 foundation account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 9.1.2. The early evolution of the foundation account . . .. 9.1.3. The foundation account from 1828 onwards . . . .. 9.1.4. The nature of the Triad foundation account. . . .. 9.2. The "fall from grace" plot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.3. Concluding remarks Appendix New theories on the Shaolin Monastery

365 368 368 375 379 388 390 400 402

PART IV. CONCLUDING ANALYSIS

Introduction .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 10. Knowledge as an object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.1. Paying for Triad lore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.2. The priority of knowing over analyzing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.2.1. The early evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 10.2.2. Non-Chinese reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 10.2.3. Understanding Triad lore 10.3. Building a community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

419 420 420 424 425 433 437 440

11. Triad lore revisited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1. Context and functions of Triad lore 11.2. Triad lore and its oral origins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.3. A different history of the Triads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 11.4. Creating natural groups

443 444 451 455 458

VIII

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463 Character list 485 Index 505

LIST OF TABLES Table Table Table Table Table Table Table Table

1. The stations of the initiation journey " 2. Messianic saviors 3. The geographic origins of the ancestors 4. The geographic origins of Shanghai rebel leaders 5. A survey of extant complete Triad foundation accounts . 6. Pre-1828 references to the foundation account 7. A comparison of three narrative traditions 8. Triad borrowing by the Incense Flower liturgy . . . . . . . .

120 227 347 359 369

377 397 413

PREFACE The original stimulus to study Triad ritual and mythology came from my last minute participation in a panel on the Triads at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Asian Studies in New Orleans in April 1991. The other members of this panel were David Ownby, Dian Murray, Mary Heidhues-Somers and Jean DeBernardi, and I have greatly profited from my discussions with them both in New Orleans and at other later meetings. Since then, I have worked intermittently on the present book, in addition to working on other projects which will also be be submitted for publication in the near future. Most of the research for, and writing of, this book was carried out between February 1991 until the end of January 1994, as a Research Fellow of the Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences and working at the Sinological Institute of Leiden University, the Netherlands. The final version of this book was completed at the Sinologisches Seminar of Heidelberg University, Germany, during the second half of 1996, with some final additions in late March 1997 (mainly contained in the appendix to Chapter Nine) in order to take into account three recent Chinese publications with new interpretations and potentially important new sources. The Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences has funded my frequent research trips abroad in a most generous manner. These included two months of very intense fieldwork (spread over three visits in the summer of 1992 and early 1993) in Southern China (Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Xiamen and Quanzhou regions in Southern Fujian). During these trips, I was able to attend scores of rituals and festivals, in order to build up a better feeling for, and comprehension of, the local religious and cultural context in which Triad lore once operated. Back in the Netherlands, I had the good fortune to witness various rituals performed by Overseas Chinese from the Cantonese cultural region. In the summer of 1991 I had the opportunity to share, for almost two months, in some of the daily life and ritual activities of the priests of two Buddhist temples in Tokyo (including my former teacher at Kyflshu University, Professor Kawakatsu Mamoru). I wish to thank them

xii

PREFACE

and all those wonderful people of Southern China for welcoming me into their religious world. The assistance of Robin Ruizendaal (then of Leiden University), a student of Minnan society in southern Fujian and Taiwan with many years of local fieldwork experience, and his friends enabled me to use my short stays in China in a most fruitful way. In addition he also allowed me full usage of his extensive video footage on local rituals and festivals. Our intensive discussions in China and back in Leiden over the years have contributed in many ways to the understanding that I have reached in this book. I wish to thank my (former) students and (former) colleagues at the Universities of Leiden and Heidelberg for many stimulating conversations over the last few years, especially Roel Jansen, Alexander Mayer and Rint Sybesma. Rudolf Wagner has twice come up with invaluable new materials concerning the Triads at a point when I was about to send this manuscript to a publisher. Among those who have read parts or all of one of the earlier versions of this book, I am especially grateful to Valerie Hansen of Yale University, Pauline Millington Ward of Dublin, Jens Tappe of Heidelberg University and Maria Huber of Miinchen University for their critical contributions. Among the many librarians who have assisted me in my bibliographical researches, I wish to thank especially all members of the library staffs of the Sinological Institute in Leiden (led by Joyce Wu) and the Sinologisches Seminar in Heidelberg (led by Thomas Hahn and, then, Annette Specht), Martin Heijdra of the Gest Library of Princeton University, Frances Wood of the British Library, and the staff of the Palace Museum Archives in Taipei. I have received additional financial support from Heidelberg University and the "Studiefonds Alle Negen" (a lineage organization in good Chinese fashion) for the final editing of my manuscript. Further intellectual and bibliographical debts have been indicated in .my annotations. I wish to dedicate this book to my family (Bibeth, Ken and Merijn) and its latest addition (Laurens), without whom life would be much less fun (although also considerably less exhausting) . Guarding my computer, disks and other materials necessary for writing a book from the incessant attacks of our smaller children has not always been an easy task, in which I have been greatly assisted by Bibeth. Despite her ill health she has borne bravely with my scholarly

PREFACE

xiii

obsessions. If this book can count at all as a meritorious act gathering up some positive karma for me, I wish to transfer its merits to her as a minor contribution to her health. Of course, I am fully responsible for all mistakes, inconsistencies and omissions that stil remain. Heidelberg, April/November 1997

CHARACTER LIST *Only place names under the county level are included. *1 have only included the names of important persons or those personal names that are directly relevant to my analysis of Triad lore (such as homophones, alternative written forms and the names of messianic figures). The Chinese characters for those names that occur only once or twice can be easily retrieved from modern source-publications. *1 have attempted to translate the personal names of saviors if they are meaningful in the demonological messianic paradigm.

anbang dingguo (to stabilize the country and settle the nation) :iCn;E~

bai (white) S bai ("to pay their respects," often translated as "to worship") n Baiding S;E' S~ baihua sm5 Baiqi (white color and qi) 1E~ baishan (White Mountain) S 11I baishang (spread them at the top) til: baitai (to worship the stage) bao (mutual responsibility group, to preserve) {!f. baojian (precious sword) .~J Baoshu Ya I!ldilt~ beidou (the Northern Bushel)~t4 ben (foundation) biao (wen) (memorial) 1f. ( biaozhang (memorial) 1f.. biaozhong xiongdi wurenzhi (Of the brothers in the [Five] Banners, nobody knows) t'-lfl5t~~A~

n.

*

s: )

bing~

bingshu (Military Booklet) ~. Bu Yexian /FiMt: bufu (official ritual clothing) M8Il

Cai Dezhong

~~,~,

PART I PRELIMINARIES

CHAPTER ONE

INTERPRETING THE TRIADS (HEAVEN AND EARTH GATHERING) The Triads or Heaven and Earth Gatherings, whose ritual and narratives form the central focus of this book, were exclusively male brotherhoods created through an extensive ritual and active in Southern China and Southeast Asia (mainly among Minnan, Teochiu [Chaozhou], Hakka and Cantonese speaking groups) . Here they have flourished from the last decade of the eighteenth century until quite recently. Although Triad groups often had contacts with local social elites and lower officials, their actual membership can be described as socially marginal (though not necessarily poor) . In this book I will argue that membership of a Triad group was part of a social survival strategy, which entailed joining a network of mutual support and sharing in an exclusive body of ritual and narrative lore (which included an extensive initiation ritual, a foundation account, specific jargon and recognition symbols). This lore was essential in the construction of a Triad group and provided Triad members with the cultural and religious identity that they needed in a hostile world. The Triads have tickled the imagination of Western scholars and colonial officials ever since they first became aware of them in Hong Kong, the Malayan peninsula and the former Dutch Indies in the first half of the nineteenth century. Since then the image of the Triads has grown to be that of a subversive criminal organization, with some curious rituals and myths: In China, too, the dominant paradigm of the Triads has been as a rebellious and criminal organisation, once directed against the Manchu Qing dynasty and nowadays mainly a threat to public safety. Over the years, this image of the Triads as being subversive and criminal groups has lost none of its former impact. Indeed, the image has helped the police to obtain more money and larger freedom of action in combatting "organ ized crime," by claiming that the so-called Triads present a special kind of threat. In fictional-but no less influential-treatments of Chinese life, the Triads appear as the epitome of typically Chinese, exclusionist corporate groups. Timothy Moo's power-

4

CHAPTER ONE

ful novel Sour Sweet hinges upon the expansion of Hong Kong criminal groups-"the Triads"-into Europe. Linda Ching Sledge's more recent Empire of Heaven describes the checkered fate of the female healer Rulan in southern China preceding and during the great uprising of the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace, where once again the Triads feature prominently as predatory groups.' Many readers will have some associations of their own with the term "Triads," and we can safely state that, as a label for organized Chinese crime, the term has become an intrinsic part of our own cultural universe. The early nationalist movement adopted the Triads as potential allies, which resulted in a historiography that attempted to demonstrate their proto-nationalist nature and to analyze the Triad foundation account as a straightforward piece of historical writing. Since the late 1970s, a new interpretation has developed, based on the exhaustive use of the Qing period archival resources preserved in Beijing and Taibei, as well as the discovery of new relevant materials (including manuals, inscriptions and artifacts) in the southern Chinese countryside during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Recently, a number of monographs have appeared that use these new sources to deal with different aspects of Triad history. These include two Western language monographs, one by Dian Murray (1994) and the other by David Ownby (1996), and Chinese language monographs by ZhuangJifa (1981) and (1994), Cai Shaoqing (1987), Qin Baoqi (1988) and He Zhiqing (1996) . This research is of high quality and has provided many new insights into the history and socio-economic background of the Triads, as well as uncovering some truly remarkable new source materials.f Despite this excellent research, I believe that there is still ample room for further investigation from a different point of view, and having a more sceptical attitude towards the extant sources. Except for David Ownby's investigation, most research up to now has neglected the religious and cultural dimensions of Triad lore, 1 Timothy Mo, Sour Sweet (Andre Deutsch, London, 1982 and many reprints) ; Linda Ching Sledge, Empire of Heaven (Bantam Books, New York, 1990) . 2 Murray (1994) 89-150 and Ownby (1996) 7-11 give an excellent up-to-date survey of Triad historiography in English, expanding the earlier study by Qin (1988) . He (1996) 17-62 presents a very interesting and polemical historiographical survey. He feels that many scholars base their interpretations too exclusively on archival materials.

INTERPRETING THE TRIADS

5

and reduced it to being a product of vernacular literary traditions (especially those of the Three Kingdoms and of the Water Margin)." In the following investigation, I will demonstrate the crucial importance of Triad ritual and narratives (mythology) to the existence and legitimacy of individual Triad groups. In the same way that Ownby's recent analysis of Triad groups as mutual aid brotherhoods has placed them back within the frame of mainstream Chinese social history (instead of seeing them as an independent proto-nationalist tradition), this investigation wishes to place Triad lore back into the mainstream of Chinese cultural and religious history (instead of seeing it as esoteric and self-enclosed). More specifically, I will demonstrate that Triad lore, with its lengthy foundation account, its initiation ritual and internal jargon and signals, served to mask the fundamentally contigent (that is coincidental) nature of Triad groups. Its ritual provided a strong means of transforming persons from outsiders, belonging to a hostile environment and without prior mutual ties, into insiders, bound to support each other come what might. Its foundation account established the historical pedigree and legitimacy of the group, while its jargon and signals for daily usage strengthened its long term cohesion. A truly comprehensive understanding of Triad lore can only be reached through participant observation. However, due to the criminalization of the Triads, fieldwork on Triad lore was not a serious option. It would have required an inordinately long investment of time merely to gain their confidence, not to mention the further amount of time which would be needed to actually carry out the fieldwork. Acquiring sufficient fluency in spoken Cantonese (and/or other requisite local languages) would have been the least of one's worries. A further complication stems from the fact that it is quite unclear whether-and then where and to what extentTriad ritual practice is still alive. Official reports on the situation in Hong Kong are inconsistent in this respect," and we are even 3 Even the very recent publications by Luo (1994-1995) and He (1996) use religious sources exclusively to uncover the ultimate "origins" of the Triads. 4 Also see my brief discussion at the end of section 3.2.1. Bolton and Hutton (1995) 164-167 discuss the official efforts at controlling the Triads from the 1956 riots onwards. They quote an official government report from 1964 which claims that the full initiation rituals, so common until 1956, had become a thing of the past. A 1986 government discussion document states that "there is evidence that

6

CHAPTER ONE

less informed about the situation elsewhere in China and Southeast Asia. We dispose of two alternative sources of information that enable us to circumvent the practical impossibility of carrying out fieldwork on the Triads themselves. First of all, the Triads are unique for the richness of the texts and drawings that have been produced by their own ritual specialists over almost two centuries, from the moment they first came into the open during the Lin Shuangwen uprising on Taiwan in 1786-1787 until at least the 1960s . These texts and drawings were produced to support the transmission and performance of the Triad initiation ritual. In addition there are two complete Triad altars, as well as a painting and a filmed summary of the initiation ritual (made by the Hong Kong police in the late 1950s) . When combined with the sometimes remarkably informative reports by Western colonial officials.P and the broad range of "outsider" Chinese sources, this material allows us to put together a fairly detailed description of Triad ritual and narratives over an extended period of time. Secondly, I have attempted to construct a broader context to the different aspects of Triad lore, in order to allow me to speculate on the historical origins of Triad lore and its subsequent internal development. By placing Triad lore in its proper context, we also discover that it was by no means esoteric and exceptional, but actually fitted quite well in the traditional religious culture of southern China.

on a few occasions, in the last twelve months, up to 60 persons have attended and the ceremony has lasted about two hours." This duration roughly corresponds to the length of the full initiation ritual, without the banquet and other surrounding festivities. The complexity of the ritual is such that only regular and continued practice could have guaranteed its survival, and therefore I would deduce from this information that full initiation rituals were (and probably are) still carried out. 5 Some early Western authors thought to have found in the Triads some kind of distant relative to the Free Masonry, giving their work a curiously sympathetic ring. Favourable views are Schlegel (1866) ix-xi; Vaughan (1879) 92; Ward and Stirling (1925) passim. A critical early view is Xiao (1935) 2: 17b-19a. The thesis has meanwhile been discarded by modern scholarship, see Murray (1994) 89103.

INTERPRETING THE TRIADS

7

1.1. The study of Triad lore In its full form Triad lore consisted of a lengthy initiation ritual concluded by a blood covenant and a collective banquet, as well as a set of written membership rules, a foundation account which was told or read to the old and new members, secret signals (amongst others with teacups, a teapot and a opium pipe), and even special jargon for significant words. The initiation ritual involved setting up an elaborate altar and a large number of special flags. New members received a membership certificate with crucial lore on the front of it, as well as their name on the back. Triad lore was mainly transmitted in the form of dialogues, poems and drawings. The initiation ritual was the principal occasion for using this lore. Ideally, the membership rules were meant to be the foundation of a member's daily behavior, but we have virtually no sources as to their actual impact. Triad signals and jargon were also intended for usage on a daily basis, and there is some evidence that this actually took place.

1.1.1. The contextualisation of Triad lore In the following chapters I will show that Triad ritual and narratives played a crucial role in the formation of a Triad identity, even if most members may not have been able to comment on this lore in a very systematic manner. Since Triad lore originated from longstanding religious and cultural traditions, Triad members would not have felt unfamiliar with many of the constituent elements of this lore. They would have understood as much or as little of Triad lore, as they would have of other local ritual and cultural traditions. Performance and participation were of utmost importance, rather than doctrinal understanding by means of indoctrination through a catechism. Because of this, we have little explicit evidence on the understanding of individual members, beyond scattered remarks in their confessions, what can be gleaned from the Triad ritual manuals and stray remarks in Western reports. A stress on correct performance has guaranteed the survival of Triad lore, from its origins in the late eighteenth century until its demise in the 1970s, in a form that is surprisingly consistent over time (with the important restriction that changes in oral interpretations and performance practices are lost to us). This has also

8

CHAPTER ONE

been my justification for treating all information on Triad lore as one coherent corpus, unless there are clear and significant indications of change over time. In this way, I can use the various titbits of information in a more fruitful way to elucidate each other, whereas a rigidly historical approach would have fragmented the available sources to the point of making any kind of analysis impossible. In my research I was continuously confronted with the circumstance that traditional Chinese writers were rarely interested in laying down the details of ritual activities or narrative elements, leave alone their possible meanings, functions and interpretations. Often, it is simply stated that 'a blood covenant was practised' or 'a message came from Heaven through water,' without any further explanation of what this means. What I wanted to know is how these practices or events related to the aims of the participants, what were their ritual or narrative contents, which deities were involved, what was the social and educational background of the people involved, and so forth . Only by collating a large number of different sources, did it become possible to construct a more or less convincing context that would provide the relevant information that is required to answer such questions. A5 a result, the sources upon which I have drawn are quite diverse, ranging from stories of the strange, desultory notes, local gazetteers (especially the sections on military incidents, customs, strange events and disasters), to memorials in collected works, archival materials, novels and ethnographical reports (Western and Chinese). Generally speaking, I have restricted my annotations to primary and secondary literature with good quality descriptions or interesting interpretations. My construction of a broader context suffers from an important structural weakness, namely the use of sources from different periods and regions as if they refer to the same custom, belief or story. There can be little doubt that this assumption is incorrect, but the alternative would be to relinquish this kind of project altogether. Given the poverty of historical sources on many aspects of traditional Chinese society, we either have to give up the analysis of a large part of traditional religious culture altogether or make do with the sources as they are. Methodologically, I therefore do not claim to reconstruct historically precise antecedents for the various elements of Triad lore, but rather to construct

INTERPRETING THE TRIADS

9

broader contextual fields to which these elements belong. I also think that this method can be adopted for other fields of traditional Chinese culture for which we have little evidence, as long as we are aware of its explanatory limitations. Like our sources on the religious and cultural context of Triad lore, internal Triad sources also stem from a long period of time and a large geographical area, often from virtually anonymous persons (even when we sometimes know their names, we generally lack information on their ethnic, social and educational background) . We usually know very little about the actual way in which the rituals described in part in the manuals were carried out, nor do we have much information on their larger context. The internal sources stem from different lines of transmission and their quality varies considerably. The reconstruction of Triad ritual and narrative to be presented in the following chapters is, therefore, a conscious abstraction from time, place and social background. Instead of presenting "the" meaning of Triad lore for specific persons in specific places at a specific point of time, I will suggest several possible readings. I will attempt a rough historical analysis of Triad lore, in order to speculate on its origins, as well as changes within this lore and its overall impact on Chinese history. The readings that I suggest will be grounded in the textual materials that explicitly deal with Triad lore, in (my reconstructions of) their larger religious and cultural context, and in the few historical incidents for which we have sufficient information concerning the actual use of Triad lore. Establishing a larger religious and cultural context allows a much more balanced view of the origins of Triad lore than has been possible in earlier scholarship. It is generally claimed that important aspects of this lore derived from vernacular literary traditions as represented by the great novels : for instance, the blood covenant from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the use of legitimation terminology from The Water Margin. Such claims assume that these novels could be read more easily by the average person, by virtue of being written in their own language (so-called vernacular Chinese or baihua).6 In fact, these novels belonged to elite culture until the late nineteenth century." All literate people 6 7

See note 1 to Chapter Four. Plaks (1987) passim.

10

CHAPTER ONE

learned to read and write through the medium of classical Chinese. Hence, there is no such thing as an exclusive literacy in the vernacular language. The number of Chinese characters that one has to know in order to read such novels is actually much larger than the minimal literacy that most "literate" people possessed. In addition, very few southerners spoke the northern Chinese language variant underlying the vernacular Chinese of such novels. Finally, there is the simple fact that by far the largest part of Triad lore cannot be traced to such vernacular literature at all. A better understanding of the nature of Triad lore indicates that it did not come from a Buddhist or Daoist background, but originated in the oral (but not exclusively oral) religious culture of traditional China, especially that of southern China. Despite the importance of Buddhist monks and a Buddhist monastery in the Triad foundation account, the basic tenets of Triad lore are nonBuddhist, including the sacrifice of meat and the consumption of liquor mixed with human and/or animal blood. Both the blood covenant and the rice bushel with contents appear in so-called vernacular exorcist Daoist rituals, but appear just as frequently in non-Daoist ritual contexts as well. The blood covenant was documented in great detail many centuries before the Christian era and before the appearance of specifically Daoist ritual traditions in the course of the second century A.D. The rice bushel with contents is first documented much later, but its prevalence in a great variety of contexts suggests considerable antiquity. Much the same can also be argued for other aspects of Triad lore. By interpreting Triad lore inside the broader context from which it came into being and within which it subsequently functioned, we can provide a much more convincing analysis of the meanings and functions of its constituent elements than would have been possible by studying this lore in splendid isolation. It turns out that Triad lore had its roots in century-old traditions of forming groups and changing people's statuses by ritual means. The meanings and functions of the various elements of Triad lore are not part of a closed symbolic system, but developments from a larger symbolic system that can be reconstructed for southern China or even China as whole. In order to demonstrate this essential point, the individual discussions of the different aspects of Triad lore are always prefaced by extensive introductions to the cultural context from which these aspects originated and against which they were

INTERPRETING THE TRIADS

11

interpreted by Triad members. This also means that this investigation can, and should, be read in two ways, both as an interpretative study of Triad lore, grounded in its larger cultural religious context, and as an investigation of crucial aspects of Chinese religious culture as a whole, with the interpretation of Triad lore as a supporting case study.

1.1.2. Triad ritual and narratives The Triad authors of written manuals have traditionally distinguished between their initiation ritual, the foundation account (seen as history) and additional lore, which were contained in separate sections of the manuals. For practical purposes I have retained this distinction between ritual and narrative, without wishing to claim that the one is more important than the other. We will see in the course of my investigation that ritual and narratives (mythology) each accomplished different things for Triad members. The distinction is further justified by the fact that the Triad ritual and the foundation account came into being independently of each other and only influenced each other at a later stage. The ritual dimension of Triad lore is discussed in the four chapters that together make up Part II. "Pe rforman ce ." At the end of my analysis of the initiation journey in Chapter Three, I present my views on the nature of this type of ritual in Chinese culture in general. The following two chapters deal with the blood covenant and its sociomoralistic implications. The narrative dimensions of Triad lore are discussed in Part III. "Narratives." The actual foundation account forms the topic of Chapter Nine, whereas the first three chapters of this part are devoted to a reconstruction of certain elements of Triad lore that make up other types of narratives, which were messianic or more conventionally political in nature. There are no internal Triad sources that describe an initiation ritual as it actually took place. An important aim of constructing a broader religious and cultural context has, therefore, been to obtain a clearer perspective on what an actual Triad ritual performance might have been like. The written manuals included dialogues, poems, slogans to be written on ritual implements and other materials that were hard to memorize. They rarely give concrete advice on the performance of the ritual, except for an occasional list of ritual objects and more or less detailed drawings of the al-

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tar. Western studies of Triad ritual are largely translations or summaries of these ritual manuals. Only one anonymous painting dating back to before 1923 (when it was confiscated) and stemming from Singapore, and a short film from the 1950s made by the Hong Kong police actually depict the initiation ritual-both in a simplified form . In addition, we have confessions produced for the benefit of Chinese officials who were uninterested in ritual as such, and some incomplete Western accounts. Of these Western accounts, only those by W.A. Pickering and W. Morgan go back to direct interviews with Triad members, whereas the account by Abdullah Bin Abdul Kadir is based on eyewitness observations by others without real interviewing. I have combined these incomplete materials with insights on ritual traditions in southern China obtained from nineteenth and early twentieth century (mainly Western) ethnography, as well as fieldwork by modern contemporary Western and Chinese anthropologists, to produce a hypothetical description of a Triad initiation ritual as it might actually have taken place. My discussion of the initiation ritual in Part II. roughly follows the actual ritual sequence, beginning with an analysis of the burning of incense and the Triad altar, especially the rice bushel with contents. I will demonstrate that burning incense expressed the nature of a Triad group as a community of human beings. This was achieved in the simple act of collective worship. The rice bushel symbolized the territory of the worshipping group, in this case the Triads, whereas the various objects inside had exorcist connotations. In the Triad manuals these conventional meanings were maintained and further developed in line with the specific politico-religious contents of Triad lore as a whole. This analysis is followed by a close reading of the initiation ritual per se, which transformed the candidate member from an outsider into an insider. Although Triad groups might or might not have other rituals, this was by all means the far most important ritual of them all. Triad manuals contained scores of dialogues, poems and other textual materials and depictions for this specific ritual. Importantly, it was not constructed as the enactment of the foundation account, but enacted a journey of life and death in which the candidate member had to travel through a landscape passing through stages of near-death and of rebirth. The enactment of death and rebirth in initiation rituals is quite common in

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many cultures, but has not been previously documented for Chinese culture. Although I have been unable to verify my analysis with actual Triad members, I am convinced that both Triad sources and external contextual information fully support my analysis. Incidentally, it is quite possible that Triad members would deny parts of my analysis , since my statements make certain dimensions of the ritual too explicit and are hence inauspicious. The examination of Triad ritual is concluded by an extensive analysis of the blood covenant, which served to confirm the initiation ritual and bind the newly formed community of Triad members to a specific set of behavioral rules. The nature of the Triad blood covenant has long been misunderstood due to its superficial resemblances to the Western blood oath used to conclude artificial brotherhoods, because the Triad covenant also happened to serve this (among other) aims . As I will show , the blood covenant and the conclusion of a brotherhood were two completely different things that only happened to coincide in the Triad case . The consumption of liquor mixed with blood served to strengthen the words of the covenant (the purpose of consuming blood) and to create a solemn bond between the participants (the purpose of drinking liquor). Triad lore was much more than merely a ritual to change the statuses of its participants from outsiders into insiders. It also legitimated the Triad tradition and provided Triad groups with a sense of mission. This dimension is discussed in Part III. "Narratives." First, I reconstruct a little-studied demonological messianic tradition from the Qing period and then demonstrate its remarkable influence on parts of Triad lore. We can find this influence most strongly in the idealized group-structure of the Triads, the quasi-historical Triad founders, the Triad sense of mission and the means with which this mission was to be carried out. Furthermore, although the messianic tenor of early Triad lore was subsequently lost, it developed into the political dimension of Triad lore that created so much misunderstanding among late Qing and early Republican revolutionaries, as well as later historians. The political dimension of Triad lore is analyzed in great detail in Chapter Eight. On the basis of a better understanding of the Mandate of Heaven paradigm being the major political ideology of the imperial period and essential to the constitution of social groups, it is possible to demonstrate that this dimension was present

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from the first appearance of Triad groups in 1786-1787. It performed both political and social functions, with really can not be understood independently from each other. Therefore, although Triads were hardly proto-revolutionary groups, this does not mean that the political dimension of Triad lore was insignificant. After this analysis of messianic and political elements in Triad lore, I analyze the plot structure of the foundation account and its historical development. My approach to the foundation account is not as a historical source, but as a story that uses historical means to accomplish essentially mythological aims. The Triad perception of this story is as a historical account, which is the general term that I will use in this investigation, but we might call it a myth as well. Since the qualification of this account as "myth " is based on an outsider's analytic judgement, I have decided to use it only as an adjective, such as "myth ological," to make clear that this is me speaking. I return to this issue in Chapter Nine. Only in the overall title of this book, I have retained the less appropriate, but rhetorically more appealing nominal form "mythology." The Triad foundation account never lost its religious elements, but it can certainly be said that these decreased in significance over time. Sato Kimihiko pointed out already in 1983 that the account shows important structural similarities to the foundation accounts of three other (semi-) religious traditions from the late imperial period, namely a seventeenth century Buddhist tradition tracing itself back to Patriarch Luo, the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Green Gangs of the Lower Yangzi region (remote descendants of the tradition started by Patriarch Luo), and the late nineteenth and twentieth century Eight Trigrams tradition of northern China. I further develop Sate's analysis and suggest that the Triad foundation account belongs to a specific type of account dating from the late imperial period which served to create and legitimize a strong identity for very marginal groups. My analysis of Triad lore is then rounded off by two more general chapters, which together make up Part IV. First; I look at the construction and perception of meaning(s) by Triad members themselves, on the basis of their own testimony. Then I will summarize the implications of my investigation for our understanding of the origins and history of Triad lore. At this point I should stress once more that my primary aim throughout this investigation is a close reading of Triad lore within the larger context of its

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surrounding religious culture. Such close readings of particular instances of ritual and narratives (mythology) in Chinese culture are still surprisingly few in number, and I have therefore opted for a relatively dense treatment that may also be of some use to other students of traditional Chinese religious culture. 1.2. Defining the Triad phenomenon The Triads have acquired a firm place in the Western imagination, and as I have already observed above, their name has become almost synonymous with organized Chinese crime. It is therefore quite common to use the term without further definition in discussions about the increase in crime ascribed to the expansion of criminal organizations. This ideological context is important and should be made the object of further inquiry. It is not, however, the original connotation of the term "T riads" and organized crime is not the kind of phenomenon with which I am concerned in this study. Instead I will define the object of this investigation as being those groups who referred to themselves as "Heaven and Earth Gathering" and/ or "Triads" and who shared a particular body of ritual and narrative lore. In the following two sections, I first discuss the different autonyms of the Triads, showing that the appellation "T riad (s)" is appropriate to these groups, although for different reasons than is commonly assumed. Then, I provide a brief historical survey of the Triad groups by way of background to the main body of this book, in which I focus on their ritual and narratives, rather than on the groups themselves. 1.2.1. The different autonyms of the Triads The Chinese versions of the names "Heaven and Earth Gathering" and "Triads" were used by different groups that culled from one and the same tradition of ritual and narrative lore in order to constitute themselves as legitimate social entities. Such names chosen by a group to refer to itself are called autonyms. It is important to distinguish autonyms from names that are appended by outside observers, since in the latter case otherwise unrelated groups are often lumped together and all kinds of preconceptions and prejudices may be attached to them. Such names are labels, rather than autonyms, even if the two are often confused.

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The autonym "Heaven and Earth Gathering" (tiandi hui) refers to the fact that at a religious gathering (hui) the future members of a group conclude a covenant, or oath, with Heaven (tian) and Earth (di) as witnesses and sanctioning agents. The name is quite straightforward, but also ambiguous, since this type of covenant was practised by many other groups besides the particular tradition with which I am concerned in the present study. Hence, the appearance of this autonym can not be taken as sufficient evidence that we are dealing with a group belonging to the same religious and cultural tradition, unless further evidence is available. The Western term "Triads" was derived during the early nineteenth century from several alternative autonyms of the Heaven and Earth Gathering, namely "Th ree Dots" (sandian), "Three Rivers" isanhe"), and "Three Unions" (sanhett) , always followed by the word "Gathering" (hui). In the Western secondary literature, it is widely assumed that the use of the number three here refers to the common Chinese philosophical notion of the trinity of heaven, earth and man. This assumption is not confirmed by Triad texts .8 The most likely explanation for these alternative autonyms is much more prosaic. "Th ree Dots" quite literally refers to the three dots of the water radical on the left of the character Hong, which is the common family name of all Triad members. "Th ree Rivers" takes up the meaning of the water radical. Triad lore refers to the Three Rivers as a place which must be crossed by the candidate members during their initiation ritual, "concretizing" the reference to the three dots of the water radical. "Three Unions" (sanU) is homophonous with "Three Rivers " (sanhe·) , but it can also be read as the translation of the split character version sangong (three together) for hong. In Triad lore both ways of writing sanhe are further taken up in the idea that the Three Rivers coalesce or unite. More generally, the notion of concluding a union (he) or agreement (hetong) plays an important role in the organizational structure of the Triad, which is constituted by a blood covenant," 8 As for instance suggested by Morgan (1960) 156. TDH I: 3 explains three special characters for Heaven , Earth and the Gathering, while TDH I: 9 lines 38 mentions heaven, earth and man as the titles of three of the seven "foundation" poems. However, no link is made by any Triad manual between these three chara cters and the name "Tria ds." 9 TDH I: 6 lines 13, 20, 23 and 25, and 14 line 4 on the Three Rivers. TDH I: 4, 5 line 21, 7 line 6, 8 line 11 and so forth on the notion of a union or agreement. In later manuals similar statemen ts can be found.

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The three dots of the water radical are also used as a protective amulet, appearing already in some of the very earliest Triad documents. The three dots are indicated both as an isolated water radical, and as three little circles on a document from 1791 (but going back to 1787, the year for which we have the first hard evidence on the existence of the Triads). The three dots continued to be used for empowering amulets and special characters throughout the subsequent history of the Triads.!" The number three plays a crucial role throughout Triad lore. This is hardly surprising, since the character "three" represents the water radical when the character Hong is written in split characters. For instance the number occurs in the most basic recognition signal which prescribes the use of three fingers to lift things (see my brief discussion at the outset of section 9.1.1.).1l For the same reason, the seal which the Shaolin monks received from the Qing emperor, in gratitude for their military defeat of barbarian invaders of northeastern China, was triangular in shape, while on membership certificates the common family name Hong is always written inside a triangle. To conclude, the main criterion for including a group within the overall Triad tradition will be their use of the recurrent symbolism of the number three, whether as a finger sign, in slogans, or in drawings and writings. Further characteristics are a minimal initiation ceremony that includes the blood covenant and (most of the time) the use of the common family name Hong. This sharing of ritual and narrative lore by a large number of groups should not be taken as sufficient evidence that they also formed a coherent social entity. If we wish to claim that Triad groups did form a larger structure, this has to be proven independently, without reference to their shared body of ritual and narrative lore. 1.2.2. A brief history of Triad groups

In the course of this investigation, I will frequently refer to specific events in the development and spread of Triad groups. The 10 TDH V: 413. Other early examples, e.g. TDH VI: fourth page with photographs, top and bottom pictures from two different cases in 1806; TDH I: 5 lines 6 -10, 10 in the th ree amulets and explicitly indicated in line 3. 11 TDH I: 3.

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following abbreviated survey of Triad history may help the reader to place such references in their proper historical context. A comprehensive Western language survey of the early history of Triad groups in China itself, and some of their lore, is given by Dian Murray in her recent book, The Origins ofthe Tiandihui. Others have written detailed historical surveys of Triad activities in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. 12 Murray pays considerable attention to the growth of a body of Triad lore and the reader who is interested in a case by case discussion of its historical evolution is referred to her very full and informative account. At this point, I should repeat that there is no such thing as a history of the Triads in the sense of a history of one lineage of groups that continued to interact with each other. The only thing that "connected" them was their lore, but otherwise they were individual groups of people tied up in fluctuating local or regional networks of interests and conflicts. I sincerely doubt that we can speak of the Triads as one coherent social phemonenon which can be categorized with a single analytical term. When I use the phrase "the history of the Triads," this should be seen as a convenient figure of speech to talk about the histories of many different Triad groups in various regions. The historical beginnings of the Triads were long analyzed on the basis of their foundation account, which was interpreted by modern scholars as linking them to late Ming loyalists or the MingQing merchant-pirate Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong) . The story tells the origins of the first Triad group in an historical format. Sometime during the early Qing, the northwest of China was threatened by barbarians and no Qing army was capable of keeping them at bay. The Qing emperor put out a call for help across the whole country. The monks of the Shaolin Monastery (differently located according to the specific version of the foundation account) came to the rescue and conclusively defeated the barbarians. Out of gratitude, the emperor donated a triangular seal to them, which provided the monastery with important status and legitimation. This caused jealousy among court officials, and some of them plotted to have the Shaolin monks eliminated. They sent an army to 12 Murray (1994) . On the Malayan peninsula, see Comber (1959) and Blythe (1969). On the Hong Kong region, see Morgan (1960) . The following survey is based on these sources, unless otherwise mentioned.

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burn down the monastery and only thirteen monks were able to escape the subsequent fire . After a long trek, only five of them survived. They too were on the verge of being captured, when an incense burner miraculously appeared from a river. It instructed them to destroy the Qing and restore the Ming. They founded the first Triad group and concluded a solemn blood covenant, in which they vowed to carry out their mission. They became brothers and founded the Hong family. Subsequently, they were joined by a young descendant of the Zhu imperial house of the former Ming. During a final battle, they were again defeated. The five founders were dispersed throughout China and founded Triad groups everywhere.P Neither Ming loyalists nor Zheng Chenggong playa role in this foundation account. The figure of Zheng Chenggong has been "located" in this story by modern scholars through equating him with the figure of Chen Jinnan, who actually appears only in later versions. Though reconstructions of early Triad history based on the foundation account may still be influential among the larger public and enjoy a certain revival among local historians in southern Fujian, they have been largely discounted in mainstream Chinese and Western scholarly circles. Nowadays, most scholarly interpretations take as their starting point the first appearance of the Triads in the extant sources under the name Heaven and Earth Gathering during the Lin Shuangwen uprising on Taiwan, which lasted from 1786 to early 1787. All other evidence that explicitly deals with the Triads postdates this uprising, even though it may claim to concern earlier events (such as the foundation account or the attempts by Qing officials to trace the network of Lin Shuangwen's teachers backwards in timej.l" In the course of the 1786-1787 uprising, a series of rebel edicts, and part of a written oath to be used during the blood covenant ceremony, were confiscated from a dead rebel leader. At first, the rebels were quite successful and even occupied some larger places, but eventually Qing forces succeeded in defeating them. All known leaders as well as many followers were killed, but others evaded capture and transmitted Triad 13 This summary is based on my analysis of the foundation account in Chapter Nine . 14 On the rebellion, see the excellent discussion in Ownby (1996) 55-81, 187191. Older accounts in Cai (1987) 66-122 and Qin (1988) 238-274.

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lore further on Taiwan.P Qing officials subsequently attempted to eradicate the Triads on the Chinese mainland, arresting scores of people, but had no success in preventing the further spread of Triad groups on the mainland and even into Southeast Asia. Of all Triad members who were rounded up in the aftermath of the Lin Shuangwen uprising, a peddlar named Van Van knew the largest amount of Triad lore by heart. Nonetheless, he was not very informative on its provenance and possible meanings (or the Qing officials who interrogated him did not question him thoroughly enough) . Ultimately, Qing officials succeeded in tracing back Van Van 's teachers to the founder of the Triad tradition-or so they thought. This "founder" was a man by the name of Zheng Kai, who was identified as the Monk Wan Tuxi from Van Van's confession. The man himself had already died, but his son and some of his followers were still alive. Our evidence on Van Van's teachers goes back to one key memorial composed in 1789 . Closer analysis shows that the information in this memorial is extremely problematic. First of all, the authors are quite explicit that the two interrogated persons only confessed to what their interrogators wanted to know after substantial torture. The evidence in the memorial on the two purported ancestral incidents is not consistent with evidence on these incidents collected in their immediate aftermath and contained in various extant memorials. All evidence on these two incidents that specifically concerns Triad history stems from the 1789 memorial. Crucial to the memorial is its identification of Monk Wan with a historical figure. However, in the course of this investigation I will show that wan is also an important element of the demonological messianic paradigm from which early Triad lore originated, suggesting that this Monk Wan was a mythical figure. Information on this figure may well have been projected on a real person that the interrogated people knew, but this figure was not real himself.l" Nevertheless, modem historiogSee the case of Chen Xin, discussed in 5.1.1. The basic memorial is TDH VII: 522-527 (also in: He [1987] 393-5) . The discussion in Murray (1994) 16-24 and 253-254 (note 59) is based on this 1789 memorial and the slightly earlier confession by Van Van, whenever she is dealing with the Triad dimension of events preceding 1787. None of the information in thi s 1789 memorial is contained in the testimony of those directly involved in the Lin Shuangwen rebellion, no r in the testimony of people from real Triad networks apprehended in 1787. Sources that are contemporary to the earlier 15 16

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raphy tends to accept the memorial as reliable and now dates the historical origins of the Triads somewhere in the 1760s. 17 Given the uncertainty of the evidence, I prefer to date the first appearance of the Triads as a coherent phenomenon in the historical sources back to the Lin Shuangwen uprising of 178~1787. This leaves unchanged the fact that specific elements of Triad lore, both its ritual and its foundation account, do have a much longer history. In fact, the following chapters are partly directed at uncovering this history and demonstrating the indebtedness of Triad lore (including what is presently seen as its earliest history!) to established ritual and narrative (mythological) traditions. From 1787 onwards, the Qing authorities went on to arrest, on an almost yearly basis, large numbers of people belonging to Triad groups. While some of them were openly rebellious or criminally active, others were merely interested in ensuring their own safety by obtaining protective knowledge and/or building supportive personal networks. From 1802 onwards there were also frequent finds of textual materials for use in the Triad initiation ritual and/ incidents from which the Triads supposedly developed also never refer to the Triads or relevant elements of their lore. I see at least four major problems with the information given in the 1789 memorial. a. The crucial witness Chen Biao only confessed after repeated and very intense torturing that he , Monk Wan and the Lu Mao uprising of 1768 were linked together. See TDH VII: 523 line 21 - 524 line 1. b . In one of the two incide n ts preceding 1786, the participants supported a descendant of the Song imperial family, whereas th e Triads always supported the Ming imperial family (in 1786-1787 as well) . c. The interrogators never established the sources of Van Yan's knowledge nor the provenance of the 1787 covenant text (leave alon e an important text found in 1791, but based on knowledge of people apprehended in 1787) . The context of the covenant text is also left unexplained. d . A large part of the memorial discusses the purported son of Wan Tuxi, a monk called Zheng Ji with the religious name Xingyi. According to thi s son, his father was originally called Zheng Kai. He had taken the religious name Tixi, but was also called Tuxi and Monk Hong Two. Why his father supposedly changed his family name, why he had so many alternative names and how to explain the family name Wan all remain open questions. Furthermore, 'the ZhengJi figure is described as dull-witted and can therefore hardly be considered a reliable witness. See TDH VII : 523-525. 17 Murray (1994) 16-24, 149-150, 168-169. The most eloquent proponent of this view is He (1996) 141-152,286-294. The recent identification ofa local temple in southern Fujian as the Triad mother temple, because the (a?) Wan figure is worshipped here, is also questionable. I discuss this issue in note 2 of Ch apter Nine.

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or as protective amulets. These materials testify to the growing complexity of Triad lore, which is further confirmed by increasingly detailed descriptions of the initiation ritual in confessions. From the archival record it is quite clear that as early as 1800 the Triads had a fully developed body of ritual and narrative lore, which had already spread along the southeast China coast, as well as inland through the border regions between Jiangxi and Fujian, and between Jiangxi and Guangdong. A little later, Triad lore was carried further into the southwestern provinces and Southeast Asia by the ongoing migration of unmarried males looking for jobs in order to survive and in urgent need of protection. In the long run, the Triads appear to have been strongest among Cantonese, Chaozhou (Teochiu) and Hakka communities. The border region of northeastern Fujian (the Minxi region around Shaowu andJianning) and northernJiangxi is well represented in the archival sources that describe the early history of the Triads, while northwestern Fujian (the Minbei region around Fuzhou) is strikingly absent from the very beginning. Furthermore, the early importance of the border region of northern Jiangxi and northern Fujian did not last. Triad incidents in Fujian are rare, the principal exceptions being the Triad occupation of Xiamen (Amoy) in 1853 and a rebellion on Taiwan led by Dai Chaochun in 1861. The present source situation suggests that Triad lore reached its fullest development in Guangdong and Guangxi, and in the overseas Chinese communities. Cantonese, Chaozhou (Teochiu) and Hakka people were also important segments of the overseas Triad groups. IS Despite ongoing persecutions, many networks must have survived without leaving any traces, as otherwise Triad groups could not have spread to the extent that they did. Sometimes, we can reconstruct the history of a network on the basis of much later arrests, revealing just how incomplete the persecutions often were. Thus, the network of Iron Nose and Lu Shenghai can be traced from 1797 until 1821 on the basis of archival materials resulting from three waves of persecution. 19 In 1806 and 1811, two large branches of the network were rounded up. Huge numbers of people were arrested, many of whom were subsequently executed. As late as 18 19

See for instance my discussion in sections 8.3.2. and 8.3.3. TDH VI: 301-309, 319-323, 332-348, 370-371, 373-374.

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1821, a third and smaller branch was uncovered, whose members possessed texts that indirectly linked them to this network, via the teacher Iron Nose. During the 1821 arrests, neither officials nor participants showed any interest in possible connections to earlier branches. We are not well-informed about this third branch, but its survival until 1821 shows that even networks which were as thoroughly persecuted as that of Iron Nose, often still survived in part. This particular network is also important for the early history of Triad lore, since crucial texts were confiscated from the two branches rounded up in 1806 and 1811. These texts had been appended to memorials which were presented to the throne, and have survived until the present day. The memorials also contained a number of confessions that throw further light on the confiscated texts. From the very beginning, Triad ritual and narrative lore was adopted by socially marginal people to create networks of mutual support and then establish a new coherent group identity for these haphazard networks. Hence, it comes as no surprise that Triad groups often arose in frontier areas, whether on the Chinese mainland itself or in southeast Asia. Frederic Wakeman has already pointed out that Triad lore, specifically its mission of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming, provided marginal elements ("inner strangers") with a sense of legitimacy.t" This function of Triad lore will be an important theme of Chapters Eight and Nine. Triad members were especially active as wage laborers and as transport workers or small traders along the trading routes of the southern Chinese provinces. After the first Opium War and the Nanjing Treaty of 1842 , much trade (including opium smuggling) shifted from Canton to Shanghai, putting many of them out of work. At the same time, coastal pirates were pushed inland by British repressive measures. As a result, local society in Guangxi and Southern Hunan became ever more volatile. During the 1840s and 1850s local Triad groups coalesced into rebel groups, which were geographically highly mobile and, therefore, hard to repress. Some groups at first supported the rebellion of the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace (1851-1863), but not for long. Most Triad members were unable to keep to the strict religious and moral program of the Heavenly Kingdom. Only one major Triad leader, Luo 20

Wakeman (1972) 33-35.

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Dagang, remained with the Heavenly Kingdom and became one of its most prominent generals. Another Triad leader even turned against the Heavenly Kingdom army and subsequently fought on the side of the same Qing forces that, according to the Triad foundation account, should be considered the sworn enemies of any Triad group! There are many sources on these events, but concrete information on their ritual practices and narratives is slim. In 1853, Triad forces led by Chinese with overseas experience in Southeast Asia occupied the Chinese county capital of Shanghai (i.e. not the international sector) and the port of Xiamen (Amoy). They were inspired by the conquest of Nanjing by the forces of the Heavenly Kingdom, though there were no organizational links. The occupation of Shanghai lasted from 1853-1855. There is a substantial record of the ritual, narratives and ideology of the Triads during their occupation of Shanghai, which will be analyzed in detail in Chapter Eight. After the failure of the Shanghai rebellion, the Triads seem to have disappeared from the region. Later, the Green Gangs took over the transport labor market, infiltrated the amusement sector and organized protection rackets. They were somehow descended from the religious organizations of the Grand Canal laborers, which were called the Long Life Vegetarians (changsheng zhai).21 After the spate of uprisings during the 1840s and 1850s, the Triads did not disappear, but certainly attracted less attention from the state apparatus. In fact, there was also a general decine in state interest in new religious groups. One reason for this may have been the fact that the Qing state was facing other threats, such as the Nian bandits in the Huai region and the mysterious Gathering of Brothers and Elders (gelao hui) all along the Yangzi river. 22 In addition, the Qing state faced a host of problems deriving from the increasing contacts with the West, which took up most of its energies. The Triads were wooed as potential allies by the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Chinese revolutionaries, such as Sun Yatsen and Huang Xing. Many of these early revolutionaries came 21 On the Grand Canal Labourers and the Luo Teachings, see Kelley (1982) 361-391. Martin (1996) deals with the Green Gangs . 22 Perry (1980) 96-151 on the Nian; ter Haar (1993a) on the so-called Gathering of Brothers and Elders (gelao hui).

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from Guangdong, where they were in close contact with local Triad groups. They tried to build a grand coalition of anti-Manchu revolutionary forces, and together engaged in numerous uprisings, but with little lasting success.P Thus, the actual organizational contribution of the Triads to the events of 1911 and the following years which saw the end of the imperial system was small, in the same way that the short term contribution of Sun Yatsen and his band of nationalist revolutionaries to these events was also rather limited. Nonetheless, the Triads have exerted an ongoing influence on Chinese history that far exceeded the boundaries of southern Chinese society and should not be overlooked. First of all, the knowledge among the educated elites of the Triad ideal of overthrowing the Qing and their well-attested anti-Manchu ethnic sentiments (all of which goes back to early nineteenth or even late eighteenth century sources on Triad lore) paved the way for the development of a kind of late Qing nationalism. We should keep in mind that late Qing nationalism more or less originated in the southernmost provinces, precisely where we also find a strong Triad presence. Secondly, Triad lore influenced the symbolism of the nationalist parties and their subsequent legitimation of the notion of a nationalist revolution. The Triad entrance rituals formed the model for organizing the Alliance Gathering (tongmenghui), the precursor of the Nationalist Party (guomindang), in the form of a solemn covenant (meng) (without the drinking of blood) and with a set of rules. 24 Nationalist authors took up the Triad foundation account as if it were actual history and used it to underpin their own nationalist and vehemently anti-Manchu ideals. Thus the Triads functioned as an important source of legitimation for the nationalist enterprise.P 23 See Borokh (1972) 135-144, Hsieh (1972) 145-164, Lust (1972) 165-200. Hsieh (1972) 145-164 and Marks (1984) 128-139 discuss the role of the Triads in the occupation of Huizhou and Guangzhou. For a general discussion of the influence of these collaboration attempts on Triad historiography, see Murray (1994) 117-122 (early period) and 122-135 (later period) . 24 Borokh (1972) 139-140,263 note 37 and Lust (1972) 175. 25 On Sun Vat-sen, see Borokh (1972) 136-138 and Lust (1972) 172-173. Luo Xianglin and Xiao Yishan were both nationalist historians, but Luo was a Christian of H akka descent and stayed in Hong Kong, whereas Xiao was associated with the Nationalist Party and went to Taiwan . Xiao became one of the founding fathers of Qing studies there. For them, as for many others, the "nationalist" contribution of the Triads was significant.

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The Triads and similar local predatory groups with whom revolutionaries attempted to cooperate were called "gathering bands" (huidang) by Qing officials. The term dang is traditionally a negative one, referring to factions of officials whose bickering hampers effective and harmonic government. Possibly, the neutral connotation of the modem term dang meaning "party," compared with these traditional negative connotations, goes back to the positive view of the Triads and similar groups held by late nineteenth and early twentieth century nationalists. Thus, despite the fact that the coalitions between nationalist revolutionaries and Triad groups achieved no concrete successes, Triad lore was a significant source of inspiration for the nationalists. During the nineteenth century, Triad groups could be found in Chinese communities all over Southeast Asia, but they have been best documented in the former British and Dutch colonies. By the 1820s they were an established presence among the Chinese laborers on the Malayan peninsula (under British control) and the East Indies (under Dutch control). The Triads remained highly visible on the peninsula until 1890, when they were prohibited and went underground. Before this date, colonial functionaries had actually witnessed the initiation rite and visited the Triad lodges. In the Dutch Indies, the Triads were also present from early on, but soon prohibited. In Hong Kong, the first Triad groups established themselves immediately as the English installed themselves on the island in 1842. Unlike the Malayan peninsula, Triad groups were prohibited in Hong Kong as early as 1845. Triad groups were an important presence in the other colonized countries of Southeast Asia as well, but they have not been documented in much detail. In Vietnam they contributed to the development of antiFrench nationalism.P' The pervasive presence of the Triads in Southeast Asia and their social and economic activities which were seen as criminal by the various colonial governments, eventually created the modem Western conception of the Triads as the epitome of organized Chinese crime. The present state of the Triads on the Chinese mainland and in Southeast Asia is unclear. Police raids still turned up Triad altars and written materials during the 1960s on the Malayan pen26 See section 8.3.2 . I have not been able to consult the French archives on colonial Vietnam, which might still contain further information.

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insula and as late as the 1970s in Hong Kong. This indicates that Triad members continued to practice the initiation ritual long after the Second World War and makes it not unlikely that they still do so today.27 During the early 1970s the Malayan sociologist Mak Lau Fong interviewed prison inmates who could recite many Triad poems, but to what extent their knowledge was part of a living ritual tradition is unclear.P Only extensive fieldwork may throw further light on the vexed question whether and in what sense Triad groups as communities bound together by common rituals and a legitimizing foundation account still survive today.

1.3. Sources on Triad lore

The availability of so many sources on Triad ritual and narratives is largely due to the curiosity and persistent investigative work of earlier scholars. Chinese scholars such as the nationalist historian Xiao Yishan and the Hakka historian Luo Xianglin, and more recently ZhuangJifa, Cai Shaoqing, Chen Baoqi, He Zhiqing, Luo Zhao and others have uncovered a wealth of original Chinese materials. The contribution of Western colonial officials should also not be underestimated, starting with the early report by the Malayan interpreter Abdullah Bin Abdul Kadir (1797-1854) in Singapore and continuing until the book length study by the Hong Kong police inspector W.P . Morgan. Western studies often contain material that cannot be found in any Chinese sources. One of the advantages that we as Western scholars have over our Chinese and Japanese colleagues is the possibility of using all of these different language materials in one and the same critical analysis. We are also less entangled in the ideological, political and ethnical disputes that continue to exert such a pervasive influence on many Chinese scholars. Finally, important Triad manuals can only be seen in European libraries. For all their richness, our sources also have certain limitations. In this section, I will present a detailed reappraisal of the main 27 For some reproductions of confiscated ritual materials from the Malayan Peninsula and Hong Kong, see Blythe (1969) photographs nrs. 11 and 12 (same altar in the jungle) and Booth (1990) bottom of the sixth page of the section with photographs. 28 Mak (1981) .

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sources that are traditionally used for studying the history and lore of the Triads. It should be stressed from the outset that my revised judgements often differ radically from the established views of Chinese, japanese and Western scholars. I will discuss internal Triad materials in the first section, whereas the subsequent two sections will be devoted to a discussion of accounts produced by officials associated with European colonial governments and Chinese materials produced in the context of persecution (mainly archival documents and notes in local gazetteers). As a result of this reinvestigation, we have to conclude that one of the standard resources of Chinese and japanese language scholarship, namely the 1911 book (translated into Chinese in 1912) by Hirayama Shu, is a (badly) plagiarized version of the 1900 study on the Hong Kong Triads by W. Stanton. I will not use this book in the present investigation. Furthermore, the customary dating of two other standard resources of Chinese and japanese scholarship, namely the Guixian xiuzhiju and Shouxian 'ge manuals, to the mid-nineteenth century lacks all factual basis and their contents are quite unremarkable. All manuals in the British Museum file Oriental 8207 can now be dated conclusively to before 1853 (instead of the file's acquisition date of 1919). Finally, we now have full access to an important early Triad manual that has never been used in Western scholarship before (dating from 1828 or earlier), one of Gustave Schlegel's original manuals (copied in 1842), as well as some later, less elaborate material. The implications of my reappraisal of the sources for our understanding of the internal history of Triad lore and its influence on Chinese history will be further developed in the following chapters. The reader who is only interested in the positive results of my analysis of ritual and narrative can safely skip the remainder of this chapter. For those who are interested to learn more on (my views concerning) the strengths and limitations of our sources, the following sections may be of some relevance. Furthermore, my reappraisal raises some doubts about the usefulness of modern Chinese and japanese scholarship which tends to rely on sources that actually should be considered of dubious value indeed. 1.3.1. Internal sources

Internal Triad sources can be divided further into pictorial and written material. The pictorial material consists of drawings in

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manuals, maps of the ritual space and a painting of an entrance ritual in progress. The oldest drawing of the initiation ritual is contained in an 1828 manual that was discovered in 1985 and published in 1989. 29 At least seven elaborate maps are presently known, which depict the ritual space that was perceived as a landscape centred on the City of Willows. 3o The painting of the entrance ritual depicts the basic outline of the entrance ritual, including actual candidate members and Triad officiants.U Currently, two complete altars are known to be extant outside China. One altar stems from Hong Kong and was discussed by W.P. Morgan in his 1960 book. It can still be seen in the Hong Kong police museum. A photograph of the other altar, most likely stemming from Singapore, was included by J.S.M. Ward and W.G. Stirling in their 1925 book. It is still preserved as part of the Stirling collection, now in the Singapore History Museum. The oldest extant Triad texts date back to the Lin Shuangwen uprising in 1786-1787 on Taiwan, and include a written covenant, some letters and official documents composed by the rebels. Most Triad texts were either lost over time, or destroyed by members out of fear of persecution or officials out of a lack of interest. Luckily for us, some texts were confiscated by Qing officials, and added to their reports as appendices. These reports have been preserved in the Qing archives, and a large selection of them has been published in the mainland source publication Tiandihui (1980-1988). On the basis of this archival material, we can trace virtually all characteristic elements of the fully developped Triad lore (including its political ideals!) back to the earliest appearance of the Triads in our sources in 1786-1787. The archival material even permits a rough reconstruction of the historical evolution of Triad lore. Since this material was written by outsiders, I will discuss it in more detail in section 1.3.3. concerning Chinese external sources.

"Tiandi hui wenshu chaoben," Guangxi huidang, 490. Four maps can be found in Oriental 8207K in the British Museum. They can be dated back to 1853. One other map is reproduced in Ward and Stirling (1925) opposite 32. I have seen and photographed a second map from Stirling's original collection. An additional map is depicted on Cowan's wall sheet (Blythe [1969] front photograph and again between 530-531; the original wall sheet is included in the Stirling collection). 31 Ward and Stirling (1925) opposite 14. The original painting is included in the Stirling collection. 29

30

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The oldest extant complete manual was confiscated in 1810 in Wuyuan county (Guangxi) from Yao Dagao, who was originally from Pingyuan county (Guangdong), but had come to Wuyuan county to make a living as a tailor. He had already joined the Triads in Guangdong and it seems likely that he had taken the booklet with him from there. In 1810 he started recruiting people locally. Curiously, the initiation ritual described in his manual is far more detailed than the one which it is claimed that he actually practised. By the middle of 1811, he had died in prison, before any additional information could be elicited from him. The manual contains a foundation account, several sets of poems, initiation dialogues, and a wide range of secret signs. 32 Besides this manual, various other early manual fragments are extant which contain poems, parts of the initiation dialogues, and oath texts. They date from circa 1800 until 1816. 33 An especially important discovery was made in 1985, when a hitherto unknown manual was found in a private household in Tianlin county in the far west of Guangxi.P' One of the model texts in the manual contains the year title Daoguang, and the other text contains the cyclical characters wuzi, suggesting that the manual dates from before 1828. 35 Descriptions of Triad ritual as practised around 1850 by groups in Guangxi mention some details which can only be found in this manual, in particular the fact that the ritual leader wears his hair unbound and the use of the term "stage" (tai) for the ritual space.I" A comparison between its foundation TDH I: 3-32. The manual has been re-set in abbreviated characters. See photographs in front of TDH VI, as well as texts in TDH VI: 304-306, 340-341 , TDH VII: 214-215, 350-354, 389-390. Zhuang (1994) 19-20 introduces a fragment of the foundation account, which had been confiscated in 1816 and is preserved in the Palace Museum arch ives in Taibei. 34 "Tiandi hui wenshu chaoben," published in the source publication Guangxi huidang, 482-551. The manual has been re-set in abbreviated characters, with suggested emendations where the text was unclear or damaged. I will refer to this source in the main text by the date of the manual and in the footnotes by the name of the source publication. 35 Guangxi hu idang, 493 . Murray (1994) 149 and 279 note 119 quotes an unpublished paper by a local teacher that the copybook contained the name of an ancestor of its present owners, who had lived in the Daoguang period (18211850) . This confirms the early dating. Murray (1994) did not have access to this manual. 36 Yongning xianzh i (1937) 34: 106-109 and Laibin xianzhi (1937) xia: 254:-255 as quoted in Taiping tianguo geming shiqi, 95 and 544 respectively. Compare these descriptions with the 1828 manual, e.g. Guangxi huidang, 507. 32 33

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story and other versions further confirms that this manual represents an early stage in the development of Triad lore. 37 The manual was published in 1989 in a badly accessible source publication on Guangxi secret societies. Equally significant has been the recovery of one of the two manuals on which Gustave Schlegel mainly relied for his famous 1866 book. 38 The manual is extant in a complete version, preserved in the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin (henceforth referred to as the Berlin manualj P? and an incomplete version, preserved in the British Museum in London.t" The foundation account has been signed by a copyist who calls himself Mr. Zhongshan, and is dated with the cyclical characters renyin of the mythological Triad year period Hong's Revolution. Since we have the definitive terminus ante quem of Schlegel's publication in 1866 and can take the end of the Lin Discussed in section 9.1.3. In his preface Schlegel mentions a set of manuals confiscated in 1863 in Padang (Sumatra), a Chinese book "full of drawings" and containing a set of rules found in 1851 inJapara (java) , diplomas, and two manuscripts from the Batavian Academy of Arts and Sciences (no date and no place given) . 39 Berl in, Schoemann XII ,1. The existence of this manual was pointed out to me by my colleague at Heidelberg University, Rudolf Wagner. Dr. Hartrnut-Ortwin Feistel of the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin has helped me obtain a microfilm of this manual and provided information on the former owner, Karl Schoemann (18061877) from Trier. He worked in the Dutch Indies from 1844-1851 as a tutor to the children of the then Governor-general, after which he travelled horne over the British Indies. From 1854 until his death he lived and worked in his native town of Trier. In the Indies he had built a large collection of manuscripts in the various local languages, which became part of the Royal Library in Berlin (now the "Stiftu ng Preussischer Kulturbesitz") after his death. He was probably assisted in his collection efforts by his compatriot Dr . R.H. Th. Friederich, then employed by the Batavian Academy of Arts and Sciences to do philological and archaeological research in Java and Bali from 1844 until 1869. See Voorhoeve (1971) viiviii and Pigeaud (1975) 101. Since there are numerous indications that Schlegel consulted th is particular manual and Schoemann must have taken it back in 1851 (long before Schlegel arrived in Batavia), I suspect that one or more copies were made of the manual, which subsequen tly became the property of the Batavian Academy (perhaps through the courtesy of Dr. Friederich, who was still in Batavia when Schlegel arrived) . According to Schlegel himself, the two full manuals which he used had been presented to the Batavian Academy by a Mr. Teysman. That the Berlin ms, or a copy of it was used by Schlegel is certain because at the end of the manual are some unique texts, which were also used by Schlegel (1866) 31,50-51. The likelihood of such a copy or even copies is confirmed by the existence of the British Museum copy (mentioned below) . 40 British Museum, File Oriental 13917 . This file was pointed out to me by Dr . Frances Wood. The EJ. Brill files in Leiden no longer allow us to trace the history of this manuscript prior to 1979, when it was acquired by the museum. 37

38

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Shuangwen uprising in 1787 as a terminus post quem, these cyclical characters can only refer to the year 1842.41 This is confirmed by a text with the date 1845 at the end of the Berlin manual. It was used by Schlegel in combination with a second manual, which contained virtually the same material, with some additional dialogue fragments and poems. This second manual can be dated to before 1850 on the basis of internal evidence.V The Berlin manual allows us to check upon Schlegel's translations and interpretations, which tum out to be of high quality. Because of this overall quality and the existence of one original manual, I feel justified in treating his entire book on a par with original Triad manuals. A substantial number of original Triad manuals has been preserved in the British Museum, namely the Oriental 8207 file (acquired in 1919) and Oriental 2339 (acquired in 1881). This material was discovered by the Qing historian and nationalist Xiao Yishan, during his search for sources on the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace (taiping tianguo) .43 He published an edited version of his finds in 1935, which has been reprinted many times and has always been considered an authoritative collection by subsequent scholars. This trust is not entirelyjustified. Luo Ergang and more recently Dian Murray have already pointed out that Xiao substantially altered the sequence of the original material.r' More seriously still, Xiao has also omitted many drawings and texts from Oriental 8207D and Oriental 2339 . Those drawings that are included have been redrawn in an extremely inept manner. The poses of the depicted figures have been changed considerably and the monks have now got hair and beards, instead of their original shaven appearance. A reexamination of the original British Museum files has allowed me to establish for the first time more or less reliable dates for the different Triad texts in the files Oriental 2339 and 8207 . Because these texts remain one of the most important sources on Triad ritual and narratives, a more detailed discussion is in order here. The material in file Oriental 8207 was bought in 1919 from a Mrs. Gertrude Ball. According to pencil notes on a number of the Berlin ms., 22. Schlegel (1866) 88-89 (QA 210) and 50 respectively. 43 Xiao (1935). Please note that most reprints of this book do not include the important maps of the City of Willows. 44 Luo (1942) 90-92; Murray (1994) 236-238. 41

42

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texts, they came from one and the same box with books and papers, preserved in Hong Kong. By and large the file can be divided into Heavenly Kingdom documents from the years 1851-1853 (one text explicitly stems from Nanjing), and Triad manuals, membership certificates and maps of the City of Willows. Some material stems from a Triad uprising led by Huang Wei , which briefly occupied Xiamen (Amoy) in 1853 . One Triad manual in subfile Oriental 8207G is explicitly dated by a short pencil note in English, stating that it was acquired in Canton in 1853. The file also contains a few earlier texts, from 1813 (from Xiamen) and 1844. 45 The various dates are remarkably consistent with each other, suggesting that the original box (now Oriental 8207) was closed in 1853. Sub-file Oriental 8207K contains four undated maps of the City of Willows, none of which are identical. The City of Willows is both the name of the Triad altar and of a mythological city. According to a pencil note on one of the four maps, it was "copied from the box found in the house of a person who was taken by the police" and was said to be the diploma of the society "on" Hong Kong 45 The following dates and places of provenance can be established: A. 1852 (Heavenly Kingdom [HK]) . B. no date (Triad manual). C. no date (Triad manual) . D. no date (Triad manual, it mentions the year title Darning, which was used at the time of the 1853 uprisings in Shanghai and Xiamen). E. no date (one volume with two Triad manuscripts, as well as a copy of the life of Hong Xiuquan by H ong Ren 'gan, written in circa 1852-185 3 and translated in Michael (1971) 11: 3-7. F. undated (Daoist prayers). G. explicitly dated as Canton, 1853, "copied from 2 manuscript books belonging to the south side of the river» (written with lead pencil; Triad manual) H . 1852 (HK) . I. the Tianjin treaty of 1858. J. 1851 and 1853 (HK). K. 1813 (text on the restoration of a building on Guluang Isle in fro nt of Xiamen) , 1844 (short note), and 1853 (one text by the Qing itself, as well as several Heavenly Kingdom and Triad uprising texts; includes an important Heavenly Kingdom report of a spirit writing session in Nanjing) , 1852-1854 (text from Shanghai against the Heavenly Kingdom; it mentions the age of Hong Xiuquan, who was born in 1814, as 42 sui [in the abbreviated form cai], suggesting circa 1854 as a rough date fo r the text. However, the text also mentions Feng Yunshan as still alive, whereas he died in 1852) . L. 1852 (HK). M. 1853 (HK) .

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(i.e. on Victoria Isle). Even more interestingly, another of the four maps can be linked to the famous missionary and sinologist A. Wylie. In an 1853 article in the Chinese Repository on the Triads, he discussed a map which he had obtained from the Triad army that was then occupying the Chinese county capital of Shanghai (not the treaty port itself). At that time, Wylie was working as a translator in the concession areas of Shanghai. His description perfectly fits the fourth of the maps included in Oriental 8207K. There are pencil notes on the map advising on the proper way to read the poem written in its four margins, suggesting that it was indeed Wylie's own copy. Finally, the three membership certificates discussed by Wylie in this same 1853 article are identical to the first three certificates in Oriental 8207K (which are themselves copies of lost originals). One of these Wylie had copied from a Qing memorial on the situation in Huguang in 1841; the two others were obtained by Wylie from the rebellious Triad groups in Xiamen and Shanghai in 1853, exactly how is unclear.t" Clearly, at least part of the material in the Oriental 8207 file was collected by A. Wylie in 1853, further confirming my dating of this file . The Triad materials in Oriental 8207 are highly disparate in nature. As indicated by the different handwriting of varying quality, the various types of paper, and several textual doublures, the material originated from the hands of different persons with varying degrees of literacy. The file does not contain even one manual giving all the elements required for a "complete" ritual. The most significant document is Oriental 8207D. The original contains extremely detailed pictures of the Triad hand postures or mudras (not included in Xiao's source publication), of all persons and locations from the foundation account, of the altar and other constructions used during the initiation, a detailed version of the foundation account, poems and signs. The handwriting and the

46 Wylie (1853) 110-149. On his life see the "Biographical Sketch of Alexander Wylie,n by James Thomas, in Wylie (1853) 1-6. Map IV is reproduced as illustration 3 in Xiao (1935) and discussed in Wylie (1853) 136-144; the three certificates are reproduced in Xiao (1935) 1: 25b-26b with comments on 27a-b. The three certificates are discussed by Wylie (1853) 124-128 (1841 memorial on Huguang situation), 129-132 (135 confirms that this certificate came from Xiamen), 135 (from Shanghai) . The fourth certificate in 8207K has been copied from a posthumous article by Milne (lecture read in 1835, published 1845) 64.

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drawings are of good quality. However, it does not contain initiation dialogues or oaths.t? It is much more difficult to date Oriental 2339 , which was acquired in 1881. The file follows upon the personal papers of General Charles G. Gordon (Oriental 2338). Oriental 2338-2342 form one set of China related files in the midst of many files in completely unrelated languages, suggesting that they were acquired at the same time and from the same source. Gordon was active in the Shanghai region from 1862-1864, heading a British-Chinese force as a general in the service of Li Hongzhang against the armies of the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace. He might have acquired these papers during his service at that time, which would date the Oriental 2339 file back to at least 1864. Presently, no further evidence is available on the provenance of this particular file. 48 It was copied (or composed) with great care by one person as a coherent unit and contains all the requisite texts and drawings for a "complete" initiation, as well as a foundation story. It is the only extant Triad manual with original page number indications (using arithmetical symbols instead of normal numbers, suggesting a copyist with a commercial backgroundj.f'' Two other manuals that are traditionally considered to be significant as early Triad sources are the Guixian xiuzhiju and Shouxian 'ge manuals. Both have been republished in 1942 , with additional short studies by Luo Ergang, the famous historian of the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace. 50 The Guixian xiuzhiju manual was first published by Luo Ergang in 1934 and had been discovered the year before by a local historian in Gui county in Guangxi. It had been preserved in an urn for human bones, which had been buried under the ground. Apparently, the text had been 47 The oaths given by Xiao (1935) 3: 4a as stemming from Oriental 8207D actually come from Oriental 8207K. 48 Ms. K.J. Wallace, British Museum Archivist, has kindly attempted to track down the origins of the manuscript for me . Sadly, her efforts remained without success . Personal communication, 5 May 1994. Grinstead (1964) 83-85 discusses Oriental 2338, but does not mention the next files. 49 Sadly, the manuscript was rebound upon arrival in the British Museum in 1881. The pages have been considerably mixed up; some pages have been lost, before or after the rebinding. Xiao (1935) has corrected part of the resulting confusion (without indicating as much) . Murray (1994) 236-238 refers to the Western pagination of the rebound version, rather than the original numeration. 50 Tiandihui wenxianlu 1-35 and 41-58 respectively.

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buried there in the aftermath of a failed Triad uprising from 1864. The owner of the manual had dug it up on the occasion of another uprising in 1898 and had reburied it after the uprising had failed. This information is based on the recollections of the manual's owner in 1933-1934, as recounted by Luo Ergang to He Zhiqing in 1984. We have no further confirmation of the various dates in this account.P! The second manual is the Shouxian 'ge version, which was first published in 1936 by Luo Xianglin (under the name of Luo Han) in a Cantonese journal. He had found the booklet in the library of a nephew in Xingning county in Guangdong. Luo is a famous historian of the Hakka as well as southern China, and was himself from a Hakka background. He links the manual to a Hakka milieu on the basis of its language. Xingning county is also a Hakka region. 52 The two manuals contain no information that allows a precise dating of the texts. In terms of contents, they are shortened versions of ritual and narrative traditions that were already well attested by the early 1840s. They can still be used, but their value should not be overestimated. One of the most quoted sources on the history and lore of the Triads and the Gathering of Brothers and Elders (gelao hui), especially among Chinese andJapanese scholars, is the book by Hirayama Shu. He was a Japanese supporter of Sun Yatsen in the early days of the nationalist revolutionary enterprise. Elsewhere, I have demonstrated that Hirayama's book is a plagiarized version of William Stanton's book on the Hong Kong Triads (published in 1900). It was first published in Japanese in 1911 and subsequently translated into Chinese in 1912. Ironically, Hirayama's version was further plagiarized in 1919 by Xu Ke. 53 The Chinese version of Hirayama's work became very influential in China andJapan (where the original Japanese version was forgotten!), because it was be51 He (1996) 68-69. In Tiandihui wenxianlu, 36, Luo speculated that because Cui county was occupied by Triad rebels in the early 1850s, this manual must also date from that period. However, the Triads already existed much earlier in th is region and did not die out afterwards either. Murray (1994) 127 makes Luo Ergang's speculations more explicit, but adds no further evidence. 52 Luo (1933) 166 and 185 note 3. Also see Murray (1994) 127. 53 Ter Haar (1993a) 260-261. Hirayama's Japanese original was reprinted in 1980. I will refer to the Chinese translation as Hirayama (1912) and the J apanese original as Hirayama (1980) .

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lieved that he had unique personal knowledge of the Triads. The Western term "secret society" (mimi jieshe / himitsu kessha) was introduced to Chinese and Japanese scholarship through Hirayama. Upon closer investigation, it turns out that his actual knowledge of secret societies was extremely limited and colored by the romantic perceptions of his Chinese literati friends. He probably did not even speak vernacular Chinese or any relevant southern local languages such as Cantonese, Hakka or Minnan (certainly not in the early years , which shaped his "knowledge" of the Triads), but communicated for instance with Sun Yatsen in English and with Kang Youwei in written Classical Chinese.P" The Hirayama version should therefore no longer be relied upon by serious scholars. Apart from the long lost Schlegel manual kept in the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin and the manuals in the British Museum in London, European libraries still hold some other little-known Triad sources. Leiden University houses the personal papers of the Leiden trained sinologist Schaalje, who made a career as interpreter for the colonial government of the Dutch East Indies in the late nineteenth century. The papers include a proposal to legalize the Triads in the Dutch Indies, an interesting set of membership certificates and a short, handwritten manual for a blood covenant. This last text is not part of the Triad tradition.P'' One of the two Triad manuals used by B. Favre for his 1933 study of the Triads is still preserved in Paris. It was confiscated from a teacher who came from Lianzhou prefecture in Southern Guangdong. The manual is written in confident Running Script (xingshu) in a cheap booklet. It starts with prayers and poems, and largely consists of initiation ceremony dialogues.P"

54 See ter Haar (1993a) 260-263. In note 3 to this article, I sUIVey some of the references to Hirayama and Xu Ke as "valuable" sources. 55 Leiden University Library, Doesa Kamer, BPL 2105. On Schaalje, see Blusse (1989) 317-353, esp. 343. These materials were first pointed out to me by Ms. Mary Somers-Heidhues. 56 Favre (1933) . I wish to thank Mr. Vincent Durand-Dastes of the Bibliotheque de l'Institut interuniversitaire des Langues Orientales in Paris for providing me with copies of the relevant catalogue cards and of one of the manuals. This manual is numbered D 8290 (Mel. 8° 446). The other manual could not be located.

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1.3.2. External Western sources

Western sources about the Triads have been compiled against the background of the need to maintain law and order in the Southeast Asian colonies (with the aim of furthering Western economic interests). Sometimes, the authors also evince a strong interest in Free Masonic rituals, resulting in a minute attention to the contents of Triad rituals. Not all of them were equally well-informed, but at least they showed some genuine interest in Triad ritual practice, unlike Chinese officials and members of the educated elite. Since I will make intensive use of these Western writers, a brief survey of their strengths and limitations is appropriate.P? A whole range of studies was produced in connection with the British colonial presence on the Malayan peninsula. The earliest non-Chinese to witness a Triad initiation ritual (in 1825) and write about it was Abdullah Bin Abdul Kadir (1797-1854). He was an important informant and interpreter of local circumstances for colonial officials in Singapore. He did not know much Chinese himself, and his account is sometimes rather sensationalistic.P" Only a few years after witnessing the ritual, Abdullah became the personal instructor of Lieutenant T J. Newbold on local matters, including Chinese culture and the Triads. Newbold was in the service of the East India Company on the Malayan peninsula and especially interested in esoteric rituals. 59 He wrote an early article on the Triads, with some useful first-hand information acquired from different Triad members. In 1835 he visited a Triad headquarters, without witnessing any rituals. He did not know Chinese himself, and his translations were made by a third person, a certain M. Tomlin, with the further assistance of a "Fokien Pundit." I suspect that, like his teacher Abdullah, Newbold himself communicated with his sources in Malay. 60 57 For a detailed historiographical survey, see Murray (1994) 92-103. Bolton, Hutton and 1p (1996) 279-281 note that these Western writings were also crucial in shaping Hong Kong police perceptions of the crucial role of ritual in defining the Triads. 58 Hikayat Abdullah, 204-217. 59 Hikayat Abdullah, 250-251 60 Newbold (1841) 120-156. The article purports to be a collective effort by Lieutenant Newbold and Major-General Wilson, but is written in the first person singular. Since we know that Newbold actively sought information on the Triads, I assume that he is the real author. Most likely, Wilson was his superior officer and was added as a co-author for formal reasons. For the Triad text, see

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In his article, Newbold confuses two different local traditions, namely groups from the Triad tradition (whose oaths he translates and whose ritual he describes) and the Kwan Tee Hoey. The latter group was set up to compete with the Triads. Its name meant "Gathering of Emperor Guan," referring to the famous deity Guan Yu. Guan Yu was one of the three partners in the oath of brotherhood in the Peach Garden, which is treated in the vernacular tradition of the Three Kingdoms. The Peach Garden handbook, which is translated in Newbold's article, contains none of the customary references to Triad lore, but follows the Three Kingdoms tradition closely. The handbook was probably made up from scratch to accompany the creation of the Kwan Tee Hoey. Not surprisingly, with the disappearance of the brotherhood, all traces of the manual as a ritual tradition also vanlsh/" Two other authors, W.A. Pickering and W.G . Stirling, were both colonial officials in Singapore, with the rank of (Assistant) Chinese Protector. Pickering attended actual initiation ceremonies, on which he reported in two articles published in 1878 and 1879. He worked there at a time when the Triads were not yet outlawed in Singapore, which only happened at the end of 1889. 62 According to colonial records, Pickering was fluent in Mandarin, various local language variants and Classical Chinese. He had lived for a long time in Taiwan (as a shipwrecked person) and Singapore (as a Chinese interpreter since 1871), before he wrote his articles.P His notes were preserved and subsequently used by Stirling, who published a substantial study ofTriad ritual, together with the British anthropologist, and Free Mason expert J.S.M. Ward in 1925. Stirling's material includes much written and visual information, obtained from raids on Triad groups. He even confiscated an entire

Newbold (1841) 137-142 accompanied by the comments of Newbold's informant. Newbold (1841) 144 describes his visit to the headquarters. 61 Based on Newbold (1841) 146-150 and Blythe (1969) 67-68. According to Newbold (1841) 137 and 146 (footnotes), copies of the originals of both texts were handed over to the library of the Royal Asiatic Society . Part of this library was later bought by the Brotherton Library of Leeds University in Great Britain upon the foundation of a Chinese Studies department by Owen Lattimore. I wish to thank Mr. David Arrandale of this library for tracking down the Peach Garden handbook. The whereabouts of the other Newbold source are unclear. 62 Blythe (1969) 220-221, 222-248. 63 Pickering (1878) 63-84 and (1879) 1-18. On Pickering, see Comber (1959) 150-151.

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altar, which is preserved with most of his papers on the Triads in the Singapore History Museum. The precise extent of Stirling'S command of the Chinese language (especially local language variants) is unclear, but his translations appear to be his own. 64 In 1959, a former officer in the Malayan Police, L.F. Comber published a history of secret societies in Singapore and Malaya. Another former Malayan police officer, Wilfred Blythe (who had worked with the Department of Chinese Affairs [the successor to the former Chinese Protectorate] from 1921 onwards) published a similar study in 1969. Both used information obtained during their own and other people's raids on local Triad groups, but their actual command of the Chinese language(s) is unclear.P Pickering, Stirling, Comber and Blythe, describe one and the same tradition of overseas Triad groups in the Malacca peninsula. Their material is extremely valuable, because it combines the presentation and analysis of internal sources with evidence obtained from personal contacts with Triad groups. The British colonial presence in the Hong Kong region has also been very important for the study of Triad lore. From the beginning of English rule in Hong Kong in 1842, the Triads were very active there. Their commercial and extortionary activities came to be seen as criminal in the eyes of the colonial authorities (which we may contrast with the large scale opium smuggling with the approval of the British government and institutionalized extortion by means of taxes). This view subsequently became the standard Western police and lay people's perception of the Triads. In Hong Kong, the British prohibited the Triads as early as 1845. 66 In 1900 64 Ward and Stirling (1925) Introduction, iv and v-vi. It is not clear to me on what evidence Xiao Yishan bases his negative views on the language abilities of Picke ring and Stirling, in Xiao (1935) 2: 18b-19a . During a short visit of only a few hours in July 1993, I have been able to look at the Stirling collection, which then was in the possession of a German publisher of esoterica, south of Miinchen. It was only recently acquired by the Singapore History Museum. Due to the restricted time at my disposal, I was unable to peruse the manual used by Stirling in great detail, except for copying a schematic and very useful drawing of the Triad altar. On the whole Stirling's translation seemed more or less reliable, but the comments that he has added in his translation are based on the articles by Pickering and not on the manual. The objects on the Triad altar in the Stirling collection are much more sophisticated than the rather rough set of objects preserved in the Hong Kong police museum. 65 Comber (1959) Preface. Blythe (1969) . 66 On the Hong Kong Triads, see Morgan (1960) 59-92.

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"the Police Detective Officer with the Chinese," William Stanton published an influential book on the Hong Kong Triads (originally published as articles) . Actually, he had been dismissed from the police in 1897, because of his involvement in a corruption scandal. His original articles could be seen as an effort to redeem himself as a good policeman after all. Stanton claims that his knowledge is based on long interaction with local Chinese in their own language. Actually, most of the book consists of translations of written Triad manuals, with only a few (albeit useful) additional comments derived from actual observation.F Ironically, Stanton's book became most influential in the version by Hirayama Shu and referred to above. In 1960, the Hong Kong Sub-Inspector of police, W.P. Morgan, published his account, which combined information from written manuals and the detailed testimony of some high-ranking Triad officials. They had turned informants as the result of repeated police drives against the Triads in 1956. Under the supervision of these informants, a black and white film was made in 1957 of the full scale initiation and promotion rituals, with policemen playing the parts of the real Triad members. This film (or, rather, an edited version) can still be seen at the Hong Kong Police Museum.f" In his acknowledgments, Morgan states that all romanizations and translations of Chinese characters were made by Iu Kau Yu, a translator in the service of the Hong Kong Government. Morgan probably communicated with his informants through this interpreter and his Chinese colleagues. Thus, his book is still an indirect investigation.P'' It nonetheless provides rare inside information-such as the performance practice of the initiation ritual-that cannot be found anywhere else. Morgan also included many photographs which were taken during the making of the police film. The work by the Dutch sinologist Gustave Schlegel has been one of the standard works on Triad lore since its appearance in 1866. In his book, he has translated a complete version of Triad lore, togeher with the Triad foundation account and an entire initiation ritual, with all the dialogues, poems and slogans that were 67 Stanton articles in the 68 Morgan 69 Morgan

(1900) Preface. He notes that the book is a reprint of two earlier China Review XXI and XXII (1899?). (1960). (1960) prefatory note and preface xvii-xix.

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used in the ritual. He brought together materials from different sources, which had been confiscated in the Dutch Indies in the 1850s and early 1860s. At the time Schlegel worked as an interpreter of Chinese (specifically the local language of Zhangzhou) in the Dutch colonial service, rather than as a colonial administrator. Later he would become the first professor of Sinology at Leiden University.?" Schlegel never attended actual initiation rituals, but, contrary to many later colonial writers on the topic, he possessed a thorough knowledge of classical and spoken Chinese, as well as of Chinese culture in general. This makes his translation an excellent aid in studying Triad lore. Schlegel attempted to consult ordinary Chinese and members of the educated elite, who were unwilling to comment on the texts, as well as Daoist priests. According to him, all of them were "most ignorant concerning their own religion, and none of them could even explain to us the meaning of the amulets found at the end of this work."?' As I argue in Chapter Ten, this attitude resulted from the particular way in which knowledge was used and transmitted in Chinese religious tradition-not as the subject of further reflection and analysis (which would have enabled these priests to interpret things outside their own specific tradition)-but as something to be carried out precisely as instructed, in order to guarantee its effectiveness. The writings of British and Dutch colonial writers form the largest and most significant part of Western scholarship on the Triads. They are the closest approximation of an ethnographic record that we can hope to obtain. Together, they have preserved much information on Triad lore that we can not hope to find in the Triad manuals or in the other Chinese primary sources to be discussed below. Nonetheless, we should be careful not to overestimate their value. The authors usually had a very limited (if any) command of standard classical Chinese and the requisite local language variants ("dialects"), let alone the underlying local cultures. What valuable information they present is always very fragmented; even Pickering, who claims to have witnessed a full ceremony, never published a full report of his experiences. Furthermore, theyassumed a priori that the Triads formed a closed secret society and 70 71

Blusse (1989) 317-353, esp. 317-319, 327-342. Schlegel (1866) Preface, vi-viii.

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that their rituals were by definition esoteric. They never considered probing the similarities with other traditions in any detail. The only modem study that bears comparison to these earlier works by colonial officials is Mak Lau Fong's sociological study of Triad and other secret societies in modem Singapore and Malaysia. To the available written record, Mak has added archival material , epigraphical evidence, and accounts of interviews with prison inmates.F He is not interested in Triad lore itself, but his cursory remarks on the topic indicate the ongoing relevance of ritual and narratives to local Triad groups during the 1960s and early 1970s. Since his work, no research has been published concerning the Triads that is based on direct observations, whether by colonial officials or by scholars with a sociological or anthropological background. 1.3.3. External Chinese sources External Chinese sources can be divided into two groups, namely sources dealing with the purported origins of the Triads and sources dealing with the historical Triads from the Lin Shuangwen uprising of 1786-1787 onwards. The first group of sources stems from recent fieldwork in southern Fujian, during which potentially important inscriptions and manuscripts have been discovered, and a number of buildings and places have been proposed as specific locations in the Triad foundation account. Although this material was originally created by local people independent of the state, their recent discovery and interpretation has not remained independent of modern political concerns of local intellectuals interested in creating a stronger regional identity. This is especially clear in the case of the search for the "original" location of the Southern Shaolin Monastery (nan shaolin si). This monastery is believed to be the place of origin of a special martial arts style, which is widespread among the Overseas Chinese of Southeast Asia. Putian and Quanzhou are currently competing for recognition as the site of this monastery, using archaeological and textual evidence to support their respective claims. This struggle for recognition is much more than a mere scholarly dispute, because the location which becomes accepted as the "true" 72

Mak (1981).

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monastery can be exploited for touristic and maybe even more general commercial purposes.?" The identification of the location where the first Triad group was founded does not have the same commercial possibilities, since one can hardly expect contemporary Triad members to come and visit this place (they might very well be arrested and executed). Nonetheless, given the positive romantic aura that surrounds the early Triads, the identification of their place(s) of origin would undoubtedly raise the historical significance of the entire county in question and therefore its overall cultural standing. Presently, a small temple in Yunxiao county has been proposed as the location where the first Triad group was founded. The Changlin Monastery, in neighboring Zhaoan county, has been suggested as the model for the Shaolin monastery of the Triad foundation account. Since we are dealing with none-too-rich counties in Zhangzhou prefecture, in the far south of Fujian, establishing their claims to this kind of symbolic capital would be an important asset in building up these places." Among the written sources that have been discovered during recent fieldwork are a set of inscriptions on the above-mentioned Changlin Monastery in Zhaoan, detailed historical notes on a former Shaolin Monastery in Quanzhou (contained in a slightly suspect manuscript with miscellaneous notes on the local history of Quanzhou and surroundings), and finally the liturgical materials of a vernacular Buddhist ritual tradition (the Incense Flower [xianghua] tradition) active since at least the seventeenth century in the border regions of southern Fujian, northeastern Guangdong and western Jiangxi.75 These and other materials form part of an at73 As became immediately obvious during a conference on the putative location of the Southern Shaolin Monastery in Quanzhou in March 1993 in Quanzhou, which I was able to attend thanks to the courtesy of Mr. Chen Rong xin . 74 In April 1993, Yunxiao county organized a conference on the origins of the Triads ("Heaven and Earth Gathering") . All informan ts of Luo Zhao (see below) , including the monk of the Incense Master tradition, were part of a Zhaoan county committee on the study of Triad history. See Luo (1994-1995) nr.43. 75 The materials have been first published and analyzed by their discoverer Luo Zhao in a series of 139 columns in the newspaper Zhonghua gongshang shibao (Zhongguo gongshang shibao, as given by He [1996], is incorrect), from 19 October 1994 until 26 April 1995. I am extremely grateful to Malene Hjorth and Tony Saich who both provided me with copies of this series of columns, enabling me to incorporate this article in my book (which was already finished and ready to be sent off to a publisher) . He (1996) 112-133 discusses the Changlin inscrip-

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tempt to revive the old hypothesis that the Triads originated amongst the remnants of the Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) armies and Ming loyalists of the early Qing period. The Incense Flower tradition is seen as the ritual tradition of the monastic tradition that was founded by these people and Triad lore is supposed to have originated from it. This would place the Triad origins much further back in time than the 1760s which are nowadays accepted as their period of origin. In my view, the analysis of this material is highly teleological and tends to replace lacunae in the available information with unfounded speculations. Nonetheless, these views need to be taken seriously and I will analyze the most significant of these sources extensively in an appendix to Chapter Nine, where I will argue that the Incense Flower tradition borrowed from Triad lore and not the other way round. The second group of external sources on the history of the Triads has been collected in the context of persecution and has been written from an official point of view, something which is insufficiently taken into account in much modem scholarship. The Triads were persecuted with special vigor by the Chinese state from the very beginning of their known existence. In the course of these persecutions, officials arrested many Triad members, resulting in a wealth of historical sources. Here, I will only discuss the official reports in the form of memorials to the throne in Beijing. Since the gist of my remarks also applies to other genres, such as local gazetteers and treatises on individual incidents, I will not discuss these latter sources separately. In the course of suppressing the Triads, local officials had to report back to the throne. These memorials have been preserved in different archives and a selection of them has been published in the seven volume series Tiandihui (covering material from the 1780s until the 1830s). The primary criterion for including material in this series seems to have been the classification by contemporary Qing officials of a group as a Heaven and Earth Gathering (tiandihui). Besides this source publication, some important memorials on Triad history during the mid-1850s have been preserved tions and the liturgical materials in a more accessible form (correcting a number of mistakes in the original articles) . The manuscript with miscellaneous notes has been discovered by Lin Shaochuan and the relevant passages are reproduced in Lin (1993) . I have not been able to investigate any of these manuscripts personally.

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in the Foreign Office archives in London, stemming from the former Canton archives that were taken away by the British when they occupied the city during the Arrow War. The memorials were based on interrogations of Triad members and the written materials that were confiscated from some of them. These interrogations yielded confessions, which were summarized, and then quoted in the memorials, or appended as an appendix. The memorials are written in a simple Classical Chinese style, with vernacular influences. It is, therefore, tempting to assume that the confessions (or fragments thereof) provide a reliable indication of the extent of someone 's understanding of Triad ritual and narratives, but this is definitely not the case. To begin with, the extant material is far too coherent and lacks the kind of repetition and petty detail that one would expect in verbally recorded accounts of a confession. This indicates the hand of one or more editors. Different memorials on different Triad groups often use virtually the same terminology to describe the motivations of Triad members and their rituals. Officials (and their clerks) were apparently aware of each other's writings. The fact that all confessions were produced under enormous psychological and physical pressure was hardly conducive to reliable reporting by Triad members on their lore. Members, on their part, attempted to hide as much of their knowledge as they could. We are already confronted with this problem when the Triads first appear in the historical sources, in the aftermath of the 1786-1787 Lin Shuangwen rebellion on Taiwan . On Taiwan a written covenant (translated in section 5.2 .) was found on the corpse of a rebel, but no contemporary confession ever mentions such a text. The principal teacher of the rebels, Van Van, confessed to knowing far more about Triad lore than any of his teachers who supposedly created itl Even his confession, however, did not provide any information concerning the written covenant. The case of the teacher Du Shiming and his pupil Wu Wenchun provides a similar example. They were both arrested in 1806, but by different local officials under different provincial jurisdictions. Wu Wenchun recounted a highly subversive story and possessed a sheet with further mythological information, all of which had originated with Du Shiming (and Du's unknown Triad teacher). Du Shiming, however, succeeded in hiding virtually all of this

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knowledge from his interrogators.?" We shall encounter still further examples of suspect and/or incomplete testimony in the course of this investigation. Despite the amount of information contained in the Qing archives, we should, therefore, not overestimate their reliability. Further problems stem from the fact that the Triad members did not recall their lore in the form of neat dogmas and stories, to be reproduced at will, but only in connection with specific occasions (mainly the initiation), as something that had to be recited or performed. This applies to religious knowledge in pre-modern Chinese society in general, making it very hard to extract such knowledge outside the particular context in which it was applicable. As a result, considerable prior knowledge of Triad lore would have been required in order to be able to conduct a fruitful interview-knowledge that the Qing officials who dealt with Triad members rarely had. And when they did have some knowledge, they tended to predetermine the answers by padding the questions with too many hints about the kind of information that they hoped to gain. This considerably exascerbated one of the perennial problems of any judicial inquiry, namely the hierarchical relationship between informant (low) and interrogator (high), which causes the informant to provide those answers that he or she feels to be called for. We often forget that the Triads were as "strange" to the Qing officials at that time, as they are today to contemporary Chinese, Western and Japanese historians. A huge social and cultural distance separated the Qing officials from the Triads, which was further compounded by a language problem. Local people in the south spoke substantially different languages from those in the north, including Cantonese, Minnan (in Southern Fujian) and Hakka. Officials and clerks were accustomed to speaking a derivative of the northern Han Chinese language developed for yamen usage, namely Mandarin (guanhua , not to be confused with the present day standard language). Since officials were traditionally posted outside their regions of birth, they usually did not speak the local language. This meant that they had to depend on clerks to serve as interpreters. The latter had no interest in establishing the "truth," and at times they may even have sympathized with the arrested 76

This incident is discussed in section 7.4.1. See also ter Haar (ms.).

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Triad members (sabotaging the interrogation process and making the torture look and sound worse than it really was) .?? Officials were unable to verify the quality of the interpreting. Finally, to concede that a cross examination had not been successful always posed a serious threat to an official's career, since it would be taken to imply that he had been a bad investigator. It also guaranteed many cumbersome follow-up interrogations, which would further damage his image. Qing officials therefore had a strong interest in keeping "the lid" on problematic aspects of an investigation and restrict the confessions to the amount of information that was required to sentence people, rather than trying to establish the complete facts . For this reason, I feel that we should take a much more sceptical view of the value of Qing archival sources than appears to be customary among Chinese scholars of the Triads. 77 Huang (1984) 273-279. Kuhn (1990) 15-25,142-143,162. 170-183 gives some examples.

PART II PERFORMANCE

INTRODUCTION My primary interest in this investigation of Triad lore is not on a theoretical level to present new definitions of analytical terms such as "ritual," "narrative" or "myth," but rather to find out what Triad lore did and what it meant (or may have done and may have meant) to the members of Triad groups and to its larger audience. In the following brief remarks I merely summarize some of my assumptions with respect to the term "ritual," without wishing to present a representative survey of existing views or claiming any new insights.' Essential elements in my use of the term "ritual" are the possibility of repetition (i.e, that a ritual is, and can be, repeated by virtue of an internal structure), adaptability (the ability of a ritual to be adapted to specific circumstances, rather than purely mechanical and perfect repetition), and a purpose (that a ritual is carried out for a reason, whether the contents of the ritual are themselves instrinsically meaningful or not) . A ritual engages the participants in the physical act of doing (and not-doing) something, and this activity is staged by means of props, sound, colors and so forth . Basically, at least in the Chinese evidence under consideration in the following chapters, ritual appears to be a very active way of constructing a reality that allows people to participate directly in its construction. It has to be performed anew each time and, unlike stories (whether myth, folklore, or history), always takes place in the present. On the basis of extensive historical and ethnographic research in northern Fujian, Michael Szonyi has pointed out that rituals (or parts thereof) tend to remain remarkably stable, while being interpreted to legitimate substantially different social formations. He stresses that besides having a communicative function , they also have an important instrumental function, namely to aid in creating and legitimating communities. In his analysis of several community rituals in Fuzhou (in Northern Fujian) from the Ming period 1 Bell (1992) presents a critical and theoretically sophisticated treatment of the field of ritual studies, which I have not attempted here. However, I am not certain that I wish to reduce "ritual" to the construction of power, as she seems to do in my reading of her book. Instead I tend to assign more importance to the construction of social cohesion by ritual, narratives and language. That this includes considerations of power as well should be clear.

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onwards, he points out that these had been adapted or were even taken completely outside their original contexts. Nonetheless, their contents stayed remarkably similar. In order to understand such change as well as stability, we need to understand the local rules by which seemingly stable rituals are interpreted and contextualized.2 I would like to add to his analysis that once a ritual tradition has come into being in a certain culture, there are also certain limits to the extent to which a ritual (or a ritual fragment) can be interpreted, changed and adapted. Once the parameters have been set, there is by no means complete freedom in creating rituals. Like rituals, narratives are a way of dealing with reality, not by enacting, but by telling, writing or reading stories. Unlike rituals, narratives have already taken place and assign the listener and reader to a more passive role. Communication is put center stage, even though the intended message(s) may be multiple and the actual interpretations may diverge considerably among the narrative's audience. In the Triad case, different narrative strutures can be distinguished, namely the remnants of the demonological messianic paradigm, the construction of politico-religious legitimacy, and the foundation account. The authors of Tnad manuals distinguished quite clearly between materials needed for the performance of the initiation ritual, the foundation account and additional materials for internal communication (such as Triad jargon, teacup signs and so forth) . Elements of the foundation account are used in constructing the initiation ritual, but the overall structure of the ritual is quite different and many important elements of the foundation account do not play any role at all in the ritual. The reverse is equally true. This is because the initiation ritual and the foundation story fulfil two distinct functions. By means of the ritual a new status was created for the candidate members through rebirth as children from the Hong family (= the Triad) . The foundation account legitimated the exclusive nature of the Triads as a group entitled to act autonomously. In the following chapters, I have divided my discussion of the initiation ritual into three parts, namely the creation of the ritual community, the initiation journey and the conclusion of the blood 2

Szonyi (1995) especially 8-17,290-292,296.

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covenant. Each part starts with a general discussion of the overall context, namely the ritual practices from which Triad ritual had been created and on the basis of which the ritual was initially interpreted by the Triad members. Then I analyze the specific Triad usages and interpretations (what Szonyi has called the local rules) . As I see it, the purpose of these "local rules" is not to facilitate communication, but rather to ensure that the ritual will do what it is intended to do. Symbolism does not serve communication, but only the effectiveness of the ritual, which is the task of those who created the ritual and those who lead its performance. Thus, the next chapters investigate what Triad ritual was meant to achieve and how it did so, with communication as a secondary aspect. Chapter Two deals with the initial creation of the Triad ritual community by burning incense together and by installing an altar bearing the rice bushel and sacrificial gifts . Burning incense serves to open up communication and creates a preliminary ritual community, which is subsequently given more concrete form by the initiation ritual and definitely established by the blood covenant ceremony. The rice bushel on the altar in itself already represents the territory of the Triad ritual community, whereas the altar as a whole is also further interpreted in territorial terms. After the group has been defined in terms of community and territory, the initiation ritual transforms the candidate member from a normal member of the surrounding society, tied up in a web of family and local connections, into a member of the Triad family. This ritual has elaborate recourse to death and long life symbolism, to make clear that the candidate will shed his former identity and obtain a new and more permanent one. Ajourney is enacted to express and mark this fundamental change of status. This journey is discussed in Chapter Three. The initiation ritual is completed by a blood covenant, in which the new members take a powerful oath cemented by the consumption of blood mixed in liquor to become brothers of one Triad family. It has long been thought that the Triads had reinvented the blood covenant on the basis of the vernacular tradition of the Three Kingdoms. The combination of consuming blood and establishing a brotherly tie in the same ceremony has been interpreted as a sharing of blood leading to the creation of a blood tie, in the same way as Western blood brotherhood rituals. However,

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historical analysis shows that this interpretation is incorrect. I investigate the larger history of the blood covenant in Chapter Four and its specific Triad form in Chapter Five. As I will demonstrate, the blood covenant is a public statement to be witnessed by divine powers, and can be performed by a single party (or person) or between several parties (or persons). The brotherhood is a means of binding persons without a prior kinship tie together into one family.

CHAPTER TWO

COMMUNI1Y AND TERRITORY The physical center of the Triad initiation ritual was the altar table, as a place for burning incense and bringing offerings. Triad writings pay considerable attention to the objects which make up the altar and in their confessions members often talked about the offerings that they bought for the initiation ritual. All individual objects on the altar are given a specific Triad explanation and the altar, as a whole, is interpreted as the City of Willows (muyangcheng) where members will be safe from persecution. None of the objects on the altar are unique to the Triad ritual, and all can be found during a variety of smaller and larger rituals throughout Southern China and in Chinese communities in Southeast Asia.

2.1. Creating community: offering incense An offering of incense (xiang) to gods, ghosts, and ancestors is the most basic of all devotional acts in Chinese religious life . One or more sticks of incense are stuck in the incense burner (xianglu) , inserted underneath a lantern representing the Lord of Heaven (i.e. the Jade Emperor), placed either on the steps of a staircase near a shrine, in the corpse of an animal (and potential dangerous ghost), or just about anywhere the devotee feels the presence of a supernatural being. The importance of burning incense was generally recognized, as becomes clearer when we investigate the standard vocabulary that indicates religious worship. People bum incense during specific rituals, upon visiting a temple or shrine to bring some offering or to ask the deity for advice, in front of the pictures of their ancestors in the household shrine, and while reading religious works (ranging from Buddhist sutras to Daoist and/or Confucian inspired ethical tracts). Burning incense transcends all doctrinal affiliations. Cults can be transmitted by means of relics (of the body or of objects) , or by "splitt ing

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incense" (jenxiang).l The act of worship in a temple or going on a religious pilgrimage is referred to as "offering incense" (jinxiang) and the worshipper is called an "incense guest" (xiangke) .2 The altar is called the "incense table" (xiang'an) . The popularity of a cult can be described in terms of the state of its "incense fire" (xianghuo).3 Some new religious groups ("sects") even considered the simple act of burning one stick of incense to be their most important act of devotion, calling themselves the "Teachings of the Single Stick of Incense" (yizhujiao) or the "Teachings of Burning Incense" (fenxiang jiao).4 Not surprisingly, healing and protective powers are often ascribed to incense ashes, which are consumed in water or carried around on the body in a small satchel. Mediums can intoxicate themselves with incense smoke to achieve a state of trance.P Historically, the burning of incense probably derives from the use of fragrant smells and smoke from specific plants and wood to fumigate and thereby purify places, to get rid of evil influences both on a literal level (especially all kinds of harmful insects) and on a supernatural level (evil demons). The Chinese term xiangcan mean both "fragrance" and "incense." Incense was already used as early as the end of the Han dynasty to open up a communication channel with the supernatural world, through which the gods can be invited to attend and messages can be communicated to the supernatural world." Because of this, burning incense has become a basic act of respect. Almost all communities in traditional Chinese society were organized in the form of a cult, consisting of the collective worship of a supernatural entity (human or otherwise) by means of burning incense and the performance of sacrifices. In his analysis of local communities organized around the cult of the Lord of the 1 On the importance of incense, see Schipper (1982) 35-37, 44, 119, 125-135 and the excellent remarks by Feuchtwang (1992) 23-24,84-85, 114-119, 126-129 and passim. On the custom of "splitting incense", see also Schipper (1977) 652653 and Schipper (1990) 397-416. There is no evidence that th is specific ritual practice influenced Triad ritual (as suggested by Murray [1994] 29-30). 2 Naquin and Yii (1992) 1-38, esp . 11-12 mention these terms only with respect to the pilgrimage, but they are actually quite general terms. 3 This can be found in many local gazetteers and anecdotes. 4 Naquin (1985) 255-291, esp. 273 note 44. Ter Haar (1992) 229-232. 5 1 have been able to observe all of these usages during fieldwork in Hong Kong, the Quanzhou region and on Taiwan . 6 Bodde (1975) 274-280, 290-291 and 302-303. Cedzich (1987) 70-80.

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Earth in nineteenth and twentieth century Tainan (Taiwan), Kristofer Schipper has shown how these communities were structured around the offering of incense." They were centered on the incense burner, rather than on statues, relics or the building that houses the deity. Significantly, the chief of the cult community was called the "chief of the incense-burner" (luzhu). The local group as a social unit coincided with the worshipping community; only by participating in the cult could people belong to the community and have a say in its affairs. In the Tainan cult for the Lord of the Earth, its incense burners are filled with rice, while elsewhere they are filled with local earth. In either case, earth and rice (as its principal product) symbolize the local soil. There is only incense on the top of the burner for the Lord of the Earth, whereas the burners of the cults for other deities are completely filled with incense. Schipper suggests that this demonstrates the autonomy of Lord of the Earth cult communities. Given the significance of the offering of incense, it comes as no surprise that the incense burner is the ritual center of a cult in a very literal sense. Any vessel can serve in this function, and today one even encounters such things as old tin cans serving as temporary burners during local rituals. However, incense burners are usually made out of earthenware, porcelain, bronze or copper. They may have the name of the deity or the temple, some ornamentation and possibly the name(s) of the donor(s) and a date inscribed on them, or even a short auspicious phrase.f People in nineteenth century Fuzhou (Fujian) could curse each other by wishing that someone's incense burner be turned upside down on the wall. This referred to the burner in front of the ancestral shrine against the wall, implying that someone's ancestor cult would come to an end and signalling the demise of the family as a socio-religious entity.f As a precious object, the incense burner provided legitimacy 7 The following remarks are based on Schipper (1977) 651-676. On Taiwan, also see the descriptions by Feuchtwang (quoted in note 1) and Gallin (1966) 240-241 and 254. Schipper's analysis is confirmed by the epigraphic materials, collected by Wolfgang Franke and his collaborators from overseas Chinese communities in Malaysia and the Indonesian archipelago, in Franke and Chen (1982) , Franke and Chen (1985), and Franke (1988) . 8 Dean (1993) passim; Duara (l988a) 122-123. See also the many pictures of incense burners and their inscrip tions in Franke and Chen (1982), Franke and Chen (1985), Franke (1988) . 9 Doolittle (1865) II: 274.

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for a cult. This function goes back to the early days of Chinese history, to the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Independent of each other, K.C. Chang and Anna Seidel have each contributed a masterful analysis of the importance of precious objects. These objects were treasures bestowed by Heaven (or from an earlier dynasty), whose possession legitimized royal and imperial rule. One such archetypical treasure were the Nine Tripods of Yu, which represented the nine subdivisions of the Chinese realm. With the decline of the Zhou dynasty, these tripods were lost. At that time, tripods were meant for preparing and presenting offerings, but not yet for burning incense.l" Nevertheless, later incense burners are often shaped like tripods or other archaic bronze vessels, in order to enhance their prestigious character. Donating a burner to a cult is a highly meritorious act and a sure method of gathering (and demonstrating) local prestige. Since burners are made of sturdy material, such as bronze or stone, they tend to survive the buildings in which they stand. This serves to enhance their value as objects that authenticate a cult still further. Therefore, burning incense is the most basic of devotional acts and in traditional China all social groups and territorial communities were organized in the form of an incense burning cult. The fact that the incense burners of the Lord of the Earth cult are filled with rice or earth, symbolizing territory, is especially interesting. The incense burner itself was the center of the temple, more so than statues or other depictions of any deities. Reduced to its essence, one might say that the collective burning of incense expressed community. Burning incense is also of central importance in Triad ritual. Triad confessions virtually always mention the buying of incense in preparation for the initiation ritual, together with some brief indication of the other offerings. When new people joined a community or network, they contributed some money, which was partly used to buy offerings and other ritual necessities. The remainder of the money could be kept by the teacherts) .'! The written covenant confiscated on Taiwan in 1787 (and translated in full in 10 Chang (1983) especially 95-106; Seidel (1983) 291-371. Campany (1996) 102-126 for a splendid analysis of the relationship between collecting treasures (objects, portents, sacred texts and the like) and the legitimation of political rule . 11 References in confessions to the burning of incense: TDH I: 70, 71, 87, 111 (confessions in the afte rmath of the Lin Shuangwen rebellion); TDH V: 377

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section 5.2.) specifies a long list of objects that have to be present on the altar table, namely incense (and by implication an incense burner), candles, paper money, cups of tea, strings of cash, and a box with offerings (unspecified). In order to conclude the blood covenant, the offerings must also have included liquor and a cockerel, but these are not mentioned here. A pivotal moment in the foundation account was the miraculous appearance of an incense burner, just when the remaining monks of the Shaolin Monastery seemed completely lost and were about to be caught by the pursuing Qing army. Its appearance was the decisive sign to them to found the brotherhood of the Hong family, in order to carry out a well-defined political aim that was willed by Heaven. The incense burner signified the first founding of the Triads. As is recounted in the 1810 version of the account: An incense burner of white stone and weighing 52 ounces floated upward to the surface of the sea . On the bottom of the incense burner were the four characters [meaning] 'Restore the Ming and Extirpate the Qing'. The men then took the incense burner [made of] white Ding [porcelain] out [of the water], and concluded a covenant before Heaven. Only the master and five pupils had remained. The venerated teacher Wan Tiqi, with the dharma name Yunlong, together with his younger and elder brothers once more assembled [people] until they were 107 persons altogether. One small boy also came to raise [the flag of] righteousness. They made up 108 people altogether. At the chou hour of the 25th day of the Seventh Month of the jiayin year, they bound themselves to righteousness in front and 382 (Xie Zhi); TDH VI: 77 (unclear case), 88, 186, 189 (unclear case), 232, 310 (and many other examples from the same network) , 350, 366, 373, 389, 396, 400, 410, 412, 438, 440, 443, 461, 464, 476, 483, 487, 493, 498, 504, 511; TDH VII: 3, 186, 197, 202, 209-211, 216, 240, 258, 261, 263, 267, 274, 276, 278, 279, 283,287,297-298,301,306,331,334,337,339,345,347,355,358,359,366,372, 384,395,397,400,402,405,409,411,415,416,439,450,469,486,500,504,507, 517. Only implicit references to the buying of sacrificial gifts, such as to a "deity table," "worship," "liquor and ritual [necessities]," "liquor and meat," etc .: TDH VI: 171, 177, 187, 194, 212, 422, 431 , 444, 451 , 468 , 480; TDH VII: 423, 428, 446. All extant Triad manuals are full of poems and small ceremonies concerning the burning of incense. For pictorial evidence: painting reproduced in Ward and Stirling (1925) following 14, map of the City of Willows following 82, actual incense burner following 40; Morgan (1960) e.g. photographs following 226; Blythe (1969) photographs nrs . 11 and 12 (same altar in thejungle) ; Booth (1990) photographs page 6 bottom picture (supposedly a simplified ritual, but the three sheets of paper symbolize the Three Steppingstones and therefore suggest a more elaborate ritual, as described in Chapter Three).

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of Heaven, took Hong as their family name, smeared blood and worshipped the covenant, binding themselves into the Hong family .12

This version dates from a manual that was confiscated in 1810, but the story itself is undoubtedly older. A short poem, confiscated in 1806, is already devoted to the "Hall for the white Ding [incense burner] ." The original owner of this poem had been active as a teacher since at least 1797. 13 The specification as a white Ding (Baiding) burner is an interesting reflection on the cultural background of the creative minds behind Triad lore. The incense burner in white Ding ware was supposed to be the finest of all Song ware and was a highly coveted collectors' item during the late Ming period. As Craig Clunas has pointed out, however, there was no such thing as a "Ding ware incense burner" from the Song period and, therefore, they were faked during the late Ming in order to meet demand.l" One suspects that by the mid Qing, awareness of this object had spread beyond the circles of extremely rich collectors, but its inclusion in Triad lore still suggests a Triad ritual specialist with a certain cultural background, whether a member of the educated elite or someone who was professionally occupied with art and antiques. Quite apart from its political and ritual relevance, the appearance of the incense burner provided an etiology for one of the Triad festival days, the celebration on the 25th day of the Seventh Month of the founding of the first Triad community by the Five Ancestors. Furthermore, the day of the month was probably a further reference to the common Triad family name Hong, in which ershi (or nian, both meaning "twenty") represents the top right part of the character and wu (meaning "five") give the total of the two remaining strokes on the bottom right and the three strokes of the water radical on the left. The specific weight of the incense

12 On the 1810 version, see TDH 1: 4 (1 follow the emendations proposed in this publication) ; other references in the 1810 manual confirm the significance of this object: TDH 1: 7 lines 21-23, 19 line 12, 20 line 1, 21 line 8, 22 (fourth picture) . The role of Heaven is made explicit in several poems and is inherent in the structure of the event itself, as 1 discuss in Chapter Eight in connection with dynastic treasures. 13 On the poem, see TDH VI: 305 line 10. The teacher was called Lu Shenghai. On the dates of his network, see TDH VI: 301-306 and TDH 345. 14 Clunas (1991) 115, 180-181 and the illustration on page 6.

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burner is an inversion of this number, and thus also indirectly derived from the family name Hong. In later versions of the Triad foundation account, the founders did not have any incense available when the mysterious incense burner appeared. Therefore, during their first act of worship they had to improvise, using grass for incense, dry wood for candles and water for liquor. The grass and the wood started to burn of its own accord.P Curiously enough, in Song funerary ritual, nine stalks of grass bound together by a five-eolored thread in three bundles of three stalks each had to be placed on the altar. Various explanations are given for this curious custom, such as cutting off the evil demons residing in the grass. The Dutch ethnographer and sinologist J J.M. de Groot describes how during the late nineteenth century in the Xiamen region, many people would pick a blade of grass and put it in their mouths at the moment a funerary procession reached the grave. It was believed to protect them from any evil connected with the interment.l" This would suggest that the elaboration of the incense burning ceremony in these later versions of the Triad foundation account is somehow connected with funerary ritual, despite the different explanation given in the foundation account itself. In the following chapter, I will argue that the Triad initiation ritual and more particularly the first part was conceived as an underworld journey. The substitution of grass for incense by the founding fathers is reenacted in the initiation ritual. The candidates first make three consecutive offerings of three blades of grass, and thereafter three consecutive offerings of one stick of incense. This particular offering of incense comes at the beginning of the actual blood covenant ceremony. Whatever the original background to the offering of grass, the symbolic doubling of the presentation of incense at such a crucial moment in the ritual process further served to stress the importance of this act. The accompanying poems de15 These versions all date from the 1840s onwards. Schlegel (1866) 15 (1842 version) ; Stanton (1900) 34; Ward and Stirling (1925) 41; Tiandihui wenxianlu, 42. TDH I: 13 lines 15-16 (1810 manual) mentions nine blades of grass which are used to represent the nine strokes of the Chinese character for the family name Hong. It is unclear whether the substitution of grass for incense goes back to this date as well. It is not mentioned in the 1828 manual from Guangxi. 16 Dili xinshu, 14: 11b-13b. On this work, see Hansen (1995) 173-188, esp . 18D-181 where she discusses the cutting of the gras s. On this custom, see also de Groot (1892-1910) I: 211.

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scribe how the smoke penetrates into the Heavenly Court, announcing to Heaven that a particularly significant ritual is taking place here on earth.!? The term "incense" (xiang) is used in the organizational nomenclature of the Triads. The leader of the initiation ceremony is called Incense Master (xiangzhu) . This is the oldest term we have for a Triad functionary and is attested as early as 1787. The Incense Master, as a ritual leader, remained one of the foremost functionaries of later Triad communities. IS In 1861, the group of Dai Chaochun on Taiwan called the entrance ritual "p assin g through the incense" (guoxiang), new members were called "new incense" (xinxiang) and old members "old incense" (jiuxiang) . Several lists of Triad vocabulary confirm that "incense" could be an alternative term for "a member.t'l'' As one membership certificate from 1806, confiscated in the Southern Jiangxi region, put it very explicitly, the group worshipped "the incense fire of Elder Brother Wan ."20 These usages of the term "incense" show how it stood for "those who worship" or simply the members of one ritual community. 17 Schlegel (1866) 122-124 (I have made some corrections in his description); Stanton (1900) 44-45 (placing the sticks of incense in readiness), 65 (actually placing the incense in the burner). Ward and Stirling (1925) 50 (written in the 1920s, but based on the notes by Pickering) describe a preliminary ritual by the ritual leader to open the altar, in which they also burn incense. The ritual as described by Ward and Stirling (1925) 59-64 corresponds entirely to the descriptions in Schlegel (1866) and Stanton (1900), but Ward and Stirling have altered their overall presentation to fit their comparison with Free Mason rituals. 18 Other textual evidence: TDH VII: 214 (1808 covenant, see also translation in section 3.1.3.), 351 (poem from 1812); Schlegel (1866) 129 (written covenant from 1842); Stanton (1900) 59. Lian (1989) 185 mentions that Zhangzhou Triad groups called their ritual leader luzhu . In a membership certificate in Stanton (1900) 86, a ritual leader in Malyasia is called luzhu . The Incense Master in the Thirty Six Oaths, see Schlegel (1866) 140 (rule 18) ; Stanton (1900) , 42, 64 (nrs. 29, 31, 33) , 122 (nrs. 24) ; Xiao (1935) 3: 6a (nr. 21) , 6b (nr. 25), 9a (nr. 7) , 9b (nr.1O); Ward and Stirling (1925) 15-16 ([Incense] Master) ; Morgan (1960) 97 and passim. 19 On Dai Chaochun, see Daianjilue, 2. The Guangxi manual of 1828, Guangxi huidang, 513 contains a poem using "old incense" and "new incense" for its members as well. Schlegel (1866) 24 note 1 (vocabulary from the 1842 Berlin ms.) mentions this term, without explicitly noting its specific meaning. Also, see Stanton (1900) 93 and Ward and Stirling (1925) 130 (translating xiang incorrectly as "Fragrance"). 20 TDH VI photograph of the second document from the Zhou Dabin branch of the Lu Shenghai network.

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The foundation story in its various recensions makes the importance of burning incense and the incense burner very clear. The original blood covenant of the first Triad covenant of the Shaolin monks was founded around an incense burner sent by Heaven. Each subsequent Triad community shared in the power of this original object by reenacting the monks' original foundation ritual around a similar burner. Like other dynastic treasures, the burner was sent by Heaven and bore a sacred text which summarized the ultimate politico-religious goal of the Triads. The burning of incense was duplicated by an offering of grass in imitation of the founding fathers. In Triad organizational terminology, the term incense was used to denote the ritual leader and ordinary members. Therefore, as in other cult communities, incense burning is a basic act in creating the Triad community.

2.2. Establishing territory: the bushel and the altar After the incense burner, the grain bushel (dou) with contents is the central ritual implement-or, rather, set of ritual objects-of the Triads. It consists of a wooden bucket filled with grain, in which a number of objects symbolizing different forms of power and control are placed. In Triad lore the bucket with grain is identified as the City of Willows (muyang cheng) .21 The grain bushel and the City ofWillows playa central role in the Triad ritual process, but appear in very few versions of the Triad foundation account. The grain bushel represents earth or territory, while the objects inside it can ward off evil and protect the people living in a given territory. The bushel with contents appears in many different ritual contexts, but its precise function is rarely made explicit. The City of Willows is a complex mythical place, that occurs both in underworld geography and old messianic traditions. In both cases, it is a place where people receive a new lease of life .

21 Stanton (1900) 41 footnote and Dai (1972) 156-160 already pointed out the background of this ritual instrument, which they identified as Daoist. They do not present any further analysis.

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2.2.1. The bushel and its contents The grain bushel with contents was a prominent feature in a variety of ritual contexts all over traditional China, but has rarely been subjected to a more detailed analysis.22 Here I will analyze the individual functions of the bushel and the various objects that can be stuck inside it, and follow this up with a discussion of their collective purpose. My account will be based on ethnographical descriptions of rituals from Northern and Southern China (dating from the second half of the nineteenth century until today) and a variety of anecdotal evidence. The oldest references to this ritual implement that I have found date from the early ninth century (in a note on Northern Chinese marriage ritual), and from the Song-Yuan period (in several Daoist exorcist rituals from Southern China) . The bushel itself was a standard household implement to measure grain, usually made out of wood and shaped like a bucket, with a handle. Because of its characteristic form, the Chinese named the Great Bear constellation, with its seven visible stars, after it as the Northern Bushel (beidou). The constellation controls people's destiny and is of essential importance in Daoist ritua1. 23 The representation or reenactment of the seven stars of the Northern Bushel allows one to partake of the powers of this constellation. One finds straightforward depictions of the seven stars on swords, ritual clothing, buildings and so forth , but the constellation can also be represented by seven oil lamps, seven piles of rice or seven rice bowls , reenacted through a ritual dance (the Steps ofYu) and so forth . Hence, the selection of this particular household implement as a vessel for ritual purposes was symbolically highly significant. 22 My analysis of the bushel has benefitted enormously from comments by John Lagerwey and Robin Ruizendaal. Feuchtwang (1992) 46, 118-119, 122-124, 172-173,191-193 discusses the bushel in a strictly Daoist context on Ta iwan. A general discussion of this important ritual implement does not yet exist. On the Daoist context, see also Lagerwey (1987) 48. He ascribes purely metaphorical meanings to the objects inside, on the au thori ty of his Daoist informant. This may well reflect a sep arate Daoist in terpretative layer. Katz (1996) 87-88 quotes a Yuan source that interprets the function of the sword in a similar metaphorical way as "cutting off the chaotic thoughts in one's heart that prevents successful Daoist cultivation." 1 limit my analysis to the more current exorcist interpretations of the bushel and the objects inside. 23 On its place in Daoist ritual, see Schipper (1983) 101-102 and Riu Shiman, ge (1984 ) passim.

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In a ritual context, the bucket is always filled with the principal local grain crop(s). They stand for the Five Grains (wugu) , which symbolize the soil and hence the local territory. It is the act of burning incense on top or in front of the bushel that adds the dimension of the local community to the notion of territory. Since the soil brings forth life and is the ultimate productive force, its primary produce, grain, has strong regenerative, and thus also exorcist, powers.v' The way in which a bushel with grain represents local territory is reminiscent of the way in which the incense burner of the Lord of the Earth cult in Tainan is filled with rice and symbolizes the local territory.P Given the regenerative powers of grain, it comes as no surprise that even a single piece of grain already possesses the power to expel evil forces. Among the Yao in southern China, most adults traditionally went through an initiation to become exorcist masters. During the ritual, the new masters received a certain number of spirit soldiers represented by grains and in this way acquired a small armed force to combat evil. 26 In many places, grain is scattered on the ground to drive away demons.V In this line of reasoning, the grain in the bushel represents both the local territory and its protective army. Apart from the grain and the incense burning on top or in front of the bushel, the contents of the bushel are not fixed, but depend on the ritual occasion and local conventions. It may contain a spirit tablet with some sticks of incense, as I witnessed in Hakka funerary rites on Taiwan (summer 1992), or merely some sticks of incense, as I observed in Ghost Festival rituals in Hong Kong (summer 1992) . In the latter case there would obviously be no spirit tablets, since these always represent known dead and this festival is devoted (in part) to the unknown dead. In such specific contexts, one suspects, the bushel filled with grain served to protect

De Groot (1892-1910) 535-541, esp . 538. Riu Shiman, ge (1984) 398 note 1. Schipper (1977) 651-676. Nagao (1940) II: 200-201 mentions that all over China a bushel filled with grain could be used instead of an incense burner as a vessel for deities. In that case, the deities symbolically descend in the local territory. Zhang Yin'gen (1993) 180-195 notes that the Lord of the Earth can be represented by a bushel filled with grain. 26 Pu and Guo (1992) 302 and ZhangJingsong (1993) 41-64, esp. 45 and 53. 27 See for instance Zhang Yin'gen (1993) 180-195, esp. 184-186; Riu Shiman, ge (1984) 21 using the term "soul rice" (hunmi) . 24 25

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the soul(s) of the dead. In most instances, however, the bushel contains roughly the same objects from day-to-day household or trade usage. Both in Northern and Southern China, all or several of the following objects are stuck into the grain or placed on top of it: one or two swords (either two-edged swords [jian] or-much more commonly-one-edged swords [dao], which could be represented simply by kitchen hatchets), a pair of scissors, a mirror, a footmeasure, a pair of scales, and an oil lamp. At times some or all of these objects stand beside the bushel. In wealthy regions (such as Taiwan and Hong Kong), nowadays the bushels are sometimes especially made for a ritual purpose, but traditionally this was not the case. Being common household and trade implements, they were habitually taken from the workshop or from amongst the family's daily utensils. Throughout a person's life cycle, he or she would encounter the bushel (or its substitute the winnowing basket) in a variety of ritual contexts. Sometimes, this contact would be very close indeed, as in various rituals to protect children from evil influences, which are documented for Northern China as well as Fujian and Guangdong. In Fuzhou (Northern Fujian), a winnowing basket containing a set of scales, a pair of scissors, a ruler, a mirror, a brush, an abacus and some other objects is used during a ceremony to celebrate a child's first birthday. The infant is placed on top of the basket and the adults eagerly await to see which object it will choose. From the nature of the object that the child selects, they deduce its future occupation. Thus, the brush signifies a scholarly occupation and the money scales a career in making money. In this ceremony, the exorcist function has been pushed into the background by a more auspicious interpretation of the same original practice.P' 28 For this specific example, see Doolittle (1865) I: 125 (winnowing basket) . For other examples of exorcist ritu als using these objects and involving children: Doolittle (1865) I: 127-130 (bushel; in the ritual seven piles of rice are used to represent the seven stars of the Bushel) and 134-136 (bushel) all on Fuzhou in northern Fujian); Riu Shiman, ge (1984) 253-254 on Guangdong; Lowe (19401941) 19-20 (bushel with contents), 22-24 (describes the exorcist use of the various instru ments) on Beijing ; Eichinger (1952) 195 on Gansu ; Nagao (1940) III: 280-281,399 on Manchuria and Northern China in general. Graham (1961) 141 describes the use of a similar group of objects as a silver charm for children, among the Miao in Southwest China.

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Another important context when the bushel with contents was (and still is) used is the ceremony for worshipping Heaven and Earth that can be documented as part of traditional marriage rituals all over China, with small regional variations in the nature of the objects that were placed inside the bushel. Through this ceremony, man and woman formally become husband and wife. Even unmarried Triad members would most probably have participated in the marriage rituals of close relatives or friends. For Gansu and Qinghai a second ceremony is documented as part of the marriage rituals, in which a bushel with contents is placed on the stone communal bed (or kang, the typical Northern Chinese stone bed heated by the warmth of the kitchen stove) of the young couple to exorcise evil spirits.29 This second ceremony suggests that during the worship of Heaven and Earth the bushel also served to keep away evil influences. In Southern China, a similar practice can be witnessed during the so-called shangliang ceremony for putting up the central roof beam of important buildings such as temples or ancestor halls. Virtually the same items that we also encounter in the bushel are hung from the central roof beam. In the Quanzhou region in Southern Fujian, the Eight Trigrams with the Yin-Yangsymbol inside are painted on the middle of the beam. A red bag containing the Five Grains and all of the various objects that are usually placed on top of the bushel are hung on the left and right side of the Eight Trigrams. The oil lamp is not hung up, but represented by a lantern. An almanac may also be added, in addition to various sacrificial gifts . The objects are left hanging until they fall off. 30 Elsewhere, the winnowing basket is used as an equivalent for the bushel. One description of the ceremony informs us that the ritual specialist makes the beam come alive by spilling the blood of a cockerel on it . The carpenter(s) then attaches a winnowing basket, a mirror and a ruler to the beam, as well as sweets made of glutinous rice. Spells explicitly describe the exorcist purpose of 29 On Northern China: Stenz (1907) 83, 89; Dols (1915-1916) 481, 483 on Gansu; on southern Shandong; Serruys (1944) I: 120-121, 122, 136-140 and 140144 on Datong; Frick (1952) 58-59 and 59-60 on Qinghai. On Southern China: Quanzhou region and Taiwan : fieldwork by Robin Ruizendaal throughout 1992-4. Northern Fujian: Doolittle (1865) I: 76-77, 8488. 30 Fieldobservations by Robin Ruizendaal and myself in the Quanzhou region (February 1993) . Mainly attested in temples and ancestor halls.

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the ritual.I' I do not know of similar spells for the Quanzhou practice, though it seems likely that here as well the primary function of the objects was exorcist. The bushel with contents is a common presence in exorcist rituals or during funeral ceremonies, providing protection against demonic beings. It is richly documented in rituals carried out by Daoist priests or puppeteers all over Fujian, as well as by ritual specialists among the Miao in Western Hunan. In the Daoist rituals on Taiwan, the bushel may also contain a parasol (liangsan) , in addition to the standard objects.32 We even find the bushel with contents inside the stomach of the patron saint of the puppeteers of Southern Fujian, who is also their principal ritual puppet, Chief Marshall Tian (Tian du yuanshuai)! Once we realize that the performance of puppet theater has a strong exorcist function, this fact need not surprise US. 33 In the preceding paragraphs, I have given a survey of the various ritual contexts in which the bushel or the winnowing basket with contents played a role. In some cases the exorcist function is explicitly expressed by spells pronounced during the ritual itself or it is noted in the form of a commentary by participants, but in many cases this function remains implicit. Therefore, in the following paragraphs I will pay some more attention to the individual ritual use of the objects that are placed inside the bushel. As we shall see, these objects often have a strong exorcist function in other contexts as well . Interestingly, the bushel and the winnowing basket can be made to serve exorcist functions all by themselves. In Southwest China, a wooden bushel is hung over doors to keep out dernons.P' The winnowing basket is used in one of the oldest forms of planchette writing cults, as a writing table on which the person into whom 31 Cai (1992) passim. He does not specify the region. Baker (1979) 90 notes the use of a winnowing basket in Hong Kong. 32 Lagerwey (1987) 48 and Ofuchi (1983) 205 (objects inside have no special meaning), 852-853 on Taiwan; Dean (1986) 191-192 and 201 on southern Fujian ; extensive fieldobservations by Robin Ruizendaal and myself on Taiwan and in the Quanzhou region in funerary rites, exorcisms, change of sex rituals and so forth . I have not seen the bushel used in Hong Kong, but local people have told me that it is used in Daoist rituals. Graham (1961) plate 7 Dr. 2 (following page 72) for the people of Western Hunan (former Miao territory) . 33 Huang (1988) 469. This reference was pointed out to me by Robin Ruizendaal. 34 Graham (1961) 141; hung above the door: Graham (1961) 126.

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the deity has descended can write. The common term for planchette cults is still "su pp or tin g the winnowing basket" (fuji) .35 The basket was used to protect the ritual space of eighteenth century Buddhist oriented messianic groups in the border region between Sichuan, Hunan, and Hubei. 36 The objects that can be placed inside the bushel or winnowing basket are even more frequently used in an exorcist function. The sword is the principal weapon used by ritual specialists to behead demons and drive them away. The two-edged sword (jian) is evidently a more specialized implement, but all households will have at least a one-edged kitchen hatchet (dao) to serve as its substitute.F The mirror, too, is an exorcist implement par excellence. Even today in the Chinese countryside, one encounters little mirrors hung outside windows or doors opposite a dangerous bend of the road; or they are incorporated into depictions of the Eight Trigrams above the entrance of a house, and so forth . 38 During building rituals in the Southern Fujian cultural region, paper cut-outs of a mirror, a pair of scissors and a ruler are pasted on the walls of the newly consecrated buildings.f" In the Jiangxi region, people hang red paper, a mirror and a pair of scissors above the door of the room where a woman .is giving birth.t" Elsewhere, a pair of scales and a hatchet or an umbrella are hung above the door for the same reason.f! An umbrella can be used to ward off evil demons, either when it is carried around or when it is placed in a specific spot that needs protection. The umbrella is also used in rituals, to protect the statues of deities or the ritual specialist 35 On the planchette cult, see Chao (1942) 9-27. It is depicted among the paraphernalia which are used in an exorcist ceremony among the Miao in Southwest China, see Graham (1961) plate 7 no 2 following p. 72. 36 Yamada (1990) 67-69. 37 Strickmann (1993) 2-3 points out the importance of weapons, specifically the sword , in Chinese ritual. Feuchtwang (1992) discusses the important of the martial aspect in Chinese religious culture. 38 On the mirror above the door or window: my own fieldwork in Southern Fujian, Taiwan, and Hong Kong (summer 1992 and february 1993) . More generally, see Nagao (1940) III: 274, 288-289, 360-361, 408, 717-718; Zhongguo guihua , 658-660; Doolittle (1865) II: 313; Strickmann (1993) 5-6. 39 Myown fieldwork in Southern Fujian and Taiwan (summer 1992 and february 1993) . 40 Zhongguo guihua, 688-690 . 41 Zhongguoguihua , 653-654 and Liuxian waishi, 134-135. In Southwest China, Graham (1961) 33. Use of umbrella, scales and hatchet to protect foetus or newly born child: Nagao (1940) III: 284 (mid China and Manchuria).

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himself from the prying eyes of Heaven (= the Jade Emperor) .42 As we have noted, an oil lamp was often placed on top of the grain in the bushel. In the case of a bushel attached to the central roofbeam, the lantern substituted for the oil lamp. Both were bringers of light in the darkness of human existence, ranging from the darkness of night to evil demons. Members of the messianic groups that were active during the eighteenth century in the border region of Sichuan, Hunan, and Hubei worshipped light in the form of an oil lamp, lit against the imminent threat of apocalypse and the myriads of demons that would accompany it.43 In the marriage rituals of Northern China, the lamp is often called the Long Life Lamp (changming deng). It is kept burning continuously to symbolize the lasting strength of the new bonds. We already saw that during these same rituals the bushel including the lamp was also used in an exorcist context.v' In Taiwan and Southern Fujian, when an oil lamp is placed on top of the bushel in exorcist rituals, the whole implement symbolizes the Northern Bushel and is called a Bushel Lamp (doudeng). The lamp can also be called a Seven Stars Lamp (qixing deng), since the Northern Bushel consists of seven visible stars. 45 It is unclear to what extent the ritual specialists (or indeed the participants) organizing marriage rituals also thought of their use of the bushel in the shape of a Long Life Lamp as a Bushel Lamp (doudeng) . All the same, these were the same type of ritual implements and they fulfilled the same functions of expelling evil and bringing fortune. The exorcist power of these objects is always derived from their pragmatic function. The sword is used to kill during battle and to execute people as well as demons. The mirror reflects things away, warding them off. An ironing device (called dou or "bushel") flat42 Zhongguo guihua, 654-656 and 681-684; Ofuchi (1983) 973; Stenz (1907) 85 (red umbrella) . In the nineteenth century foreigners carrying umbrellas have been mobbed because they were seen as the cause of drought, see Smith (1899) 171. In th is case, the umbrellas were probably believed to ward off rain-bringing deities. I have frequently observed the use of umbrellas to protect statues during fieldwork in Hong Kong and Taiwan (both during the summer of 1992) and the Quanzhou region (February 1993) . 43 Yamada (1990) 67-72. He treats this as a typical practice of these new religious groups. The widespread use of the oil lamp in ritual contexts suggests that this way of using light does not necessarly derive from a continuous tradition, but rather derive from common ritual practice. 44 See note 29. 45 See note 22.

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tens things, in the same way as seals or stones. Both umbrella and fan (which we will encounter as part of the Triad bushel) can block the path of the eye, whereas the fan can also blow things away. In Chinese, the words for umbrella (san) and fan (shan) are virtually homophonous with the word "to separate" (san). The winnowing basket separates grain from chaff, by throwing the grain into the air and letting the wind blow the chaff away. A pair of scissors (jiandao) can cut things off, while the first part of the word is homophonous with the word for sword (jian) and it also incorporates the word for knife (dao) . The lamp brings light into the darkness. Finally, the bushel, almanac, ruler, pair of scales (as well as the steelyard and the abacus, which we will encounter as part of the Triad bushel) are all instruments of measurement, which bring control by establishing the precise size or amount of things. The evidence presented above largely stems from the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Nevertheless, the bushel with contents was by no means a recent ritual innovation of the late imperial period. Yan Zhitui (531-591) already noted the presentation of the entire contents of the bushel to the child upon its first anniversary, to let it select one of the objects, supposedly to predict its future career, but also, no doubt, as a means of warding off evil influences." According to Duan Chengshi (circa 800863), when a new wife was welcomed in "recent" marriage rituals, a mortar filled with millet was placed in readiness, the well was covered with a mat, the window stuffed with hemp cloth, and three arrows were placed over the door. The preparations described by Duan Chengshi show a very literal concern with preventing evil influences from entering; two entrances were completely closed off, while the third entrance was made safe by placing arrows above it .47 It is this same literalness that we find in the use in exorcist contexts of objects that signify control. The bushel with contents is prescribed in several exorcist rituals in the Compilation of Rituals of the Way (Daofa huiyuan), a compilation of Song and Yuan ritual texts. The following ritual for capturing demons in a kind of prison (referred to as yu) is a typical example. The tablets of the spirit generals (referred to in the text as Divine Generals, shenjiang, and discussed further below) Yen/Teng (1968) 404l. Youyangzazu, 1: 7b. This reference was first pointed out by Serruys (1944) and concerns northern China. 46 47

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should be placed on top of a clean table; these are worshipped in order to gain the generals' assistance in the ritual, as capturers of demons. A prison is set up under the table. It should be closed off on all four sides by a new straw mat and may only be opened at night (when the yin forces of darkness are at their height and the demons come out into the open). A large saucer filled with fragrant oil should be placed inside the prison (i.e. under the table) . The ritual specialist writes an «Amulet for the Burning of the Lamp," which he divides up to make seven lamp-wicks. These should be placed in the saucer, turning it into a representation of the Northern Bushel constellation. Next to it is placed a bushel filled with rice, on which the ritual specialists should place two hen eggs, a pair of scales, a pair of scissors, and a mirror, with a ruler stuck in front of it. The specialist is explicitly warned against various contaminating influences (dirty substances as well as improper human emotions), which might destroy the exorcist power of the bushel. Finally, the full ritual is carried out to enlist the help of the Divine Generals and capture the evil demons.f" In this and other rituals in the Compilation of Rituals of the Way, the exorcist function of the bushel with contents is made quite explicit. Its use in contemporary Daoist rituals continues the same ritual tradition. Spirit generals can be represented by tablets (as in the preceding example) or five flags. Each flag is of a different color and represents one of the armies of the Five Encampments (wuying), where the Spirit Soldiers (yinbing) or Divine Soldiers (shenbing) reside. Each encampment is led by its own general (who can be termed yinjiang [Spirit General] or shenjiang [Divine General]). Each of the five directions (North, East, South, West and the Center) has its own spirit army. These spirit soldiers assist the ritual specialist in his war against the demons. The flags can be stuck inside the rice bushel, which symbolizes the territory of a community. They can also be placed in the four comers and above the door (representing the center) of a building, and even outside in the five directions of the actual territory of a given community.t'' 48 Daofa hu iyuan, Vol. 30: 167: 76a and passim. Other instances: Daofa huiyuan, Vol. 30: 168: 77c; 200: 266c; 201: 275b; 216: 341c. 49 For good descriptions, see Jordan (1972) 50-56, 131-133 and DeBernardi (1986) 67-68,86. Also, Schipper (1982) 73-74 and Lagerwey (1987) 226-229 in a Daoist ritual context. Riu Shiman, ge (1984) 83-89 and passim. Baker (1980) 22

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Since the bushel with rice is the symbolic representation of a community's territory, placing the flags inside the bushel or out in the real world at the borders of a village (or near some other dangerous spot requiring protection) amounted to the same thing. The grain bushel was an instrument of tremendous power. The bushel (or winnowing basket) with grain symbolized the territory of the community which was engaged in the ritual. The community was represented by its leaders and its presence in the ritual was established by means of worshipping incense. The objects inside the bushel protected the ritual space and all participants in the ritual from any evil influences. People encountered the bushel with contents in its entirety, as well as the objects inside it individually, in a variety of ritual contexts throughout their lives. Like the incense burner, the bushel was part of the general domain of ritual implements and people would not associate it with any particular ritual or doctrinal tradition. Even if they did not know precisely why it was used or why particular objects were placed on top of the bushel, they would certainly know when and where to use it, namely whenever there was the threat of evil influences. This did not preclude people from presenting a specific analysis, such as the much more metaphorical interpretations by Daoist priests,50 or the exclusively auspicious interpretations in the context of children's first birthdays.

2.2.2. The Triad bushel The bushel with exorcist objects is a characteristic feature of the mature Triad ritual in Southern Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and the other Southern provinces. It is always filled with rice . Confessions from Guangdong and Guangxi are fairly clear about its importance in the initiation ritual, although by no means all early confessions explicitly mention the bushel. Triad manuals all provide elaborate descriptions of it. The maps of the City of Willows dating from the nineteenth century give pride of place to the rice bushel with contents and it also features prominently on the two

and photograph on the opposite page. I have seen examples of their use inside in several temples in Hong Kong . which is also noted by DeBernardi (1986) 67. 50 See Lagerwey (1987) 48 and my discussion in note 22.

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extant Triad altars (that from Singapore dating from the 1880s and Hong Kong from the 1950s).51 The situation in the Jiangxi-Northern Fujian region is different from the rest of the South. In this area there is only one documented instance of the rice bushel in a confession concerning a Jiangxi network, and only five in confessions concerning Northern Fujian networks. With the exception of one network of which the teacher's provenance is unknown, the teachers of these different networks had come from Guangdong, Southern Fujian and Hunan.V Indigenous networks in the Northern Jiangxi-Fujian region apparently did not use the bushel with contents in their rituals. As I already noted in the introductory chapter, the northern border region ofJiangxi and Fujian was not very significant in later Triad history. The following discussion therefore concerns the mature Triad ritual of the other southern provinces. When discussing the Triad blood covenant in Chapter Five, we will find that the same regional distribution also applies to the ideal of the sworn brotherhood and the adoption of the Hong family name. They are quite rare in the border region of northern Jiangxi and northern Fujian, but standard almost everywhere else. The rice bushel is first mentioned in confessions from 1802 in coastal Guangdong. The teacher arrested belonged to a well-documented Triad network that originated in Tongan (Southern Fujian) and which had first spread to the Chaozhou region. From 51 Early nineteenth century confessions: TDH VII: 376 (type I), 450 (type 2.) , 480 (type 1.),486 (type 1.) ,507 (type 3.), 517 (type 4.). A representative example of the treatment of the bushel with contents in the manuals is the one confiscated in 1810, TDH I: 6 (the fifth poem on the "gate of the bushel") , 8 (Northern type), 12 (in the form of a description of the City of Willows) , 18 (poems 1, 2, 4, 5,6,7, 11, 12) , or the poems confiscated in 1812 in TDH VII: 354 (poem on the "H on g Lamp bushel" hongdeng dou) . For depictions of the City of Willows preserved in the British Museum, see note 66 below . The altars can be seen in the Stirling collection (reproduced in Ward and Stirling [1925] opposite 24) and in the Hong Kong police museum (reproduced in Morgan [1960] 113) . 52 TDH VI: 187 (type 5. Covenant in Nanping, Northern Fujian; teacher from Jinjiang, Southern Fujian), 189 (type 6. Covenant in Sha , Northern Fujian ; teacher from Changting in Southern Fujian) , 225 (type 7. Covenant in Jianyang, Northern Fujian ; provenance original teachers not known), 232 (type 3. Covenant in Shaowu , Northern Fujian ; teachers from Longchuan in Guangdong), 332 (type 1. Covenant in Longquan, Jiangxi; teachers from Xingning, Guangdong and Shanghang, Southern Fujian), VII: 187 (type 8. Covenant in Pingle in Northern Fujian; people came from Deq ing and Dongguan, Guangdong, and from Yongm ing, Hunan) .

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there the network spread rapidly along the coast. The element of the rice bushel only appeared in one branch of the network that spread from Xinhui county (near Canton) to the neighboring counties in coastal Guangdong during 1802. This suggests the possibility that the bushel was added to the ritual only in coastal Guangdong and did not belong to the oldest core of Triad ritual. In the Xinhui county branch of the network, the bushels were made out of wood or bamboo (the choice of material does not seem to be relevant to the ritual use of the bushel). The bushels contained one or two swords, a pair of scissors, a mirror, a ruler, and five colored paper flags with five unidentified characters on them. 53 The contents of the bushels recorded in the confessions of subsequent Triad groups differ substantially from each other.P" but they have two elements in common, namely the use of one or more exorcist instruments and flags (or pieces of cloth) of five colors. In several bushels, no weapons are mentioned, although swords are used for the gate of swords through which the candidates have to pass as part of the initiation ritual. In two bushels no indication is given of any flags and in one threads are used instead of flags. From a northern Chinese and non-Triad example of the bushel, we know that threads of five colors can be used in the same way as the flags. 55 The differences indicate that at that time there was not ye t a central norm for the contents of the bushel. More importantly, however, the basic functions of the bushel were already present, namely, to represent territory (the bushel itself filled with rice) , to exorcise evil (the weapons), and to represent the divine armies (the colored flags, pieces of cloth or threads). The only implement that is conspicuously missing from most oral descriptions is the oil lamp, which represents long life and transforms the whole into a representation of the Bushel constellation.P" The Triad manuals and maps of the City of Willows basically confirm the information given in the confessions, except that the written sources provide much more detail (such as explanatory TDH VI: 433, 438, 440 , 461. On this network, see Murray (1994) 62-63. The oral confessions quoted in notes 51 and 52 record twelve bushels, with eight different types . No weapons in types 1. and 4. No flags in types 6. and 8. Threads in type 7. 55 Lowe (1940-1941) "a small skein of threads of five colours." 56 Out of the twelve bu shels in the confessions mentioned in notes 51 and 52, only types 4 and 5 have oil lamps. A thirteenth instance without bushel, but with oil lamps and flags can be found in TDH VII: 369. 53 54

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poems) and sometimes prescribe more objects inside the bushel. They also consistently mention that an oil lamp is placed on top of the bushel, which is called the Hong Lamp (hongdeng).57 Several manuals further prescribe that, in addition to the lamp on top of the bushel, seven oil lamps, or a candelabra with seven branches, should be placed on the altar next to the bushel. These seven lamps were referred to as the Seven Stars Lamp (qixing deng) .58 The oil lamp on top of the bushel already transformed it into a Bushel Lamp (doudeng), so the addition of a Seven Stars Lamp seems somewhat superfluous. Possibly it was placed on the altar, because the bushel itself was re-interpreted in Triad lore as the City ofWillows instead of representing the conventional Bushel Lamp. As a result, Triad members may have felt a need for a new explicit representation of the Northern Bushel constellation. Such variations had no consequences for the nature of the Triad initiation ritual, but they resemble the pattern that we already saw in the case of the burning of incense, where the same ritual act was duplicated by using stalks of grass (=the incense of the Triad founders) first and real incense after. During the initiation, the bushel with contents is placed on the altar and the candidate members have to pay their respects to it. It is part of a repertoire of ritual means employed to prevent the entry of evil influences into a Triad group, whether they be demons or disloyal candidates. Other such means were the passage through the gate of swords (discussed in Chapter Three) and the blood covenant with its powerful maledictions (discussed in Chapters Four and Five). Measures to prevent the interference of evil 57 Manual confis cated in 1810, see TDH I: 12 line 14 (Hong Fire and Bright Lamp), 20 lines 3-4 (Five Ancestor Lamp). Poems confiscated in 1812, see TDH VII: 354 lines 8-10 (Hong Lamp Bushel) . Xiao (1935) 5: 18a (Hong Lamp) (Or. 8207B) . Schlegel (1866) 105 QA 294-296 and 128 (Hong Lamp) ; Stanton (1900) 56; Ward and Stirling (1925) 98; Morgan (1960) 146. 58 Guangxi huidang, 504 lines 4-9, 505 line 23, 506 line 10 suggest two lamps , and indicate that the bushel altar as a whole was seen as a Seven Stars Platform. Pickering (1879) 9, Ward and Stirling (1925) 50, 98, and Morgan (1960) 127 and 146 explicitly note two different types of lamps (or combinations of lamps) . Schlegel (1866) 127-128 bases himself solely on the poems, resulting in some confusion. He mentions a Seven Stars Lamp, a Hong Lamp and aJade Emperor Lamp (I have corrected his translation here on the basis of the Chinese original). I suspect that the latter is the lantern which in the Quanzhou region is customarily hung under the eaves of the entrance of a temple for the Lord of Heaven (=theJade Emperor) . It is also mentioned in Pickering (1879) 9 and Xiao (1935) 5: 5b (Or. 2339); it seems to be the equivalent of the Hong Lamp.

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influences can also be found in the following performance of a Triad initiation that took place in 1806 and in which the rice bushel was not used. The teacher connected the backs of two chairs with two pieces of red and white cloth to form a "bridge," as they called it. The teacher then attached a pair of scales to the bridge with a piece of red cloth. The candidate members had to pass under this bridge.t" The pair of scales functioned here in the same way as the rice bushel, to ward off evil intentions in the hearts of candidate members. The notion of providing safety is also indicated by the practice of sticking the spirit tablets of the five founding fathers of the Triads inside the bushel or placing them on a winnowing basket.P'' Such precautions are a general feature of rituals that deal with demonic forces and deceased people. The flags or threads of five colors that are placed on the conventional bushel signify the Five Encampments of the spirit armies of the five directions. In the Triad interpretation of the bushel, the five colors represent the five sub-lineages (the Five Houses or wufang) of the Triad sworn brotherhood and Hong family. Each sub-lineage has its own color and magical character. In terms of representation, the Five Houses are the exact complement of the Five Encampments and this extends to their exorcist and protective functions as well. The armies of the Five Encampments are always invoked to assist the ritual specialist in his battles with evil demons and to protect the community's territory, which is symbolized by the bushel. This is no different in the case of the Triads, where the territory to be protected is the City of Willows (=the bushel with rice) and the soldiers who protect it are the Triad members who belong to the Five Houses (=the flags with five colors). The demons to be exorcised are the Manchu-Qing armies. The Triad manuals contain many poems about the bushel and its contents, to be recited when the make-up of the altar is described during the initiation ritual. As I already noted, the bushel itself is equivalent to the City of Willows. The poems take up the original exorcist connotations of the various objects and give them a specific Triad twist. 61 The rice inside the bushel that normally 59 TDH VI: 301 (actual ritual). The teacher did possess poems referring indirectly to the bushel, such as TDH VI: 305 lines 14-16 (on the City of Willows) and 305 line 13 (on the oil lamps) . 60 TDH VII: 450, 480, 486, 503-504. 61 Unless stated otherwise, 1 follow the poems in the manual confiscated in

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symbolizes the regenerative powers of the earth is now likened to rice filling the granaries, basically the productive ability of the City of Willows. The swords are given a more specific exorcist purpose, namely to "behead completely the heretic demons (yaoxie) and completely restore the Ming," bringing about Great Peace and unifying the nation. Interestingly enough, the seven stars of the Northern Bushel are depicted on the sword from Stirling's Singapore altar of the 1880s, thus providing it with additional cosmic powers .F In the foundation account, a sword made of red peach wood plays an important role and is endowed with strong exorcist properties (discussed in Chapter Nine). The exorcist theme of driving out the Manchu-Qing barbarians and restoring the Ming rulers reappears in many other poems. The scissors cut through the dark clouds, which prevent us from seeing the sun and moon and which also prevent the True Dragon (i.e. the legitimate emperor of the Zhu imperial house of the former Ming) from descending on earth. The two characters for sun (ri) and moon (yue) form the character ming that here refers to the Ming dynasty, while the dark clouds can be interpreted as the Manchu-Qing forces that prevent the Ming restoration. The pure mirror can destroy myriads of soldiers. One poem on the fan indicates that it functioned as a recognition sign for the sworn brothers to gather in the City of Willows and assist the Luminous King in his battle to restore the Ming. Another poem ascribes a more destructive function to it, as the Peach Blossom Fan that drives out the barbarian demons (janyao). The poems about the swords, the scissors, the mirror, and the fan all mention the same exorcist

1810, TDH I: 18 (for the sword poem also see TDH I: 13 lines 22-24). Later manuals contain the same poems with textual variants: Guangxi huidang, 498-504; Xiao (1935) 5 passim; Schlegel (1866) 42-46; Ward and Stirling (1925) 47-49. Stanton (1900) does not contain a separate section with the poems on the bu shel objects. In the mirror poem (TDH I: 18 lines 13-14), I emend nian to bing, on th e basis of Schlegel (1866) 43 and Xiao (1935) 5: 7b. Guangxi huidang, 500 contains a mirror poem with a different final line, but the same basic contents. For the alternative poem on the fan, see Xiao (1935) 5: 5b . For the poem on the abacus, see Guangxi huidang, 501 (also in Xiao [1935] 5: 8a and Schlegel [1866] 45) . Guangxi huidang, 500 contains two poems on the umbrella, but these do not bear on their ritual function. Schlegel (1866) 33 contains a poem on the umbrella as a legitimation symbol. 62 Schafer (1977) 157-160 discusses treasure swords with the Northern Bushel depicted on them.

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target, namely those evil forces that block the way to the restoration of the Ming dynasty. The ruler measures Heaven and Earth, to make sure that it is exactly the right size. The pair of scales weighs the grain in the City of Willows (i.e. the rice in the bushel!) , which should weigh exactly two pounds and thirteen ounces (symbolizing the common family name Hong). The abacus counts the passage of time until the Qing has been overthrown and the Ming has been restored. The poems on the ruler, the scales, and the abacus develop their function of control through measurement, and link this function to the political task of overthrowing the Qing and reestablishing the Ming. Finally, there are the poems on the Hong Lamp-the lamp on top of the bushel-and the Seven Stars Lamp-the seven lamps standing beside the bushel. They do not dwell on the continuous burning of a lamp as a symbol for Long Life, but rather concentrate on the power of light to distinguish between the loyal and the traitorous. As it is phrased in a poem ascribed to the Young Ming Prince himself, "today we look at the stars and face the Northern Bushel, we remove the Qing and restore the Ming, so that, in general, there will be no more traitors." Or in another poem, which we find in similar form in many different manuals, "once upon a time, the precious lamp could illuminate the Nine Layers [of Heaven], it can [today] illuminate who of the brothers is traitorous or loyal." 63 The explanatory poems preserve the overall exorcist connotations of the bushel and its contents, while rephrasing them in specific Triad terms. The poems testify to the political and demonological nature of Triad lore, something that we will again encounter in the following chapters. The way in which these poems build on established connotations also shows how an existing ritual tradition could be taken up and interpreted, without changing its basic form and functions. This allowed people to participate independent of whether they understood the additional layer

63 First poem, see TDH I: 21 line 7, on which also see TDH 1: 12 line 14 and 20 line s 3-4 (unclear) , or TDH VII: 354 lines 8-10. Second poem, see Guangxi huidang, 504 lines 4-6 (line 5 is translated here, without taking over the proposed emendation) and lines 7-9. Further examples: Schlegel (1866) 127-128; Ward and Stirling (1925) 49-50,98; Stanton (1900) 55-56; Xiao (1935) 5: 5b, 18a.

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of meanings, since they would always recognize the basic structure.

2.2.3. The altar and the City of Willows The bushel filled with rice was equated with the City of Willows. This interpretation was then extended to the other objects on the altar and eventually the entire altar table was interpreted as the City of Willows. & we have already seen the make-up of the altar-including the dominant position of the Triad bushel-does not differ substantially from that of the conventional altars that are found all over Southern China. The elaborate Triad interpretations were projected upon the altar, without fundamentally changing the latter's functions. These interpretations are a clear example of what Szony termed the local rules. An altar can be a platform of earth (tan), the more common "incense table" (xiang'an), or even a simple wooden board hung against the wall. In addition to a vessel for burning incense, there will be some sacrificial gifts of food and drink (water, tea, and/or liquor), and maybe a representation of (a) supernatural agency(ies) on the altar. The altar may also stand in front of this representation or even before the venerated object itself, such as a rock or tree. The representation can vary from a statue to a picture or text (for instance on a tablet or a sheet of paper stuck to a wall) . Ancestors and Confucian worthies are represented, at least in the late imperial period, by texts on wooden plaques (the spirit tablets). The specific selection of gifts depends on the importance and background of the deity and on the nature of the occasion. In general, deities should be offered liquor and meat (and/or fish) , whereas Buddhist and Daoist affiliated deities should only be offered vegetarian food. In the classical Daoist tradition, the altar is a representation of the universe within which the priest carries out rituals on behalf of the community that pays for them, and which are intended to effect the state of the real universe. The altar can be constructed out of beaten earth or an arrangement of tables, with the addition of banners, scrolls and so forth . In his analysis of Daoist ritual, John Lagerwey has provided two elaborate descriptions, one based on pre-Tang ritual texts and the other on contemporary Daoist practice in Southern Taiwan (basically that of the Daoist

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Master Chen Rongsheng) . He argues that, despite the long period in time between them, they ultimately share the same basic structure. The altar is perceived to be a mountain with a grotto which gives access to the supernatural realm. More specifically, it is the Golden Gate beyond the Three Realms of Heaven, Land and Water, a place where people are safe and the Queen Mother of the West receives those chosen to be saved. This place of ultimate safety is also called the Mountain of the Jade Capital (yujing shan). The ascension by the Daoist priest of the altar is a reenactment of the taming of the floods by the Great Yu. We should recall that in Chinese mythology the taming of the floods stands at the beginning of time and culture. The Great Yu had first to bore a way for himself through a mountain. He then reached a grotto, from which he was able to enter the realm of the blessed. There he received the Eight Trigrams from the mythical Emperor Fuxi and a tablet, with which he tamed the waters. In doing so he was able to re-create the universe, divided into Nine Continents and made fit for man to live in . By reciting the scriptures of the Three Grottoes and carrying them out in ritual form through the Steps ofYu (yubu), the Daoist priest reenacts the original revelation of sacred texts to the Great Yu, which enabled him (and now again his counterpart, the Daoist priest) to save mankind from the apocalypse of the floods. The altar is the mountain conquered by the Great Yu. The table at which the priest stands is called the grotto table, because it is the mountain grotto through which he communicates with the realm of the blessed. In order to reach this grotto, the priest passes through the Gate of the Capital (dumen) , which must be interpreted as the city of the underworld (Fengdu), after which he moves further upward through the Door of the Earth (dihu) and the Gate of Heaven (tianmen). 64 Ascending the altar allows the priest to traverse the levels of the dead, the living and the immortals. The altar is a place of redemption from imminent apocalypse and its function is to assist the ritual reenactment of the salvation of the world. The closest direct parallel to the Triad view of the altar as a city, however, is provided by the vernacular Daoist ritual during which 64 Summarized from Lagerwey (1987) 25-48. Also see Lagerwey (1991) IS&142. The Dili xinshu , 14: 9a-llb, with maps on 14: lOb and lla, prescribes a very similar type of altar for the funerary ceremony.

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the ritual specialist(s) transports the deceased through the underworld. 65 In this ritual, an underworld city (cheng) is constructed of four walls made out of paper affixed to a bamboo frame. The altar of the ritual specialists is placed within this underworld city. The names of the locations along which the journey through the underworld takes place are written on the walls. They include several cities and the Whatcanwedo River. The enactment of the journey through the underworld takes place by circumbulating the city, with a descendant of the deceased carrying the latter's spirit tablet and the ritual specialist in front, guiding the way and parleying with the keepers of the gate of the underworld city. Ultimately, the ritual should enable the deceased to be reborn in the Western Paradise of Amitabha or otherwise be reborn quickly without a prolonged stay in the underworld. Thus, the ritual is directed at changing the status of the deceased. Seen against this background, the Triad interpretation of the altar runs strikingly parallel. The altar is identified as the City of Willows and as a safe haven. It is part of a sacred geography and all objects that it contains are interpreted as places within that landscape. Like the classical or vernacular Daoist ritual, the initiationjourney takes the candidate members through this landscape, reaching its climax when the candidates reach the City of Willows. As we will see in the following chapter, this journey serves to change the personal status of the candidates from members of majority society into members of the Hong family.66 This status change also closely resembles the role of the funerary ritual referred to above. The precise sources of inspiration for the Triad interpretation are unclear, partly because we know so little about the interpretation of the altar in other ritual traditions with the exception of 65 This brief discussion is based on the descriptions in Lagerwey (1987) and Ofuchi (1983) , as well as actual instances witnessed by myself in june 1992 (Taiwan) and february 1993 (neighbourhood of Shishan, near Quanzhou). 66 My general remarks on the City of Willows here and below are based on the mid-nineteenth century maps of the City preserved in the British Museum (republished in Xiao [1935] as "General Maps of the Hong Gate" I-IV), as well as the material collected by Stirling, partly reprinted in Ward and Stirling (1925) opposite title page (a map of the City of Willows itself; English version of Chinese original from 1916), opposite 14 (ritual in progress), opposite 32 (map of the City Willows), as well as photographs of an original that is not in Ward and Stirling (1925) . The original manual used by Stirling contains a useful drawing of the altar, which is confirmed by the detailed descriptions in Morgan (1960) 105-160.

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the classical Daoist tradition. An interesting parallel to the Triad case is offered by a messianic group captured in 1845, which identified their altar and hall as the Cloud City. According to late Ming and Qing messianic teachings, the believer would be safe from apocalyptic disasters in this city.67 The same messianic notion of the city as a safe haven from apocalyptic disasters historically also underlies the conception of the City of Willows, as I shall argue in Chapter Seven. Nonetheless, this messianic notion would not be retained in Triad lore. In the long run, the interpretation of the City of Willows as a safe haven would be given form by identifying this city as the bushel with contents (or altar as a whole). This meant that all those who symbolically entered the city (=bushel) were safeguarded from evil influences by the exorcist powers of the bushel. Strictly speaking, it is the bushel itself which is the City of Willows. In photographs of the altar, a sheet of paper with the words "City of Willows" is pasted on the bushel itself and poems concerning the bushel make the same identification. In the oldest full description of the City of Willows (from the manual confiscated in 1810), the City is still limited to the bushel itself. 68 The description takes the form of a dialogue between the leader of the ritual, probably the Incense Master, and the candidate member, or more likely his representative. [The Incense Master] also asks further: "Once you have crossed the bridge, what more is there?" [The candidate member] answers: "T h ere is a City of Willows." "Did you enter it or not?" He answers: "I entered it." "What did you see as a sign, when you enter?" He answers: "There were three characters." "Wh ich three characters?" He answers: "They were 'Blue-green Qi ' [qingqi], 'Dark Qi ' [heiqi] and ' mou n tain then' [shannai] as signs." "The Forbidden City of the Luminous King , did you enter it or not?" He answers: "No." "There was a city, why did you not enter it?" Ma and Han (1992) 1129. The City of Willows is mentioned in still earlier Triad sources, but not yet in connection with the bushel. Otherwise see the poems on the bushel referred to in note 61. For actual pictures of the bushel, see Stanton (1900) 39; Ward and Stirling (1925) opposite 24 and 48; Morgan (1960) 113, opposite 226 as well as a very clear photograph on the back of the reprint. 67 68

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He answers: "At the city gates there were four people who watch it." "Who were those who watched it?" He answers: "The four great generals Han Peng, Han Fu, Zheng Tian, Li Changguo watched over it." "What was the great couplet on the gate?" He answers: "To follow the [Mandate of] Heaven and carry out the way, to follow the [Mandate of] Heaven and turn [the revolution of Heaven] to the Ming." "Wh at did you see in the City of Willows as signs?" He answers: "Five colored flag signals, five ropes of long cash, a precious sword sharpened on both sides, a pair of scissors , a pair of scales and a ruler, red silk threads, thirty-six copper plaques, tao peaches on the left, li peaches on the right, withered wood on both sides, one white fan." "What did you see was the largest object in the City of Willows?" "The Hong Fire was the largest, the Golden Flower was the command, the Hao Character was the light, the Luminous Lamp was the 10rd."69

The City of Willows contains three characters that symbolize the concepts Heaven, Earth and Gathering. The first two characters are each written with the character for "primal stuff' (qi) on the right hand side; the third character consists of the character for mountain, written above the character for "then" (nai).70 "Heaven and Earth Gathering" (tiandi hui) was the original name of the Triad, eventually used only in a ritual context. The seemingly obscure dialogue simply lists the conventional contents of a bushel with rice, identifying the whole as the City of Willows, the Forbidden City and the residence of the Luminous King. It further assigns political aims to the Triad members. Later manuals and maps of the City of Willows start to equate the City with the entire altar, by identifying the various objects on the altar as specific locations within the City.71 In Triad lore, there are roughly two groups of locations. On the one hand we find locations that are encountered during the initiation journey and before entering the City, such as the Mountain of Fire, the Hong Boat, the Two-Plank Bridge and the Three Steppingstones, and the Great Peace Market. They are outside the City of Willows (= TDH I: 12 lines 5-11. TDH I: 3-4. 71 See note 66 for a list of the maps of the City of Willows. Morgan (1960) 106 (drawing of the City) and 110-111 points out that in the map used by him (and drawn by his informants) certain places are included within the city gates, though they are to be traversed in the initiation ritual as if they are outside the city. This also applies to the other extant maps. 69

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the bushel or the altar) and represent real stages in the initiation journey. We shall encounter them again in the following chapter. On the other hand, there are mentioned many locations which play no role at all in the initiation journey as stages to be traversed, They are placed immediately outside or even inside the City of Willows (= the bushel or the altar). This second group of locations actually consists of objects on the altar, and will be discussed in the following paragraphs. In the mature Triad interpretation of the altar, the City of Willows is even extended to include the entire territory of the Ming dynasty.72 The ritual manuals list five layers of city walls. The first wall carries the magical characters cantai honghua ("taking part in the great and huge transformation) ," with each character corresponding to a gate guardian. We already encountered the four gate guardians in the dialogue quoted above from the 1810 manual, but they play no further role in Triad narrative or ritual. The second wall carries the slogan "Following [the Mandate of] Heaven and Carrying out the Way" and the third wall the matching slogan "Resist the Qing and Restore the Ming." The fourth wall carries the phrase "The Court of Heaven and the Pattern of the Nation" and the fifth wall the phrase "Charitable Clouds Relieve Widely." Each slogan consists of four characters, written on a flag . The bushel itself has only one "wall" and the total of five walls is due to the importance of the five founding fathers of the first Triad community. They are not represented physically on the altar. There are three streets and 108 guild shops within the walls. Products from all over the nation are sold in these shops. Next follows a list of all the smaller ritual paraphernalia on the altar, including the contents of the bushel. Our anonymous Triad authors systematically matched the bushel and its contents with Triad locations: the bushel or altar = the City of Willows, the rice = streets and shops, the ritual paraphernalia placed on top of, or stuck inside, the rice = articles sold in the shops. Since the City of Willows is also a safe haven for all past, present and future Triad members, there follows a description of their residences, namely: 72 house72 The following su mmary is based on Or. 2339 in Xiao (1935) 20b-22b . I have selected this manual here and in Chapter Three for more detailed analysis because of the high quality of its descriptions and illustrations. The other extant manuals basically give the same information.

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holds, 3 temples (these correspond to actual deities being worshipped during the ritual), 108 houses of which only 5 are presently inhabited, and 103 are reserved for future Triad soldiers. Evidently, there are not that many objects on the altar; as in the case of the five walls, symbolic numbers have been used to elaborate the notion of the bushel filled with rice as a City of Willows. The numbers 72 and 108 appear as symbolic numbers in a variety of contexts, and 108 has the added Triad connotation of the 108 members of the first Triad army (which had developed from the first Triad group) . The number 3 is the most basic number of Triad lore, referring to the three drops of water that make up the radical of the common family name Hong. The offerings on the altar are also described in great detail. There are five wells (five cups of liquor), three ponds (three bowls of tea), and five gardens with trees (five types of fruits placed on the altar, namely: pear, banana, sunflower seeds, taro, and tangerine). These sacrifices are all conventional, despite their specific Triad exegesis. The exclusion of meat and fish was due to the vegetarian background of the mythical founders, who were Buddhist monks, but it should not be taken as evidence that the Triads were a lay-Buddhist tradition. During the rest of the initiation ritual, we find various violent and non-vegetarian ceremonies, including the blood covenant to be described in Chapters Four and Five. The make-up of the Triad altar will not have surprised the average Triad member, who would have known and expected all of this from a variety of other ritual contexts in which he would have been engaged in the course of his life. It is only the slogans on some paraphernalia and the cryptic poems and dialogues that give the altar its particular Triad twist. Without an intimate understanding of the underlying symbolism of the altar, our anonymous Triad ritual specialists could never have developed such closely fitting Triad interpretations. By way of conclusion to the present chapter, it seems fitting to quote Pickering's rare eye-witness account of the introductory acts by the Incense Master during an initiation ritual. In the following quotation I have only adapted certain Triad technical terms to the conventions used in this book. These changes, as well as some minor corrections, have been placed within square brackets. Comments between normal brackets are Pickering's.

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Having delivered his address, and finished his instructions the Master unbraids his queue, and puts on a suit of clothes, and a turban of pure white; the [grass sandal functionaries] acting as generals are also arrayed in white costume, but have red turbans, and straw shoes laced over white stockings, ... The Master, ... with right shoulder bare, enters the "[Hong Gate]," and passes through the "Hall of Sincerity and Justice," and through the East Gate of the "City of Willows," (at each stage repeating an appropriate verse) until he arrives in front of the altar above the "Red Flowery Pavilion;" here, he lits the "[jade] Emperor Lamps," uses the two pieces of touchwood as candles, lights the 7-star lamps, and burns a charm to drive out all evil spirits from the Lodge. He then with a sprig of pomegranate and a cup of pure water, sprinkles the altar at the four points of the compass, to cleanse the offerings from all impurity. After this, the Master takes out the five stalks of grass, and lighting them as (incense sticks) replaces each with a profound obeisance, the "Precious Censer" before the Tablet of the "Five Ancestors." This being done, he lights 15 incense sticks, and holding them between his outstretched palms, kneels down, making the following invocation to the Chinese Pantheon, and knocking his head on the ground at the mention of the names of the most august deities or spirits. ... [here follows the text of the invocation and a brief comment on the nature of the deities] After this, the [Master] pours out libations of tea and wine, and sacrifices to the Standard; this being done he mounts his pulpit or throne on the North of the altar, and [starts the initiation ritual itself] ....73

This way of starting a ritual performance is basically the same as in other types of ritual performance. The only difference is the duplication of the burning of candles and incense by burning "touchwood" and grass . Later on in the ritual, there follow further elaborate ceremonies of burning incense. Specific incense burning practices are a common means of ritually distinguishing one's own group from other groups, for instance in the case of the Unity Teachings as witnessed by me on Taiwan or the monks of the Shaolin Monastery in Henan as witnessed by Alexei Maslow.I" The same applies to the invocation of specific Triad divine figures in addition to the normal pantheon. Nevertheless, no funda73 Pickering (1879) 11-13. Also paraphrased from him by Ward and Stirling (1925) 47-52. 74 Personal communication.

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mental changes have been made to the basic structure for beginning a ritual, confirming my earlier statement that there is no complete freedom in creating a ritual. The overall correspondence between conventional practices, their various explanations and Triad exegesis indicates that, even if ritual practices may be without intrinsic meaning from a historical perspective.P in the course of tradition, these practices accumulate specific meanings and functions, which cannot be ignored. 75 As

argued by Staal (1990) .

CHAPTER THREE

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In this chapter, I will interpret the Triad initiation journey against the background of widespread Chinese beliefs about the cycle of life and death as ajourney through a mythical landscape. My analysis has been informed by the work of twentieth century anthropologists on initiation rituals and rites de passage, such as Arnold van Gennep, Jean La Fontaine and others.' However, it is not my intention to attempt larger generalizations that go beyond the Chinese evidence, but rather to present a close reading of the available sources on the Triad initiation journey and suggest some implications for certain types of Chinese ritual traditions. I will briefly discuss van Gennep's analysis of rites de passage in the final section of this chapter. Chinese beliefs about life and death are expressed and transmitted in a variety of ways, taking the form of stories about visits to the underworld or to paradisiacal worlds, stories about (re)births and encounters with immortals, or extensive rituals aimed at influencing people's journey of life and death through this landscape. In the first part of this chapter, I present a preliminary survey of the constituent elements of this landscape. This survey should provide some insight into the way or ways that Triad (candidate) members may have understood a Triad initiation. It also serves as the backdrop for my own analysis of the Triad initiation journey. In the second part of this chapter, I will analyze the way in which the Triad initiation journey draws upon this landscape, in order to enact a journey that removes the candidate member from the different networks tying him to local society in general (including kinship networks), and provides him with a fundamentally new status I Van Gennep (1960) and La Fontaine (1985) 24-36 with a discussion of subsequent research using van Gennep's theoretical proposals. La Fontaine (1985) 39-49 also discusses the Triad case on the basis of more limited sources. There is a large body of scholarship on ritual, especially the work by Victor Turner, summarized in Morris (1987) 235-263. Bell (1992) provides an excellent critical discussion of theoretical work on ritual.

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as a brother of the Hong family, loyal to the timeless ideal of the (Han-) Chinese nation. The use in the initiation journey of structures and symbols from the landscape of life and death is full of repetitions. This high level of repetition may have made the overall structure less transparent, but also provided participants and audience with more opportunities to grasp the basic intentions of the ritual.

3.1. The cycle of birth, life and death In Southern China, it was traditionally believed that people already reside somewhere on this earth before they are born. After dying, they proceed to another place on this same earth, where they are reprocessed by a bureaucratic agency, possibly to be reborn. Birth, life and death are perceived as a long and arduous journey through a mythical landscape, filled with mountains, grottoes, waters (rivers, lakes, seas, wells etc.), gates and cities. To study Chinese beliefs about birth and death is to investigate the lands at the beginning and the end of this journey, and the passageways that lead from, and into, the land of the living. Rituals surrounding birth, furthering health and death aim to enact a person'sjourney through the landscape in order to affect someone's real life (death) journey. This landscape is also inhabited by divine or demonic beings, beyond the lands of the living and therefore beyond birth and death. Communication with these beings involves passages across the borders of the world of mankind that are very similar to the passages involved in birth and death. 3.1.1. Grotto-worlds, gardens and cities

Allover Southern China, children are perceived as white (male) and red (female) flowers on a plant in a pot, which represents the mother and her womb. White is the color of the bones-produced by male semen; red is the color of the flesh-produced by female menstruation blood. Long before their birth, children are already present on their mother's plant in the form of small buds. The pots stand in the Heavenly Flower Gardens. Upon being born, the child passes out of the gardens over a bridge into the womb and into the world of the living. The corresponding bud on the plant

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will then start to flower. When a child is ill or a woman is pregnant, people can ask female mediums to travel to these gardens to ascertain the state of the flowers and the color of the buds. If a flower is in a poor state, the corresponding child is indeed ill, and a ritual must be carried out to make the flower thrive again. If a bud is perceived to be of the wrong color (most likely red, the color of the female), a ritual must be carried out to change its color and guarantee the birth of a male child. In such rituals, the children or the pregnant mothers are taken repeatedly over an imitation bridge or through a gate-like structure. These passages imitate the process of birth and are aimed at changing the sex of the foetus .f The connection between (re)birth and flowers can also be seen in other contexts. For instance, the Western Paradise of Amitabha is conceived as a beautiful garden. By devoutly reciting Amitabha's name, believers can be reborn in this garden and will eventually attain Buddhahood. Until then, they will reside on lotus flowers. Some of the Western Paradise's attraction for the Chinese was due to the preexisting belief in a world of immortals ruled by the Queen Mother of the West. Once in three thousand years, peaches come to ripeness in her gardens that bring long life to those who are allowed to eat them.P In messianic beliefs from the late imperial period, the blossoming of flowers signals the advent of the savior. The three different ages of past, present and future in messianic or millenarian cosmology are each linked to a lotus flower, each of a different color and having a different number of

petals." 2 These beliefs are already documented for the seventeenth century, as witnessed by Qu Dajun in Guangdong xinyu, 6: 215 . This passage deals with the Cantonese cultural region. Other sources on that region: Rong (1928) 51-53; Topley (1951) 120-144; Potter (1974) 213-215, 225-226. On the Fujian cultural region: Doolittle (1865) I: 114-115; de Groot (1886) 396-398 and (1892-1910) VI: 1332-1339; Ahern (1973) 237-239 and (1974) 286-288; Berthier (1988) passim. 3 Birnbaum (1989) 241. Also see Shah ar (1992) 205-209. Chiibachi Masakazu (quoted in Shahar [1992] 196-197) has noted that all Journey to the West narratives situate the Western Paradise on the top of a mountain. 4 In political prophecies: Zhongguo erqiannian zhi yuyan , in different sets of prophecies: 42, 46, 86, 91; also , see Tuibeitu , Bauer (1973) Station 54. In messianic and millenarian prophecies: Qingzhongqi wusheng, I: 40 (in connection with the 1796-1804 uprising) ; Naquin (1976) 112,321 note 137 (Eight Trigrams uprising of 1813) . On the association of the three kalpas with lotus flowers , Naquin (1976) 10-11 and Longhuajing, 1 pin 3: 22b-23a and 25a-b.

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In the story of the Peach Flower Spring, a man enters a narrow grotto-passage to trace a source, finally reaching a beautiful underground world. This world and its inhabitants exist outside the conventional boundaries of time. In the elaborate Daoist version of this story, a grove of miraculous trees is located inside the grotto, or in Tao Yuanming's better known shortened version, a peach grove is located just outside the grotto's entrance. In China, peaches are traditional symbols for and providers of long life," In Southern Chinese Daoist traditions, entire grotto-worlds are situated under the mountains, connected underground with each other and stretching all over China. These mythological constructions originated in widespread beliefs about the construction of the world, that antedate Daoism as an identifiable tradition. Inside these grottoworlds, we find palace complexes and beautiful natural scenery. The border between these grotto-worlds and the ordinary land of mankind is formed by water. These worlds can be recreated in the form of gardens or even inside a basin or bowl, with little mountains and grottoes, a small creek, immortals and miniature trees." Thus, the unborn child, the immortals and the not-to-be-reborn all live in idyllic garden worlds. The unborn child has to cross a bridge over water, to be born. The garden world of the immortal is inside a grotto, that can only be reached by the chosen few through a narrow grotto passage and across water. The not-to-bereborn soul of the devout Buddhist practitioner resides eternally in Amitabha's perfect garden world. Flowers and fruits, such as the peach, are connected to the notion of life. Grotto-worlds also appear in Chinese beliefs about the underworld, including the elements of a grotto-passage or an expanse of water functioning as a boundary or a connection. In older mythology, the underworld is believed to be located underneath mountains such as Mount Fengdu and Mount Tai, near the sources of rivers (such as the Yellow Sources of the underworld in early Chinese mythology). In the case of Mount Fengdu, there are numerous stories about people who stumble on a grotto passage, or Bokenkamp (1986) 65-77. Bauer (1971 ; 1989 3 ) 248-282. Also consider the peaches of the Queen Mother of the West. 6 General discussions: Riu Shiman ge (1984) 252-414. Uu (1974) 207-418 contains the same material, without the illustrations. Also see Ledderose (1983) 165-183 (on real gardens) ; Stein (1990) especially 54-58 and the summary by Seidel (1989-1990) 249-250, 270 (on miniature gardens); Hahn (1988) 145-156 and Birnbaum (1989-1990) 115-140 (both on mountains) . 5

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a well, through which they enter the underworld. Among non-Han people in Southern China and Southeast Asia, we find exactly the same type of extensive grotto-worlds where the dead reside, and the same expanse of water to be crossed by a bridge between the lands of the living and the dead.? In the long run, however, the mountain location of the underworld lost its preeminence in mainstream Han Chinese culture (the sole exception being the grave mountain) to the enwalled city or fortress (cheng), in the same way that nature was, in general, slowly replaced by cultivated fields and human buildings. The term cheng means "walls of stamped earth." It is used for a broad range of building complexes, ranging from defensive walls, palaces (such as the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing rulers, the socalled Purple Forbidden City [zijincheng]) to ordinary administrative capitals. From the descriptions of underworld cities in the anecdotal literature, they would seem to have been most akin to palaces or large yamens, rather than to the average city. In presentday rituals, the city of the underworld is represented by a structure that closely resembles a fortress. Before the soul of a deceased can reach the central city of the underworld, it has to traverse a wasteland full of dangerous places. Funerary ritual is intended to help the deceased to travel through this land safely and speedily. Without such rituals, the deceased remains trapped between the worlds of the living and the dead, and becomes a harmful hungry ghost. Once inside the city of the underworld, the deceased is led before its judges (perceived as hereditary kings, rather than as normal magistrates), and a trial takes place. The procedures closely resemble trials in the world of the living, with thorough interrogations, and including torture. The deceased is then either sent back to continue his former life, thrown into the different layers of the underworld for eternal punishment or led away to be reborn.f The city of the underworld is, therefore, a place for determining the future status of people. In messianic beliefs certain prophesied cities fulfil the role of a safe haven. Once more the city is a place for determining peo7 On Han China: Xiao (1989) 359-368,377-387,409-443; Riu Shiman ge (1984) 298 for a very striking example. On non-Han cultures: Tapp (1989) 59-94, esp . 63-64; Strickmann (1982) 23-30. 8 General information in Sawada (1976 2 ) and Eberhard (1967) 24-59. Good examples in Riu Shiman ge (1984) 240, 271 and 348-389.

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ple's statuses, but this time the elected believers who reach the city will not be reborn at all. Instead, they will escape the endless cycle of birth and rebirth. In the sixth century messianic tradition of Maitreya and Prince Moonlight, accompanied by the Luminous King, the world is plagued by apocalyptic disasters, such as epidemics, floods and barbarian invasions. The saviors lead the chosen believers away from this world, across a bridge and eventually into the City of Transformations (huacheng). According to one Tang story, this city was the residence of those gods in Heaven who determine the fate of mankind and its rulers. Before proceeding to the City of Transformations, the chosen few will be gathered in numerous safe havens, which are conceived of as cities (cheng). Two of these are Yangzhou" (note the special character for Yang) and Liucheng, both names meaning the City of Willows. 9 We also find both of these cities in the same function in other earlyeschatological scriptures, mostly with a Daoist background.l" Interestingly, the city of Yangzhou appears both in messianic traditions and in Daoist ritual lore concerning the underworld, namely in the Liishan tradition from the southeastern coastal regions and its southwestern counterpart of the Meishan tradition.l! As we already saw in the last chapter, the altar of the Triads was conceived as a representation of the City of Willows (muyang cheng), which was also considered to be a safe haven. The City of Willows is a central element of the Triad initiation journey and probably derives from the above mentioned messianic traditions. 12 The city as a safe haven remained prominent in later messianic 9 Zurcher (1982) 41-43 (esp . notes 77 and 81), 50. For the Tang story, see Schafer (1965) 543-550. 10 Zurcher (1982) lococit. Zurcher (1982) 41 note 77 adds that the real city ofYangzhou was a centre of subversive Buddhist sectarian activities at the beginning of the sixth century. Seidel (1984) 312 and 344 mentions the sanyang di (Three Willow land) as a place where people will be elected to be saved from the apocalypse. Li (1986) 282-283, 304-313 notes that late Sui and early Tang prophecies about a change of dynasty frequently refer to a Yangshan (written in different ways), Yangzhou and Huangyang. These prophecies also speak of an ideal world, called "the garden." The relevance of this last element in messianic lore should be self-evident. The element Yang in these different place names is traditionally interpreted as a reference to the Yang family of the Sui. Instead, I propose to read their original referent as a messianic location, namely a refuge for apocalyptic disasters. 11 Lushan tradition: Lu (1990) 70; Schipper (1984) 118-119. Among the Yao: Pu and Guo (1992) 208. 12 As discussed in more detail in Chapters Six and Seven.

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and millenarian traditions, usually called the Silver City (documented as early as 713) or Cloud City (from the late Ming onwardsr .!" An old demonological messianic text, called Classic of the Five Lords, mentions that the Luminous King will rule the new world in Jinling (modern Nanjing). The influence of this text (or rather the underlying demonological messianic paradigm) can be traced from the late Tang down to the early Republican period.l" In 1752, Ma Chaozhu planned to attack Nanjing and found his new dynasty, safe from apocalyptic disasters, there. Lin Qing attacked the Forbidden City in Beijing (i.e. the Manchu-Qing Imperial Palace) in 1813, as one of the most crucial tasks of his Eight Trigrams uprising. The Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace founded their Little Hall of Heaven (xiao tiantang) in Nanjing in 1853 and attempted to realize a perfect world there.P In these three cases, the conquest of a (former) capital was not so much motivated by political or military considerations, as by a messianic ideal of the city as a safe haven for all eternity.

3.1 .2. Boundaries and passageways In traditional Southern China, it is believed that someone passes through three different worlds in the course of his or her life, namely the flower gardens from which one is born, the world of the living, and the barren lands of the underworld concluded by a passage through the underworld city. These worlds are not located neatly in line, but intersect with each other at different points. At such points it is possible to cross from one world into another. 13 On the 713 incident, see Ma and Han (1992) 56. Some Ming references to the Silver City in Huangming tiaofa shilei cuan , 775-776 and Xianzong shilu (Taiwan reprint) 136: 41>-5b (also briefly discussed in Ma and Han [1992] 621-622), as well as the Wubu liuce, zhengxin, 19: 18-20. The oldest reference to the Cloud City dates from a 1430 scripture: Ma and Han (1992) 1262. Also see the Longhua jing, 3 pin 17: 25a-b. Naquin (1976) 13-14 and (1985) 268 mentions the Cloud City and the Golden City. The character for jin (gold) is often used in the meaning silver (yin), and most likely Golden City really means the Silver City. 14 Ke (1983) 197-203 and (1987) 364-371. Takeuchi (1988) 1-25, quotation on 12. 15 The Ma Chaozhu incident is discussed in section 6.2. On Lin Qing, see Naquin (1976) 13-14,291 note 27. On the Heavenly Kingdom, see Wagner (1982) 67-81 and Ter Haar (1996) . Other possible messianic interpretations of the city as a refuge from apocalyptic disasters can be found in ter Haar (1992) 225-226 and Faure (1979) 1: 200-201.

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Some beings have the ability to cross the boundaries between all three lands, thus allowing them to obtain eternal life . Between the worlds of the living and the dead, there is also a domain which is inhabited by beings who have been unable to make the definitive crossing into the land of the dead. These beings possess a liminal status and can temporarily return to the world of the living, when the time is right. This can be during the night or at the end of times, as part of apocalyptical disasters. The different worlds intersect with each other at natural barriers such as deserts, swamps, rivers, seas and lakes, mountains and so forth. One traverses them at birth and at death, but it is also possible to negotiate these barriers several times during one's lifetime. There are many stories of people who have had to appear as witnesses in underworld court cases. Their corpses remained warm, while their souls went travelling. After finishing their testimony, the souls returned to the world of the living. Others have been transferred to the underworld prematurely, but are allowed to return to the land of the living after the mistake has been discovered. Shamans frequently traverse these boundaries to obtain information about the lives of their customers. All of these people recount what they have seen during their journeys, creating an extensive body of knowledge about the underworld and the passageways into or out of it. The passageways across the different barriers are of crucial importance.l" Roughly speaking, there are three type s of barrier, namely water, mountains and man-made constructions such as walls and roofs. Of these three, water is the most important barrier, and can function both as a passageway and as an obstacle. Apart from crossing directly through the water (by falling into it or wading through it), people can negotiate it by means of a bridge or boat. A very common belief is to see a well or a pond as a connecting point between two worlds. Such a well is called the "window of heaven." A mirror (often a bowl of water used as a mirror) is also believed to be a "window of heaven" in a more conventional sense,

16 This section is based on Riu Shiman ge (1984) 252-414, Stein (1990) passim, as well as my own field observations. Campany (1996) 225 points out the importanc e of liminal markers as a structural element of narrative anomaly accou n ts. Important events involving other dimensions of being take place at such liminal po ints. rather than just anywhere.

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allowing people to observe events across the boundaries between the past, present and future worlds. People cross water on their journey into the underworld upon dying, and back again when they are reborn in the land of the living. Descriptions of someone's birth and rebirth (or return from the underworld) generally specify that the person fell into the water (often a well or a pond) . After entering the wastelands of the underworld, people wade through the Whatcanwedo River (naihe, the character he is a pun, since it means river, but also has a homophone he meaning "wh at") or-if they are lucky-they can cross the river over the Silver or the Golden Bridge (yinqiao or jinqiao) . Only after traversing the river, can the deceased enter the city of the underworld and begin to be processed by the underworld bureaucracy. If someone is turned back before the bridge, because the proper funerary ceremonies have not been (or could not be) carried out, he or she becomes a hungry demon in the liminal domain between the worlds of the living and the dead. Stories about visits to the underworld, pictorial representations and ritual reenactments (during funerary ceremonies and during the Ghost Festival) rarely fail to contain the element of this bridge. In messianic traditions, the city is also reached after crossing the water by bridge or ford. I? The boat is also an important means of traversing large spans of water between the different lands-in particular it seems to be used to reach the world of the immortals and its Buddhist equivalent the Western Paradise of Amitabha. The boats that will carry the elected few to the safe haven are described in great detail in the early Qing messianic Dragon Flower Scripture. In 1835, the messianic leader Cao Shun taught about the Dharma Boat (jachuan) of Guanyin that would ferry people across to the Empty Land of Maitreya and the Old Unborn Mother. He described its geographic location, its load of fragrant wood (aloes), the huge size of the boat, who holds the mast, and which deities travel with it. IS In Southern China, extensive rituals were held to banish the plague 17 Taishang dongyuan shenzhoujing, 1: l Oa, 13: 8b ; Taishanglingbaotiandiyundu l.iran miaojing, 4a; Laojun bianhua wuji jing, 3b , 4a and 6b; Zhengyi tianshi gao zhaosheng koujue, 1b. These references have been pointed out to me by Ad Dudink. 18 Longhuajing, 4: pin 21: 14a-21b. Cao Shun, see CaoShun qiyi, 15. Also consider the followers of Zhang Baotai, see Ma and Han (1982) 1181-5, 1202 and Suzuki (1982) 258 fT.

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demons across the water by transferring them into boats and setting these boats adrift on a river, a lake or the sea.l? The ideal is that these boats never reach another part of the land of the living and thus remain eternally in the liminal world of water. In Triad lore, we have already encountered water as a barrier and passageway between Heaven and the land of the living. An incense burner carrying the important message to "Restore the Ming and Extirpate the Qing" appeared out of the water to the monks of the Shaolin Monastery as they were fleeing from the pursuing Qing armies. In the 1810 and 1828 versions of the foundation account, the burner appears from the sea, while in later versions it appears from a river, called High Creek (gaoqi).20 The incense burner was a message from Heaven, signifying the bestowal of the Mandate of Heaven on the founders of the Triads and their young Ming Prince. The second type of barrier is the mountain, which contains various types of passageways. One finds a "staircase to Heaven" on many mountains and one can travel across a mountain by means of a pass (guan) . Entire grotto-worlds, accessible only by means of a narrow grotto-passage, can be found inside mountains. Only the chosen few can find these grottoes, and penetrate beyond their entrances to reach the land of the immortals (or the underworldj .U In Triad lore, the mountain grotto does not playa prominent role, but we will encounter mountains and grottoes in the case of Ma Chaozhu, a significant forerunner of important aspects of Triad lore. 22 The third type of barrier is formed by walls and roofs. Access is provided by gates (guan, the same word that also means "mountain pass") or doors (men), windows and skylights. Of these, gates and doors seem to be the most important. They are always guarded, at the very least by paper representations of doorgods pasted on them. We shall encounter the function of the skylight as a passageway for communicating with Heaven in the blood covenant ceremony, as described by William Stanton in late nineteenth Katz (1995) 153-159, 202-207. TDH I: 4 (1810) ; Guangxi huidang, 484 (1828) . Other versions: Schlegel (1866) 14; Ward and Stirling (1925) 39; Xiao (1935) 2: 2b (Or. 2339) . Only Xiao (1935) 2: 5b (Or. 8207D) gives Harbour End, after leaving High Creek. 21 See note 6 above . On the staircase, see Stein (1990) 217-222. 22 See section 6.2. 19

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century Hong Kong. There, the crucial malediction has to be pronounced under a skylight in the building inside which the rest of the ritual is held. This is held to guarantee open access to the gods in their heavenly world, who function as witnesses. The door as a passageway is important in the blood covenant ritual, in which the passage through a gate of swords (jianmen, daomen) forms a standard part of Triad ritual from very early on. 3.1.3. Perceiving and influencing the mythical landscape

Evidently, the mythical landscape of life and death is not transmitted in the form of the systematic account, which I have attempted to present above. Rather, it takes concrete form in stories about actual visits to the worlds of the unborn and the deceased, exorcist theater, rituals enacting a journey through this landscape, temple frescoes, pictures and so forth. Furthermore, the mythical landscape is the way in which people experience the world that surrounds them, and by no means a landscape that is confined to extraordinary occasions. People could get very close to the worlds of the imm or tals and the gods by going on a pilgrimage to Mount Tai and other sacred mountains, but even a small local river or stream might be taken as a liminal world inhabited by dangerous demons. The word "mythical," therefore, does not deny the realness to the Chinese of their different worlds of the unborn, the living and the dead. Instead, it expresses the supra-experiential nature of these worlds in the sense that they exist before and beyond the individual's experience. They are mythical in the same way as Christian perceptions of heaven, purgatory and hell. A state of deathlessness can be reached by modifying man's normal progress through the mythical landscape. In beliefs of immortality, the direction of life is reversed and the immortal travels through a grotto-passage back to the garden world of the blessed. The immortal returns to his primal, foetus-like state. In messianic beliefs the value of the end-point is inverted and the crossing of the bridge over the water into the city does not lead to a subsequent rebirth but to being removed from the cycle of birth and rebirth for ever. People who have made this crossing are not really immortals, but have transcended the distinctions of birth and death completely. This kind of alternative vision of life and death must have been fairly accessible to people steeped in the mythical

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landscape of life and death, as it contained the same journey-like structure. By reenacting a journey through this mythical landscape, it is possible to influence someone's journey through life. The landscape itself is always represented by very simple means, such as ordinary chairs and tables functioning as a gate or bridge, or a fortress made out of bamboo, wood and/or paper. Slogans can be pasted on an object to indicate its function. Even a piece of cloth may serve to represent a bridge. Incidentally, such rudimentary props are a general characteristic of Chinese theater and do not necessarily reflect the financial means at the disposal of the performers. The journey itself can be represented very briefly, consisting of a few passages through a gate or across a bridge, or last a very long time passing by many imagined places. Kristofer Schipper has made an important distinction between vernacular and classical ritual styles. According to him, the vernacular ritual is intended to affect someone'sjourney through the worlds of life and death, and the classical ritual is intended to affect the cosmic process.P The most distinctive piece of clothing worn by the vernacular ritual officiant is the piece of red cloth wound around his head, otherwise he wears a pair of trousers, but has bare feet and a bare torso. He is assisted by a divine army, consisting of five divisions (the so-called Five Encampments) with varying numbers of divine soldiers under five divine generals. They surround and protect the ritual arena. Each ritual, therefore, starts with invoking their presence and ends with sending them back from whence they came. Within these parameters, either a journey (to the underworld or the flower gardens) or a battle (with demons causing illness or haunting a house, or with uncooperative underworld judges) can take place. Schipper characterizes the ritual itself as follows : recitation from memory, the use of vernacular language, oral transmission (even if written versions exist and are used in teaching) , rhymed verse in lines of seven characters and improvised dialogues, trance, historical (instead of abstract) deities, mythology, and military metaphors. The audience is actively involved by means of gestures, jokes, and so forth. 24 I will Schipper (1985) 21-57. On the theatrical aspects of vernacular ritual, see van der Loon (1993) 009030, Ofuchi (1983) 502-510, and Lagerwey (1987) 216-237. On the ritual aspects of traditional theater, see Qiu (1991) 138-160. Osgood (1963) 304-310,313 stresses the theatrical aspe cts of a healing ritual which he witnessed in Yunnan. 23 24

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argue in the course of this chapter that the Triad initiation ritual is heavily indebted to vernacular ritual practices, and I will return to this issue in the concluding section of this chapter. The term "vernacular" should here be understood as the local language variant of the region where a ritual is being performed and transmitted. In other words, not (solely) the language of the old vernacular literature (the so-called baihua-literature), but a mixture of the Mandarin lingua franca spoken by clerks and officials with the actuallanguage(s) spoken in a given locality.25 The classical ritual style enacts the cosmic process (the Way [dao] or Heaven's Revolution [tianyun]), by means of abstract representations of Yin and Yang, the Eight Trigrams and stellar constellations. This is done in the classical language and from written texts. The priest wears elaborate clothing with representations of the cosmos, as well as auspicious symbols on it. The audience is not actively involved, except when a memorial is offered on their behalf. Whereas the vernacular ritual may involve the use of blood to conclude a covenant with the divine generals who are being invoked, the classical ritual is strictly vegetarian. Schipper has suggested that these two types of ritual correspond(ed) to different specialists.I" but this is not borne out by actual local practices. Both styles may well appear in the same overall ritual performance.F

3.2. The Triad initiation journey

During the century and a half that have passed from the creation of the standard Triad initiation ritual in the early nineteenth century until the last detailed records of its performance from the 1950s (in Hong Kong) and the 1950s-1960s (in Malaya), extensive 25 Lien (1995) 220 and passim makes this important point for "vernacular" ritual in the Minnan region. The issue of language in Triad manuals deserves much closer linguistic and sodo-linguistic atten tion than can be provided here (and by me) . 26 Schipper (1985) 21-57. Maria Huber (personal communication) po ints out that the emperor wore a similar costume carrying representations of th e cosmos . 27 As I was able to establish during my brief fieldwork stints on Taiwan, in Hong Kong and in the Quanzhou region (summer 1992 and February 1993) , and is confirmed by Robin Ruizendaal (personal communication) on the basis of his own extensive fieldwork in the Quanzhou reg ion and on Taiwan . Lagerwey (1987) describes a classical ritual that contains vernacular ritual sections.

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initiation rituals were regularly performed wherever Triad groups were found. In this ritual, the candidate member was carried over mountains and water, across bridges and through gates, ending up in a city. A journey was enacted through the mythical landscape of life and death, serving to transform the candidate into a fully-fledged member of the Triad community. In the following sections, I will analyze this crucial Triad rite of passage in extensive detail, because it was, without any doubt, the central piece of Triad ritual lore. My analysis is largely based on two types of evidence, namely the extant confessions of apprehended Triad members as compiled by the authorities, and the ritual manuals and memory aids produced by Triad members themselves. The confessions derive from interrogations which were hardly geared towards providing the ethnographic detail that we would like to have. They are strong on ritual practice, but weak on the accompanying poems, dialogues and the meanings that the participants assigned to the overall initiation journey. I will nevertheless discuss the material in these confessions separately (in section 3.2.2.), because they suggest something of the slow expansion of the initiation journey over the first decades of known Triad history. Furthermore, the sheer number of confessions that describe the journey demonstrates its significance to the constitution of a Triad group. Triad ritual specialists produced a large amount of writings and drawings to assist them in carrying out their ritual. This material does not provide a complete description of the ritual process, but was intended to assist these specialists in memorizing crucial texts (in the case of the manuals) , or as sacred documents (namely in the case of membership certificates and the passports that depict the City ofWillows). The material includes dialogues, poems, stories and various kinds of illustrations. Although the material in its raw form is rather chaotic, we can still use it to construct a model ritual performance as it would have taken place from the 1820s until the 1960s. Crucial supplementary sources of information are several eyewitness accounts of actual rituals, a nineteenth century painting from Singapore that depicts an initiation ritual in progress, and the Hong Kong police film of a reconstructed initiation ritual. Just as important are several types of explicit analysis which have been produced by Triad members themselves. For instance, the illustrations in several handbooks and on the beautiful maps of

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the altar (=the City of Willows) indicate the special importance of the ritual sections involving the journey by boat, the passage under (sic!) a bridge, and the crossing of the Mountain of Fire. Two closely related manuals from the British Museum divide the overall ritual into twelve smaller segments.P' Triad members traditionally divided their ritual into five acts according to the model of Chinese operas. I will use these different forms of ritual analysis to inform my own reading of the extant Triad writings and drawings to construct a model ritual performance (in sections 3.2.3. and 3.2.4.) . Then I will conclude this chapter with an analysis of the Triad ritual as a theatrical event (section 3.3.) and some remarks on the nature of Triad ritual in general (section 3.4.). Before discussing the Triad initiation journey itself, however, I wish to give a general impression of the overall atmosphere of the ritual.

3.2.1. The ritual atmosphere The first eyewitness report of a Triad initiation ritual by an outsider was written by Abdullah Bin Abdul Kadir (1797-1854); it was included in his autobiography and based on his memories long after the event. In his report, he describes part of a ritual which took place around 1824 on a local pepper and gambier plantation.29 For several reason his description is less complete than we might have hoped. First, he could only communicate with local Chinese in Malay. Secondly, he attended the ritual disguised as a country bumpkin and was a secret onlooker through a small hole in the wall of an adjoining room. Therefore, he actually only witnessed the concluding blood covenant which took place inside and could not see the entire initiation journey enacted outside. Finally, his account of some of the dialogues was based on inquiries which he made afterwards.P? When he arrived, Abdullah and his guide had to cross a trench over which planks had been laid to form a bridge. On the other side of the trench were two or three man-made holes which were marked with signs. Abdullah interpreted the trench and the holes 28 Or. 8207E2 (given as Or 8207E3 in Xiao [1935] 4: 12a-b) and Or. 8207B1 (not in Xiao) . For the maps of the altar see note 30 to Chapter One. 29 Trocki (1993) 99. 30 Hikayat Abdullah, 204-217. On his command of Chinese, see Hikayat Abdullah, 210-211, note 5.

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as intended for the purpose of protection. However, the fact that they were explicitly marked with signs (undoubtedly Chinese characters) seems to indicate that they were relevant places in the initiation ritual and possibly intended as representations of the Triad River and the bridge across it, with one of the holes serving as the fire-pit. In Triad ritual, the bridge should be made of two planks, which would fit Abdullah's description rather well. According to Abdullah, the entire ritual lasted from 8 p .m. until 2 a.m., which further confirms that a full-scale ritual was carried out and not merely the blood covenant described by Abdullah. Abdullah's account may not reveal very much of the contents of the initiation journey, but it is more illuminating on the overall atmosphere than any extant Chinese account. Byabout seven 0' clock they were all gathered together eating, drinking liquor, and causing so much disturbance that they might have been staging a fight. This went on for an hour. Then gongs were sounded and drums beaten, making a great din, and they all sat themselves down in rows. I scanned the men's faces, red as hibiscus flowers because of their drinking, as they all sat facing the idols of their ancestors. As a Muslim, Abdullah was disgusted by the drinking of liquor, and-as he had noted earlier on-by the smoking of opium. Nevertheless, this scene closely resembles normal Chinese religious practice, as anybody who has witnessed Chinese festivals will be able to confirm. The meal and drinking served to establish communal feelings among the members, while the gongs and drums announced the start of the ritual activities. We will see in a later section of this chapter that the resemblances to a theatrical performance are no coincidence. Abdullah notes that the master was sitting in front of the altar, facing the audience, flanked by two men on each side. Eight men holding drawn swords were standing in front of the altar, four on each side of it. Eight other men with drawn swords came forward dragging a man with them. As for the man they were leading, his hair was dishevelled and he wore no shirt but only a pair of trousers. As he came before the master he bowed his head low to the ground while the sword-bearers on the master's right and left shouted and brandished their swordsabout his neck. For a moment they were all silent, not a word being spoken.

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Thereupon, the candidate member was enjoined to secrecy and loyalty, but nothing further was revealed about the deeper purport of Triad lore. The candidate member swore that his parents were dead (meaning socially dead for him, rather than physically dead) and that he wished to become a member of the Triads. P! This concluded the blood covenant. The ritual was repeated for each candidate member. Finally, the new members drank from a bowl filled with liquor mixed with some drops of the blood of all present. The ritual master and all those present had some of this draught as well. Then the master said "Go to-morrow to the writer and ask for a book in which you will find all the ceremonies, the signs and the tokens of our brotherhood. Pay him one dollar. "

Throughout the ceremony, there was a strong dramatic element, but little formal exegesis. The only clear instruction appears to have been a lecture on the requirements of secrecy and loyalty. To the candidate members, the ceremony must have been very impressive and frightening. The element of fear is also evident in the initial response of Abdullah 's informant, when he asked him if he would take him to a Triad initiation ritual: "What good would it do you to go that far? Are you not afraid of meeting your death?" Throughout his account, Abdullah stresses his fear, which may have led him to misinterpret certain events. Thus, he claims that one candidate member refused to join and was subsequently killed. This may, of course, have happened, but we will never know for certain. It seems equally possible that Abdullah witnessed the reenactment of the beheading of the monk Number Seven, who had betrayed the Shaolin monks to the Qing authorities (see Chapter Nine on the foundation account). This is a standard episode in the mature initiation ritual. Whether the execution was real or not, the importance of fear induced by dramatic actions is evident.P Triad ritual customarily took place from late in the evening until deep into the night. W.A. Pickering observes that the ritual wit31 This part of the ritual greatly impressed other observers as well , see Sasaki (1967) 108 (first of six bad ch aracteristics of the Triads near Canton in 1853); Pingnan xian zhi (1883) 18: 11-12, quoted in Taiping tianguo gerningshiqi, 373 ; Yulin zhouzhi (1894 ) 18: 1-4, quoted in Taiping tianguo gerning shiqi, 88 . 32 On the role of fear and drama, also cons ider the remark quoted from Blythe (1969) 535-536 in secti on 10.3.2.

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nessed by him lasted about five hours, in his case from 10 p.m. until 3 a.m. This is roughly the same duration as the six hours noted by Abdullah. The reading of the catechism (i.e. the dialogues and poems of the initiation journey) alone took one hour. Other authors confirm that the ritual was usually held at night and lasted several hours.P Traditionally, rituals and festivals often continued during the night. At night the Yin dimension of the cosmos is more accessible, making it a suitable time for rituals that involve this dimension. Evenings and nights were, and still are, also convenient because only then are most people free from work. These nocturnal rituals and festivals have always annoyed government officials and literati, including Western colonial officials, but to little avail. 34 In China, five or six hours is not particularly long for a ritual event. Religious festivals as well as Buddhist and Daoist rituals frequently last for one or more entire days. Hence, neither the time of day, nor the duration of the Triad initiation ritual were out of the ordinary. The Triad ritual stage could vary considerably in its size and degree of elaboration, but in the early days of relative freedom from persecution large stages were often used. In pre-1890 Malacca and Singapore, the Triads even had their own elaborate houses for holding rituals and other types of meetings.P When Triad groups had to hold their initiations in secret, they did so, for instance, in hilly or mountainous regions (as in the Ma Shaotang case of 1832) , the depths of the tropical forest (in Malaya and the Dutch Indies) or in small rooms in high rise apartments (in modem Hong Kong) . However, the available space does not necessarily influence the complexity of the ritual. The police film made by the Hong Kong police in the late 1950s (from which the pictures in Morgan's 1960 33 Pickering (1879) 1 and 15; Vaugh an (1879) 100 and 103; Stanton (1900) 42 and 43; Ward and Stirling (1925) preface vi; Morgan (1960) 190; Blythe (1969) 527-528, 530. 34 For a brief discussion, see ter Haar (1992) 44-48. 35 For a depiction of a full ritual, see the pre-1890s painting reproduced in Ward and Stirling (1925) I: opposite 14 (the original painting is in the Stirling collection) . Chinese sources: Yongning xianzhi (1937) 34: 106-109 quoted in Taiping tianguo geming shiqi, 95. Western sources: Vaughan (1879) and Pickering (1879) on nineteenth century Malacca and Singapore; Stanton (1900) 42 on nineteenth century Hong Kong, and Morgan (1960) passim on Hong Kong in the 1950s; Blythe (1969) 527-528 on Malaya during the late 1940s-1960s.

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analysis of Triad ritual have been taken) demonstrates that even the complete and elaborate ritual could be carried out in fairly restricted surroundings. The photographic documentation of a Triad ceremony in Malaya in 1957 (in Blythe's 1969 analysis) shows that even when space was lacking, all the ritual locations and passages could be indicated by writing down their names on sheets of paper, and simply pasting these on a wall.36 Martin Booth includes two photographs of a Triad ceremony held in Hong Kong in the 1970s, which show a much less grandiose set of paraphernalia than in the 1950s police film from the same city. Nevertheless, even here we see a reasonably complete set of altar objects with three sheets of paper lying on the floor in front of the altar, probably to represent the three stepping stones under the bridge (on which more below).37 The effectiveness of the ritual depends only on the quality of the performance, and not at all on the overall environment, the quality of the paraphernalia or the attentiveness of the onlookers. This is true of all vernacular ritual and theatrical performances. 3.2.2 . The initiation journey in early confessions

At first, the journey element of the overall Triad initiation ritual consisted of a simple passage through a gate of swords or under (sic!) a bridge. The other elements were the burning of incense, the presentation of a simple sacrifice, the worship of the founding fathers and the rice bushel with contents, and then the conclusion of a blood covenant. Here we will confine ourselves to the journey element. The gate of swords (jianmen or daomen) was formed by two swords, which were either stuck in the ground or held in the hands of two people. This type of passage was typical of the earliest rituals in Blythe (1969) 530 and photographs nrs . 11-15. Booth (1990) bottom photographs of pages six and seven of the section with photographs. In his view the less elaborate paraphernalia indicate a simplified ritual. Also consider photograph nr. 23 in Robertson (1977), with written representations of the Five Ancestors and Elder Brother Wan Yunlong, an incense burner and some fruit as an offering. Also visible are two grass shoes out of paper and four unclear paper heaps. Robertson (1977) 144-145 indicates that in the 1970s "occasionally" full rituals were still carried out in Macao ; in 1976 "much of the regalia" was captured in Hong Kong, whereas similar paraphernalia were found in January 1977 in Singapore. 36 37

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Zhangzhou in Southern Fujian, and seems to have spread from there to Taiwan, Northern Fujian, Guangdong and the other southern provinces.i" The bridge (qiao) could consist of two chairs connected by a piece of cloth or several tables. The confessions leave no doubt that people had to pass physically underneath this bridge, which therefore functioned in the same way as the gate of swords. This type of bridge was limited to Jiangxi and neighboring counties in Southwestern Fujian. 39 The passage through the gate of swords (sometimes in combination with a passage under tables) was eventually incorporated in a much more extensive initiation journey, which we encounter more and more frequently during the first decades of the nineteenth century.t" The passage through a gate of swords or under a bridge was intended to enforce the maledictions of the blood covenant, which specified that the Triad member would be killed by these swords if he were to break his sacred promises. The interpretation of the gate of swords that is given in the Triad manuals always remained constant, but the passage under the bridge was eventually interpreted differently. The written manuals (dating back to the first decade of the nineteenth century) and Western descriptions all indicate that the candidate passed through the Hong Gate and under a bridge (both of them made out of swords or guarded by men with swords). In this more evolved version of the initiation ritual, the passage through the gate of swords comes at the outset of the ritual and is still associated with a test of loyalty. The passage under the bridge is taken to reenact the escape by the remaining Shaolin monks from the pursuing Qing armies, over 38 TDH I: 87,111 (oldest network) , V: 377, 451; VI: 186-7, 194-5,212,417, 422,431,433, 440, 443,445, 461,468, 494, 504; VII: 187,20~11,216-7,222,22~ 9,232-4,236-7,238,240,243, 245, 24~253, 258, 263, 265, 267-268, 269, 272, 274, 276-8,279-286, 287-93, 294, 297-8, 301, 306, 322, 331, 334, 337, 339, 347 (despite elaborate poems and dialogues being available to the teacher, only a simple ritu al was practised), 355, 358-9, 366, 397, 402, 439. 39 Chairs: TDH VI: 301, 306, 308, 310, 314, 319, 326, 329, 332, 350-351, 370, 373. Tables: TDH VI: 171, 178, 379, 386, 389, 400. Many other instances are insufficiently explicit. 40 Passage through a gate of swords: TDH VI: 232; VII: 369, 395, 436, 446, 450,469-471,480,486; Pingnan xianzhi (1883) 18: 11-12, quoted in Taiping tianguo geming shiqi, 372. Passage under a table as well as under (a) sword(s): TDH VII: 372, 375-376, 384 (all from the same network; passages under table and separately under swords), 427 (swords attached to the table itself); Yongning xianzhi (1937) 34: 106-109 quoted in Taiping tianguo geming shiqi, 95 (someone with a sword sitting on the table).

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a bridge sent by Heaven, made of an iron and a copper plank.t! This passage is interpreted in Triad ritual as leaving the land of the dead and being reborn as a Triad member. The maledictions of the blood covenant are now expressed in separate and more elaborate ceremonies (to be discussed in Chapter Five). The fact that the basic types of passage stayed the same, while the Triad meanings (etiologies) given to them were altered or refined in the course of time, is a good example of the stable nature of ritual practice. Complicated rituals are already documented in a more or less complete manual confiscated in 1810 and manual fragments confiscated in 1812 . Both manuals belonged to a ritual practice that was quite close to the standard ritual performance that will be reconstructed in the next section.V More indirect evidence stems from a set of poems confiscated in 1806, which included several poems for a bridge, a City of Willows and shrines for Guan Yu and the Lord of the Earth. From later manuals, we know that these two shrines were associated with the bridge and that the City of Willows was a specific interpretation of the Triad altar.43 This 1806 case stems from an extremely well-documented network. Nevertheless, none of the actual descriptions of entrance rituals in peaple's confessions (including that by the original owner of these poems) ever mention any poems being recited. They only mention the passage under a bridge made of two chairs linked by a piece of cloth, and make absolutely no mention of any shrines or 41 TDH I: 11 only mentions the passage under a bridge, immediately preceding the entry of the City of Willows. The Guangxi manual of 1828 mentions both a gate and a bridge, see Guangxi huidang, 507 (first pass under swords, called the Zhu Pass) , 531 (bridge), 532 (the three passes, in clu ding the Zhu Pass) . Also see Stanton (1900) 41, who mentions both passages as separate elements, though in the same spot; Ward and Stirling (1925) picture opposite 14 (three gates of swords) , 24-25 suggests two distinct passages; Xiao (1935) 4: 1a (Or. 8207G1) suggests two passages in the same spot; Morgan (1960) 106, 155 suggests two distinct passages. Schlegel (1866) 58 summarizes the complete ritual first, followed by a translation of the relevant pass age in QA 161 (p. 81) . Schlegel implies in his de scription that the bridge is represented in the ritual by holding a copper sword on the left and an iron one on the right. In his description bridge and gate are one. In Vaughan (1879) 93 "passing the bridge" is explained as under a bridge of swords, the oath also takes place under a bridge/gate of swords. Since he does not describe the rest of the initiation j ourn ey, it is unclear whether thi s is also the bridge over Triad River. 42 TDH I: 3-29 and TDH VII: 297 (1810) ; TDH VII: 347 and 350-354 (1812) . 43 TDH VI: 304-306.

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the City of Willows. 44 In fact, prior to 1815 there are no confessions extant that describe the performance of an elaborate ritual, although the written materials for performing such a ritual were already in existence by 1806 or even earlier. It seems quite likely that this ritual was also performed, but the lack of explicit references to it could also signify that the more elaborate ritual had only been recently created and had not yet spread beyond the small circle of its creators. The following depiction of a ritual held in 1831 is a representative example of the much fuller descriptions that we find from 1815 onwards. The ritual was held in front of and inside a grotto in the mountains of Guizhou province.P Because it was Ma Shaotang who had first had the idea and because he also had the songs and poems, they called him Elder Brother. Because Ma Zhengbang was a clever character and had a good memory, Ma Shaotang recited the poems and slogans to Ma Zhengbang and let him transmit these to their associates. They called [Ma Zhengbang] Teacher (xiansheng). Ma Shaotang first constructed a high platform out of square tables inside the grotto, on it he placed a wooden bushel, in it were worshipped the spirit tablets of the First Ancestor Hong Qisheng and Crown Prince Hong Ying . In it also was a piece of red paper with the [following] poem: The Red Flag flutters, [the heroes have all been convened, the Son of Heaven from overseas comes to bring the Ming dynasty]. On each of the four sides of the tables they stuck five colored flags , behind the tables [they placed] a basin with burning fire. Furthermore, outside the grotto they tied bamboo together to make three "pass-gates" (guanmen). Ma Shaotang held a long sword in his hand and stood besides the third gate and placed the sword above the gate. As he had been instructed orally by [his former teacher] Wu Laoer, he let Hu Chengyong and the others pass through the gates in correct order. They passed under the sword into the grotto. In front of the spirit tablets, each criminal inserted in ce nse and lighted candles, and took the covenant-oath that if trouble should occur on a later day, they would help each other, and that they were not permitted to have any regrets. They all jumped over the fire . TDH VI: 340-341 (directly relevant confession VI: 301). Translation based on description in TDH VII: 48&-487, incorporating two poems from the first part of the confession in TDH VII: 485 . The division into paragraphs is mine. Faure (1979) 1: 196-197 treats the same case based on the Veritable Records. 44 45

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Each of them also cut his middle finger and dripped the blood in the liquor, from which each drank a little bit. They further drank a mouthful of water, called 'T riad Water' , and also recited the four lines of the [following] poem: The Triad river water springs from High Creek. [inside the Yangchun Temple there is a poem inscribed, ' Now you have drunk from the Triad water, you must protect the Five Rulers to ascend the foundation']. They kowtowed and worshipped together, to express that they would together go through water and fire , without fearing or avoiding it. Ma Shaotang then let Ma Zhengbang teach the 'If you open your mouth, do not leave the fundamental' slogan and the 'If you lift your hand, do not leave the number three' sign to the pupils. Then he made them use the hidden signal of rolling up their left sleeve and hanging down their right sleeve when they would henceforth go somewhere. After the wooden bushel, the spirit tablets, the paper sheets, and the paper flags had been burned, and the high platform and the gates had been destroyed, they dispersed. As far as we can tell, Ma Shaotang did not use all his knowledge in

this particular ritual. A few months earlier, he had transcribed part of the manual of his own teacher, Wu Laoer, a boatman from Guangdong, which must have included many more poems and dialogues. Apart from the two poems which were recited during the entrance ritual, by the time of his arrest Ma Shaotang knew at least three other poems by heart. During the interrogations, he was also able to recall the eight-cornered shape of the membership certificate, as well as its general appearance and contents. Thus, he remembered five complex magical characters, the names of three of the Five Ancestors and the names of the Ming princes who were to be worshipped on the altar.t" Another of Wu Laoer's pupils and an acquaintance of Ma Shaotang, practised the same ritual elsewhere and actually used the membership certiflcate.f? When quizzed by Qing officials, neither Ma Shaotang nor his acquaintance were able to give much information about the further purport of the poems that they knew by heart. It seems that Wu Laoer had taught them the ritual and let them copy part of his texts, without further exegesis .t" Ma Shaotang's ritual features two types of ritual passage, name46

47 48

TDH VII: 485. TDH VII: 486-487. TDH VII: 488.

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ly passing through the three "pass-gates" and jumping over a basin filled with fire. Each type of passage had a different ritual function. A confession from another group refers to the three gates as three grottoes, while other confessions explain that the bamboo of which these three gates were made was tied together into a hoop to look like the entrance of a grotto. The passage through the three pass-gates apparently imitated the birth of a child. The candidate had to crawl through the hoop, much in the same way as a baby is born from the womb (=the grotto) through the vagina (=the grotto-passage) of his mother.t? Several confessions describing these pass-gates also quote poems expressing the notion of birth, and the fact that the hair of the newly initiated members are still wet from it. 50 Thus, the first type of passage enacts the birth of the candidates as Triad members. The second type of ritual passage mentioned by Ma Shaotang was the passage over a bowl containing fire . A number of other confessions mention that, either before or after the conclusion of the blood covenant, the candidate has to jump over a pit in the ground filled with fire, which represents the Mountain of Fire (huoyan shan ). 51 In Ma Shaotang's description, this passage is followed by drinking some water. The element of water is rarely mentioned in other confessions. In one instance, a bowl of water is placed beneath each gate. Those who enter have to kneel in front of it and place three sticks of "incense [expressing] trust" (xinxiang) in the bowls . After that, they take the oath.52 Another confession, which does not mention the fire pit, refers to the first two passgates as the "gate of water" and the "gate of fire ," which "indicat49 TDH VI: 232 (1833; one bamboo hoop) ; VII: 369 (1815 ; three bamboo hoops) , 375-376 (1819 ; three hoops as ar ched gates, called "to cross the three grottoes"), 450 (1816 ; three hoops as pass-gates), 469-470 (1815; unclear number of bamboo hoops, called "to cross the Pass-gate [s] ") , 480 (1818 ; unclear number of bamboo hoops), 507 (1830; unclear number of bamboo hoops, called "to cross the Pass-gate [s]) . Some sources only mention gates: TDH VII: 504 (1830 ; one gate made out of bamboo) and 517 (1835; three gates made out of bamboo). 50 TDH VII: 370 (although the poem was incorrectly explained to the ritual master by his own teacher!); 390 (belonging to the ritual in 375-376); 480. 51 TDH VII: 369 (explicitly referred to as crossing the Mountain of Fire ; 1815); 427 (1805) ; 446 (1816) ; 450 (1816; people specifically jump over the fire of the burning written covenant, to express that they were not afraid of water or fire) . 52 TDH VII: 375-376 (1819) . Interesting enough, the same custom was still practised in Hong Kong towards the end of the nineteenth century, see Stanton (1900) 65.

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ed that they would go through water and fire together, without fearing or avoiding it. " These words are identical to the phrase used by Ma Shaotang in the above description to describe the function of drinking Triad Water and jumping over the fire-pit. 53 A passage over fire is common in exorcist and funerary rituals. In the vernacular tradition of the Journey to the West, Sun Wukong's conquest of the Mountain of Fire (huoyan shan) and the pilgrims' subsequent passage over are similar events from a religious point of view, functioning as a kind of exorcism. Water plays a similar role in many rituals, where it is taken into the mouth and then spat out to purify the ritual space. Therefore, I would argue that the second type of passage served to drive out demonic influences from the candidate members. After this brief initiation journey, the candidate members of the Ma Shaotang group reached the altar table, where they worshipped the rice bushel and the spirit tablets of the mythical founders of the Triads. From the ritual manuals and the maps of the altar, we know that this table is interpreted as the City of Willows. The confessions are remarkably silent about people's interpretations of the altar table. The only exception is a case in which it is noted that the ritual master pasted a sheet on the table with the characters for Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness written on it in red. 54 The \ blood covenant concluded the Ma Shaotang group's initiation, upon which the candidate members finally became full members of the great Hong family. The initiation ritual always made an indelible impression on its participants, as demonstrated by the fact that so many of them were able to describe their own entrance ritual in such detail during their interrogations by the Qing officials. On the other hand, there is a significant lack of information in the extant confessions on the Triad interpretation of their ritual. One explanation could be that it was a deliberate policy on the part of the arrested Triad members not to be forthcoming with information. However, this is at odds with the fact that they describe the ritual performance itself quite faithfully. Rather, one must assume that the performance was more important and easier to remember than the accompaTDH VII: 517 (1835 ). Compare TDH VII: 450 as summarized in note 51. TDH VII: 369. TDH VII: 390 gives a poem with the name City of Willows as the residence of the Five Ancestors, but does not connect it to the actual ritual practised by that group, as described in TDH VII: 375-376 . 53 54

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nying-often complicated-dialogues and poems that expressed specific Triad meanings. Furthermore, the hypothesis can be put forward that Qing officials did not have the kind of prerequisite knowledge of, or interest in , Triad lore to enable them to ask the kind of questions that would have yielded more elaborate and interesting answers. I will deal extensively with these issues in Chapter Ten. The early entrance ritual was very simple, consisting only of a blood covenant and the passage through a gate of swords or under a bridge. The passage accompanied a change of state, namely the joining of a new family . The use of swords further underlined the malediction which threatened that any oath breakers would be severely punished by Heaven and Earth. Even this simple ritual sufficed for the Triad member to become part of one large Hong family. Nonetheless, the ritual was still considerably expanded during the first decade of the nineteenth century. I would surmise that somehow a need was felt to use a much more elaborate ritual to accompany and express the very fundamental change of state that was involved in leaving one's own family, to join the Hong family and the Triad community. The more elaborate ritual was practised all across Southern Fujian, Guangdong and the other provinces in the far south, but not in the Northern Fujian:Jiangxi region. 55 3.2.3. Through the land of death As I have already noted above, the Triad initiation journey enact-

ed the candidate member's symbolic death in majority society and his subsequent rebirth as a member of the Hong family. The initiationjourney is enacted by an established member (the Vanguard or xianfeng) in continuous interaction with the ritual officiant (the Incense Master or the xiangzhu) . The Vanguard acts as the candidate members' guide and does all the talking on their behalf. The enactment of the journey is partly verbal, through the exchange of set questions and answers, and partly acted out more explicitly, with the help of simple props. The ritual is full of repetition, which will have helped the participants and the audience to take in the 55 In Chapter Five, I discuss a similar regional discrepancy in connection with the Triad blood covenant.

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various intended (and unintended) meanings of the entire performance . The first clues that the candidate member is about to embark on a journey through the land of death come from the costumes that are worn by the candidates and the Triad officiants, although there are slight divergences between the available descriptions. The candidate is dressed in white clothes made out of hemp cloth and has to wear straw sandals, that are open at the sides.P" Alternatively, he may wear a white band around his waist or head. 57 According to still other versions, only some of the officiants wear white robes and straw sandals.58 A common name for one of the lower Triad functionaries is Straw Sandals (caoxie) , a reference to this practice.P? Whatever their precise dress, the candidates and/or the officiants wear their queue unbraided, in the manner of the former Ming dynasty, and had to wash themselves beforehand.P" White garments and straw sandals are commonly worn during funerary rituals by the relatives of the deceased, to signify a state of mourning. I would suggest that the adoption of this practice in the Triad initiation ritual was inspired by the intimate contact of the ritual performers with death, namely the symbolic death of the candidate members in their former status as members of majority society. For this reason only candidate members and ritual officiants wear such clothes, but the other full members do 56 TDH VII: 373 and 376 mentions that each member received a new straw sandal and fan . Schlegel (1866) 118-121; Ward and Stirling (1925) 23 and 27-29; Morgan (1960) middle photograph opposite 218. 57 Morgan (1960) 205 (around their waists); Blythe (1969) 529 (around their heads) . 58 Guangzhou fuzhi (compiled in circa 1870,1879 preface) 81: 41b-42a mentions that the ritual officiant of a group in circa 1842 is dressed in white clothes with a red cloth around his head. Pickering (1879) 11 (both the In cense Master and other officiants) . Ward and Stirling (1925) 23 (both the Incense Master and new members) . Morgan (1960) 161 and 204-205 (only the Incense Master wears a completely white robe, the other members and the candidates wear a white sash around their waist and one straw san dal). Also see Morgan's photographs in Morgan (1960) between pages 98 and 99. 59 See for instance: Schlegel (1866) 47; Pickering (1879) 2; Ward and Stirling (1925) 16; Morgan (1960) 100-101 with abundant context. Guangzhou fuzh i (com piled in circa 1870, 1879 preface) 81: 41b-42a. 60 Schlegel (1866) 113-117 (candidates); Stanton (1900) 43 (members) ; Ward and Stirling (1925) 23 and 26-27 (all) ; Pickering (1879) 6, 11 (candidates); Morgan (1960) 203 (only the Incense Master). Yongning xianzh i (1937) 34: 106-109 quoted in Taiping tianguo geming shiqi, 95, uses the traditional phrase "hair falling over the shoulders and holding a sword" to describe the ritual officiant.

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not need to do so, since they do not actively take part in the ritua1.61 Wearing the hair loose instead of braided into a queue can and must first of all be interpreted as a political symbol, indicating the Triad rejection of the Qing. Nonetheless, unbound or dishevelled hair is an important characteristic of demonic beings or ghosts, in other words of liminal beings between the worlds of the living and the dead. Possession specialists wear their hair unbound in order to enter this liminal world and free their numinous powers. 62 Full Triad members might wrap a piece of red cloth around the head during the entrance ritual and uprisings.F' The use of a piece of red cloth wrapped around the head or waist is also common amongst religious officiants, such as Daoist priests (specifically those performing the vernacular rituals), shamans or mediums, and lay people engaged in religious activities. Strips of red paper are also attached to holy trees and rocks.P" It has been a common practice throughout Chinese history for rebels to wear a piece of red cloth around the head to indicate their vital power.65 Red cloth or paper is a general indicator of divine power, undoubtedly derived from the reddish color of blood and the fact that blood was perceived to be a concentrated life force (as discussed briefly in Chapter Four). The red color of the cloth wrapped around the head by full Triad 61 Only Ward an d Stirling (1925) 23 seem to be aware of this crucial distinction. Morgan (1960) 205 translates a poem that links wearing white clothes to a state of mourning for the deceased ancestors. 62 Harper (1985) 475-477. His remarks apply to the Han and pre-Han period, but are confirmed by later materials as well. 63 During the ritual: TDH VII: 517 ; Guangzhou fuzh i (compiled in circa 1870, 1879 preface) 81: 41b-42a mentions that the ritual officiant of a group in circa 1842 is dressed in white, but wears a red headband; Schlegel (1866) 118-119 ; Pickering (1879) 11 (the Incense Master wears a white headband, h is officiants a red one, but all wear white clothes); Stanton (1900) 43; Ward and Stirling (1925) 28 (Vanguard only); Morgan (1960) 203 (by all); Blythe (1969) 529 (only by members during the ritual) .Just a few examples from Triad uprisings: Xiangshan xianzhi (1873) 22: 53b ; Gui xianzh i (1893) 6: 9a (also quoted in Taiping tianguo geming shiqi, 383) ; Guangxi zhaozhong lu (1889) 2: 11 quoted in Taiping tianguo geming shiqi, 409 ; Deqing zhouzhi (1899) 15: 30b. 64 This can be witnessed everywhere in the southern Chinese countryside. Personal fieldobservations in the Quanzhou region (February 1993). 65 SOda (1980) 569-596 . He links the custom to legitimation theories based on Five Phases thinking and sees all instances as part of one coherent tradition. The late Han "Yellow Turbans" wore yellow because they believed that a "yellow age" was about to begin, but there is no evidence that this type of correlative thinking was still current among Yuan, Ming or Qing rebels.

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members during the initiation ritual signifies that their life force is unimpaired, since they do not participate in the initiation ritual until after the candidate members had been reborn. The ordinary full members remain a passive audience throughout the initiation journey and only join the ritual during the concluding banquet, which ties the old and new members together through participation in a lively feast of eating and drinking. Even more explicit evidence as to the precise nature of the initiation journey is provided by its general direction. The candidate member sets out from the East at sunrise and proceeds towards the West, on a journey that will eventually bring him to the City of Willows.66 If we consider that in China, the East is associated with the Yin world of death and the West with the Yang world of life (such as the gardens of the Queen Mother of the West or Amitabha's Western Paradise), this direction is surely significant.f? Unexpected confirmation of my analysis of the first phase of the Triad initiationjourney as representing a voyage through the lands of death comes from a present-day slang expression used to enquire whether someone has already undergone a Triad initiation, "H ave you died already?"68 A central figure in the entire initiation journey is the Vanguard official, who rides a white horse, which is the standard means of transport of messengers from Heaven. A messenger on a white horse 66 Xiao (1935) 4: 16a (Or. 2339) . In the following summary of the initiation ritual, I have limited my references to Oriental 2339 , reproduced in Xiao (1935) 4: 15a-24a , in order to avoid cluttering the footnotes and because this is the most complete manual (including full illustrations). Other original manuals and the compilations by Schlegel (1866) , Stanton (1900), Ward and Stirling (1925), and Morgan (1960) roughly give the same information. I have included precise references to other manuals and compilations only if I encountered problems in interpreting the Or. 2339 manual. The 1810 manual in TDH I: 10-17 contains the same ritual elements, but its coherence is much less clear than Or. 2339 . 67 Riu Shiman ge (1984) 301-302 . Also consider the fact th at in the 1810 foundation story, TDH 1: 4 line 23, Wan Yunlong is cremated in the direction of the East. 68 Bolton and Hutton (1995) 161. I have been unable to find th is phrase elsewhere. To them it indicates that the new member enters not simply a new reality (which also happens to be my analysis), but a reality based on an oppositional identity. I would po int out that th e use of death (and birth) symbolism in rites de passage is quite normal, also when someone is initiated to become a full member of society (see La Fontaine [1982] 43-48 and passim) . In my opinion this slang expression summarizes the nature of the initiation ritual and do es not reflect on the oppositional nature of the resulting status.

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appears in funerary rituals as the subject of a very popular ritual playlet, in which he rides out to deliver a memorial by the priest (as a representative of Heaven) to the underworld.f" The source of inspiration for the Vanguard figure may well have been some local variant of this ritual playlet. At the outset of the initiation journey, the Vanguard is extensively quizzed by the keepers of the gate. He announces to them that he is Tian Youhong, but it soon transpires that nobody with this name exists and never has. Thereupon, the Vanguard reveals that once upon a time he was the eunuch Huang Cheng'en (meaning: "the eunuch who completed grace") and a loyal servant of the last Ming emperor Chongzhen. The eunuch is, of course, a liminal figure in his own right, since he has lost the ability to procreate. When rebel armies conquered Beijing in 1644, the Chongzhen emperor committed suicide on Prospect Hill behind the Forbidden City. The loyal eunuch committed suicide at the feet of his dead master, but was not allowed to obtain rest in the underworld. He had to wander around as a hungry demon. After some time, Bodhidharma took pity on him and calculated that the time had come to avenge the destruction of the Shaolin Monastery and to restore the Ming dynasty. He cultivated the eunuch's soul in a gourd (significantly the gourd is thought of as a representation of the grotto world of the immortals) and then permitted him to be incarnated in the body of Su Hongguang of the Temple of the Numinous King (lingwang miao). Thereafter, the former eunuch became a recruiter for the Triads and worked for the restoration of the Ming (and, by implication, the return of the son of his former master). He adopted Tian Youhong as his new name.?" Tian Youhong is a liminal figure, since he is neither dead (he was refused access to the city of the underworld), nor properly 69 I have witnessed this ritual playlet during funerary ceremonies in the Shish an region (near Quanzhou) (February 1, 1993) and in a village near Xinzhu (june 24, 1992). In the first case, a messenger on a white horse was also depicted on the house for the deceased which was to be transferred to the underworld by burning later on during the ritual. See also Lagerwey (1987) 88 and the beautiful picture in Lagerwey (1991) 40, in which white horses takes off to Heaven on the left and right sides . On the playlet and its popularity, see van der Loon (1993) 012-014 and Gallin (1966) 225-226. 70 A full account is given in 82078 (1) , in Xiao (1935) 4: 12b-13b. The story is implicit in Oriental 8207G (1) in Xiao (1935) 4: la. Also see Stanton (1900) 37-38, 45 and Morgan (1960) 42, 240-241.

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alive (since he entered someone else's body, whilst still retaining his original eunuch soul). His liminal status makes him eminently suitable to guide candidates from the world of the living through the underworld to be reborn as a member of the great Hong family devoted to the restoration of the Ming. His two new names further express his special nature. Su Hongguang means "the Hong radiance which has come back to life " and Tian Youhong means "Heaven assists Hong." The figure of Tian Youhong plays no role in the Triad foundation account, but has been created especially for the initiation journey. Given the conception of the initiation journey as a journey through a liminal world of death, it would seem that the Vanguard figure was invented to meet the need in the ritual process for an intermediary between the worlds of the living in society at large, of the dead (especially the symbolically dead candidate members), and of the members of the Hong family. The role of intermediary could not be performed by the ritual officiant himself, nor by figures from the foundation account, since the degree of contact with death would have polluted them despite their ritual precautions. The initiation journey enacted the symbolic death of the candidate member and his birth as a member of the Hong family . The fact that the journey imitated the voyage of a soul through the underworld is made clearer in the following way. The overall landscape through which the candidates travel takes up elements from the mythical landscape, such as hills, a river that is crossed by both boat and bridge, and finally the entry into the City of Willows. Moreover, the nature of these places is made more explicit by allusions to episodes from the foundation account associated with death or a narrow escape from death. Combined with the wearing of white clothes and straw sandals, and the liminal character of the Vanguard official, the real nature of the journey is clear enough. At the same time, the journey is accompanied by frequent references to long life and to the imminent birth of the candidate as a member of the Hong family. These auspicious references increase with the progress of the journey and were probably intended to redress the inauspicious nature of the allusions to liminality and death.

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Table 1. The stations of the initiation journey EAST

I

death-separation

Tian Youhong's interview with the gatekeepers preliminary questions encounters with two mysterious women Dark Dragon Hill and the Foot of Nail Mountain

crossings

the boat crossing of Triad River at the Hongying Ferry, landing at the Great Peace Market under the bridge with the two beams

passages

the Hong Gate the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness the Circle of Heaven and Earth

birth

I purification I

incorporation

the City of Willows the Mountain of Fire concluding the blood covenant at the Hong\Red Flower Pavillion festive banquet

WEST

The initiation journey formally starts with the candidate being questioned about his aims (to join the Heaven and Earth Gathering) , where he comes from and whither he is going (from the East to the West, or in other words from death to long life). The next two questions are more puzzling. First, he is asked what abilities he possesses, to which he answers that he has acquired civilian abilities from the Red (or Hong) Flower Pavilion and martial abilities from the Shaolin Monastery. Next he is asked whom he sees passing by on the road. The correct answer is the Eight Immor-

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tals, who are then identified by name together with all their paraphernalia.?! Upon closer investigation, both these questions can be linked to common auspicious icons and the small playlets that function as ritual preludes to theatrical performances. The mention of the Eight Immortals parallels their frequent appearance as auspicious emblems on altar cloths and temple walls, and in the brief ritual preludes that traditionally precede the long theatrical performances which are offered to the deities during their festivals . The principal function of such references to the Eight Immortals is to secure good fortune for all concerned. In the same way, we often find references in ritual preludes and conventional operas to success in the highest examinations and obtaining high rank. 72 The two questions about the candidate's abilities and the Eight Immortals function as auspicious symbols, instead of reflecting specific stages in the candidate's journey.P The following encounters with two divine women set the general themes of the initiation ritual: vanquishing death, rebirth and attaining long life . First, the candidate meets a mysterious woman clad in white, holding a scepter in her left hand and a flower bas71 On the acquisition of knowledge: Xiao (1935) 4: 16a. On the Eight Immortals: Xiao (1935) 4: 16b-17a (Or. 2339) . The certificate in Schlegel (1866) 28 places the names of the Eight Immortals on the fou r rims . An eight line poem on the rims of some membership certificates also refers to the Eight Immortals (Or. 8207K in Xiao [1935] 1: 25b and Ward and Stirling [1925] opposite page 134) . Th e same poem is included in one Triad map of the altar (Xiao [1935] Map 1) . Undoubtedly, the poem served the same auspicious function in the map as in the ritual. It is interesting to note that in the oldest extant manual from 1810, both themes are already mentioned. The acquisition of knowledge is actually treated more elaborately than in later manuals, TDH I: 10 line 11 until 11 line 2. The same theme is treated in Schlegel (1866) 62-65 QA 20-36 with an elaborate reference to Mencius. The Eight Immortals are referred to in an auspicious poem in the 1810 manual, TDH I: 8 line 8. 72 Qiu (1991) on the Minnan cultural region and with some historical remarks. Ward (1979) 30-33, Chan (1991) 54-58,61,72-76 and Ho (1994) 116-124 on the Cantonese cultural region. I have seen depictions of the Eight Immortals as auspicious symbols in many contexts during different visits to Taiwan and southern China. For general descriptions, see Williams (1941) 151-156 and Yang (1958) 1-22. 73 They are what Emily Ahern (1979) 1-17 has called "weak illocutionary acts." Since they appear here, and in other contexts, together with strong illocutionary acts (intended to affect the world) , this would seem to invalidate the suggestion made by Ahern (1979) 14 that strong illocutionary acts are performed by people with power (in this case the ritual officiant and the Vanguard) , and weak ones by people without power.

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ket in the right. A poem commenting on this meeting states that a withered tree bears fruit again in spring and that the woman's residence is located in a grove of pine and cypres trees.74 Next, the candidate passes by an equally mysterious temple, the Temple of the Numinous King (lingwang miao). In it reside the Dragon Lady who Offers a Pearl, together with the Easy and Joyful Lad. The Dragon Lady is picking mulberry flowers.P I shall analyze these two encounters in more detail, because they are of considerable symbolic significance. The first encounter is with a lady wearing the white clothes of mourning, for the deceased Ming rulers and/or the founding fathers of the Triads. She resides in a grove of pine and cypress trees, which are traditionally planted on graves, but also symbolize immortality.?" Thus, she occupies a position between or beyond life and death. The flower basket and the fresh fruit referred to in the poem suggest birth, possibly of the young Ming prince (the new fruit) who will be born from a dead imperial family (the withered tree) . The second encounter further develops the same themes of birth and overcoming death. Once again, there is a lady with flowers, now accompanied by a young lad. This couple recalls the widespread southern Chinese belief in the Lady of Flowers and her lad who bring children. They rule over the Garden of Flowers where all unborn children reside.?? The Temple of the Numinous King is itself no ordinary temple, since it is the place where the eunuch Huang Cheng' en acquired the body of Su Hongguang, or "the Hong radiance which has come back to life," thus becoming Tian Youhong, the Vanguard official. In one version of the foundation Xiao (1935) 4: 17a (O r. 2339). Xiao (1935) 4: 17a (Or. 2339) . 76 The trees are important Triad symbols . They occur in the standard poem on more elaborate membership certificates: Stanton (1900) 72,76 and 79; TDH VI: 517. It also occurs in the name of a Kongsi in the former Dutch Indies (collected by Schaalje and now in the library of Leiden University) and a reference to a pine tree (song) can be found in a certificate in Ward and Stirling (1925) opposite 134. Mak (1981) 137 mentions that the former name of Nankin Street in Singapore was Sung Pai Street, after the Hakka Sung Pai Kongsi located on thi s street. According to Morgan (1960) 155 sprigs of the pine and cedar (he translates differently) are used to adorn the bamboo hoop through which the candidate members have to pass before entering the City ofWillows. On the cypres, see de Groot (1892-1910) I: 293-301, IV: 277-278. 77 See note 2. 74

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story, the five surviving monks of the Shaolin Monastery take refuge in this temple, close to the grave of their murdered Qing protector.?" Thus, the temple marks both death (Su Hongguang, the murdered Qing protector) and birth, rebirth, or survival (the Flower Lady and her lad, Tian Youhong, and the five monks). The curious name of the lady in the temple, the Dragon Lady who Offers a Pearl, links her to an important incident in the foundation account. It concerns the widow of the murdered Qing protector of the Shaolin monks, who donates a precious sword made out of peach wood and used for combatting demons. Two dragons fighting for a pearl are depicted on this sword.I? The dragon is-amongst others-an imperial symbol. The word for pearl (zhu) is homophonous with the family name Zhu of the former Ming imperial house. To offer a pearl could be seen as offering the Zhu prince. The adornment of the sword can be read here as a hidden reference to the Triad ideal of restoring Zhu imperial power, even though this motif is also a common ornament in a variety of religious contexts.t" Even more important is the precise provenance of the sword in the foundation account. In one version of the foundation myth, the five monks are threatened by Qing armies while residing in the Temple of the Numinous King, whereupon the widow presents them with a peach wood sword, which has grown like a tree from her husband's grave. 81 The demon repelling sword of the exorcist specialist is often made of red peach wood. In another version, the sword is considered to be the reincarnation of the soul 78 Xiao (1935) 2: 5b (Or. 82070) and 4: 13b (Or. 8207B) . In Schlegel (1866) 14 the temple appears as the location where the precious censer appears and as safe haven from the pursuing Qing armies. 79 Xiao (1935) 2: Ba-b (Or. 2339) , but also in Xiao (1935) 2: 6a (Or. 82070) . 80 For instance on steles for de ceased members of the imperial clan of the Ming, see Beijing shike tuoben, 54: 40 (1516) and 54: 44 (1517) . It is found on a stele for a Guan Yu temple, see Beijing shike tuoben, 58: 198 (1607). However, Guan Yu had already been promoted to the rank of emperor in 1594, see Diesinger (1984) 172. Therefore, these examples all contain a link to imperial rule. At the same time, two d ragons struggling for a pearl are a common religious adornment in a variety of other contents as well, including the roofs of temples in the Minnan cultural region. Strictly speaking, this "pearl" is a ball of fire or the primordial breath that is the source of all life . See Lagerwey (1991) 103 and 106, and pictures 137 an d 138. 81 Xiao (1935) (1935) 2: 5b-6a (Or. 82070). The same story is implied more or less in Schlegel (1866) 14, Stanton (1900) 33, Ward and Stirling (1925) I: 3940, Morgan (1960) 4041.

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of the drowned widow. 82 In both cases, the sword stands for a dead hero or heroine. As such, it is conceptually close to the notion of a divine.general, who is summoned in exorcist rituals to assist the ritual specialist in driving out demonic beings. It is with this special sword that the five monks are able to defeat the persecuting Qing armies and escape. Like the first encounter, the second encounter involves the themes of birth (the lady with flowers, accompanied by a young lad), the victory over demons and death (the demon-repelling sword and the escape of the monks), and the advent of the Zhu prince (the dragons and the pearl). After his encounters with the two mysterious women, the candidate arrives at two new places, Dark Dragon Hill (wulong gang) and the Foot of Nail Mountain (dingshan jiao).83 Although both places feature elsewhere in Triad lore, it is not easy to ascertain their precise function in the initiation journey. Dark Dragon Hill is sometimes mentioned in foundation accounts as the location where the five remaining Shaolin monks were on the brink of being caught by the pursuing Qing armies. The monks made a miraculous escape across a bridge near this hill. 84 More generally speaking, the hill could signify a barrier that is overcome, but its precise role in the initiation journey remains unclear. The Foot of Nail Mountain frequently appears in a variety of Triad sources and its original meaning can be reconstructed with more confidence. In covenant texts from 1808 onwards, the location is mentioned as the place where the Ming prince and the five founding fathers wait for the right moment to return.P In one manual, the grave of the great Triad leader Monk Wan Yunlong is located on this mountain.P" In a late version of the foundation account, Nail Mountain is also the place where thirteen of the eighteen remaining Shaolin monks die and are cremated.V Nail Mountain is therefore alwaysa place where important persons from Triad mythology have either died, been buried or are waiting to return from temporary death. In the foundation account contained in the Guangxi manual of Xiao (1935) 2: 8b-9a (Or. 2339) in a separate story about this sword . Xiao (1935) 4: 17a-b (Or. 2339) . 84 See references in note 94. 85 TDHVII: 214 (1808 covenant) ; Schlegel (1866) 132 (1842 covenant) ; Xiao (1935) 3: 13b (Or. 2339; covenant from 1863 or before) . 86 Xiao (1935) 2: 7a (Or. 8207D). 87 Morgan (1960) 36. 82 83

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1828, the mountain is treated in some detail and is the location for a a number of key events. The High Creek Temple, where Wan Yunlong has retreated from the red dust of the ordinary world, is located on Nail Mountain. When the five fleeing Shaolin monks reach the mountain, Wan Yunlong interprets the message on the incense burner from Heaven as a token of their receipt of the Mandate of Heaven. Wan Yunlong and the five Shaolin monks conclude the first Triad blood covenant on Nail Mountain. Two versions of a place indication given in the 1828 foundation account mention Nail Mountain and Mount Wan interchangeably.f" Later, we will encounter the element wan (ten thousand) as a common auspicious topos in the demonological messianic paradigm that inspired early Triad lore. In this paradigm, Mount Wan was a place that connected the worlds of the living and the dead or immortals . It maintained this role in early Triad sources until its replacement by Nail Mountain.f? Since the abbreviated form of wan is similar to the character ding for "nail," this replacement might be the result of a simple writing error. The replacement was made possible by the rapid fading out of the messianic paradigm, a process that I will describe in more detail in Chapter Seven. The passage by Nail Mountain is quite undistinguished, and the candidate moves immediately on to the Triad River. This river rises at the foot of Nail Mountain and flows on into the lakes and oceans.P? From this ritual passage onwards, the stages of the journey are elaborated with increasing detail in the ritual manuals and are represented by simple artifacts in the actual ritual performance. Interestingly, the auspicious references to long life and rebirth, as well as to the young Ming prince also increase considerably from this point onwards. 88 Guangxi huidang, 484-486. The phrase gaozhoufu zicheng xian you zuo dingshan, shanshang you zuo gaoqi miao ("in Zicheng county in Gaozhou prefecture there is a Nail Mountain, on top is the High Creek Temple") is given later on as gaozhou fu shicheng xian guangdong laowanshan gaoqi miao ("the High Creek Temple on

Old Mount Wan in Guangdong in Shicheng county in Gaozhou prefecture") . Zicheng county is a mistake for the correct place name Shicheng county, caused by virtual homophony in southern local languages. This mistake also suggests that the first sentence has been copied from the second one. The 1810 manual (TDH I: 15 lines 10-II) contains a transitional form: "Under the Cloister of the Wan Character at the foot of Nail Mountain." This is the only mention of the mountain in this particular manual. 89 See Chapters Six and Seven . 90 Xiao (1935) 4: 18a (Or. 2339) .

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The candidate then encounters the Hongying Ferry, called after the young Ming prince whose reinstatement on the throne is the principal ideological aim of the Triads. The waiting boat and the trip across the river are described in highly symbolic language, without any attempt at realism. The number of ropes on the boat is, for instance, specifically given as "Three Eight Twenty-One," which is a standard rebus for the surname Hong. The cargo consists of three types of wood, tao, li (both peach wood) and Hongwood. On the boat are a number of deities (including Guan Yu, Guanyin and others), who will protect the passengers. The boat takes the candidate across the Triad River to Great Peace Market (taiping xu) .91 On the journey across he encounters a place with very special bamboos (zhu), called Zhu Hong Bamboos (zhuhongzhu). Of course, the zhu for bamboo is homophonous with the surname Zhu. 92 Zhu Hongzhu also is one of the names of the young Ming prince in Triad lore. The boat is an important means of traversing boundaries in mythical landscape, for instance in Ming and Qing messianic traditions and plague rituals. Earlier, I already referred to a messianic incident from 1835, in which the messianic leader Cao Shun described the boat that would ferry people across to promised lands in very similar detail, including its load of fragrant wood, the huge size of the boat, which figure holds the mast, and which deities travel with it. The detail in which the boat and its crossing of the Triad River are described indicates the ritual significance of this crossing. Various rebuslike references are made to the future political savior, Zhu Hongying/Zhu Hongzhu. In addition, the common surname of all Triad members, Hong, is referred to a number of times. If we also take into account that Great Peace Market, the name of their landing place, refers to the ideal state of the nation, under the perfect ruler, then it becomes clear that the boat trip across the river takes the candidate member in the direction of a new and better life, as a member of the Hong family of the Triads. After landing at Great Peace Market, the candidate comes to a bridge over a small creek, made from a copper beam on the left, and an iron one on the right. On the near side of the bridge are 91

92

Xiao (1935) 4: 17b-18b (Or. 2339). Xiao (1935) 4: 18b-19a (Or. 2339) .

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two Triad guards, on the middle stand the Three Sacred Mothers, flanked by the Dragon Lady who Offers a Pearl and her Easy and Joyful Lad, and on the far side of the bridge stands a man with a white beard.P The bridge with the two beams is notjust any bridge, but one of the most common passageways in the mythical landscape of life and death and also-not surprisingly- a crucial element of Triad mythology. In the foundation account, there are two escapes across a bridge. When the Shaolin Monastery has been attacked by the Qing armies, eighteen monks succeed in escaping from the burning monastery across a bridge. This particular bridge is often described as being made out of a black and a yellow cloud, leading into Heaven. In the course of their escape only five monks survive, who eventually reach an ocean, or a river that is impossible to cross. At the point when they are facing certain death at the hands of their pursuers, a bridge (sometimes a boat) is sent from Heaven, allowing them once again make their escape across a bridge. When the Qing soldiers arrive, the bridge has disappeared and the monks are nowhere to be seen. The soldiers now finally relinquish their chase. In the foundation account, the bridge connects the world of the living with Heaven, providing a crucial passageway across the water boundary, away from death. As we will see upon closer examination, in the initiation journey the bridge also transports the candidate member away from the state of death, that has been suggested in the ritual up to now, into a new existence.94 The notion of the bridge as a passageway into a new existence is underlined by a series of symbolic references. The presence of the Dragon Lady and her Joyful Lad on the bridge, appearing for the second and last time in the ritual, reintroduces the notion of Xiao (1935) 4: 19a-b (Or. 2339) . TDH I: 4 line 15 already mentions the escape at Long Sand near the ocean, but not yet the boat and bridge, which do appear in the initiation ritual. Both passages are treated in some detail, see TDH I: 11 line 7 until 12 line 6. Two escapes by bridge: Guangxi huidang, 484 (second bridge after Long Sand); Schlegel (1866) 13 (mistranslates the place name as "long sandroad", first escape by bridge) ; Xiao (1935) 2: 2a (Or. 2339; the place is located here near Dark Dragon Hill); Ward and Stirling (1925) I: 38 (no mention Long Sand or Dark Dragon Hill) . One escape by bridge and one by boat: Pickering (1878) 77 (first escape by bridge, second escape by boat) ; Xiao (1935) 2: 5b (Or. 8207D ; second escape is by boat near Long Sand; Dark Dragon Hill appears as the location of High Creek Temple) ; Morgan (1960) 36-39 (first escape is by boat near the ocean and Long Sand; second escape by bridge near Dark Dragon Hill) . 93 94

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birth, but on this occasion with the appropriate ritual passage. The notion that the bridge brings a new life is strengthened by the presence of a tao-peach tree with 36 peaches and a ii-peach tree with 72 peaches (usually the word peach in Triad lore is written taoii). The peaches are described as children (zi and er), who will establish control over Heaven and Earth (qian and hun). In other words, they stand for the Triad members. The man with the white beard sells each candidate one peach for the precise amount of Three Eight Twenty-One cash (the standard rebus for the common family name Hong). According to the accompanying poem, the candidate who eats this peach is henceforth called by the family name Hong. Loyal people will receive blessings from Heaven, traitors will die instantly.P'' The old man is the Lord of the Earth, whose most important iconographic characteristics (at least in southern China) are a pink face (symbolizing his eternal youth) and a white beard (symbolizing his advanced age) . Apart from being a protector of the locality, he brings good fortune . The numbers 36 and 72 are common exorcist and auspicious numbers that appear frequently in Triad and other religious lore. The peach brings long life and by consuming it the candidate ingests some of its properties. In view of the fact that the Lord of the Earth possesses eternal you th and brings good fortune, it is quite appropriate that he is the one who sells a peach to each candidate. The eating of the peach is also the first time in the ritual that the candidate receives the new famil y name Hong, confirming that the passage over the bridge indeed represents a rebirth and the achievement of long life. 96 The candidate, however, does not cross over, but under the bridge. The manual on which the above description is based explains that this is because the five ancestors had passed over it. Another manual states that the reason for this is that the candidate's body is insufficiently pure to cross over the bridge. We find the same notion in underworld mythology, where only the very pure can cross the bridge over Whatcanwedo River and all others 95 Xiao (1935) 4: 19a-b (Or. 2339). The complete placename appears in the same manual, see Xiao (1935) 4: 23a. In the 1810 manual in TDH I: 11 lines 2324, the old man actually sells his fruit at "[the shrine of] the Lord of the Earth." 96 The episode of the fruit seller is further elaborated in th e ritual de scribed by Morgan for the 1950s in Hong Kong, which also brings out the aspect of creating long life more clearly. Morgan (1960) 232-237.

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have to wade through the river. In the Triad initiation journey, there are three stones lying in the water underneath the bridge to aid the candidate in his crossing.P? The number three once more takes up the three dots of the water radical of the family name Hong, a sacred number specific to Triad lore. Nonetheless, symbolically speaking the passage under the bridge is intended to enact the rebirth of the candidate member as member of the Hong family, in the same way as the passage of the Triad ancestors across the bridge provided them with a new lease on life. Like the journey by boat across the Triad River, the account of the passage under the bridge is elaborated in great detail, which indicates its ritual and narrative significance. The notion that the Triad member crosses a boundary between death and life is further supported by the insertion at this point in the ritual, of a short section where the candidate sees the spirit tablets (shenwei) of his deceased brothers in arms. 98 The candidate is still at a liminal point in his initiation journey that allows him to see things in the netherworld. He is now about to enter the all-important City of Willows, to complete the process of his birth into the Hong family. 3.2.4. The attainment of rebirth After crossing under the bridge, the candidate passes through the Hong Gate, enters the gate of the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness, and proceeds further into the Circle of Heaven and Earth (qiankun quan). These are three important passages, which are, ideally, represented by actual props, varying from real gates to simple bamboo hoops. We already encountered these three passages in our discussion of the Ma Shaotang initiation ritual of 1831 (in section 3.2.2.). After the third passage, the candidate enters the City of Willows or the Triad altar.P? At this point, the prescriptions in the written manuals are rather unclear, but luckily this part of the ceremony is illustrated in a fascinating painting of an initiation ritual confiscated in Singapore in 1920. In it we see three gates, each guarded by two sentries carrying swords. The Hong Xiao (1935) 4: 20a (Or. 2339). Explanation in Xiao (1935) 4: 8a (8207G) . Xiao (1935) 4: 20a (Or. 2339); Schlegel (1866) 85 QA 193-196. Pickering (1879) 5 suggests that the spirit tablets represent two deceased members of the Triads, who now guard the bridge. The symbolic implications are the same . 99 Xiao (1935) 4: 20a-b (Or. 2339) . 97 98

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Gate and the gate of the Hall of Loyalty and Righteousness are temporary constructions, while an existing gate in the courtyard has been used as the gate of the Circle of Heaven and Earth. In the painting, the Vanguard official Tian Youhong has already reached the main altar, while different pairs of candidates are kneeling, either in front of, or under, each gate. They are wearing only loin cloths, their hair is unbound and hangs loosely over their shoulders, and each of them is holding a stick of incense in his hands.P? Descriptions of actual initiation rituals specify that the candidates have to pass through the three gates as if they are babies who are not yet able to walk properly.l''! W.P . Morgan quotes the Triad identification phrase, "My mother's vagina has teeth," referring to the serrations at the top and bottom of the bamboo hoop. The hoop is explained in terms of the foundation account as the hole through which eighteen of the Shaolin monks were able to escape from the burning monastery. The serrations on the hoop represent the flames. Clearly, the passage through the hoop is both a reenactment of the founding fathers' escape from the monastery and a representation of the candidates' rebirth into the Hong family. The name of the third gate, the Circle of Heaven and Earth, expresses the Triad notion that from now on Heaven and Earth are the members' father and mother. With their passage through this gate, the candidate members decisively relinquish their natural parents and other family relationships.l'f Socially speaking, their parents are now dead. After passing through the Circle of Heaven and Earth, the candidate enters the City of Willows . In the mythical landscape, the city represents a place where people's statuses are determined. In Triad lore, the City of Willows functions as a safe haven, where 100 Ward and Stirling (1925) opposite 14. The captions on the first and third gates cannot be read due to the bad quality of the photograph, but sufficient names of the gatekeepers can be read to identify them. See Ward and Stirling (1925) 92-93 for the names of the gatekeepers. 101 Morgan (1960) 156; Blythe (1969) 528-529; Guangzhou fuzhi (compiled in circa 1870, 1879 preface) 81: 41b-42a (based on local information gathering, the account is also quoted by the Xiangshan xianzh i, [1873] 22: 49a-b) ; Yongning xianzhi (1937) 34: 106-109 quoted in Taiping tianguo geming shiqi, 95. 102 Morgan (1960) 106-111, 155-156 and 252-253. Schlegel (1866) 91-92 QA 221-226 is not aware of these connections, but the relevant poem translated by him does take up the notion of white flowers and Hong children. For a similar poem on the Circle of Heaven and Earth, see Oriental 2339, in Xiao (1935) 4: 20b.

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people are protected from all kinds of disasters. By the time the candidate has entered the City, he has already passed the three gates which grant him rebirth. On a symbolic level, therefore, the City does not signify death (like the city of the underworld), but long life (like the City of Willows or the Cloud City in messianic lore) . The City is represented by the Triad altar, as analyzed in detail in Chapter Two. The bushel containing exorcist implements guarantees the absence of all evil influences. Only a pure candidate can safely pass underneath the Triad altar (=through the City of Willows). The various objects on the altar are interpreted as specific places within the City. Although the candidate cannot enter the City physically, the ritual dialogues make it quite clear that he is passing through it on a symbolic level. He enters the City through the eastern gate (coming from death), and leaves it again through the western gate (going towards life), in the same overall direction as the initiation joumey.l'" With the completion of his passage through the world of the dead and the City of Willows, the candidate is now reborn as a member of the Hong family. In many ways, his fate resembles that of the loyal eunuch Huang Cheng'en. The eunuch died without being able to achieve rebirth in a new body. Instead, his soul wandered around, until Bodhidarma had "rejuvenated" it in a gourd, whereupon it was incarnated into the body of Su Hongguang and thus became a new person, called Tian Youhong. Naturally, the notions of death and rebirth can be expressed much more powerfully in a mythical figure, than they can be in an initiation ritual involving living persons. Although the candidate has now been newly born into the Hong family, one final boundary still has to be crossed. After leaving the city, he must still pass the Mountain of Fire (huoshan or huoyanshan). This mountain is guarded by the Hong Child (honger or honghaier), who has been sent by Heaven to eat all people who approach it. According to the manual, mankind had once been saved thanks to the virtue of the Tang Monk, and now only those loyal to the Ming ruler can pass over the mountain.P" The Mountain of Fire was represented by a wok or a pit filled with fire, or simply by burning paper money on the ground. The fact that the passage was 103 104

Xiao (1935) 4: 22b-23a (Or. 2339) . Xiao (1935) 4: 23a (Or. 2339) .

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not perceived to be merely perfunctory, is indicated by comments made to Pickering by Triad headmen intimating that many have fallen by the Red Child's spear.l'" The passage over fire can be found in a wide variety of rituals all over China. In marriage rituals, the couple walks around a wok filled with burning oil, or the bride has to pass over fire .106 During funerary rituals, the coffin or the spirit tablet of the deceased are passed over a fire at some point in the ritual. 107 In both types of ritual, the passage over fire is intended to purify the party involved from unclean influences. The barefoot passage through hot ashes in southern Chinese exorcist rituals serves exactly the same purpose. lOS The particular Triad interpretation of this ritual passage is couched in the form of a reference to a famous episode from the vernacular tradition of the Journey to the West, namely the crossing of the Mountain of Fire by the Tang monk and his company. This mountain is guarded by a monster called Great King Sacred Infant or Red Child (honghaier). Significantly, the name of this monster is homophonous with the name of the Hong Child in Triad ritual. The monster had cultivated its infant nature inside the volcano, until it became a pure Samadhi fire . It was only with the assistance of Guanyin herself, that Sun Wukong, the Monkey King and principal helper of the Tang monk, was finally able to subdue the monster and put out the fire . A Mountain of Fire is also part of the underworld landscape and has to be crossed by all deceased. For this reason we can also find this Journey to the West episode as a ritual sketch in funerary rituals in the Southern Fujian region.P? By reenacting this episode as part of the funerary ritual, some of the numinous strength of the Tang monk, and his helper Sun Wukong, can be acquired, and the fire extinguished. This enables the deceased to pass by the mountain safely and facilitates his travel through the underworld. The use of the vernacular tradition of Pickering (1879) 5. Northern China: Frick (1952) 57-58; Serruys (1944) 136. Southern China: Gallin (1966) 211; Shyrock (1931) 168. 107 Southern China: Shyrock (1931) 168; Pu and Guo (1992) 203. 108 Southern China: Shyrock (1931) 168; Fujian: de Groot (1892-1910) VI: 1292-1293. Taiwan : for instance Gallin (1966) 263;Jordan (1972) 54-56, 123-131; Sangren (1987) 84, 91. 109 I have witnessed the ritual playlet on Taiwan in a Hakka fun erary ritual (in a village near Xinzhu, June 24, 1992) . 105

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the Journey to the West in order to make a religious point is very common. There exist Daoist interpretations of the novel, and the basic story is referred to in several Precious Scrolls (interestingly in a version which is different from the late Ming novel), and, finally, the Tang monk features in other ritual playlets during funerary ceremonies. no The sketch of the Mountain of Fire passage was not combined with the ceremony of passing over a fire in any of the ritual performances that I have seen. This only happens in Triad ritual. The Mountain of Fire in the initiation journey is guarded by the same monster as guards it in the Journey to the West episode, but its name has been changed to Hong Child. For the participants in the ritual, the Triad version honghaier (Hong Child) sounds the same as the more common version honghaier (Red Child), ensuring that the Triad episode will be interpreted as being analogous to the well-known Journey to the West episode. With the crossing of the final boundary, the candidate is reintegrated into human society. He now reaches the Red/Hong Flower Pavilion (hong/ honghua ting) , which is one of the oldest documented Triad mythical locations.U! The term "Red Flower" refers to the blood liquor mixture with which the blood covenant was cemented, and takes up the notion that red blood represents a life force. When you drink a cup of Red Flower Liquor Your life is lengthened to Ninety-Nine.

This is part of a poem which accompanies the blood covenant ritual. 1l 2 Ninety-Nine is an extremely auspicious number, containing the double Yang number nine twice. Most ritual sources confirm llO Isobe (1980) 33-34,45 notes 15 and 17,47-48. For a general survey of some recent finds and new hypotheses on the vernacular tradition, see Dudbridge (1988) 463-486. On the Tang Monk in ritual playlets, see van der Loon (1993) 022,024-025 (but not on the Mountain of Fire episode) and Dudbridge (1988) 483. m Xiao (1935) 4: 23b (Or. 2339) . Texts from 1787 and 1791 already mention a Phoenix Flower Pavilion (jenghua ting). Feng and hong are virtually homophonous in southern Chinese language variants. See TDH I: 161 and TDH V: 413. ll2 These two lines are quoted by the Yongning xianzhi (1937) 34: 106-109 (Taiping tianguo geming shiqi, 95) . Unlike all other sour ces, this gazetteer lets the blood covenant precede the birth ceremony. Given the weight of the counterevidence, 1 suspect this is a mistake by the informants of this gazetteer. A more complete version of the same poem is quoted by Morgan (1960) 259 and in usage in Hong Kong.

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that the blood covenant is concluded in the Red/Hong Flower Pavilion. This ceremony comes after the passages through the City of Willows and across the Mountain of Fire. ll 3 W.P. Morgan states that the blood covenant is concluded in front of the altar representing the City ofWillows, after passing through the City and after the passage of the Mountain of Fire. According to him, the Red Flower pavillion is only used for a ritual washing of the new member.U" His informants (talking about the ritual as performed in Hong Kong during the early 1950s) give some interesting information, which I will summarize below. According to Morgan's informants, the paraphernalia for the initiation journey, including the City of Willows or Triad altar, are all removed after the blood covenant. Three days later, the room is redecorated in the shape of the octagonal Red Flower Pavilion. On the sacrificial table we now find the Seven Stars Lamp, an incense burner, a plate of red eggs, a plate of ginger, a plate of fruit and a plate of peanuts. These are all positive symbols, substituted in place of the exorcist, and therefore more ambivalent, implements in the rice bushel. The Seven Stars Lamp guarantees long life. Both the color and the round shape of the red eggs are auspicious, and red (hong) is homophonous with the surname Hong. Furthermore, the word for chicken (ji in the word for eggs,jidan) is homophonous with the word for good fortune. All of these positive symbols are still a common presence on Taiwanese sacrificial tables, including the plate of peanuts (huasheng), which symbolize life (sheng).115 According to the account given to Morgan, 113 As indicated by the drawing in Ward and Stirling (1925) opposite 14. Also see Ward and Stirling (1925) 56-58 (especially the red comments) and 100-101, or Schlegel (1866) 113 and Blythe (1969) 529. Morgan (1960) 252-253 also places the oath after the passage of the Fiery Mountain (his translation) . For the maps , see Xiao (1935) ; also see Xiao (1935) 4: lOa (Or. 8207G1), where the Red Flower Pavilion is located inside the City of Willows. In Xiao (1935) 4: 30b (Or. 8207B1) the oath in the Flower Pavilion is the subject of the third of the five acts into which the initiation ritual is divided (see discuss ion in section 3.3. and further material quoted there) . Xiao (1935) 4: 22b-23a (Or. 2339) and Stanton (1900) 59 suggest the City of Willows as the location, but do not give an y function for the Red Flower Pavilion. 114 Morgan (1960) 261. Several poems in Morgan (1960) 259 (Red Flower wine) and 261 ("Talented men mix blood in the Flower Pavilion") imply that the covenant originally did take place in the pavilion, contradicting Morgan's explicit information that the pavilion is constru cted only three days after the covenant has taken place and is used for a ritual washing ceremony. 115 My own fieldwork on Taiwan in the summer of 1992.

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a washing ceremony now takes place. A wooden tub with water is placed on a wooden bench in front of the altar. Each new member is washed with a towel, that is rinsed in the water each time before a new member is symbolically wiped with it. The poems interpret this act in a strictly moralistic way, as cleansing away the candidate's sins and faults .U" The ritual washing of freshly born Triad members is modelled on the first washing of small babies, which always takes place on the third day after birth, and is a happy and celebrative occasion.U? By postponing the Triad ritual washing to the third day after the initiation ritual, instead of holding the ceremony immediately after the covenant, a better correspondence is obtained with the real life model for this rite. Furthermore, the timespan of three days allows a redecoration of the ritual space in a much more auspicious way than would otherwise be possible. Thus, the ritual changes that are described by W.P. Morgan were considerable improvements from the perspective of ritual clarity. After concluding the blood covenant, a final banquet (yan, the term used by the manuals) is held. Since this is not considered to be part of the ritual in the strict sense of the word, little attention is paid to it in descriptions by outsiders. Abdullah's account clearly indicates that there was a festive mood among the members. He only mentions a meal preceding the ritual, but possibly he was too appalled and tired by the time the ritual ended deep in the night to have paid much heed to the concluding banquet. When Triad manuals analyze the initiation ritual into different parts, they usually mention the banquet as one of the essential constituent parts. lIS Morgan indicates that both the entrance ritual and the washing ceremony three days later are followed by a feast.U? Chi116 Morgan (1960) 261-262. Same ceremony is described by Schlegel (1866) 115-117 and Ward and Stirling (1925) 58. Both combine the ceremonies of separation (cutting the queue, putting on white clothes) and incorporation (washing the face) in to one description, placing them before the blood covenant as a preliminary cleansing ceremony. The dialogues an d poems in Schlegel (1866) and Ward and Stirling (1925) are the same as in Morgan. The episode is not in Stanton. For unclear reasons, the Or. 2339 manual only allud es to it, Xiao (1935) 4: 23b-24a. 117 Doolittle (1865) I: 120. 118 Xiao (1935) 4: 12. In the subdivision into twelve sections, a Banquet of Great Peace is the ninth section , see Or. 8207E2 (given as Or 8207E3 in Xiao [1935] 4: 12a-b) and Or. 8207Bl (not in Xiao) . 119 Morgan (1960) 260 and 262 . Ward an d Stirling (1925) 52 and 107 (their source here is unclear) mention a final banquet.

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nese religious festivals, including funerary rituals, are always the occasion for large-scale banquets during, and at the closure of, the event. Sharing food (especially meat) is an act of great social and ritual significance, since it conclude the (re-)integration of the group as constituted during the preceding ritual activities. Commensality is important in all cultures, but nonetheless one should note here that in Chinese eating culture this literally means sharing the same dishes and offering each other the best food from these dishes. Perhaps significantly, the banquet in Chinese society truly concludes a gathering and one is not supposed to stay on after the eating has finished.

3.3. Ritual as theater Scholars of ritual have devoted considerable attention to the relationship between theater and ritual. It is by now well-established that in China theatrical performances have developed in an overall religious context.P? In Taiwan, Hong Kong and even in mainland China today, despite ongoing campaigns against all forms of religious culture, theater is still frequently performed in connection with ritual or festival occasions. At this point, I wish to introduce some little known material concerning the Triad interpretation of its initiation journey as a theatrical performance, as well as material concerning actual theatrical aspects of the ritual performance practice of the Triads. My understanding of the Triad initiation ritual as a form of theater is grounded in the internal Triad analysis of their ritual, making it fitting that this be discussed before we round off the present chapter in a more formal way. The earliest reference in Triad materials to the initiation ritual as a theatrical performance, is contained in the Guangxi manual of 1828 . 121 The candidate is asked by the ritual officiant if they have met before. He replies that they have met while watching an opera at the Temple of the Numinous King, a significant place that we have already encountered in the initiation journey as the 120 The original inspiration for this section comes from Tanaka (1990) 7581, but the actual analysis proposed here is completely different. Tanaka identifies each "act" (except for the third act) as a reference to an actual play, whereas they clearly refer to the contents of relevant parts of the ritual itself. 121 The standard Western article on this theme is van der Loon (1977).

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location where the eunuch Huang Cheng'en found his new body and became Tian Youhong. The officiant then asks more specifically what play they saw ("What plays did they sing that day?") . The candidate then answers: At first light, they sang 'Bin d in g Righteousness in the Peach Garden,' at noon they sang 'The Three Gates,' at night they sang 'Great Meeting in Gu City.'122

The first title refers to the blood covenant, by means of a reference to the the literary topos of the brotherhood oath in the Peach Garden by Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei from the Three Kingdoms saga. The third title refers to another story from the same saga, namely the famous reunion of the three sworn brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in Gu City (or Gucheng) after they had been separated during the bloody struggles for power between the three kingdoms. It refers to the concluding meeting of the initiation ritual, most likely the final integrative banquet attended by all Triad brothers.F'' Whereas the first and third titles refer to elements of the initiation ritual through literary references, the second title directly refers to the ritual itself, namely the passage through the three gates. This passage functions as a pars pro toto for the whole of the ritualjourney. Finally, the terminology (changxi "to sing a play") indicates explicitly that we are dealing with the operatic style common to all traditional Chinese theater, which is a mixture of singing, dialogue and acrobatic fighting. The initiation ritual is referred to elsewhere as "to perform theater" (zuoxi) , to attend it as "watching theater" (kanxi or qudixi), and holding a meeting as "opening the stage" (kaitai).124 To 122 Guangxi huidang, 532. For the term "At first light," I have followed the proposed emendation. A confession in TDH VII: 375 (late 1819) already mentions an incident in which two persons were invited to come and "watch theater." However, the organizers of this initiation ritual were members of a theater company, suggesting that the term could have been used in this particular case only as a pretext. 123 Please note that this does not prove that this part of the ritual has been inspired by the Three Kingdoms saga. In Chapters Four and Five, I will demonstrate that the Triad covenant continued living ritual traditions, rather than imitating literary traditions. 124 Sasaki (1970) 108 general text on the Triads in Canton region around 1853; Stanton (1900) 42, 93-94; Ward and Stirling (1925) 130. Schlegel (1866) 174,233 (Berlin ms: 63) ; Schlegel (1866) 51-52 interprets tai as a term for the incense table, but the survey of the five acts in Guixian xiu'l.hiju, 21 indicates that the term definitely refers to the stage. Furthermore, the general term for altar is "incense table" (x iang'an) .

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enter the Triads can be called "to worship the stage" (baitai) , while the organizers are called" [those who] set off the stage" (jangtai) . 125 In a description of groups active around 1842 the ritual is referred to as "ascending the platform and performing theater" (dengtan yanxi) .126 The performance is carried out by the members, who are equated with a theater-eompany, and who bear names such as Great Peace Company (taipingban) or New Colors Company (xincai ban) .127 If we consider this perception of the initiation ritual, it is interesting to note that in Hong Kong the rituals used to be carried out on large temporary stages, sometimes more than fifty feet square.P" Probably, these were the same type of stage used for normal theatrical performances. In most Triad manuals, the initiation ritual is divided into five acts . 129 One manual from around the middle of the nineteenth century lists them as follows : First Act : Gathering Together in the Flower Pavilion. Second Act: Instructing the Children in the Central Hall. Third Act : Taking the Oath at the Flower Pavilion. Fourth Act : Meeting at the Side of the Bridge. Fifth Act : Stabilizing the Country and Beheading the Traitor. 130

125 Laibin xianzhi (1937) xia: 254-255 quoted in Taiping tianguo geming shiqi, 544 on group from 1852. Yongning xianzhi (1937) 34: 106-109 quoted in Taiping tianguo geming shiqi, 95 . 126 Guangzhou fuzhi, 81: 41b-42a (based on local information gathering; the account is quoted in Xiangshan xianzhi , [1873] 22: 49a-b and in the Dongguan xianzhi of 1921, from which it was again quoted by Tanaka [1990] 75). 127 Xiao (19 35) 4: 30b (same in Shouxian 'ge, 55) and Guixian xiu zhiju , 21 (roughly same in Schlegel [1866] 181). 128 Stanton (1900) 42. Yongning xianzhi (1937) 34: 106-109 quoted in Taiping tianguo geming shiqi, 95 also mentions that an actual stage was build out of over ten tables. 129 Xiao (1935) 4: 30b (Or. 8207B); Schlegel (1866) 168 (implicit), 181 and Berlin ms: 48 (the list of acts given here is different from the version used by Schlegel and has been garbled); Guixian xiuzhiju, 21; Shouxian'ge, 55; Blythe (1969) 530 (more precisely five and a half acts). One manual in the Briti sh Museum mentions four acts , see Xiao (1935) 5:5a (Or. 2339) . The Guixian xiuzhiju , 21 further specifies the actors as all civilian and military actors in the first act, the Venerable Official for the Examinations in the second act, and Various Actors in the third act. 130 Translating the version in Oriental 8207B, in Xiao (1935) 4: 30b. Emending guo (mistake) to guo (nation) on the basis of the next poem on the same page. The final two lines that follow at the end of the list of Five Acts in this

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Other versions of this division sh are this basic structure, using only slightly different terminology. The division into five acts reflects operatic conventions and has no further symbolic meaning. The First Act refers to the assembly of all present Triad members to carry out a new initiation ritual. In the version translated by Schlegel, the first act is called the "The Meeting in Gu City."131 The same title is used in the Guangxi manual of 1828 to refer to the meeting that concludes the initiation ritual and I already explained it above. It is clear that the Second Act refers to the proper instruction of the candidate members, which takes place at the beginning of the initiation, before the start of the symbolic journey. In the course of this instruction, the hope is expressed that they will be successful in the state examinations. It is one of the few sections in the ritual, that is not linked to notions of symbolic death and rebirth. 132 Of course, the Second Act could also denote the ritual as a whole, since it was constructed very much in the form of an instruction with prescribed questions and answers (Schlegel's catechism). We do not need to dwell very long on the meaning of the Third Act. The blood covenant ceremony concludes the initiation ritual, when the new ("reborn") members swear an oath to support each other as brothers. It is discussed extensively in the following two chapters. In some versions the Fourth Act is called "Drinking Water at the Side of the Bridge" or "Eating Fruit at the Head of the Bridge," but these titles still refer to the same stage of the initiation journey.133 During the journey, the candidate drinks the water of the Triad River to cleanse himself of duplicity, a well-established prophylactic usage of water.134 When he passes over the three stepmanual are unclear to me and have been left untranslated. Two simila r lines are in Guixian xiuzhiju, 2l. 131 Schlegel (1866) 181 and 87. 132 "Instructing the children" is already mentioned in the 1810 manual TDR I: 10 line 12-11 line 2. Also in most later manuals, e.g. Guixian xiuzhiju, 22 and Schlegel (1866) 62-65, QA 23-32. 133 Guixian xiuzhiju, 21; Shouxian'ge, 55; Blythe (1969) 530 gives both versions. 134 Xiao (1935) 5: 30b , 41a (both 8207B) ; Guixian xiuzhiju, 13-14. Drinking water from the wells in the City of Willows is mentioned in Schlegel (1866) 161, QA 264-266. Morgan (1960) 256 mentions the appearance of the Fruit Seller (who gives the candidate members a date) and the Water Seller (who gives them water) at a crucialjunction in the ritual , after passing over the three steppingstones. The incident of the Fruit Seller is treated extensively in Morgan (1960) 232-237.

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ping stones under the bridge during the journey, on his way to the City of Willows, he meets the Lord of the Earth, who sells him a peach of long life. Crossing under the bridge was a crucial event in the candidate's progression, from his symbolic death to his birth as a Triad member. In the Fifth Act the important Triad themes of loyalty and treason are taken up. According to the foundation story the monks of the Shaolin Monastery had once saved the nation from a foreign invasion. Later they were betrayed by a fellow monk, their monastery destroyed and most monks slain. Only a few survived, who beheaded the traitor and subsequently founded the Triads. The performance does not end with the Fifth Act. In some versions, including the example translated above, the members come together for a final banquet. This banquet appears in an Epilogue or as the Fifth Act (in which case the reference to the covenant is dropped) .135 Like all proper theatrical performances during Chinese religious festivals, the Triad ritual performance contained the elements of expelling evil in Acts Four and Five, and an auspicious ending, in the form of a banquet, in the Fifth Act or the Epilogue. In some Triad lists of the five acts, this is expressed as "full roundness" (tuanyuan, a term for plays with a happy ending) .136 I have already noted the curious references to the Eight Immortals and to learning at the very beginning of the initiation journey, and suggested that these references were of the same type as the auspicious ritual preludes of the "Eight Immortals" and "Advancement into Office." As already mentioned, such ritual preludes are a standard feature of Chinese theatrical performances on religious occasions. Thus, the Triad initiation journey was structured much like an opera performance on a religious occasion, prefaced by auspicious references and concluded by a banquet. Sadly, we have very little concrete evidence about the actual performance of Triad initiation rituals, but what we do have confirms their strongly theatrical nature. Two of the Triad manuals preserved in the British Museum, (Or. 8207D from circa 1853 and Or. 2339 from 1864-1881) contain revealing illustrations of the most 135 Xiao (1935) 4: 30b (Or. 8207B; concluding epilogue) . Also see Schlegel (1866) 168 (first implicit act). 181 (final act), unclear in Blythe (1969) 530. 136 Guixian xiuzhiju, 21 (twice in the section on "watching theater") in the slot for the final banquet; Blythe (1969) 530. The term also appears elsewhere in the various manuals.

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important dramatis personae in Triad lore, who are depicted with clear facial make-up and in the poses of traditional Chinese opera. The original pictures are drawn with a fine pen and considerable elan, much of which has been lost in the clumsy and inaccurate redrawings in Xiao Yishan's source publication. In both manuals the figure of the Vanguard is depicted in the standard operatic role of a fierce and loyal warrior. The other figures (namely the Five Ancestors, the mythical founder Elder Brother Wan [also known as Wan Yunlong or Wan Tiqi] and a less important border general) are depicted with make-up in only one of the manuscripts (Or. 2339).137 Interestingly, these figures are all warriors for a good cause and, apart from the border general, they are important in the religious rituals of the Triads and in the Triad expectation of a future struggle to return the Ming to power. W.P. Morgan's description of the Hong Kong initiation ritual furnishes some concrete information on actual performance practice. He describes the interlude of the Lord of the Earth or Fruit Seller, who sings in Cantonese operatic style. Some of the other characters also sing.13S According to Morgan, the Fruit Seller carries two baskets of fruit on a pole across his shoulders. The photograph from the police enactment shows him walking in typical operatic style. 139 Equally significant, the Vanguard carries a whip and an umbrella. The whip is the conventional opera prop to indicate that the actor is riding a horse. Normally, male warrior characters who are supposed to be on horseback do not carry an umbrella, even if it is meant to be raining during that particular scene; the umbrella or parasol is typically carried by literati and women taking a stroll. 140 It is therefore more likely that, in this instance, the umbrella was being used in its common ritual function of protecting liminal beings (such as ancestors, deities or ritual specialists) from the gaze of Heaven.lt! As I pointed out be-

137 These remarks are based on my perusal of the original manuscripts Or. 8207D and Or. 2339. 138 Morgan (1960) explicit on 232; singing as such mentioned again for the Fruit Seller (237), Tian Youhong (238-9), and the guard Wan Daolong (239-242). Most likely these passages were also song in Cantonese opera style. 139 Morgan (1960) 232. Photograph between pages 226-227 and confirmed by the poli ce film. 140 Personal observation of Chinese operas. Also see Scott (1957) 176-177. 141 Morgan (1960) 238. On the umbrella, see section 2.2.

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fore, the Vanguard official Tian Youhong was himself very much such a liminal figure . Interestingly, during several uprisings Triad leaders dressed in theatrical costumes of "kings" and "generals" in order to express their status as people in charge. For instance, during the 18531854 Triad occupation of Shanghai (which is analyzed in detail in Chapter Eight), rebel leaders dressed up in theatrical costumes to look like kings. Wearing these clothes they made ostentatious visits to local temples and drew a substantial audience.lv' Theater clearly helped them to perform their various roles as leaders, since it was one of their most important sources of knowledge on and models for the (presumed) behavior of emperors, kings, ministers and generals. During the Qing the theatrical costumes worn by emperors, high officials and the like were in the old Ming style of dress and therefore most appropriate for this alternative usage! 143 The use of theatrical clothes during uprisings is not at all unique to the Triads.U" but it further underlines how theatrical, religious and political culture all belonged to one larger whole. Despite the fragmentary evidence, it is clear that at least the creative minds behind Triad lore saw their ritual as a form of theater and even used theatrical means to carry it out. This view was carried into the specific Triad jargon to denote the performance of the initiation ritual and spread among the rank and file of the Triad membership. Further confirmation is provided by the curious fact that Triad texts or members never refer to the initiation ritual using one of the conventional Chinese terms that roughly correspond to part of our rather broad concept of "ritual" (such as fa, keyi, yi, li, hui, fashi, [zuo] ski and so forth). It was clearly felt that the Triad initiation ritual told a story with the candidate members as the main actors. The existing members (except for

142 As discussed in section 8.3.3. Some other instances: TDH VII: 312 on Lin Chongsan (see section 7.4.3.); Xiangshan xianzhi (1873) 22: 53b and Hua xianzhi (revised during the Republican period) 13: 2b on the 1854 rebellion near Canton. 143 Scarth (1860) 59. For a detailed description of Qing theatrical costumes, see Scott (1957) esp . 144-147ff. 144 Also consider the Ma Chaozhu case discussed in section 6.2., and the remarks in "Lingtai xiaobu xu ," 337-338, concerning the 1813 Eight Trigrams and other rebellions. Esherick (1987) 63-65, 218, 229, 230-235, 328-331 deals extensively with the role of theater in the events leading up to the Boxer rebellion.

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the Vanguard official, the Incense Master, and some minor players in the ritual) functioned largely as a passive audience. Ritual and theater have a number of crucial elements in common, such as the artificial construction of plot and surroundings, and their entertainment function . Both genres are evaluated as performances of a more or less predetermined script, according to the degree to which they realize certain expectations about the ideal performance. Both are subject to an existing code that we need to know in order to be able to understand the performance. La Fontaine, whose analysis I have summarized above, goes on to suggest two crucial differences. She feels that ritual aims to affect the world directly, while theater does not (except indirectly, through social criticism and mockery). Furthermore, she posits a strong separation between players and audience in the case of theater, whereas in rituals there is no audience at all. Either one participates in the ritual or one remains apart.145 La Fontaine's discussion is largely based on a comparison between ritual in non-Western cultures without independent theatrical traditions, and the modern Western situation with clearly differentiated ritual and theater. It is well-attested that a sharp distinction between these two types of performative practice is very hard to draw in the Chinese case. 146 In China, the theater that is performed in ritual and festival contexts is certainly believed to affect the world, since it may bring good fortune (especially when plays with happy endings ["full roundness" tuanyuan] are performed) or drive out evil influences (especially when martial plays are performed) . Such theater is often performed by specialists, but the local traditions commonly referred to as Nuo theater or exorcist ritual theater are always performed by the local people thernselves.U? In the latter case, the categories of audience and performers flow into one. DavidJohnson and Virgil Ho have commented on people's perception of traditional theater as real, which did not even change where the participatory exorcist ritual theater during festivals was replaced by professional theater.U" Much modern Western theater is also supposed La Fontaine (1985) 181-185. Johnson (1989) 29-32. 147 Major Western statements on theater and ritual in China are by van der Loon (1977) 141-168, Ward (1979) 18-39, and Johnson (1989) 1-43. 148 J ohnson (1989) 27-29 and Ho (1994) 130-133 . They both speak about professional theater in a religious festival context. 145

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to influence the world, through the devices of criticism, irony, mockery and so forth, not to mention the involvement of its audience. Thus, we can not distinguish these types of theater on the basis of the involvement of people or whether it affects the world. Yet, La Fontaine's analysis still points us into an important direction, namely what is the relationship between a performance and the different kinds of people involved (as participants, clients or audience) . What seems to be crucial is not whether theater affects the world, but rather what is the relationship of the participants and customers to the contents of the performance. In theater, the enactment is of a specific plot involving characters other than the actors or audience, and independent of local events and local people. When people feel affected, this occurs by means of a conscious appropriation of something that is ultimately extraneous to them and not the result of any direct participation. Thus, each theatrical performance is intended as the repetition of the same story (even though we are aware that each performance is unique in certain ways as well) . In ritual, the enactment is of a plot on a higher level of reality into which the people involved are directly inserted. There is no need for appropriation, for the ritual is never about someone else and always intended for specific people and a particular occasion. Each ritual is strictly unique, even though in the West we tend to focus on its repetitive aspects. The people who are involved do not need to participate physically. It is quite common that people for whom the ritual is intended are represented by a community leader, or even by other kinds of substitutions (for instance the spirit tablet, in the case of a deceased person, or simply a memorial in which the names of the beneficiaries are listed). The plot that is enacted affects the mythical landscape of life and death or the more abstract structures of the cosmos. The distinction that I draw between theater and ritual does not imply that Chinese theater was not performed in a religious context. On the contrary, traditionally the most common context of a theater performance was (and still often is) as an offering to a deity (or deities) . It was prefaced by ritual preludes to bring good fortune and the stage might be purified by exorcist ceremonies. The plays were thought to bring good fortune and to expel evil from the community. The performance of such plays by some of

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the local people themselves further guaranteed the replication of such effects for the community as a whole. One could say that the requisite act of appropriation was facilitated by placing the theatrical performance in a religious context. Within traditional Daoist ritual, as noted by K Schipper, we can distinguish two different ritual styles, the vernacular style that enacted structures from the mythical landscape and the classical style that enacted structures from a more abstract, cosmic level of existence. It is in the vernacular style that we find most similarities with theatrical performances, and even the insertion of playlets. These are theatrical performances, that are inserted because of their suitability to illustrate a certain ritual point. Above I briefly mentioned the playlet on the conquest of the Mountain of Fire by Sun Wukong and its Triad "application" to the purification by crossing over a fire . In the vernacular style, other theatrical techniques are also commonly used to enact the journey through the mythical landscape or a battle with demonic beings. The reasons for the similarities between theatre and vernacular ritual are not just located in the fact that they are both performances, 149 but more specifically in the fact that both theater and vernacular ritual enact the real lives of actual or imagined people. Theater enacts specific real life situations of others \ (in the past and elsewhere), whereas vernacular ritual enacts specific real life situations of oneself (in the present of the mythical landscapej .P" The efficacy or power of vernacular ritual is located entirely in enactment through performance, and not in the texts. In sharp contrast to theater and vernacular ritual, classical ritual enacts cosmic processes and, therefore, uses much more abstract means of enactment and representation that go beyond people's individual lives. The written texts contain these representations and only their precise recitation can successfully actualize them. The specific relationship to reality is also at the basis of the fundamentally different use of language in theater and vernacular ritual on the one hand and classical ritual on the other. I already referred to Schipper's distinction, according to which vernacular ritual uses the spoken vernacular language for its dialogues Johnson (1989) 30-31. Please note that "mythical" does not mean "not-real ," but rather "pre-experiential" or "intensified reality. " 149

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and the simplest classical style for its poems, whereas classical ritual uses the written classical language. This vernacular language is the spoken language of the people for and by whom the rituals in question are being performed. In the case of the Triads, the influence of local languages (including demotic or local characters) is quite clear and has sometimes hindered my attempts at understanding Triad lore. Vernacular ritual is performed from memory, even if texts do exist and dialogues are only partly improvised, whereas classical ritual is recited from written texts (the jing or classics / sutras) . This use of language clearly reflects the different types of enactment, of day-to-day life and the mythical landscape (spoken, vernacular) or of cosmic and more abstract structures (read, classical). Daoist vernacular ritual, as we know it today, combines the enactment of the mythical landscape with other religious elements, which have been derived from the classical Daoist traditions. This has been a long development, of which the first phase was completed during the Southern Song and Yuan dynasties.P! I would suggest that in the Triad initiation ritual we may be witnessing the remnants of a local vernacular ritual tradition as it existed before the full-scale impact of classical Daoist traditions. Both traditional theater and vernacular ritual deal with real life in an intensified way, and are traditionally set in the mythical landscape (ritual slightly more so than theater). There can be no doubt that people believed in the realness of both types of performances, but it is a realness that is stronger and larger than life. Ritual and theater are stylized performances, resulting in a distancing from daily life and an underlining of the performance as such. It is this stylized exaggeration, that makes these two forms of expression effective and convincing, not their closeness to our run-ofthe-mill reality of day-to-day life . 152 This is as true of Triad ritual, as it is of vernacular ritual in general.

151 Katz (1995) 32-38 suggests that these traditions came into being during the Song period out of a fusion of local exorcist traditions and classical Daoism. 152 Compare Feuchtwang (1992) passim and Ward (1979) 32 and passim.

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3.4. Concluding observations In rounding off this lengthy chapter, I wish to raise two larger issues concerning the nature of the Triad initiation ritual. First, I will briefly recapitulate the ritual's structure in the light of Arnold van Gennep's tripartite model of rites of separation, transition rites, and rites of incorporation. Then I address the issue of similarities between the Triad initiation ritual and other ritual forms of southern China, in the light of the frequently used concept "orthopraxis," which has been introduced in the field of Chinese ritual studies by James Watson. Arnold van Gennep's model was designed to understand the structure of what he called rites de passage, rituals which constructed and then facilitated the passage from one state of being into another. His model has been immensely influential and certainly has its usefulness in the present case as well. Van Gennep suggested that all rites de passage were divided into rites of separation that disengaged people from their initial state of being (the preliminal rites), transition rites that carried people through the subsequent marginal state (the liminal rites), and rites of incorporation that integrated or aggregated people into their new state (the postliminal rites) . 153 Clearly, the preliminary ritual acts of wearing clothes of mourning and straw sandals, untying the hair (expressing a break with the present political authorities, which prescribed a queue for all adult men), and washing oneself are all rites of separation. These rites are followed by a long journey, in which the candidate member is guided by the Vanguard official, Tian Youhong, through a liminal world of death towards obtaining rebirth. First, the candidate has to pass several boundaries, and then the transition rites proper start with the passage under (sic!) a bridge and through three gates to enact his rebirth. This does not end the transition rites, since the candidate still has to pass through the City of Willows and over the Mountain of Fire. Only after the long initiation journey can the candidate be admitted to the all-important rites of incorporation, namely the blood 153 Also see La Fontaine (1982) 43-48. I analyze somewhat differently from her stimulating discussion. The principal difference is that I do see clear symbols of ritual death. Furthermore, I will argue in Chapter Eight that the Triads did not oppose, but shared state legitimation ideology.

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covenant and the banquet. The blood covenant will be analyzed in great detail in the following two chapters. A festive banquet concludes the integration of the old and new members of the Triad group-an important ritual and social occasion that is recognized as such by the Triads themselves. The incorporation was not one into majority society, however, but into a new and exclusive group. It is, perhaps, significant that the liminal status of the candidate members is not fully suspended at the end of the ritual. They become members of an army of soldiers, divided into five groups and led by the five remaining Shaolin monks who founded the first Triad community. A number of indications suggest that this Triad army, and its five groups, is modelled on the five encampments of the divine generals and soldiers, who are commonly summoned in exorcist ritual to assist in driving out the demonic threat. This exorcist dimension is analyzed in Chapters Six and Seven. Modelling oneself on divine armies was and often still is a common ritual means of obtaining greater strength against demonic as well as real life threats, as exemplified most spectacularly by the Boxers around the turn of the nineteenth century.P" An analysis according to the tripartite scheme put forward by van Gennep certainly helps to bring out the transformational characteristics of the initiation journey. But such an analysis also results in a much more structured picture than that which the participants themselves would have had, as for example the analysis presented in Table 2. "The stations of the initiation journey." As I have mentioned before, references to death, birth and long life are repeated throughout the initiationjourney, even though a rough progress from death to life can still be recognized. Therefore, the ritual progress which I have constructed in this chapter proceeds in a much more orderly way than the "im pressions" which would have been obtained by either the participants (the candidate members) , or the audience (the old members). On the other hand, their personal experiences with a host of other rituals, visual representations and stories structured according to the landscape of life and death will have facilitated their understanding of the Triad initiation journey in a way that is nowadays hard for us to reconstruct. 154 On the Boxer case, see Cohen (1996) 83-172, esp. 84-86, 96-109, and for a more general discussion of this particular aspect, see ter Haar (1996).

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The close correspondence between Triad ritual lore and southern Chinese religious culture, provides us with a good example of the observation made by James Watson and others, that although ritual forms can be very stable over time and space, their interpretation may vary considerably. Wat'ion has coined the term "orthopraxis" for this phenornenon.P'' He has also suggested that the basic similarity of certain rituals may have formed a kind of glue that helped hold traditional China together. Watson 's observation is very attractive, since it would explain the semblance of China's possessing an overall cultural cohesion, despite considerable regional and social differentiation. However, it seems to me that his conclusion that ritual orthopraxis kept China together needs to be critically evaluated. First of all, it is a simple fact that for much of its history China did not keep together, despite such "common" rituals.156 The Triad groups are themselves a good example of this, since, despite a very large degree of orthopraxis and very similar explanations for the overall ritual (no doubt in part due to the existence of a written Triad exegetical tradition) across several local language ("dialect") barriers (Minnan, Teochiu [Chaochou], Hakka and Cantonese), there was usually very little cohesion between individual Triad groups. Secondly, but connected to the first objection, the question arises how we define and measure "cultural cohesion," independent of ideological and political considerations. Surely, regional cultural and linguistic differences in China were (and probably still are) as big as in Europe today, but they cannot be freely discussed (at least not in elite circles and in China itself) because of very strong ideological taboos independent of the ruling political system . Thirdly, it is by no means clear just how similar rituals must be in order to be able to speak of "orthopraxis." Even though I am constantly struck by the resemblances between religious beliefs, stories and practices in southern China, this is a highly impressionistic and personal judgement. The qualification of Triad ritu155 Watson (1993) 80-103. See the different and very useful discussion by Szony (1995) 8-17, 290-292, 296 of the same phenomenon, referred to at the outset of Part II. Tooker (1993) 799-819 presents a sop h isticated theoretical statement. Th e term "orthopraxis" is also used by Staal (1990) 155, but entered the discourse on Chinese ritual through the above and other articles by Watson. 156 A similar counter-argument could be developed for the rituals of the Roman Catholic church and the absence of a unifying role for these rituals in pre-Re na issanc e Europe.

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al and surrounding southern Chinese religious culture as bound together by "orth op raxy" might be seen as insulting and therefore "wrong" by southern Chinese people involved in this culture. After all , the Triads have been perceived (and legally defined) as "criminal" from early on, and for this reason alone it may not be easy to accept that their lore is not substantially different from the religious culture of other social groups. Finally, the term orthopraxis implies a paralellism with the term orthodoxy that does not exist. "Orthodoxy" typically refers to a way of thinking (believing) which is seen by certain powerholders within a given culture as the norm (whether this norm is actually maintained is irrelevant). In contrast, "orthopraxis" always refers to a situation which is observed by outsiders to a given culture, rather than the normative imposition of specific ritual patterns as the right way of doing things. In Chinese culture, for instance, the importance of ritual is always stressed and people write about proper ritual forms. However, I have yet to come across a single source that speaks of one ritual norm that should underlie different ritual forms (rather than individual prescriptions of single ritual forms). In general, it seems to me that groups tend to stress the importance to their identity of differences in ritual and other religious lore that may seem quite small to outside observers. This was certainly true of the Triads, who paid much attention to developing a uniquely Triad interpretation of even the most common ritual activity. The label "orthopraxis" easily causes us to overlook this basic social fact. Even when Triad members may well have been unaware of specific Triad interpretations and will have intuitively understood Triad lore in the light of other religious and cultural lore with which they were familiar, they will have assumed that their ritual had its own unique meaning and relevance.

CHAPTER FOUR

THE BLOOD COVENANT IN CHINESE SOCIElY The blood covenant has been an integral part of Triad ritual from the moment of its first inception. Eventually, it became the concluding ceremony of the overall initiation ritual, during which Triad members took an oath to support each other as brothers of the same Hong family for the rest of their lives. Historians have always seen this Triad practice as the culmination of a development which took place during the Qing dynasty, inspired by the availability of literary models from the vernacular traditions of the Three Kingdoms and the Water Margin.' As I shall demonstrate in this chapter, this interpretation is incorrect. Rituals of sworn agreements to be supervised by a supernatural agency, such as the blood covenant, have always been extremely common in traditional Chinese society. Such rituals are essentially empty ritual forms, which can be used for a variety of purposes. A brotherhood on the other hand is not a ritual, but a social group that can be concluded in various ways. The two came together in Triad ritual by conscious choice, not because they were intrinsically linked.

4.1. The blood covenant

Sources on the actual practice of a blood covenant ritual are usually limited to the repetition of a variant of the stereotyped phrase "to smear blood and conclude a covenant" (shaxue weimeng). When additional information is given, this is usually restricted to one or two aspects of the ritual. I have, therefore, decided to combine these references to reconstruct an ideal type of the constituent elements of the blood covenant. It is composed of a number of 1 For instance Murray (1994) 169-172. She bases herself on the work by Luo (1942) 77-89 and Qin (1988) 220-223. Similar views in Sasaki (1970) 205-209; SOda (1973) 9-12; Suzuki (1982) 162-163; Uu (1983) 61 note 37, 115-117; DeBernardi (1987) 312; Antony (1988) 277-279; Chen (1992) 200-203. Aub in (1978) 37-63 has postulated a transmisson of the blood covenant ritu al from Altaic culture into the Three Kingdoms story and then into Chinese culture as a whole.

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different elements, namely: a sacrifice to one or more deities, the consumption of blood, and the making ofa sworn statement. This statement set out the purpose of the covenant and contained a request for divine supervision; it also included a list of punishments which would befall transgressors. More detailed descriptions from Daoist rituals (from the twelfth to the fourteenth century) and ethnographic evidence (from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries) confirm that my reconstruction corresponds closely to actual practice. 4.1.1. Early evidence The custom of the blood covenant goes back to the Spring and Autumn period (722-481 BC) , when it was widely practised. Through the covenant (traditionally called meng) a binding relationship was established between non-kinship groups. Sacrifices were made to spirits and ancestors on an earthen altar, calling upon them to witness the covenant and to punish any violations of it. A variety of different sacrificial animals were used, such as cows, horses, goats, chickens and even humans. The covenant was a written text, that contained the names of the participants, the terms of the agreement and sometimes a malediction or curse (zu) upon those who might violate it. The blood of the sacrificial victim was smeared on the text and on the lips of the participants. Then the text was read to the gods, after which it was buried with the sacrificial victim in a pit. The oath was then sealed by the collective drinking of the blood of a sacrificial victim. Each participant received a copy of the covenant. The covenant was presided over by a "cove nan t chief' (mengzhu). The custom seems to have originated among the aristocracy, but by the end of this period, it could also be sealed by ordinary people.i During the Warring States period (fifth century-221 B.C .) 2 Lewis (1990) 43-50, 198-199, 205-212. Mark E. Lewis (personal communication, March 21, 1993) points out that there are no contemporary references which describe the precise conten ts of the act of sha. It is traditionally explained in later glosses as "to smear," though some commentators say it means "to put blo od in th e mouth" or "to lightly suck it in." I have translated th e term yang as "goat," because this is the common sacrificial animal used in the Minnan region today. Neither the term itself nor the excavated rema ins at Houma (see referen ces given by Lewis [1990] ) allow us an y certainty. Older Western language discussions are Maspero (1933) 284-296 and Dobson (1968 ) 269-282.

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decreasing importance was attached to the sacrifice and the concomitant oral ritual, and increasing emphasis was placed on the moral intent of the participants and on the written text of the oath. These new oaths were called "bonds" (yue) and could be combined with old style covenants (meng); the even older term "oath" (shi) was now also used as a synonym.P This trend towards written contracts continued during and after the Han dynasty." A whole range of written contracts developed, but they never lost their oral dimension and oral forms of oath-taking also continued to exist alongside them throughout the entire imperial period. The blood covenant, which concerns us here, always remained primarily oral, although written elements could be added. From then until the late Yuan period, the blood covenant is only sparsely documented. In esoteric traditions in southern China from the third century A.D.-documented by Ge Hong (283-343) 5the blood covenant still played an important role in the transmission of sacred texts to pupils. The covenant took place on an altar in the open air and served to confirm a vow of secrecy. Breaking the oath would be punished by heaven." At some point before the Tang dynasty, the blood was replaced by red cinnabar water in classical Daoist ritual. Nevertheless, the conclusion of a covenant before Heaven and Earth continued to accompany the ritual transmission of texts in the Heavenly Masters tradition and the official name of this tradition is the Teachings of the Correct One Founded upon the Authority of the Covenant (zhengyi mengwei jiao).7 Lewis (1990) 62-72. Scogin (1990) 1326-1404 . 5 Stri ckmann (1981) 133-134 proposes not to use the term Daoist for this tradition, since it was not linked to a sp ecific Daoist social community. 6 Baopuzi, 14:60 and 10:42. Translated rather freely in Ware (1966) 226 and 175. Other related references, see Baopuzi, 4: 12 (Ware [1966] 70) ,4: 14 (Ware [1966] 75), 10: 42 (Ware [1966] 169 translating meng and yue as treaties) , 19: 97 (Ware [1966] 314) . There is also the curious case of the blood covenant concluded by the Daoist Heavenly Master Zhang Daoling (or Zhang Ling) in 157 A.D. at the Han imperial court. They "used the blood of a white horse." See Santian neij iejing, juan a: 414c. On th is referen ce, see Seidel (1983) 311,315 and Maspero (1971) 408-425. This fifth century text has been translated and annotated by Bokenkamp (1997) 186-229, this reference op.cit., 216. Even if the ritual form of this particular covenan t is not historical, its mentioning testifies to its ongoing acceptability in certain Daoist circles. 7 Ofuchi (1964) 385-386 and 427-428; Strickmann (1990) 93; Mollier (1990) 79-80, 118. Stein (1979) 53-81 points out that mainstream Daoist traditions already opposed bloody sacrifices by the fourth century. 3

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The Daoist exorcist rituals contained in the Compilation of Rituals of the Way (Daofa huiyuan) , stemming from southern China and dating from the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries, frequently prescribe the conclusion of a blood covenant." In these rituals the use of blood is restricted to sacrifices to , and covenants with, divine generals. No blood is used in the priest's dealings with higher deities. Divine generals are always male demons of violent disposition, who have often been generals when still alive. This makes them especially suitable in combatting other violent demons. In order to survive, these divine generals require the vital energy that can only be provided by blood. Typically, animal blood is used (but sometimes also blood from the finger[s] of the ritual specialist) , which is mixed with liquor in a covenant ceremony and then drunk by the priest, prior to the pronouncement of an oral oath, or used for writing characters on an amulet. An amulet, it should be noted, is a binding written agreement between the priest and one or more deities to perform certain acts on the priest's behalf. Today, one can still observe shamans, mediums and Daoist priests using blood for concluding a covenant, both in the Minnan (Taiwan, Southern Fujian) and Cantonese cultural regions, and among non-Han local cultures. A rather detailed and representative description of the blood covenant can be found in the following text ascribed to Thunder Master Shaoyang, and with a preface by the well-known ritual master Chen Nan (fl. 1213) . The ritual master stands on his altar, with his hair hanging loose over his shoulders to indicate that he is giving free rein to his magical powers. He carries out various preparatory ritual acts , to summon the thunder generals to the altar.

8 On this compilation see van der Loon (1979) 401-405 and Boltz (1987) 4849. The aims of the rituals were the exorcism of demons and prayers for rain . The following references are limited to more detailed instances. Daofa huiyuan , Vol. 28: 8: 716a-b, 717a-b; Vol. 29: 56: 139c, 147b; 57: 15le, 154a, 154c; 62: 183a; 68: 223c;92: 387a;93: 391b,392a-b;95: 406a;97: 413c-414a; 115: 524b; 120: 572b ; 122: 585c; 123: 598a; 124:602b; 137:683b,684b,686c~87a;141: 718a-719b; 152: 794c, 798a; Vol. 30: 187: 188b and 188: 189c; 241: 490a and 491b . The following texts (indicated by their juan number in the Daofa huiyuan) can be tied to a particular master: 56, 62, 124 by Wang Wenqing (1093-1153) , 122-123 by Chen Nan (d. 1213), and 152 by Bai Yuchan (fl. 1209-1224) . Interestingly, some texts in this compilation indicate that animal blood should be replaced by cinnabar. See Daofa huiyuan, Vol. 29: 141: 718a-719b; Vol. 30: 187: 188b and 188: 189c.

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... He carries out the first libation of liquor, then recites the third spell and the fourth spell, carries out the second libation of liquor, and again recites the fifth spell in its entirety. While reciting the spells, he first burns the Amulets to Summon the Thunder Gods and then grasps a live and crowing cockerel in h is left hand. He lets an assistant grab the feet and wings of the cockerel. The master holds the neck of the cockerel and with the sword in his right hand he beheads it. He lets its blood drip into the empty cup. He pours liquor into [the cup] and stirs [the mixture] with his sword. He takes the [mixture of] blood and liquor and gives it to the generals and clerks [invoked in the ritual], pronouncing the oath (sk i) : 'Relying on the sword in my hand to behead the cockerel and spill its blood, I take this oath. I swear that I wish to carry out the transformations on behalf of Heaven, assist the nation and rescue the people. I employ and summon wind and thunder to drive away the demons of other people. Upon the turning of my seal, you clerks and soldiers must drive them away and make them go . If you hear the summoning of my amulets, you must descend here with utmost speed, to raise clouds and cause rain, to chase forward wind and cause thunder. If there is an order, yo u must carry it out without tarrying. My orders glorify the method of the Way, and they rescue and heal all life forms. If we commit transgressions against each other, this is to be dealt with according to the Statutes of Heaven. In his right hand he holds a set of memorials for the flag, drum, awl, axe, money and [paper] horses; on both the flag and the drum are printed a Heart Amulet of Shaoyang. When the ritual master is about to finish his oath, he drinks one mouthful of [the mixture of] blood and liquor, and places the [mixture of] blood and liquor in front of the generals and clerks. He again places incense and burns the second Shaoyang amulet, and then carries out a final libation of liquor.?

As is implied at the end of this description, the drinking of liquor

mixed with the blood of a living animal is intended to strengthen the force of the oath pronounced by the Daoist ritual master. The other party, more precisely the divine generals and the clerks, receives a sacrifice of bloody meat and liquor. Their subsequent acceptance of this sacrifice serves the same binding purpose. In all ofthese instances, Heaven (often in conjunction with Earth) is invoked as external witness to the covenant. In the text translated above, this is stated clearly in the oath. The vast majority of cases from Daoist ritual texts mention the use of a cockerel (explicitly as xiongji or implicitly by referring to 9

Daofa huiyuan, Vol. 29: 123: 598a. Preface by Chen Nan in 122: 582c-583a.

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the bird's comb) or chicken (ji, leaving its sex unspecified, but probably referring to a cockerel). The blood is obtained either by beheading the bird or by the priest's cutting into its comb with his exorcist sword. It is essential that the sacrificial victim is still alive before the bloodletting starts, for reasons to be explained later on. One ritual text even emphasizes that the unfortunate creature must be set free afterwards, "half dead," so that it can struggle for survival.l'' Other animals are prescribed with considerably less frequency, include the swan and goat, and sometimes even an eel.'! The use of blood from the ritual specialist's own fingers is rare, but does occur.F 4.1.2. An ideal type of the blood covenant

Although we have detailed descriptions of the blood covenant in Daoist ritual texts from the Song and Yuan periods, no clear instances are documented for other types of contexts during the Song period in Han Chinese culture. This stands in sharp contrast to the numerous descriptions of blood covenants between Song officials and leaders from local non-Han cultures, such as the one discussed in the following section. From the late Yuan dynasty onwards, there is an upsurge of evidence on the blood covenant outside the specific exorcist context. This coincides with a general increase in attention for lower social groups and banditry in our sources in the same period. We can, therefore, safely exclude the possibility that the better documentation has anything to do with an increase in the occurrence of the blood covenant itself. In the following survey, rather than discussing individual instances, I wil combine the available evidence to construct an ideal type of the blood covenant as it was practised from the late Yuan until the twentieth century. Daofa huiyuan , Vol. 29: 62: 183a. On the use of the blood of an eel, see Daofa huiyuan, Vol. 28: 8: 717a-b. Also, see Vol. 29: 97: 413c-414a (prescribes the use of the blood of a swan, cockerel, eel, and goat, to sacrifice to four of the thunder deities of the five directions, the deity in the center is worshipped with pure liquor). For the other animals, see the references given in note 8. 12 Daofa huiyuan, Vol. 29: 137: 684b ; Vol. 30: 241: 490a and 491b. In one case, animal blood is replaced by the blood from the True Man 's nose, see Daofa huiyuan , Vol. 30: 187: 188b and 188: 189c. It is explicitly observed that th is is exceptional. 10 11

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The choice of the sacrificial victim does not seem to have been random, even if I am not in each case able to reconstruct the background to a particular choice. Blood was thought to represent the force of life, which could be used to strengthen the power of words, whether spoken or written, and to "give" life to ordinary objects, visual representations of supernatural beings and even to humans (in food or medicine). The transferral of this life force can take place by consumption (to empower words) or application (to amulets, statues and other depictions of supernatural beings, as well as exorcist swords and other objects). The (white) cockerel traditionally symbolizes the beginning and return of life, because it is supposed to announce the rising sun by his early morning crowing.P The insistence in one Daoist ritual that the cockerel should be set free, while still struggling for life, brings out forcefully the notion of a life force present in the animal's blood. The background to choosing a swan or a goat is unclear to me, but the blood of an eel was explicitly used for invoking a dragon. In a number of cases, we find the sacrifice of a horse and/or a cow. In two important late Yuan blood covenants, the sacrificial animals were a white horse sacrificed to Heaven and a black ox sacrificed to Earth. One covenant was led by the Maitreyist rebel leader Liu Futong and the other by Zhu Yuanzhang, who later founded the Ming dynasty.l" In 1448, the Fujian rebel leader Deng Maoqi sacrificed a white horse at the outset of his rebellion and "smeared" (sha) its blood, to conclude a covenant with the local people.P In 1645, a group of indentured servants "butchered an ox and worshipped Heaven, ... they ascended an altar and smeared blood together.t'" The horse was both a sacrifice to Heaven and well-known as the preferred means of transport for messengers to and from Heaven. The ox was a sacrifice to Earth, and was of old 13 De Groot (1892-1910) I: 200-201 and 216-218 (white cockerel as the emblem for the sun) ; I: 214-216 (the use of the blood of a white cockerel to make an ancestor tablet come "alive") ; de Groot (1892-1910) VI: 965-970 (general remarks) . Williams (1941) 199-200 notes that a cockerel was never eaten, because of its use in oaths and sacrifices. Instead, the female animal was eaten. 14 Yuanshi, 42: 891 on Liu Futong. Mingxing yeji, shang: 5b-6a on Zhu Yuanzhang. The contemporary rebel Zhima Li also concluded a blood covenant, but no further details are known . See Gengshen waishi, shang: 8a. IS Shuanghuai suichao, 6: 96. 16 Kangyongqian, 506. For another case of sacrificing an ox, see Kangyongqian, 671 (case from 1753) .

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associated with the fertility of the land.l? In the 1645 case, the indentured servants seem to have sacrificed the wrong animals, but then ritual mistakes can occur and horses would have been difficult to come by. Human blood was also used, always from the fingers of the participants (when the source was specified) , as in the Daoist rituals referred to above. During the late Yuan five brothers bit their own fingers and let out blood, prior to swearing that they would die together with the man who had had one of them beaten up.IS In 1367 a local self-defense group from Songjiang prefecture in the Lower Yangzi region drank the blood from their fingers to cement their vows.l? This type of self-sacrifice further underlined the oath takers' seriousness of purpose. The participants' blood was not ritually mingled to create a Western style blood brotherhood, but rather used to empower the spoken or written words with a strong force of life. This is why either human or animal blood can be used, though animal blood is employed much more frequently. Our descriptions are often rather vague about the precise manner in which the blood from the sacrifice was used within the blood covenant ritual. The Chinese sources frequently use the term shaxue, which is traditionally interpreted as "to smear blood." I have maintained this conventional translation throughout this study, but it is quite clear that it had, in fact, become a fixed term for the conclusion of a blood covenant. In the Daoist exorcist rituals discussed above, the blood was mixed with liquor and drunk (or put in the mouth and later spat out).20 In Chang'an in 23 A.D., when Wang 17 The Sanguo zhi pinghua, shang: 757 explains the function of the sacrifices . This work is explicitly dated as a reprint from 1321-1323. The white horse is the traditional means of transport for a messenger to He aven (as well as the God of the Stove) . Morgan (1980) 59-83 discusses the plac e of the bovine (n iu) in the New Year festival. None of our historical sources specifies the sex of the bovine, but given the account by Morgan, a male animal seems most likely. 18 Wenxian ji, 11: 13b-14a. 19 Songjiangfuzhi (1631) 49: llb-13b. 20 Take for instance the phrase duitian shaxue lishi in Daofa huiyuan , 29: 80: 304b-c which evidently refers to the use of blood mixed with liquor, to write or to drink. In the late Ming vernacular novel The Tale of the Water Margin we can find a good description of the blood covenant, led by Dao ist priests. Once the complete brotherhood of 108 members had been formed, they took an oath to Heaven and Earth in an elaborate ceremony. They burned incense, sacrificed an ox and a horse, and they drank liquor mixed with blood (shaxue yinjiu , literally "they smeared blood and drank liquor"), and vowed to die together. I have

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Mang set free the capital's prisoners to fight for him against the rebels, they drank the blood of a pig to conclude a blood covenant. 21 Several Qing sources use the term shaxue to refer to the blood covenant, while at the same time specifying that the blood was drunk mixed with liquor.V A brotherhood concluded during the late sixteenth century by local people in Fujian province was also accompanied explicitly by consuming (human or animal) blood.P In 1606, when the messianic leader Liu Tianxu concluded a blood covenant with some of his followers, they each took blood from their own fingers and mixed it with liquor. The stated aim of the covenant was to demonstrate the true wish of the followers to follow their leader through thick and thin.24 In numerous cases during the eighteenth century, it is explicitly stated that a covenant was concluded accompanied by drinking liquor mixed with blood.P In some cases it is further specified that it was blood from the fingers, and in one case, from 1748 , the liquor contains the ashes of a memorial mixed with the blood of a cockerel. In this last case, one cow and three pigs were butchered as supplementary sacrificial gifts. The 1748 case is also remarkable, because of the mention of a written memorial being burned (to transfer it to another realm of being) and consumed (to partake of its inherent power).26 In some instances during the eighteenth century, the use of blood is not explicitly recorded. Nevertheless, it is still specified that liquor was consumed as a part of the ritual. 27 In one such case from Zhangzhou (Fujian) in 1752, people selected a "covenant chief' used the shortened version byJ in Shengtan ed. , Shuihu zhuan , zhuan 75: 19b-20a and the translation by Dars (1978) II: 557-582. 21 Hanshu, 99 xia: 4190 . 22 Yongzhengzhupi, XIII: 161-165 (nr. 129) (case from 1728) and Gaozongchun huangdi shilu, 319: 17a-b (case from 1748) . 23 Jinghetang ji, tichu luan min shu: 89b. 24 Ding qinghui gong yiji, 1:32a. On these events see ter Haar (1992) 216-219. 25 In addition to the material quoted in note 20, see also Yongzheng zhupi, XVII: 373-374 (nr. 288) , 744 (nr. 562) and Suzuki (1982) 241 (case of Yang Qi, 1729) ; Shiliao xunkan, di-series, 441a-451b blood covenant from 1752. Also see the description from The Tale of the Water Margin quoted in note 20. 26 Blood from the fingers: Sasaki (1970) 235 (case ofWu Fusheng in 1732) ; Yongzhengzhupi , XIII: 161-165 (nr. 129) and Suzuki (1982) 241-242 (Zhuluo case of 1728). Ashes memorial: Gaozongchun huangdi shilu, 319: 17a-b and Suzuki (1982) 241 (case of 1748) . On the consumption of ashes, see my discussion at the end of section 5.2. 27 Kangyongqian, 529 (1729),688 (1771).

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(mengzhu) . "By making sacrifices they proclaimed to Heaven and Earth, they concluded a blood covenant (meng), and they drank Liquor that Unites the Hearts" (qixin jiu). They did so on the fifteenth day of the sixth month. The first and fifteenth days of a month are, in fact, traditional days for sacrificing to the Lord of Heaven.P' The importance of sharing liquor is made explicit in the phrase "Liquor that Unites the Hearts." It denotes a certain unity of purpose, without implying any (quasi-) family relationship.29 Sharing liquor has always been an important social ritual in Chinese culture, and serves to create and confirm a bond between humans, as well as between humans and supernatural agencies. The Chinese term j iu is translated here as liquor, but it is often and somewhat confusingly also translated as "wine." As I already pointed out above, the Chinese term does not refer to the red wine made out of grapes.P? but rather to various types of alcoholic beverages brewed or distilled from grain. These beverages are rarely red(dish) in color, but usually yellowish or clear. For this reason, there is no natural association in Chinese culture between liquor and blood.P' The importance of sharing liquor (rather than merely drinking it as such) is easily overlooked, because it is mentioned so often. For instance, the conclusion of contracts during the Han period was accompanied by drinking liquor and this remained the custom during later periods as well. 32 Liquor is a crucial sacrificial 28 Kangyongqian , 667. In the Lu Mao uprising of 1768, liquor mixed with incense ashes was drunk "to unite the hearts." No mention is made of the use of blood. See He (1987) 394. 29 Exactly the same term is used by the Yao for intervillage covenants, see Pu and Guo (1992) 258,263. During the Song, the term "to claim oneness of heart" was used to describe the goal of covenants between the Han Chinese and local peoples in Sichuan, see Zizhi tongjian changbianjishi benmo, 41: 4a-b (4253-4254) . 30 See for instance Schlegel (1866) 237. He overlooks the fact that the "wine" is red due to mingling the blood of a sacrificial animal into it and not because it is made from grapes. 31 The contributions to Chang (1977) contain many remarks on the social and religious importance of liquor (referred to as wine), such as Ying-shih Yii, "Han," 68-69; Edward H. Schafer, "Tang," 119-122, 134-135; Frederick W. Mote , "Yiian and Ming," 221-225; Jonathan Spence, "Ch 'ing," 278; Vera Y.N. Hsii and Francis L.K. Hsii, "Modern China: North," 308-309; E.N. Anderson,Jr. and MaIja L. Anderson, "Modern China: South," 378. My analysis is further informed by personal experiences, both from religious and social contexts. 32 Scogin (1990) 1382-1384.

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gift to supernatural beings, precisely because it establishes a bond between the giver(s) and the receiver(s). In the Song blood covenant, translated and discussed above , three libations ofliquor were made at crucial points in the ritual sequence. The aim was to establish a bond between the deities who were invited to the altar and the ritual specialist. On the basis of his fieldwork in Taiwan, Stevan Harrell has made the same point that drinking liquor is always an integral part of social relationships. The cultural norm is that people drink while toasting each other, instead of drinking alone and at their own speed, and that those participating in the same toast should all consume equal amounts. People usually drink only at banquets, religious festivals, weddings or funerals.P There are of course exceptions, such as drinking competitions, but these are regulated by the rules of play . Harrell's remarks can be safely extended to other regional Chinese cultures, both in the south and in the north. Drinking is a constructive social act. To mix the animal or human blood with liquor, therefore, combines a medium for providing strength to words (the blood) with a medium for creating a personal bond between different partners (the liquor) . From the choice of the sacrifice and the different ways in which the blood was consumed, we can now proceed to the deities before whom the oath was concluded. In the pre-Han period, the blood covenant was concluded on an altar in the open air, as was common in most religious rituals at the time. This automatically implied the presence of Heaven and Earth. The prisoners who had been set free by Wang Mang in 23 A.D. called upon the gods of the Earth Altar to punish those who failed to keep their oath. The blood covenant that Zhang Daoling concluded with officials of the Han dynasty court in 157 A.D. was witnessed by Heaven, Earth and Water. During the third century A.D., the transmission of texts in the southern esoteric traditions was accompanied by a blood covenant that was concluded on an altar in the open air (i.e. before Heaven and Earth). The covenant served to confirm the vow of secrecy and anyone breaking the oath would be punished by Heaven.P" In later periods, the oath was still often directed to Heaven and 33 34

Harrell (1980) 49-59. See notes 6 and 21.

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Earth as abstract deities. This would be expressed as "to announce (gao) to Heaven and Earth" or "to take an oath before (dui) Heaven and Earth. "35 In some instances, the blood covenant was concluded in the temple of the City God, who was the local representative of the Jade Emperor (popularly addressed as the Lord of Heaven) , or the covenant was connected in some way to the cult of Guan Yu.36 In the latter case, the choice oflocation was inspired by the famous oath in the Peach Garden taken by the three main heroes of the Three Kingdoms vernacular tradition, namely Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. In most cases, the deities who witness the covenant are not mentioned at all. The importance of Heaven and Earth and of the City God is confirmed by related types of sworn agreements. Ethnographical descriptions from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries make clear that the solemn worship of Heaven and Earth by the married couple is a crucial part of the traditional marriage ceremony in all parts of China. Through this ritual, a man and woman formally become man and wife.37 Sacrifices to Heaven and Earth form part of traditional rituals, which are performed at the beginning of each New Year in front of the house or in the courtyard under the open sky, in order to pray for supernatural support during the coming year.38 The worship of Heaven and Earth as part of marriage or New Year ceremonies also entailed the worship of a bushel with contents. 35 Yuanshi, 42: 891 [on Liu Futong] ; Mingxing yeji, shang: 5b-6a [on Zhu Yuanzhang] ; Liuqing noma, 28: 3b-4a [voluntary army against pirates in the midsixteenth century]; Kangyongqian, 506 [explicitly taken on an altar in the open air]. Mention of a covenant before Heaven and Earth, drinking of "Liquor that Unites the Hearts," and a meat sacrifice (but not of the use of blood) in Kangyongqian, 667. Also see the The Tale of the Water Margin as quoted in note 20. 36 Enping xianzhi (1825) 3: 15a; Inoue (1982) 129-131 (explicit blood covenant in the City God temple); Gaozongchun huangdi shilu, 319: I7a-b (the group which concludes a blood covenant is called an Emperor Guan Gathering [guandi hui)) . In a group described in the Shiliao xunkan, di-series, 441a-451b a brotherhood had already been concluded in circa 1736 and was linked to the cult of Guan Yu. However, when the group finally concluded a blood covenant in 1752, they did so in the cloister of a member and not in a Guan Yu temple! Here the brotherhood and the blood covenant were not conceptually linked. 37 Doolittle (1865) I: 84-88 (Fujian) and fieldwork by Robin Ruizendaal in Southern Fujian and on Taiwan. On Northern China, see Dols (1915-1916) 481 and 483; Stenz (1907) 83 and 88; Serruys (1944) II: 122 and 136-140; Frick (1952) 58-59. 38 Nagao (1940) I: 27-104.

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Niida Noboru, in his article on divine judgement, gives many examples in which people took an oral oath that they were speaking the truth before the City God, and in some instances on the Earth Altar or before other local deities.t? Other examples of oral oaths taken without the use of blood, involved a promise to marry one another or (in the case of widowers) never to remarry, as well as pledges of mutual support, to restore a temple, to preserve a secret, to resist pirates together, and the promise of dredging out a canal. In all of these cases Heaven and Earth or the City God are called upon to supervise the oath.t" The conventional nature of Heaven and Earth as witnesses is perhaps best illustrated by the custom among nineteenth century inhabitants of Beijing who , when wishing to show their sincerity, pointed to the sky and to the earth, and then to the heart. They finished by holding up their thumb, meaning that they called upon Heaven and Earth to witness the integrity of their hearts.t! . The principal task of the deities invoked in a (blood) covenant ritual was to enforce certain punishments if an agreement were not kept. Formal maledictions that spelled out these punishments were an essential part of the blood covenant and guaranteed that it would be kept. For unclear reasons, the sources on the blood covenant rarely mention the precise contents of these sanctions. Luckily, we possess much information on the maledictions that accompanied oral oaths of speaking the truth. The oldest detailed reference that I have found outside a Daoist ritual context stems from a long treatise on proper Pure Land practice, completed in circa 1305 by the famous Yuan monk Pudu (1255-1330). He notes with much disapproval that people took a formal vow to keep certain lay Buddhist precepts accompanied by strong and even violent maledictions, such as "when I break the precepts I will willingly accept that evil illnesses envelop my body and that I fall in the underworld forever" or "[when I break the precepts,] my left eye shall start to bleed and pus shall come out of my right eye." He comments that people made similar vows during legal trials and

Niida (1959) 681, 685-688, 697-702. Also, see Xu yijian zhi, 1: 21. Soushen j i, 15:178-179; Yijian zhi,jia: 2: 11, ding: 6: 588-589, sanbu: 1801; Kuaiyuan, 11: 8b-9a; Liuqing rizha, 28: 3b-4a; Songjiang xianzhi (1631) 33: 28b, 33a-b; Liuxian waishi, 135. 41 Schlegel (1866) p. x, note 6 based on his own observations. 39 40

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points out that such vows were nonetheless often broken.P Pudu's remarks indicate just how common such maledictions must have been. The sanctions that were spelled out in the maledictions were even more gruesome than the already bloody punishments and tortures customary in the magistrate's court. We find a whole range of sanctions, such as for instance terrible itches inflicted by red and white insects (in the Suzhou region), natural catastrophes, the plague, personal disasters or even the extinction of one's family, one's wife becoming a prostitute, and rebirth as a dog, horse or cow.43 One common malediction was the swearing of an oath in front of a deity or Heaven and Earth that whoever told a falsehood (either the oath taker or someone else) would. suffer the same fate as the cockerel which was beheaded and then sacrificed at the very moment that this execration was pronounced. The only difference between this practice and the blood covenant was that its blood was not consumed as part of the actual ritual. Spilling the blood of an animal which stood for the force of life, however, still served to underline the strength of the oath. The custom is widely documented in ethnographical descriptions and Chinese anecdotes from all over Southern China. In Hong Kong an alternative imprecation was that whoever proved to be a perjurer would suffer the same fate as the saucer which was broken to underline the imprecation. Taiwanese oaths included the sanction of punishment by the Five Thunders. The belief in thunder as the agency of heavenly punishment predates the Han and has remained popular ever since.t? Such maledictions were not pronounced lightly. On the practice of beheading a cockerel among Overseas Chinese in Singapore, 42 Lushan lianzong baojian, 7: item 2: 116. Also see 4: item 1: 66 and 10: item 1: 138. 43 Niida (1959) 697 note 2, 699 note 11, 700 note 15. Xu yijian zhi, 1: 2l. 44 On Overseas Chinese, most likely from the Cantonese cultural region: see Norton-Kyshe (1898) II: 148 (1804) and Anonymous (1840) 511-512 (1839) . On Hong Kong : Norton-Kyshe (1898) I: 99-100, 283-284, 296, 310-315, II: 146-155. Ningbo: Macgowan (1909) especially 117-124. Northern Fujian: Shiliao xunkan, di : 449a . Fuzhou: Doolittle (1870) 104-105. His discussion of curses is also instructive, in Doolittle (1865) II: 272-275. On Singapore: Ward and Stirling (1925) I: 71 note 3. On Taiwan: Niida (1959) 700 (note 15 quoting from Matsuda Fukutaro, Tiia ha chitsujo josetsu [1942]) and Riu (1986) 1-2. On Jiangxi and Anhui, see Niida (1959) 700-701 notes 2 and 4. For early ane cdotes on supernatural punishment by thunder and lightning see Taiping guangji, 393-395: 3136-3162.

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W.G. Stirling notes in the early 1920s, "[it is] a procedure which the Chinese only resort to in cases of the greatest importance, for many of them intensely dislike thus killing the cockerel. Taking life of any sort is forbidden by the Buddhist code, as thereby a soul is launched on a new series of incarnations. I have seen men tum livid and perspire when they have had to cut off a cock's head on such occasions."45 More than a decade earlier, the missionary J. Macgowan had made similar observations in the City God temple of Ningbo. In his words: "... The crowd standing silent and absorbed in the crowning act, when the man severs the head of the cock and declares amidst terrible imprecations that he is innocent of the theft; the two chief actors in this drama that is being played to-day, with passion and fierce resentment depicted on their faces as they both appeal to unseen powers that are believed to right the wrongs of this human life of ours." And a few days later, "... the real culprit, terrified by the thought of the awfuljudgements that the man who had been falsely accused had called upon the god to hurl upon him if he were guilty, and fearful that the idol might visit him with these, took measures to restore the money to the owner without revealing his identity."46 The following instance from 1795 on Taiwan further illustrates something of the power that a blood covenant could have over sincere participants. A certain Shi Lan had gathered a group of people at his house to conclude a blood covenant before Heaven. While they carried out their ritual, a peddlar of lychees happened to drop by and witness the proceedings. Because Shi Lan was afraid that the peddlar might betray them, he forced him, under threat of death, to participate as well. Since he had no choice, the peddlar also worshipped and drank from the liquor mixed with the blood of a cockerel, and was then able to flee. Nevertheless, he subsequently betrayed them to the head of a local mutual responsibility group (bao).47 Shi Lan himself had clearly trusted in the absolute efficacy of the covenant, or he would have killed the peddlar on the spot. However, the use of force probably permit-

Ward and Stirling (1925) I: 71 note 3. Macgowan (1909) 120-121. 47 TDH VI: 50-51. No Triad lore is used within this network, despite its inclusion in this source publication. 45

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ted the peddlar not to feel himself bound by the covenant and its execration.t" The overall purpose of the oath itself could vary considerably, indicating that the blood covenant was an empty ritual form without preset contents. Judging from the way in which the blood covenant is mentioned in our sources, the aim of the agreement was usually a particular activity, which could be an outright rebellion, an act of resistance (such as the refusal to pay taxes or burning contracts), a shared religious expectation, etc. Participants did not need to become sworn brothers, and only in a few cases is the establishment of a sworn brotherhood given as the primary goal of the blood covenant.P The Chinese Communist Party used blood covenants with tremendous success to bind local people in northern Jiangsu together to resist the Japanese in 1941. People who had participated in the covenant seldom collaborated, even when this caused tremendous difficulties.50 In general, it seems that the blood covenant was not practised by members of social and intellectual elites or by women. Several reasons could be given for this fact, such as the use of blood and the rather gruesome imprecations (which would scare away members of the social elite and women for reasons of culturally prescribed sensibility), the oral character of the covenant (which might have excluded groups which ascribed a central role to written texts), and the highly public and emotional nature of the whole procedure (which would again have excluded women, as well as many men with a claim to some cultural refinement) .51 The sworn brotherhood did not require the use of the blood covenant and could be concluded by simple mutual oral consent, even though some form of religious ritual was quite common. The sworn brotherhood entailed a very specific set of interhuman re48 Maspero (1933) 291-292 notes that in the pre-Han period enforced oaths could be broken, but preferably not. Apparently, the formal power of the ritual was perceived to be independent of one's intentions. 49 Mingxing yeji, shang: 5b-6a [on. Zhu Yuanzhang] ; Xu j ing'an ji, section memorials 1: 98b ; Kangyongqian, 506; Yongzheng zhupi, XIII : 161-165 (nr. 129) and Suzuki (1982) 241-242 (case of Zhuluo, 1728) ; Yongzheng zhupi, XVII: 373-374 (nr. 288), 744 (nr. 562) and Suzuki (1982) 241 (case of Yang Qi, 1729). 50 Chen (1986) 100-101. 51 On changing attitudes towards blood and bloody sacrifice, see for instance Stein (1979) 53-81. In general, women were not supposed to take part in public religious ceremonies.

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lationships and moral values, namely the formation of a group whose members would support each other as if they were actual brothers from one womb. In addition, sworn brotherhoods were also concluded to further a broad spectrum of aims, ranging from friendship to mutual political and economic support. The sworn brotherhood was practised by a much broader social spectrum than the blood covenant, ranging from members of the social and intellectual elites to the lowest social groups, men and women alike. The simple, private and more emotionally restrained nature of the procedure probably contributed to its broader social appeal. In a brotherhood (or sisterhood) the same hierarchical relationships existed among its members as between brothers of flesh and blood. 52 A brotherhood confirmed by a blood covenant was much stronger than one which had been concluded without a covenant, but examples of a simple oath of brotherhood or friendship without the use of blood are much more frequent. 4.1.3. The passage through the gate of swords

The blood covenant was also commonly practised among Chinese cultures of non-Han background. Early evidence is scarce, because of a general lack of sources on these cultures until the Song period. From that period onwards, however, the blood covenant is well documented among non-Han cultures located within, or just outside, the territory controlled (however tenuously) by Han-Chinese officials. Here I restrict my discussion to the characteristic element 52 Tanigawa (1980) 38-57 (covers the period from the Han until the Song on the basis of the standard histories and similar sources). Some historical evidence from the Ming and Qing: Shuyuan zaji, 8: 94; Chaoyang xianzhi (1572) 2:19b; Ertan leizeng (1603) 43: 7b, 48: 1a; Wanli wugong lu, 160a; Xinzeng cheng'an suojian ji, 23: 14a-16a; Fusheng liuji, 3: 29 and 4: 43. The first instance in the Fusheng liuji is especially interesting, because it concerns two women of differing social background. It uses the term meng, but clearly deals with a sworn sisterhood relationship. Ethnographical descriptions: Borel (1893) 420426 gives the text of a written oath for a sworn brotherhood which used the ritual of a blood covenant. De Groot (1892-1910) VI: 1272 mentions clubs of sworn brothers with their own patron deity. Excellent analytical studies are Jordan (1985) 232-262 and the older study by Gallin and GaIlin (1977) 89-97. Apart from the case described by Borel, all other instances referred to in the literature quoted above concerns only sworn brotherhoods without a blood covenant. Jordan (1985) does not explicitly differentiate the blood covenant as a ritual means from the act of concluding a brotherhood.

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of the passage through a gate of swords, which is never found in Han-Chinese sworn agreements until the appearance of the Triads in the late eighteenth century. We possess one relatively detailed description of a blood covenant, as part of a peace agreement between the leaders of nonHan groups and local Chinese officials in Maozhou prefecture (Sichuan province) in 1076 . .., Thereupon they contributed one cow, one goat, one pig, one thorn brush and one plow, [as required] for an oath (shi) . Then they bound together a gate of swords (jianmen) on the oath-field (shichang) . The Khan and the powerful leaders all gathered. Everybody was led under and through the gate of swords. They stabbed the cow, goat and pig to make them bleed and smeared [the blood] . They dug a pit in the ground and tied up a female Qiang slave inside the pit. They added the plow and the thorn brush on top. Someone hit the female slave by throwing down a stone; they buried her with earth. The shaman spoke the malediction (zu) : 'He who disobeys the oath will [suffer the same fate] as this female slave. 53

The ritual is remarkably similar to the blood covenant from the Spring and Autumn period. We find the digging of a pit, the sacrifice of animals and the ritual use of blood, the burial of a sacrificial victim in the pit, and a director of proceedings (the "chief of the covenant," here a shaman) who utters the malediction. The preferred sacrificial animal in the Spring and Autumn period was a goat, which was also the ancestral animal of the Qiang people. In this context, Mark Lewis' suggestion that the sacrifice of the goat in the Spring and Autumn covenant was perceived as a human sacrifice is especially interesting.P' The passage through a gate of swords is not explained in this description. The most likely explanation is that it was connected to a malediction of the type

53 Sushuijiwen, 14: 151-152. The description is also quoted in Songchao shishi leiyuan, 76: 998-999. The blood covenant was frequently practiced in concluding treaties between the Chinese and the various surrounding peoples and states. See for instance, Stein (1988a) 119-138 and von Glahn (1987) 93, 110 and 121. Most of the time, von Glahn 's sources use the vague term shi. Zizhitongjian changbian jishi benTTUJ, 41: 4a-b and 5a (4253-4255) confirms that blood covenants were indeed involved . The blood of a cockerell was mixed with liquor and drunk. 54 Lewis (1990) 4tH7, 198-199,205-212. The throwing of the stone recalls a similar case among the Yao in Guangxi during the sixteenth century , who "point to Heaven, bury a stone, and smear (sha) blood in order to conclude a covenant." See Wanli wugong [u, 353a.

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that we also encounter among the Triads, namely that those who prove to be perjurers will die by the sword. Whether the element of the gate of swords was originally also part of the ritual during the Spring and Autumn period is unknown. However, we do know that the gate of swords was part of the blood covenant ritual in non-Han cultures until at least the early Qing period. In 1659, non-Han leaders in Yuanjiang (southern Hunan) "presided over a covenant" (zhumeng) to bind together all local tribal groups in preparation for an uprising. "They smeared (sha) blood and passed through swords [swearing that] they would really carry out the rebellion. "5 5 One may note that, at least as late as the sixteenth century, both the Mongols and the Manchus commonly passed through a gate of swords as part of the oath ritual. The sources do not specify if this was also a blood covenant.P" In all of these cases the purpose of the ritual was not to form a brotherhood or other type of group, but to strengthen an agreement and guarantee its endurance. In the course of the centuries, China's many non-Han local cultures were continuously pushed further back to the outskirts of the growing Han polity and beyond into continental Southeast Asia. The alternative was to stay, and to face either outright destruction or a gradual "fading away" through intermarriage with the invading Han colonists, and the adoption of (part of) Han culture. As a result, regional Han cultures have incorporated many of the customs and practices of the original local peoples. By the 55 Mingqing shiliao, bing: 2: 193a. The full text is also quoted in Qingchu nongmin qiyi shiliao jilu, 237 . 56 Wanli wugonglu, 100h-l0la and 107a (Mongol case, 1531; first oath in a Guan Yu temple, including burning incense, sacrifice of an ox and horse, worship of Heaven and Earth) , 834b-835b ("before the Buddha['s] "), 887a (Mongol cases , circa 1570), 1019a (including elements of blood, sacrifice of a white horse a nd malediction; Manchu case 1583-1584), 1180a and 1186a (mention of burning incense, malediction with Heaven as witness; Mongol case 1584-1585) , 1190a and 1194b (hold skull in hands, use of a dog's blood to pronounce an oath, since th e old form of eating earth and passing through the swords was deemed insufficient; Mongol case circa 1568). In all cases, except the Mongol case from 1531 , the passage through a gate of swo rds is mentioned. Beffa and Hamayon (1991) 265-277 discuss critically the in terp re tatio ns by Serruys (1958) 279-291 and Serruys (1972) 279-294 . Beffa and Hamayon observe that death by spill ing blood was the most terrible form of dying. Letting blood and the accom panying malediction that one would die in the same way made for an extremely stro ng oath. Beffa and Hamayon also comment that su ch an oath did not serve to create a brother relationship.

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eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, this process was still very much going on in most of the mountain regions where Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi provinces bordered on each other. The Triads were most active in precisely these regions and it is quite likely that this is how they took over the ritual element of the passage under a gate of swords.

4.2. The use of writing The oath was already written down and buried in the pit with the sacrificial victim during the Spring and Autumn period. In blood covenants of the later period, the oath was generally proclaimed orally to the deities, without any written text. The reasons for this are not difficult to guess: in the early period, people who concluded the blood covenant belonged to politically powerful groups with sufficient access to literacy. If during later periods the blood covenant (not to be confused with sworn oaths in general) was indeed-as I have suggested-primarily practised by non-elite groups, it seems most likely that the non-usage of written texts was the result of the limited access to literacy among these groups. The overall lack of primary sources and secondary research on lower social groups before the late Yuan period is, however, a major hindrance in our attempts to reconstruct a reliable historical pattern. Generally speaking, one suspects that most people would have been familiar with the ritual presentation by Daoist and Buddhist priests to their deities of written memorials, which were burned ("transformed") in order to be transported to Heaven.P? Writing was also commonly used in the reformed Daoist version of the blood covenant, in which cinnabar had replaced blood, 58 as well as in the Daoist exorcist rituals in which the blood covenant had preserved its traditional form. Non-religious specialists could apparently also use written forms of communication with divine agencies, as the example of a licentiate from Songjiang around 1600

Schipper (1974) 309-324; Lagerwey (1987) 60-89. Mollier (1990) 79-80 contains a model text. They are quite different from later brotherhood or blood covenant texts . 57 58

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illustrates. He composed a text, which he burned in the incense burner in order to communicate it to the City God. 59 Only as late as the eighteenth century, do we again find references to the use of written texts as part of the blood covenant ritual. Furthermore, they are now mentioned with increasing frequency and the participants in covenants that involve writing are from lower social groups. The reintroduction of writing in the blood covenant probably reflects the growing access to literacy of lower social groups in this same period. 60 I have already referred to the instance of a blood covenant from 1748, in which the liquor contained the ashes of the covenant memorial mixed with cockerel blood. In another instance from 1752, a member of a brotherhood composed a written prayer and proclaimed it before the gods. The participants drank the blood of a cockerel mixed with liquor and burned the text. They proclaimed the advent of a savior and they made an imitation Imperial Seal. This brotherhood itself had been established much earlier in circa 1736, and without a blood covenant; the ritual in 1752 merely served to confirm the new messianic common purpose.P' We shall encounter additional examples of the increasing use of written texts in the blood covenant be low, but I first wish to discuss the format of these texts. Since written texts were usually burned at the end of a ritual, we do not have much information on their precise contents. In fact, I have only found two early examples of written texts in connection with the sworn brotherhood and neither involves a blood covenant. One is contained in a Korean textbook for learning vernacular Chinese from the early Ming, the other occurs in a late Ming vernacular novel. Neither derives from an actual case, but both instances clearly presume a living practice. The fact that they both involve a sworn brotherhood and stem from a social milieu of traders and shopkeepers may explain the early date of the use of writing, as compared with the reintroduction of writing in the blood covenant ritual, which only took place during the mid-Qing Kuaiyuan , 11: Sa-b. Although I am not convinced that Evelyn Rawski's findings of "perhaps 30 to 45% " literacy among males in the late imperial period hold true, it does seem likely that there was a general increase of access to literacy during the Qing period. See Rawski (1979) 23. Idema (1980) 322 argues that male literacy was probably much less than 30%. 61 Shiliao xunkan, di-series, 441a-451b . Also see remarks in note 36. 59

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period. I believe that a detailed discussion of these two texts is relevant at this point, not only because they are the only examples of a written covenant that we have prior to the Triad written covenants, but also because the specific Triad blood covenant included the formation of a brotherhood and elaborate pseudofamily relationships. The first example comes from a vernacular Chinese textbook for Koreans, the Pak t 'ongsa onhae, which goes back to the early Ming. Following a lesson on the topic of playing Go, the textbook takes up the topic of friendship . A number of good friends decide to organize a group on the occasion of the Moon Festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month. They decide to take an oath to form a brotherhood (jiezuo hao dixiong) . They get a sheet of paper and decide to write down all their friends' names. An interesting dialogue ensues. 'And what about that Liu Sanshe?' 'That one is not in order.' 'He destroys other people all over the place and brags abou t himself. He slanders people and is without any humanity or righteousness. When you form a brotherhood, he does not fit in. '

They decide to erase Liu Sanshe's name from the paper. They also decide upon some further rules of behavior appropriate to a brotherhood, such as congratulating a brother on a happy occasion or helping him out if he becomes involved in a court case. After the ceremony, the members of the brotherhood are not allowed to go back on their word and must come immediately to the support of any of their brothers without asking questions.P The ceremony itself is not described. Apparently, no written model was used for the covenant text and oral conventions were simply put into writing. The second example includes the text of a written oath. It stems from the Chongzhen (1628-1644) version of The GoldenLotus, which should be distinguished from the original Prosimetric Story of the Golden Lotus which dates from around 1600. One of the changes in the later version has been the addition of an introductory chapter which spells out the formation of a brotherhood between Ximen

62 Pak t'ongsa onhae (Pu tongshi yanjie), shang 23a-24a . On this work, RirnskyKorsakoff (1983) 13, 26-27.

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Qing and his friends.P" Although this brotherhood was only confirmed by an ordinary oath, there are many resemblances with the ritual procedure of the blood covenant as set out above. In order to conclude their covenant, Ximen Qing and his sycophantic friends visit the Temple of the Jade Emperor. This temple is described in considerable detail and the novel then continues as follows: When Wu, the Daoist priest (daoguan), had finished writing the memorial, he lit the incense and the candles. They lined up in the correct order [of seniority within the brotherhood]. Wu, the Daoist priest, opened the memorial and recited it in a clear voice: 'In the Great Song Nation, in Qinghe county in Dongping prefecture in Shandong, the faithful persons (xinshi) Ximen Qing, Ying Bojue, Xie Xida, Hua Zixu, Sun Tianhua, Zhu Shinian, Yun Lishou, Wu Dianen, Chang Zhijie and Bai Laiguang on this day wash their hands, burn incense and request your instructions. They humbly consider (funian) that the righteousness of the [Oath in the] Peach Garden weighs heavily; in their hearts they admire [the Oath] and venture to imitate its sincerity. The feelings of Guan [Zhong] and Bao[shu Va] were deep going, and [likewise] each of the [above] strives after [these feelings] and wishes to share in [their] solemn purpose. Even more so, if all within the four seas can be brothers, how could those with different family names not be like close relatives. Therefore, on the ... day of the ... month of the ... year of the Zhenghe period, they have respectfully prepared sacrificial offerings of a pig and a goat, as well as golden bars adorned with carriages [drawn by] phoenixes. With united hearts, we make the deepest obeisance before you in front of the altar of the fast. We respectfully and sincerely request and pray; we humbly submit that the Supreme Sovereign andJade Emperor of the Golden Gate in August Heaven, the Officers of Merit of the Five Directions in Charge Today, the City God and the gods of the soil (chenghuang she ling), and all deities that are passing through, may rely on this veritable incense and make an overall inspection. We humbly submit and consider that although [Ximen] Qing etc. were born on different days, they will die at the same moment. It is hoped that the words of their covenant always remain steadfast. They shall share their pleasures, and support each other in times 63 Jinpingmei, 1: 9b-17a. Eggerton (1931) 9-19. This is the so-called B edition from the Chongzhen-period (1628-1644) . This section is not contained in the older and much richer A edition (also known as the Jinpingmei cihua), of which the complete translation by David Roy is now being published, see Roy (1993).

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of need. The thought of their agreement shall be constantly fresh . When wealthy and well-esteemed, they shall think of the poor and needy [among us]. Thus, from beginning to end, they shall have something to rely upon. Their feelings will not leave during day or night. Their friendship will be as high as heaven and as solid as earth. It is their humble vow that from the conclusion of this covenant onwards they will treat each other well without hatred. We also pray that each of them will have an increased lifespan and that each household may enjoy boundless happiness. As long as they are alive, may they all receive Your protection.

We thus respectfully memorialize, Memorial from the ... day of the ... month of the ... year of the Zhenghe period.' When Wu, the Daoist priest, had finished reciting and the participants had completed their obeisances to the deities, they once more paid their respects to each other in the correct order in front of the deities. Thereupon they sent away the deities, burned the paper money, and took away the auspicious gifts .

The ceremony was concluded with a huge banquet prepared from the sacrifices and washed down by abundant liquor.P' On other ritual occasions described in both versions of the Golden Lotus novel, religious rituals are also followed by elaborate banquets and drinking of liquor. In local religious life, eating and drinking was, and still is, an important dimension of a religious celebration that should not be overlooked. In the rest of the introductory chapter, the brotherhood ritual is preceded and followed by scenes which make Ximen Qing's friends' lack of sincerity abundantly clear and demonstrate the utter naivety of our protagonist. The impact of these scenes hinges on the reliability of the ritual detail, and presumes considerable familiarity on the part of the readership with this type of memorial. Throughout the text of the brotherhood oath the themes of friendship and brotherly support are reiterated. Reference is made to two exemplary stories, namely the story of Guan Zhong and Baoshu Va, and the oath taken in the Peach Garden. The story of Guan Zhong and Baoshu Ya tells of an extraordinary friendship between the poor, but crafty Guan Zhong and the rich Baoshu Va. Baoshu Ya supported his friend through adversity to the ex64

Jinpingmei, 1: 16b-17a. My own translation.

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tent that Guan Zhong uttered the famous line "my parents brought me into this world, but Baoshu understands me."65 The oath in the Peach Garden refers to a famous event from the Three Kingdoms vernacular tradition, in which the three heroes Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei become sworn brothers. These two exemplary stories crop up again and again in sworn brotherhood oaths, in order to demonstrate the proper cultural status of the practice. Since neither story concerns a blood covenant, they can never have functioned as a model for that particular ritual. The values of friendship and mutual support were, of course, the primary purpose of the sworn brotherhood (but not necessarily of the blood covenant, except when the two were combined). We find references to these values in many descriptions of the sworn brotherhood dating as far back as the Period of Disunion.v'' In the instance of a sworn brotherhood from circa 1736, they were contained in a separate set of written prescriptions, independent of the oral text of the oath itself. 67 A comparison with conventional Daoist memorials, shows that standard Daoist bureaucratic phraseology is used in the oath memorial from The Golden Lotus . The structure of the memorial and its ritual context also correspond closely to the Daoist model.68 The abstract Heaven and Earth in normal oath procedures are now personified, using typical Daoist terminology, as the Supreme Sovereign and Jade Emperor of the Golden Gate in August Heaven, and the City God and the gods of the soil. The Officers of Merit in Charge Today are essential in any Daoist convocation as the messengers of the heavenly bureaucracy.P Since the Daoist priest was the foremost local specialist in written communication with the gods, it was only natural that people had recourse to him for models of written texts. There is only sparse information on the contents and format of the texts used in blood covenant rituals from the eighteenth cen65 Shiji, 62: 2131-2132. As an exemplar of true friendship the story is already referred to in the Period of Disunion and the Tang dynasty , see Xu, Wang and Yu (1985) 537-538. 66 Tanigawa (1980) 38-57. 67 Shiliao xunkan, di-series, 443a . 68 Schipper (1974) 309-324; Lagerwey (1987) 61-63,65-66 ; Ofuchi (1983) 405b406b, 408b-409b. 69 Lagerwey (1987) 38-39; de Groot (1892-1910) VI: 1253-1354.

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tury onwards. The only indication that writing was used in the 1748 and 1752 incidents, referred to earlier in this section, is the use of the term "memorial (biao)." Furthermore, the 1752 group was able to consult a manual for making seals (from which they culled the text of their imitation Imperial Seal). In 1770, a group led by a Student by Purchase and a religious specialist was apprehended in Fengshun county in Guangdong Province. The religious specialist possessed an iron sword, bestowed by Heaven, and a booklet containing amulets and spells. The group had concluded a blood covenant which had been joined by a large number of people, whose names were recorded in a booklet. Their "covenant text" (mengshu) was deemed to be extremely "wild" by the officials, without additional information on its actual contents. It had been signed "second day of the seventh month of the gengyin year (1770) of Taisui," instead of using the appropriate year title Qianlong.?? The use of Taisui as a year title is the most common method in Daoist procedures for dating a memorial to the heavenly bureaucracy. It indicates the use of cosmic time. Evidently, this group had access to literacy through the student and the religious specialist. The use of Daoist models is further underlined by two other instances, which may have involved a blood covenant, but in which the use of blood is not explicitly mentioned in the sources. In a case from 1752 from Guishan county in Guangdong, people concluded a covenant and composed a "covenant ledger" (mengbo) , giving the names of the participants and other information (what kind of information is not specifledr." In another case , from 1771, a group from Jingshan county in Hubei Province concluded a covenant by drinking liquor and prepared an uprising. They also had four blank sheets of white paper, dated "the fourteenth day of the tenth month of the xinmao year (1771) of Heaven's Revolution" (tianyun) .72 This last phrase is a common way of dating a Daoist memorial today, but I have been unable to find it in old Daoist manuals. It is interesting to note the apparently increased use of written texts in the blood covenant ritual during the Qing dynasty , although no fundamental changes in the ritual itself were involved. Since 70 71 72

Kangyongqian, 686-687. Kangyongqian, 671. Kangyongqian, 688.

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people had already been using written contracts for many centuries and it would thus have been easy for them to hire someone to write a covenant text on their behalf, it is not easy to explain the increased use of writing at this particular point in time. Writing had long been common in transactions with deities, though it was mainly in the hands of Buddhist and Daoist priests, geomancers and other (semi-) religious specialists. The existence of printed handbooks with models for letters and memorials cannot have been the decisive factor for the increase, since these go back to the Song period. Instead I would hypothesize that lower social groups during the Qing dynasty had increasing independent access to literacy, probably because of the enormous increase in the absolute number of people studying for the examinations. Obviously, most of them did not make it and many of them went on to lead a fairly marginal existence.

4.3. Concluding remarks In this chapter, I have analyzed the constituent elements of the blood covenant ceremony in some detail, namely the consumption of blood and liquor, the divine witnesses and the maledictions, and finally the use of writing. The choice of sacrifice was dictated by certain ideas about the nature of the sacrificial animal. Thus, the horse was linked to Heaven, the ox to Earth and the cockerel was the symbol of the sun as bringer of life . The blood of humans entailed a sacrifice of one's own life force , and was therefore especially powerful. The life force of blood could be transferred to a person or object by either consumption or application. In the case of the blood covenant, the blood was traditionally drunk. The old verb sha "to smear" had already lost its original meaning by the Han period (if it ever had this meaning in the first place) and simply denoted the practice of a blood covenant. The blood was usually mixed with liquor. Sharing liquor was aimed at creating a bond between the people who participated. Combining blood (to strengthen the power of spoken and/or written words) with liquor (to create a bond between the parties involved) served to increase the impact of the blood covenant as a solemn agreement between different parties. Like other types of oral oaths, the blood covenant was prefera-

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bly pronounced before Heaven and Earth or before the City God. These divine agencies were invoked both as impartial witnesses, and to execute the often gruesome punishments that were included in the maledictions on those who might break the oath. The notion of divine supervision over people 's moral behavior permeated the whole of pre-modern Chinese society and was not at all restricted to the execrations of the blood covenant or other types of oath. The blood covenant was widely practised among non-elite social groups, but not by members of the social and intellectual elites. In essence, it was an empty ritual form that could accompany any type of oral utterance and would enhance its stative power. The sworn brotherhood was practised throughout the entire social and educational spectrum. It was not a ritual, but a social practice that most often took place without the blood c~venant. The blood covenant was a common procedure for concluding a sworn agreement, and its constituent elements can be found in other contexts as well. This point is significant, because it increased the accessibility of the ritual form to a larger audience. This was true of calling upon Heaven and Earth, the City God or some other god as witnesses, the use of Daoist written models, the consumption of blood to enhance the sacredness and power of the agreement, and the sharing of liquor. People did not learn about the blood covenant from vernacular traditions, such as those of the Three Kingdoms and the Water Margin, but from a living oral tradition. Precisely because the use of blood and liquor was so common in a ritual context, people would have found it quite normal to conclude a sworn agreement that was strengthened by the drinking of these two fluids. Historically, written texts were already used in the blood covenant as early as the Spring and Autumn period. From then on a wide spectrum of written contractual forms developed, but as far as we can ascertain the blood covenant became fully oral. The reason for this would have been the general aversion of the social and cultural elites towards the use of blood in their personal rituals. Written texts were reintroduced on a large scale during the eighteenth century, probably because of a substantial increasse in the availability of literacy in marginal social groups. This matter requires further investigation. Much confusion in our perception of the nature of the blood

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covenant originates from the distorted perspective of the Qing government. They felt increasingly troubled by the existence of groups that concluded a blood covenant, because some of these groups were involved in violent incidents. Therefore the Qing government decided to prohibit the blood covenant explicitly by law. This decision was part of an increasing unease about independent social organizations during the eighteenth century.P The abundant documentation about the ongoing popularity of the blood covenant over the centuries demonstrates that, as is so often the case, the increase in legislation against this custom was the result of changes in official perception, rather than having much to do with changes in the social phenomenon itself. The prohibitions of the blood covenant were bound to fail, since they did not take into account the way in which the constituent elements of the covenant were shared with a wide variety of other ritual practices and religious beliefs. This made it virtually impossible to enforce the prohibitions seriously without causing considerable confusion and resentment among the general population. The local officials themselves must have witnessed the oath for swearing the truth before Heaven and Earth or the City God often enough in their own judicial procedures, including the malediction pronounced upon beheading a white cockerel. These prohibitions were therefore typical postfacto laws, that could be used to punish people who had been arrested for other reasons and were then found to have practised the covenant. As such, they were useful instruments of repression. When we look more closely at many of the Triad groups to be discussed in the following chapters, we find that they were usually rounded up because of local disturbances and small-scale rebellions, as the result of betrayal by local people, or during persecution waves prompted by incidents elsewhere. The blood covenant itself was rarely a primary cause for arrest. 73 Ter Haar (1992) 247-250. Also consider the increasing number of laws devoted to such voluntary associations, see Antony (1993) 190-211.

CHAPTER FIVE

THE HONG FAMILY AND ITS MORAL PRESCRIPTIONS The practice of the blood covenant by the Triads did not mean that it no longer took place in society at large. The assumption that this was the case has created some confusion among officials and later historians who take its presence in a given case, as evidence that a particular group must have belonged to the Triads. l Thus the likelihood that the Lu Mao uprising of 1768 involved a blood covenant (even though this is not stated explicitly in the sources) is taken as evidence that the uprising was a direct predecessor of the first historical Triad group.I Although the blood covenant was not at all unique to the Triads, it is certainly true that almost all Triad groups in which more than a minimum of protective lore was transmitted also practised the blood covenant. The only exception are a few instances in which Triad mythology was incorporated by messianic lay Buddhist groups, for the obvious reason that this type of lay Buddhism requires its adherents to follow a vegetarian diet without bloody meat or liquor.P Among Triad groups, the covenant ceremony was part of a much larger initiation ritual and it was provided with a very specific Triad mythological background. The Triad blood covenant in its definitive form was intended to formally confirm the results that had been reached during the preceding rituals, namely the expression of community (by burning incense) and territory (by worshipping the rice bushel), and the change from outsider (en1 Thus, the editors of the Tiandihui source publication include two groups from late eighteenth century Taiwan in vol. VI: 11-69, which practised the blood covenant and were consequently labelled Heaven and Earth Gathering at th e time, but share none of the charac teristic Triad lore. 2 Murray (1994) 17-20 makes this view into a cornerstone of her historical reconstruction of the origins of the Triads. This view is shared by most contemporary historians on the Triads. As noted in section 1.2.2., all explicit connections between this uprising and the Triads postdate the Lin Shuangwen uprising of 1786-1787 . See He (1987) 358-409 for a detailed discussion of the Lu Mao uprising and the reproduction of historical sources contemporary to this uprising. 3 TDH VI: 171-172 (Wu Hanwei) , 245-277 (Li Lingkui) ; TDH VII: 311- 320 (messianic teacher) .

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meshed in preexisting familial and social ties) to full membership of the Hong family. An important part of the covenant contained explicit rules of behaviour, which over time were elaborated in increasing detail.

5.1. The Triad blood covenant The basic format of the Triad blood covenant consisted of an oath with a malediction, which was pronounced in front of Heaven and Earth or some other supernatural agency to serve as witnesses and enforcers. It was accompanied by the drinking ofliquor mixed with animal and/or human blood. The oath might, but not necessarily, be presented in the form of a written memorial, which was subsequently burned. The passage through a gate of swords was part of the ritual. 5.1.1. The basic ritual In the early evidence, dating from the persecutions after the Lin Shuangwen uprising of 1786-1787, it is specified that participants took an oath (using the term shi), but it is only in the covenant text found towards the end of 1786 on Taiwan that the use of blood (in the stereotyped formula "smearing blood" [shaxue]) is explicitly mentioned.' A full description of the use of blood in concluding a covenant is found only slightly later, stemming from a pupil of the Triad teacher Chen Xin. This teacher had been practising on Taiwan as early as 1787, but had remained in hiding after the suppression of the Lin Shuangwen rebellion. During this time he had taught a certain Xie Zhi how to carry out the covenant ritual and had given him a written covenant.P 4 See TDH I: 71-72 (Liang Abu as teacher to different pupils), 87 (Lin Sanzhang), 64 and 111-112 (Yan Van) . Though Van Van's supposed teachers were also arrested, there is no evidence on the ritual used by them (see TDH VII: 522533) . On the find of the written oath, see TDH I: 420-421, 427-428. He (1985) 21-24 argues that the text was found on the corpse of Lin Shui, but this is nowhere explicitly stated in our sources. He Zhiqing also includes a reliable transcription of the written oath. The Zhanghua fu zhi quoted in TDH V: 265 mentions the practice of a blood covenant by leading rebels on Taiwan . 5 On Chen Xin , see TDH V: 383. On Xie Zhi and his principal pupil, see TDH V: 376-378 and 382-383.

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In 1790, Xie Zhi and his followers set up an altar table in the open air and sacrificed a cockerel before the gods. They passed through a gate of swords. Then Xie Zhi took out the old written oath which he had been given by Chen Xin. All prostrated themselves in front of the altar. Xie pronounced an oral oath before Heaven as follows: "If one man meets with trouble, the whole family (jia) [of covenant participants] will help him. If one disregards the covenant, one looses one's life under the knife." Then Xie Zhi burned the written oath before the altar. Everyone drank liquor mixed with the blood of the cockerel to conclude the ritual. When interrogated, Xie Zhi and his principal pupil only recalled parts of the written text: If someone has good fortune , he receives it together with the others; if someone meets with disaster, he faces it together with the others. If one man meets with trouble , the whole family [of covenant participants] will help him. In case one does not come to the rescue or divulges information [about the covenant participants], his entire household will perish. ... One should cooperate with like hearts. If one disregards the covenant, one willloose one's life under the knife. The teachers always promised their followers good fortune in exchange for loyal support. They also taught them the traditional Triad identification sign of pointing to Heaven with three fingers of the left hand." The phrase "with like hearts" (tongxin) recalls the "Liquor that Unites the Hearts" drunk in some of the blood covenants mentioned in the preceding chapter. The differences between Chen Xin's covenant and another written covenant preserved from this period suggest that Chen Xin was on Taiwan independent of the network involved in the Lin Shuangwen uprising.? Since blood represents a life force, consuming blood before pronouncing the oath provided it with the strongest power possible. Sharing liquor created a bond between the participants, which is expressed rather appropriately in an internal Triad expression for liquor as "the family is harmonious and flourishes" (jiahexing). 8 6 TDH V: 377-378 and 382-383, combining the accounts by Xie Zhi and his principal pupil. The drinking of liquor mixed with blood is explicitly stated several times . It is referred to as shaxue, indicating once more that this was only a technical term for the blood covenant without furt her descriptive implications. 7 The other document is translated in section 5.2. 8 Schlegel (1866) 232 (Berlin ms., 62) .

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Most Triad confessions specify the use of blood and liquor. There are only a few instances which mention an oath without the use of blood and liquor, let alone instances in which narrative knowledge was transmitted without an oath." In view of the widespread use of the blood covenant in Triad groups, these rare exceptions must have been due to idiosyncrasies of individual teachers or may even result from lacunae in our sources. We find a restricted transmission of some minimal Triad lore without the use of the blood covenant only in the first decades of Triad history in the JiangxiNorthern Fujian region. Even there, however, the transmission of more detailed knowledge was impossible without a covenant.l? As in Qing sworn statements in general, in the Triad covenant the blood of a cockerel (usually a white one) and never the blood of any other animal was used.'! It was cheap to buy, and widely recognized as a symbol oflife. The bird was beheaded and its blood was then dripped into the liquor.P Sometimes, each participant cut into one of his fingers (if specified always from the left hand), and used some of his own blood.P In other cases the blood of a cockerel was used in combination with the blood from a finger of 9 Oath only : TDH VI: 88-89 (Xu Zhang), 186 and 193-194 (Xiong Mao) , 185 and 187-188 (Zheng Xingming as teacher of Li Wenli, on whom also TDH VI: 297) . No mention of an oath, but transmission of mythological knowledge: TDH VI: 202-204 (Xie Guoxun) ; TDH VII: 261-262 (Liang Yuanzhong and Huang Zushou, whose pupils possessed a set of Triad manuals!) . 10 See my analysis of these instances in section 5.3 .1. II Some manuals mention the slaughter of a white horse and a black cow, such as Schlegel (1866) 151; Ward and Stirling (1925) 107. This is an embellishment, inspired by literary depictions in the Three Kingdoms or Water Margin vernacular traditions. It is not confirmed by any eyewitness accounts. 12 My remarks are based on the complete evidence in TDH V-VII, evidence in local gazetteers quoted throughout this study, and the available surveys by mainly Western scholars in the service of colonial authorities. Exceptions are discussed below. The sources only mention the use of a ji (which could be either chicken or cockerel). Anthropological evidence on the religious and magical use of ji, and descriptions by Westerners of the blood covenant indicate that people always used a cockerel, preferably white. The sources usually explicitly note the drinking of the liquor mixed with blood. They rarely indicate precisely how the cockerel was killed. For go od explicit statements of the beheading of a cockerel, see TDH VI: 224, 311; Stanton (1900) 66; Ward and Stirling (1925) 71; Morgan (1960) photograph opposite 234, 256-258. Also see the discussion of Triad maledictions in the next section. 13 TDH VI: 77 (left finger; Zheng Guangcai, not a very clear Triad case) ; TDH VII: 450 (no hand specified) .

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the left hand.l" Whether the blood of a cockerel and/or from a human finger was used, it was always drunk mixed with liquor. The confessions do not contain many instances of a covenant in which the blood from a finger was combined with that of a cockerel. However, it seems significant that, with only two exceptions, these cases involved the transmission of a substantial body of Triad lore. The oldest one dates from 1806, followed by cases in 1807 (transferral ofa small amount of knowledge) , 1815, 1819, 1821 (transferral of a small amount of knowledge), 1831, 1833, and 1835. 15 Furthermore, the procedure prescribed in written manuals from the 1840s onwards also consists of mixing the blood from a finger with that of a cockerel into liquor.l" This relationship between the expansion of ritual and the increased transfer of knowledge, suggests that human and cockerel blood were combined to heighten the power of the covenant and as a consequence its impact on the participants. 5.1.2 . The maledictions

After all the participants in the covenant had agreed solemnly to support each other in order to avoid being cheated by outsiders (my term, in Chinese this is referred to as "others") , the leader of the meeting would pronounce a malediction. This malediction covered the contents of the entire oath, whether it was only a short speech about the importance of loyalty and righteousness, or substantial sets of rules up to thirty-six and more. In the case of more elaborate sets of rules, an all-inclusive execration was pronounced 14 TDH VI: 231-235 (left finger; LiJiangsi and Li Kui), 301-306 (left finger; Lu Shenghai as teacher of Zhou Dabin), TDH VII: 202 (no hand specified; Fan Laocao), 369 (left finger; Liang Laosan), 400 (no hand is specified; Lian Laowan) . In the following cases, a chicken is bought, but there is no explicit mention of using its blood: TDH VII: 373 and 384 /391 (Tang Zhi'e as teacher, different descriptions), 486 (no hand is specified; Ma Shaotang) , 517 (no hand is specified ; Zeng Darning) . In the cases of Fan Laocao and Lian Laowan , very little Triad knowledge was transmitted. The specific use of blo od from a left finger rec alls the importance of the left ear in the Spring and Autumn blood covenants analyzed by Lewis (1990) 26, 46 and the Triad use of fingers of the left hand to point to Heaven. 15 See note 14. 16 Schlegel (1866) 145-146 (implicitly according to the original poems) ; Newbold (1841) 136 and 142; Vaughan (1879) 93 and 111; Stanton (1900) 66; Ward and Stirling (1925) 71-72; Xiao (1935) 5: 7a (Or. 2339); Guixian xiuzhiju , 15. None of these texts specifies which hand is to be used.

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during the actual blood covenant ceremony, and individual maledictions were included within every separate rule. In the early years, death by swords (dao or jian) was the most common fate awaiting those who dared to break the covenant.l? It was linked to the crucial ritual passage under a bridge or through a gate of swords. Thus, in the earliest evidence from 1787, the malediction was phrased as follows: "if one betrays the occasion, one dies under the swords (or: one becomes a ghost through the swords)."18 In 1797, someone on Taiwan used the same malediction, in the form of a short verse: If one man has some business (shi), everybody will help, He who leaks the occasion perishes under the sword.l?

This malediction is not mentioned in any later oral confessions, but similar lines were often included in the written manuals.P "The occasion" referred to the aim of restoring the Ming and destroying the Qing. This was a basic aim formulated in Triad ideology from its earliest appearance in our sources in 1786-1787 onwards, even if many members probably remained unaware of it. This sensitive ideological background, coupled with people's lack of comprehension of the malediction, may well have been the main reason why this particular malediction fell into disuse in the daily practice of the Triads. A much more common malediction was that expressed in the following two line verse: With loyalty and righteousness, one passes under the bridge, Without loyalty or righteousness, one dies under the swords.

In this case, the ritual was carried out by passing over or under a bridge. When the gate of swords was used, this same verse was slightly adapted.P The verse fitted the actual context of the ritual 17 TOR VI: 77, 88, 232, 425, 431, 438, 440, 461. Also in a rebel proclamation, TOR I: 153. 18 TOR I: 71-72 (as taught by Liang Abu) , 87 (as taught by Lin Sanzh ang) . 19 TOR VI: 82. 20 TOR VI: 305 line 9 (poems confiscated in 1806) ; TOR VII: 214 (written covenant confiscated in 1808); TOR I: 6 line 5,7 line 19 (manual confiscated in 1810) . Slightly different variants: see for instance Schlegel (1866) 146 Poem IV line 4 and the poem in Or. 2339, see Xiao, 5: 7a. 21 For the variant translated here, see TOR VI: 310, 314, 319, 326, 332, 345, 366,373,396,410,412. For an adapted variant for the gate of swords, see TOR VII: 433, 493, 354, 384/391 (variant with table and gate of swords), 439; TOR I:

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(creating a common brotherhood) rather well, and it avoided any reference to the politically dangerous Triad ideology. With the passing of time, more variety arose in the type of malediction, although punishment by swords remained a prominent sanction.F In the ritual of one group, from 1835 , the punishment by swords was enacted by having all candidate members chop up a little man made out of grass that had been bound together. 23 In his description of the initiation ritual as it was practised during the 1950s in Hong Kong, W.P. Morgan mentions the beheading, by the Vanguard official on behalf of the candidate members, of three paper men, representing the three traitors from the Triad foundation account.P' During one ritual from 1825, the teacher threatened any person who were to break the covenant with the same fate as the cockerel who hadjust been beheaded during the ritual. 25 The same explicit threat was included in most manuals, from the 1828 manual found in Guangxi onwards.P' Interestingly, the cockerel is eventually taken to be the representation of the traitor of the Shaolin monks to their Qing enemies. Since the word for chicken is homophonous with the number seven in Cantonese, the traitor is identified as the monk who ranked seventh in the hierarchy of the Shaolin Monastery from which the Triads originated.F How19 third poem. One variant specifies the punishment as death on the road, TDH VU: 470. 22 It is frequently mentioned in the extant written manuals: TDH 1: 6 line 5, 7 line 19,8 line 1, 29 third poem, 20 first poem (manual confiscated in 1810); TDH VI: 305 line 9 (poems confiscated in 1806) ; TDH VII: 214 (written covenant confiscated in 1808); Schlegel (1866) 147-148 ; Stanton (1900) 61-65 and 118124; Ward and Stirling (1925) 65, 66, 68; Xiao (1935) 3: la-13a (Or. 8207D, E and 2339). Death by the sword is one of the two standard punishments in the sets of rules in the British Museum manuals and Stanton. 23 TDH VII: 517 . 24 Morgan (1960) picture opposite of 203, and text 213- 216 . It is also included in the pictures to the British Museum manuals, see Xiao (1935) 1: 34b. 25 TDH VI: 225. 26 Guangxi huidang, 513 lines 21-28 (equalling the cockerel with a dragon) and 515 lines 6-11 (on a traitor, but no name given). 27 On the story itself, see section 9.1.3. for more details. The identification of the cockerel as the traitor dates from the 1840 manuals onwards. Schlegel (1866) 147 refers to killing the cockerel as killing "seven" (misinterpreting seven as "seven white cock"). Only later manuals mention him by name: Stanton (1900) 66; Ward and Stirling (1925) 36-37 especially 36 note 1, 71; Tiandihui wenxian lu, Guixian xiuzhiju, 1-2,6 and 15; Morgan (1960) 257-258. There also was a taboo on seven, see Tiandihui wenxian lu, Guixian xiuzhiju , 6 and Stanton (1900) 31.

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ever, in the last chapter we already encountered the same malediction accompanied by killing a cockerel when people took an oath that they were speaking the truth before the City God. Furthermore, in Daoist exorcist rituals from the Song and Yuan dynasties, the cockerel was also the preferred sacrificial victim. Thus, the choice of a cockerel actually derived from common ritual practice, and the Triad explanation was a later invention. Some descriptions by Westerners of the covenant, among Triad groups in Hong Kong and Singapore in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, mention the breaking of the basin as part of the oath ceremony. The same practice is already mentioned in the foundation stories in both the 1828 manual from Guangxi and the 1842 manual translated by Gustave Schlegel, where the founding fathers of the Triads broke a basin to accompany their oath of fidelity. The act could mean that an oath breaker would suffer the same fate as the basin, or that the oath is eternally binding on the participants in the same way that the broken pieces of the basin can never be put back together again. 28 This type of malediction was probably derived from local practices specific to Guangdong province, since it also frequently featured in the Hong Kong courts in the first decades of English rule. 29 The covenant texts and the written rules included even more punishments.I" From the time of a written covenant that was confiscated in 1808, the threat of punishment by the Five Thunders (or merely thunder) received almost standard mention in the Triad manuals.P! This supernatural punishment is frequently mentioned 28 Guangxi huidang, 487. Descriptions: Schlegel (1866) 15; Stanton (1900) 65; Ward and Stirling (1925) 70; Xiao (1935) 2: 2: 2b (Or. 2339) and 6a (Or. 8207 D) ; Morgan (1960) 256-257. Guangxi huidang, 95: oath with breaking bowls, pricking blood from fingers and mingling it into liquor. 29 See note 44 to Chapter Four. 30 Schlegel (1866) 135-144; Stanton (1900) 61-64, 118-124 (two sets; the second set is virtually the same as the one in Morgan [1960] 157-160) ; Xiao (1935) 3: 1a-13a (Or. 8207D , E and 2339). The rules often contain mistakes of grammar and the use of homophone alternative characters. No sets are included in the 1811 manual or in the material from Guangxi published by Luo Ergang. From these "Thirty Six Oaths" developed even more detailed sets of rules. They basically repeated the same moral values . 31 TDH I: 7 line 25 (manual confiscated in 1810) ; TDH VII: 354 (poems confiscated in 1812) ; TDH VII: 214 (written covenant confiscated in 1808); Guangxi huidang, 492-493; Schlegel (1866) 90, 125, 135-144 (but only in Dr. 1) ; Stanton (1900) 61-65 and 118-124; Ward and Stirling (1925) 60, 64-70; Xiao (1935) 3:

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in maledictions that were practised on Taiwan. There is the widespread and ancient belief in supernatural punishment (of all kinds of transgressions, including breaches of promises and contracts) by sudden thunderbolts and lightning. Thunderbolts and lightning functioned as an autonomous moral agency. They were believed to be five thunder gods, who could also be invoked as a group to punish demons or transgressing deities in very bloody ways. Justus Doolittle writes how, in the mid-nineteenth century, news-sheets of only one or two pages were sold in the streets of Fuzhou city (the capital of Fujian) , containing the cautionary tale of someone who had been struck dead by lightning and recounting the wicked acts he had performed during his lifetime, which had led to his death. 32 These news-sheets might even be considered the earliest Chinese tabloids, but for us they are important as evidence of the pervasiveness of the belief in supernatural punishment. Other sanctions include beatings of 108 or 72 lashes (both are also sacred numbers), punishment by the Five Ancestors (the five mythical founders), "washing the body" (a Cantonese term for taking a bath, and Triad jargon for execution), "removing 'that which lends to the wind'" (the very apposite Triadjargon for human ears), death by spitting blood, no more reincarnations, drowning and changing into a big fish (or being eaten by sea creatures), being eaten by wild animals, and so forth.P In their ghastliness, these sanctions differ little from the gruesome maledictions pronounced, in front of the City God or Heaven and Earth, by ordinary citizens. They also resemble closely the curses collected by Justus Doolittle in the Fuzhou region of Northern Fujian. Especially striking are the following examples, "May you be hacked into ten thousand pieces," "May the five thunders strike you dead," "Let 4b-13a (Or. 8207E and 2339) ; Morgan (1960) 157-160. Together with death by swords, death by thunder is the standard punishment in the sets of rules in the British Museum manuals and Stanton. 32 Story by Doolittle (1865) II: 302-303. Some historical evidence in Taiping guangji, 393-395: 3136-3162 and Riu (1986) 1-3. From these beliefs developed the Daoist exorcist thunderrites, on which de Groot (1892-1910) VI: 1039-1040; Strickman (1975) 15-28; Riu (1986) 3-21; Boltz (1993) 241-305; Katz (1995) passim. 33 TDH I: 161 (1786 oath); TDH VII: 214 (written covenant confiscated in 1808) . Also see the rules in Guangxi huidang, 492-493; Schlegel (1866) 135-144; Stanton (1900) 61-65 and 118-124; Ward and Stirling (1925) 64-70; Xiao (1935) 3: 1a-13a (Or. 8207D, E and 2339) ; Morgan (1960) 157-160.

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the fire of Heaven consume you," "May the fish be your coffin, and water be your grave," and so forth.P" When considered in isolation, Triad supernatural punishments may seem rather violent, but once they are placed in the overall context of Chinese maledictions and curses they prove to be fairly standard. It was precisely because these execrations were so conventional, that they were able to contribute significantly to the normative power of the blood covenant ceremony over Triad members. Finally, we should take good note of the fact that widely practised maledictions, such as killing a cockerel or breaking a basin, were given their own specific Triad etiology. Through beheading the cockerel, the execution of the traitor-monk (and any future traitors) was re-enacted; through breaking the basin, people commemorated the original oath of the founding fathers and shared in its power. We find here the same process of providing Triad etiologies to general ritual practices as in the burning of incense, the worship of the rice bushel or the initiation journey. Although I by no means wish to claim that the Triad foundation account is merely the narrative form of its ritual, such instances indicate that on a lower level specific ritual practices might definitely lead to narrative embellishments.

5.1.3. Divine witnesses During Triad ritual, two groups of divine agencies are invoked, namely the divine witnesses and the founding fathers. Heaven and Earth, as well as various other deities, are summoned as witnesses to the blood covenant, their task being to carry out the punishments threatened in the maledictions. They are specifically summoned during the blood covenant ceremony and otherwise play no significant role. The mythical founders are summoned as the ancestors of the Hong family and the focal point of the Triad collective cult. While the founders may also carry out the punishments, this is not their chief task. They are invoked at the very outset of the ritual, when the first sticks of incense are lighted, and attend the entire ritual event. In section 5.3. I will investigate in detail the notion of the mythical founders as ancestors and the moral obligations that flowed from constructing the Triad com34

Doolittle (1865) II: 274-275.

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munity as a descent group. First, however, I will discuss the invocation of the divine witnesses to the blood covenant. Only one confession from the networks rounded up in the aftermath of the Lin Shuangwen rebellion of 178~1787 explicitly indicates that Heaven and Earth were addressed as witnesses to the covenant.P The contemporary written evidence is much clearer. A proclamation from 1786 mentions an oath to punish corrupt officials, which had been taken before Heaven and included the malediction of punishment by ten thousand swords. P" A proclamation by the same rebels from the following year refers to "H eavenly Soldiers" (tianbing) , who will come and punish all those who help the Qing armies. "Heavenly Soldiers" is a standard term for the divine soldiers who expel evil demons in exorcist ritual. 37 This last proclamation clearly assumes Heaven to be the agent who oversees all sanctions. There is only occasional mention of Heaven and Earth in the early confessions.V but the written covenants and manuals almost invariably mention them as wirnesses.P? Many Triads carried out their rituals in the open air, but this in itself is no evidence that Heaven and Earth were being worshipped. Since mention is also frequently made of rituals in deserted or isolated temples, it would seem that the principal reason for choosing a particular location was the need for some secrecy. More likely, the presence of Heaven and Earth was too obvious to require explicit mention. In this respect, William Stanton's description is revealing. It is based on actual Triad ceremonies held in late nineteenth century Hong Kong. After the entire initiation ritual had been carried out inside, a cockerel was produced and all present proceeded to "an open skylight, or smokehole, or other place open to the heavens," TDH I: 71. TDH I: 153. 37 TDH I: 155. On demono logical beliefs in Triad lore, see Chapters Six and Seven . 38 TDH VI: 77, 82, 88; TDH VI: 422 and 424-425 (quoting from a lost covenant) , 431, 433, 438, 440, 442-3 (from 422 onwards all on the same network), 461; TDH VII: 427, 446. 39 TDH I: 4 line 19,8 line 2, 10 line 3 of the dialogue, 19 line 12, 20 line 5 and passim; VI: 304-305 (1806 covenant and poems); VII: 214 (1808 covenant) ; 353 (poems 1,7,8) ,354 (poems 1,2) (material from 1812 or before). As we will see in Chapter Eight, Heaven is the ultimate source of Triad legitim acy, by charging them with the task of restoring the Mandate of Heaven of the former Ming imperial house of the Zhu family. 35

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where the final blood covenant was then concluded.t" The malediction involving the beheading of the cockerel was consciously performed at an open spot, so that Heaven observe it. There are a few confessions in which the establishment of a Triad network is somehow linked to the religious cult of Guan Yu (to be distinguished from strictly literary references to the Oath in the Peach Garden). The earliest example stems from theJiangxi-Northern Fujian region. Here, the initiation ritual took place on the 13th day of the fifth month of 1809, which was also the main festival day of Guan Yu. Although that deity is not mentioned by name in this confession, such a date can hardly have been pure coincidence. Indeed, a list of participants in the covenant was confiscated, which contained the line "we have celebrated Liu [Bei] , Guan [Yu], and Zhang [Fei] of the Peach Garden.t'"! The other examples ofa link to the Guan Yu cult come from Guangdong and Guangxi, where two groups held their founding meeting on Guan Yu's birthday, one of them even in an empty Emperor Guan Temple.V Furthermore, there are two unconnected instances of an initiation ritual in which a blood covenant ritual is organized with a tablet for Emperor Guan (a guandi pai or guandi shenwei) standing on the al tar.43 Nonetheless, these few cases do not support the thesis that the Guan Yu cult was of central importance to Triad members, at least not in its early days. The central witnesses to the covenant always remained Heaven and Earth, who could be supplemented, but never replaced by Guan Yu and other "outsider" deities.v' The story of Guan Yu stands-amongst many other things-for the value of loyalty that is so central in Triad lore (see especially my discussion of Triad values in section 5.3. and the extensive analysis of the foundation account in Chapter Nine).45 Linking the foundStanton (1900) 66. Same remarks by Ward and Stirling (1925) 71. TDH VI: 170-1. 42 TDH VI: 487; VII: 201. 43 TDH VII: 197; 369. 44 Morgan (1960) 157 notes that during Triad ceremonies Guan Yu's portrait is covered, since he did not take part in any Triad events and merely symbolizes the spirit of brotherhood. 45 Thus, on the Triad altar depicted in Ward and Stirling (1925) opposite 24, 40 there was a scroll of Guan Yu (with two acolytes) in the Hall of the Ambition of Righteousness. Almost all manuals contain some references to Guan Yu and the values he represents, such as the 1810 manual (TDH I: 5 line 25) or the 1808 oath fragment translated below, but never in a central way. 40 41

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ing of a Triad group to Guan Yu's festival was an additional way of celebrating the centrality of this value. Interestingly, despite the well-documented prominence of the City God as a witness in blood covenant rituals, I have yet to encounter one concrete example in which he was invoked by a Triad group. Since the City God is, by definition, closely associated with established imperial authority-in this period the ManchuQing dynasty to which the Triads were opposed-his absence is unsurprising. The state also continuously attempted to incorporate the Guan Yu cult into its sphere of influence, but, as the Triad evidence shows, the cult always remained open to alternative interpretations. 46 Especially in the written covenants, many deities were invited to attend the initiation ritual to serve as witnesses. A representative example is the following fragment from an oath confiscated in 1808. 47 The passages that I have translated below are preceded in the Chinese original by a very short prologue, followed by a section on the nature of the Triads as one large family, another on the need for maintaining secrecy, and finally by one containing specific rules for proper behavior. Such ethical discussions are typical of the written oath and we will encounter several concrete examples later in this chapter. The 1808 oath begins by setting the parameters of the ritual procedure, by specifying time and place. At this point, the presence of Heaven and Earth is recorded. In the original text, spaces have been left open so that specific names of persons and places can be filled in. They are marked here with a # for each open space: This night of this month, the Incense Master (xiangzhu) pupil ## who lives in the ## society (she) in the ## village in the ## spot (chu) has taken his faithful pupils with him to bind them together through worship before Heaven and Earth. The oath continues by inviting the Vanguard of the Ming dynasty, whom we already encountered as the guide of the candidate members during the initiation journey. Next, the three heroes of the 46 Diesinger (1984) passim and Duara (l988b) 778-795 deal with someaspects of the cult. 47 Cai (1987) 409-410 seems more reliable than the versions in Qin (1988 ) 154-155 and TDH VII: 214-215. 1 follow Cai's emendations.

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oath in the Peach Garden are invited as models of certain moral values that are important to the Triads. The phrase "We unite our hearts" is the same as the name for the liquor drunk in a brotherhood or blood covenant ritual: We invite the Vanguard of the Ming dynasty to come. We invite Liu [Bei], Guan (Yu] and Zhang [Fei], the three of them, who bound themselves through righteousness in the Peach Garden to come. In harmony and unison we follow Heaven, we bind ourselves together to be loyal and righteous, forever unchanging. We unite our hearts and join our forces to recover the nation of the True Ruler (zhenzhu) .

Now follows a short communication to the deities concerning the sacrifices that have been prepared in their welcome. The use of the third person to refer to oneself is a common technique to suggest modesty by creating a formal distance: Today there are present the faithful pupils of this spot in ## village in the south of Laibin county, with sincere hearts they have completely prepared the ritual gifts of the five kinds of fruit as well as liquor, and the three types of sacrificial meat. They burn incense and pray below the altar table of the numinous deities.

The list of deities who are invited is quite long, starting with a number of specialized deities who govern Heaven and Earth. They are invited to supervise the maledictions, as an extension of the more abstract Heaven and Earth: We respectfully invite August Heaven and the Lord of the Earth, the [gods of the] rivers, streams and the Grain Altar, the Heavenly Deities that pass by, the [gods of the] sun, moon and the Three Luminaries, the [gods of the] wind, clouds, thunder and rain, the multitude of Heavenly Deities, the Officer of Merit who is in Charge Today.

Then the three heroes of the Peach Garden are invited once again, as well as Guan Yu's two acolytes: We respectfully invite the three great generals Liu [Bei], Guan (Yu] and Zhang [Fei] , and the two great generals Zhou Cang and Guan Ping.

Because the Triads were supposedly founded by monks from the Shaolin Monastery, on the run from the Qing armies, the Buddhist deities that were worshipped in the original monastery are also invoked. In this particular oath, this identification is not made

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explicit, but the place where the Buddha-patriarch Tathagata resides in this oath is, in fact, the same place in which the Shaolin Monastery is located in the oldest versions of the foundation account. In later versions of the account, the location of the monastery changed from Gansu province to a place in Fujian, but this line in the oath remained unchanged! Because it was a written text, this prayer was probably more stable than the often orally transmitted foundation account.t" Inviting Buddhist deities as witnesses should not be taken to mean that the Triads were actually lay Buddhist groups. On the contrary, their animal sacrifices and the consumption of blood mingled in liquor place them squarely among the non-denominational religious groups. The Buddhist deities to be invited are listed as follows: We invite the white faced and golden bodied Buddha-patriarch Tathagata from Auspicious Creek Society, in Great Peace county, in Great Peace prefecture, in Gansu province to come. We also invite Mister Guigu, [and the two gods] Thousand-Miles-Eyes and Following-the-Wind-Ears. We also invite the Namo Boddhisatava of Great Compassion and Great Pity who Sees the Sounds of the World and Saves from Misery and Hardship, [the Namo Boddhisatava] with the Long Eyebrows who Sees the Sounds of the World, and [the Namo Boddhisatava] who Sees the Sounds of the World and Saves from Misery and Hardship and Expels the Red [Dust] . [Guanyin 's] manifestations are inexhaustible .

After these exalted deities, both the deity who governs the bridgeover which the founding fathers escaped from the pursuing Qing armies-and the omnipresent deity of the soil are invited: We invite the God of the Earth at the head of the bridge and the Orthodox Deity of Good Fortune and Virtue to come. Finally, the mythical founders of the Triads are invited: We invite to come the First Ancestor Hong Qisheng of the Upper House, Cai Dezhong of the Head House, Ancestor Fang Dahong of the Second House, Ancestor Wu Tiancheng of the Third House, Ancestor Wu Dedi of the Fourth House, Ancestor Li Sekai of the 48 The same line can be found in the covenant translated by Schlegel (1866) 132 and the one contained in Or. 2339 (Xiao [1935] 3:13b). In both versions of the correspondingfoundation accounts, the Shaolinmonastery islocatedin Fujian, see Schlegel (1866) 8 (explicitly) and Or. 2339 in Xiao (1935) 2: Ib-3a and 8b9a (indicated only implicitly).

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Fifth House, from the foot of Nail Mountain in Shicheng county in Huizhou prefecture in Guangdong [province].

Since the ancestors are believed to reside on, or near, Nail Mountain, the protecting deities of that spot are invited as well, which brings this long list of deities and ancestors finally to a close: We invite to come the Mountain God of this spot, the God of the Earth and the Dragon God of the Earth Vein .

Such long lists of deities are quite typical of religious rituals. Generic deities are invited that have to overlook the specific ritual in question, besides the specific deities that are worshipped by the religious community in question. It should be clear by now that the Triad blood covenant did not present any fundamental innovations to the underlying ritual tradition, except for invoking Triad deities and ancestors besides the customary divine witnesses. More interestingly, however, is the remarkable importance of writing in the Triad version of this ritual that had been an oral tradition for so many centuries. It is therefore to this dimension that I will now turn.

5.2 . Written covenants: their format and ritual use

Written covenants had been quite common in blood covenant ceremonies during the Spring and Autumn Period. Thereafter little mention is made by our sources of the use of texts. We have two examples of written oaths for the Ming period, but only in the specific context of the sworn brotherhood and without the ritual use of blood. The earliest example concerns merchants, who had access to the requisite type ofliteracy because of the need to record commercial contracts. It seems to have been a fairly simple oath, close to oral practice. The other example stems from a sub-elite context, and has been preserved in a late Ming vernacular novel. It is only during the eighteenth century, that we again encounter cases in which a written covenant is used in the context of a blood covenant. The structure of these written covenants was clearly influenced by Daoist memorials. Thus, the Triad use of writing continued a recent trend, but in much larger quantity than ever before among such relatively marginal groups. The general social historical background to this phenomenon certainly deserves further investigation.

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The use of written texts (mainly edicts and letters) was common among Triad groups from their first appearance in our sources, during the Lin Shuangwen uprising of 178~1787 on Taiwan. The incomplete text of a written covenant was confiscated from the body of a rebel who had been killed during a battle with the government forces. Spaces had been left open in he covenant-marked with circles in the original-to insert the names of specific persons, the amount of the offerings and the names of deities. It was evidently a model text and is the earliest Triad covenant that we now possess. In this section I will present the available evidence on the use of written oaths in the Triad blood covenant ceremony. The covenant confiscated in 178~1787 already contains all the relevant elements of the later, more elaborate covenants. In the following translation, I have provided a division into paragraphs for analytical purposes. I have marked the spaces in the original with a # sign for each open space. (a) With the venerable de ity of the Earth (houtu zunshen) as a witness, the Incense Master (xiangzhu) #:It has prepared #### of gold and silver , incense and candles, pure tea, a box with offerings , and strings of money, and presents these and announces the following prayer to #:It###. (b) Presently, because the Luminous Ruler transmitted the lineage at the Horse Creek Temple at the High Creek (gaoqi) Cloister at the Phoenix Flower (jenghua) Pavilion in Guangdong province, (c) we tonight smear blood and pay our obeisance to the covenant, to bind ourselves together as brothers of the same womb, for ever after of one heart. Today we list below the names of those who have shared in the covenant. [in the original document the space of one and a half lines is left open here] Originally we stem from different family names, but we are now bound together to share [the family name] Hong. When we were born, we did not share our father; as brothers of one womb whose righteousness has vanquished we share the same milk. It resembles the loyalty of Guan [Zhong] and Bao[shu Ya] or the righteousness practised by Liu [Bei] , Guan [Yu], and Zhang [Fei] . You #/111#/1111111 must see each other as one family . (d) This night we transmit to you a secret agreement copied by hand, you shall not transmit it to your parents, ###### [here a line seems to be missing]. If someone leaks the fundamental occasion , he will have his mouth full of blood and spit it up to Heaven, his entire household will perish. (e) From today's conclusion ofa covenant onwards, ifformerly one had private feelings of revenge and narrow-minded hatred, these

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should be spilled completely into the rivers and the seas, and we should become even more harmonious. If something good happens, we help each other; if there is a transgression, we regulate each other; in adversity, we provide assistance; in [misery) we support each other. We brothers should follow the regulations and preserve the rules. We ought not to abuse our situation to show excessive behavior, nor can we rely upon our strength to cheat the weak , nor can we tyrannize and create disasters, that would go against our sworn agreement. We have to be self-reliant, and are not permitted to be a burden upon others. If we are not loyal or righteous, ... [the rest of the text is missing] .49

The covenant consists of ritual elements (including the blood covenant ritual and references to Triad mythology) and behavioral prescriptions. One might tentatively divide the text into five parts: (a) a brief ritual introduction; (b) a short reference to the mythical ancestor of the Triads; (c) an explanation of the nature of the blood covenant and the sworn brotherhood; (d) the malediction on those who do not keep the promise of secrecy; (e) extensive moral prescriptions. The ritual introduction (a) is an invocation to the principal deity and a list of offerings. In later written covenants this part becomes extremely lengthy, as in the invocations of the 1808 covenant that I have translated in the previous section. The Lord of the Earth was, of course, a traditional witness to oath procedures. The next part (b) refers to the fundamental occasion that gave rise to the Triads, namely their mission of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming. The Luminous Ruler is only mentioned here as a mythical element and not invoked as a witness to the proceedings. Otherwise, the structural similarities between parts (a) and (b) and the segment of the 1808 covenant translated in the preceding section should be self-evident. After the ritual introduction, the aims of the covenant are set out in more detail, as a communication to the gods who witness the ritual, as a statement of the promises that have been made, 49 I translate from He (1985) 21-23. Cai (1987) 407 seems to have adopted He's transcription and emendations. As He Zhiqing points out, the version in TDH I: 161-162 (and, one may add, to a lesser extent Qin [1988) 153) contains some important mistakes. I follow He's corrections and emendations, as well as one additional emendation by Qin (of lu "road" into lu to "copy"). The most important difference is that the original has Luminous Ruler, whereas the TDH version has Covenant Chief.

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and as a record of the punishments that follow upon the violation of the covenant. Part (c) explains the nature of the sworn brotherhood more specifically, by referring to the exemplary stories of the friendship between Guan Zhong and Baoshu Ya and the brotherhood in the Peach Garden between Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. We have already' seen in section 4.2. that these stories were used as standard exemplars in statements of brotherhood and friendship, and were referred to in the same way in the covenant memorial from The Golden Lotus. The importance of secrecy demanded from all participants in part (d) of the 1787 covenant, accompanied by quite gruesome execrations, is typical of Triad covenants. It is, however, also a feature of Daoist covenants accompanying the transmission of sacred ritual texts.P'' The maledictions are no more violent than in common sworn statements. In part (e), the moral obligations ofa Triad member are spelled out in some detail. The late Ming covenant in The Golden Lotus and even the much more concise mid-Ming covenant in the Pak t'ongsa on hae both stressed the importance of moral obligations. When we compare the 1787 text to later Triad covenant texts, we can observe that the later texts do not entail any fundamental change in contents. They always contain the same five parts, although the sections on the sworn brotherhood, the need for secrecy and the moral obligations were eventually relegated to separate sets of rules (namely the Thirty Six Oaths [sanshiliu shi]) . However, these rules still formed part of the overall blood covenant ritual.P! Once the Triad written covenants became more sophisticated, we find an increased influence of Daoist memorials on their overall structure. The long list giving the names of various deities, such as the example of the 1808 oath translated in the preceding section, is characteristic of Daoist memorials. The Officer of Merit who is in Charge Today is a typically Daoist bureaucratic deity, who is specifically included to carry out the delivery of the memoSchipper (1982) 94. TDH VI: 304-305 and TDH VI last photograph in front (both from the Zhou Dabin network discussed below) ; Guangxi huidang, 504 (separate from the covenant texts, Guangxi huidang, 493-494); Xiao (1935) 3: 13a-14a (Or. 2339). Western translations: Schlegel (1866) 128-134; Stanton (1900) 59-60; Ward and Stirling (1925) 61-64. 50

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rial to Heaven's bureaucracy. We already encountered him, in this same function of messenger, in the memorial that concluded Ximen Qing's brotherhood in The Golden Lotus. Further examples of Daoist ritual influence include the standard formula for place and date with which the covenants start, and the use of typical Daoist yeartitles Taisui and Heaven's Revolution (tianyun) (which were used in addition to typical Triad yeartitles, such as Following Heaven [shuntian] and Hong's Revolution [hongyun]) .52 In the mature Triad ritual, the written covenants were first recited and then "transformed" by means of fire, in order to be transferred to the divine world. This was clearly modelled upon the ritual use of Daoist memorials. This type of written communication with the supernatural world was not adopted by all Triad groups. In many early Triad groups no documents were used at all, or texts were used in a fundamentally different way. In the Jiangxi-Northern Fujian region, it seems to have been a general rule that communication with the supernatural world remained strictly oral. In fact, even when these groups used written texts as evidence of membership and the right to proselytize (the texts were called huatie or "ordination certificate"), there is no indication that texts were recited during the ritual to communicate the covenant to the deities.P" Sadly, only two examples of such "ordination certificates" are extant. They both stem from Zhou Dabin's network, itself a branch of the much larger network of Lu Shenghai. This particular branch was rounded up in 1806 and stretched across the border counties of SouthernJiangxi, Eastern Fujian and Northern Guangdong. The first text starts with an exposition on the nature of a brotherhood and an invocation to a long series of deities, followed by a brief lineage of the transmitters of the teachings, a malediction and some moral instructions. The second text is much shorter. It contains only the names of participants in one particular blood covenant 52 The formula for place and date , and the use of Daoist yeartitles can be found in many extant covenants, such as those mentioned in note 51. Also see Stanton (1900) 80, 83, 83 86 for some examples of year titles on membership certificates. 53 TDH VI: 171; 186 and 194 (most likely a similar case as the one of the Zhou Dabin branch discussed below), 199, 203-204, 366, 373 and some of the pupils in the network, 383-384, 389, 396, 400, 410, 412. In yet another case no written texts are mentioned as being used during the ritual, but the master did possess a manual and a written covenant (mengdan) . See TDH VI: 177-178.

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ritual, mentions the worship of the incense fire of Elder Brother Wan without further comments, and gives a mythical date and a simple Triad amulet. The two texts were not used during the ritual itself, but were employed as evidence that a particular individual had taken part in the covenant.P" The use of the two texts as evidence is especially striking, since the first was closely modelled upon traditional memorials to communicate the covenant to Heaven and Earth, which were intended to be transformed by burning at the end of the ritual. Maybe the use of written texts as evidence of an individual's right to proselytize was so common in the Jiangxi-Northern Fujian region that, even when specific Triad models for covenant texts that should be burned reached this region, people only thought of using them as evidential documents. The situation in Guangdong, Guangxi and the other southernmost provinces was quite different. There, the procedures for using Daoist memorials and Triad covenants were very similar. The burning of a covenant text is already documented in coastal Guangdong in 1799, in a possible Triad network that had spread from Zhangzhou in Southern Fujian.55 The information on another early Guangdong network is even clearer. It had been founded by teachers from Tongan in Southern Fujian, but had spread all over coastal Guangdong during the early years of the nineteenth century. In this network, the use of a written covenant was fairly standard. The teacher wrote the names of the participants on a yellow sheet of paper, usually accompanied by a simple oath, "adopting Hong as a family name, worshipping Heaven as father, worshipping the Earth as mother, after concluding a bond and worshipping, we will support each other in times of disasters" or similar words. At the end of the ritual, the text was burned and liquor mixed with blood was drunk. 56 When a written oath was recited in the southern 54 TDH VI: 304-305 (first document) ; TDH VI last photograph in front (second document) . See TDH VI: 301-302 on the background to using these texts . On this network, see my brief discussion in section 1.2.2. 55 TDH VI: 417 (1799). This instance is explicitly classified in the memorial as a Triad case, but there is no presence of Triad lore other than the mention of the blood covenant and the use of the name Heaven and Earth Gathering Covenant Text (t iandi hui mengshu) . 56 On this particular network: TDH VI: 422 (mengshu) and 424-425 (biaowen; fragments of a more elaborate text, otherwise lost), 431 (written mengcit , 433 (mengci) , 438 (mengci) , 440 (no term), 442-3 (biaowen).

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provinces, the text was called "memorial" (biao[wen]), "covenant text" (mengshu) , "covenant words" (mengci) , "covenant sheet" (mengdan) or "covenant memorial" (mengbiao) and its transferral was usually referred to as "transforming by burning" (jenhua). Sometimes the use of yellow paper for the memorial is specified.F which is the standard color for the paper or silk on which imperial instructions were written. In the early days of the Triads in the southern provinces, many bloodcovenants were still concluded without written communication with the deities.58 In the case of the 1808 blood covenant text, partly translated in the preceding section, the text was used as an evidential document of membership. This is, however, the only such instance outside the Jiangxi-Northern Fujian region. The structure of the text clearly indicates that it was originally intended as a memorial and not as an evidential document.P'' As in the blood covenant ritual in general, the use of written texts was not obligatory for the Triad covenant ceremony. By and large, however, when a written covenant was used, it was indeed recited and subsequently burned at the conclusion of the ritual to transfer it to the supernatural world. 57 TDH VI: 461 (no term; yellow paper), 468 (mengci ; yellow paper) ; TDH VII: 369 (biaowen), 427 (biaowen), 446 (biaowen) , 450 (mengdan) , 469 (mengbiao), 480 (biao). Also two instances in which a list with the names of the participants is burned, in TDH VII: 412, 507 (in this case a written memorial is mentioned in the same context as the list of names and th e liquor with chicken blood, but it is unclear if and how the memorial was used). The same terms are used in the extant versions ofwritten oaths, such as "memorial" (biaozhang) or "to memorialize" (zou) (Guangxi huidang, 493, 504); "memorial" (shu) (Xiao [1935] 3: 14a [Or. 2339]); "to pray arid announce" (daogao) (Xiao [1935] 3: 13a [Or. 2339]; Schlegel (1866] 128) ; "Memorial" (biaowen) (Schlegel (1866] 128) . On the use of yellow paper, see the interesting comments by Morgan (1960) 276-278. 58 No written covenant (but often use of other texts) : TDH VI: 476, 480, 483, 487,493,504-505; TDH VII: 162-165, 187, 197, 202,216,263,271-272,265,267, 269, 274,283, 286-287,373,375-376,384,397,399,402,404,409,411 ,415,418, 503-504. 59 On the case of the 1808 covenant, see TDH VII: 208-215, other groups from the same network TDH VII: 221-234. There is one other case, in which there was a memorial on the altar, that was kept by a Triad member, instead of being burned. See TDH VII: 394-395. There are a number of cases in which much written knowledge is present, but no written covenant, namely TDH VII: 247-248, 297-298 (despite the presence of the oldest preserved full manual with the foundation account, dialogues and poems), 347 (despite the presence of written dialogues and poems), 422-423, 486 (an elaborate ritual performance, in which many poems are recited from a booklet) , 517-519.

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The Triad manuals themselves are quite vague about the precise order of proceedings during the blood covenant and the way in which the written covenant should be processed. For more details we have to rely on Western accounts. These accounts indicate that the texts had to be read first, after which they were burned and the ashes mixed into the liquor, together with the blood of a cockerel and from the fingers of the participants. This mixture was then drunk by all present. This method of consuming the memorial receives frequent mention in Western eye-witness accounts, but is never mentioned in the Triad manuals or in actual confessions.P'' The physical consumption of powerful words is, of course, a common procedure in the case of amulets for healing people from , and protecting them against demons (which may cause illnesses, "frights," and so forth) . Amulets are formal instructions to deities to perform certain acts of an exorcist nature, composed in an especially powerful style of writing. They are burned and the ashes are worn on the body or consumed with water (called amulet-water or fUShut). The ashes of incense burned for a certain deity could also be consumed in order to partake of their power. In one nonTriad blood covenant case from 1748, the memorial was also burned and consumed as part of the blood-liquor mixture. In another case from 1768, incense ashes were mixed into the liquor.P! The combination here of different types of communication by recitation and subsequently transformation through burning (the normal ways of written communication with the supernatural world) and by consumption (enabling the supernatural world to enter into oneself), shows something of the independent creativity of the people who developed the Triad ritual. Presumably, consuming the ashes also entailed notions of protection, but this is not made explicit in the available sources on Triad ritual practice. To sum up, it is clear that although models for written covenants were already available to Triad groups during the Lin Shuangwen uprising of 1786-1787, they were certainly not always used in 60 Stanton (1900) 66; Ward and Stirling (1925) 71-72; Morgan (1960) 251252, 257-259. The Chinese manuals only mention the drinking of blood, but not the consumption of ashes . See for instance: Xiao (1935) 5: 7a (Or 2339),5: 23b (8207D) ; Schlegel (1866), 147-148. 61 Gaozong chun huangdi shilu, 319: 17a-b and Suzuk i (1982) 241 on the case of 1748. He (1987) 394 on the 1768 case.

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this way. In the Jiangxi-Northern Fujian region written covenants were in existence very early (for instance in the 1806 example) , but actually only used as such much later (the first documented case dates from 1835). Instead, local Triad groups in this region stressed the possession of texts (such as the 1806 covenant) as evidence of an individual's right to proselytize . In the other southern provinces, strictly oral blood covenants remained possible. When written covenants were used, they were recited and subsequently burned. Unlike conventional Daoist memorials, but in the same way as protective amulets and incense, the ashes of the covenant were then consumed as part of the ritual. This extremely strong way of "internalizing" a text goes against the more formalistic, bureaucratic nature of the communication with the supernatural world that usually characterizes the presentation of a memorial. It is closer to the mediumistic substratum of Chinese religion, from which the vernacular ritual traditions probably originally came into being.62 The strength of this particular ritual practice underlines the extreme importance of the contents of the Triad blood covenant, namely the creation of completely new family ties.

5.3 . Creating the Hong family

The blood covenant itself was a very strong ritual form of presenting a statement, which could be used for widely different purposes, of which the sworn brotherhood was only one. In the JiangxiNorthern Fujian region, the Triad blood covenant was only practised to accompany the transfer of the right to proselytize. According to almost all internal Triad writings, as well as many confessions from the rest of southern China, the notions of brotherhood and belonging to one Hong family were crucial to the Triad tradition. The blood covenant served to affirm the new status of the member as a brother in the Hong family and bind him to the moral values appropriate to his new status. The consequence of this way of constructing a group was that the mythical Triad founders were worshipped as ancestors on spirit tablets. This distinguished the Triads from most other artificially constructed groups, which usually worshipped deities or patriarchs in the form of statues. 62

See my discussions in section 3.3. and 10.2.

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5.3.1. The Hong family and ancestor worship

The Triad groups in the Jiangxi-Northern Fujian region practised the blood covenant solely to accompany the transfer of protective knowledge from a teacher to his pupils who were in a subordinate relationship. In confessions from this region, virtually no references are made to the sworn brotherhood and the Hong family ideal. This appears to have been a specific local development, but also demonstrates once again that, the blood covenant as an empty ritual, and the sworn brotherhood as a social practice, were not intrinsically linked. The establishment of a teacher-pupil network, through which protective knowledge could be transferred, was typical of theJiangxiNorthern Fujian region. The teacher's pupils had to pay their respects (bai, often translated as "to worship") to him and pay some money in exchange for the knowledge that they received during the ritual. The teacher-pupil relationship is, of course, one of the most important non-kinship relationships in pre-modern Chinese society. The function of the blood covenant in this context closely resembles the situation in early Daoism, where the blood covenant also accompanied the transfer of knowledge. When there was a notion of brotherhood present, this only extended to pupils of the same generation and did not include the teacher as a fellow brother.F In the Jiangxi-Northern Fujian border region, there were quite a few teacher-pupil networks in which the blood covenant was not practised at all, and where only the sign of identification by using three fingers was taught, in exchange for small payments.P' In a 63 These statements are based on a perusal of the evidence from the Ji angxiNorthern Fujian region as contained in TDH VI. For the only exception, see TDH VI: 232. Numerous texts from the Lu Shenghai network refer to the notions of brotherhood and mutual support, and even mention the ideal of the Hong family. See TDH VI: 304 lines 1-2, 18-19,21-22, 305 line 1 all on brotherhood; TDH VI: 305 line 16 mentions the Hong family name. However, these ideals were not actualized in the practice of a blood covenant and/or the conclusion of a sworn brotherhood. On the other hand, the members of the Lu San branch of this network certainly supported each other through thick and thin, to wit the series of violent incidents in 1811 that brought this branch to the attention of the state. See TDH VI: 334-335. 64 No blood covenant or other type of oath: TDH VI: 137 (Li Shui), 139·140 (You Xiaobiao), 142-143 (De Xian), 145 (Pan Liang) , 147 and 149 (Fuxing) , 151153, 155-157 and 162-163 (all pupils of Monk Yan) , 158-159 (Zhang Peichang),

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number of networks from Southern Jiangxi, it was common practice that the ritual was expanded according to the amount of knowledge and power transferred, which was largely dependent on the amount of money that was paid. If pupils paid very little, only simple protective slogans were transmitted, but no written texts and without the conclusion of a blood covenant. 65 Some teachers even made this practice into an explicit Triad rule. Those who had passed through a blood covenant ritual acquired the right to proselytize (and thereby make some money). Interestingly, the pupils only became "on e's own"-instead of "the teacher's"-if the proselytizer also possessed the necessary written Triad documents. Merely passing through the gate of swords provided mutual support, while small payments without further ritual only guaranteed protection from cheating.f" Thus, the blood covenant ritual created a strong transfer of knowledge (hence the right to proselytize) and possessing the right texts provided legitimacy (hence the right to operate on one's own) . Since one did not belong to a sworn brotherhood and was not a member of one Hong family in the Jiangxi-Northern Fujian region, we also find no evidence of the worship of common Triad ancestors. Instead, Triad groups in this region worshipped a Patriarch Hong (hong zushi) or his alter ego Wan Tixi. 67 I have only found one exception to this overall pattern. In 1805-1806, the teacher Du Shiming organized a blood covenant inJianyang county 164-165 (Zheng Tian) , 168-169 (Lin Yingwei; even though they possessed a copy of a Triad manuall), 194-195 (Old Xie), 279 (Zheng Deyuan and many others). From 1813 onwards transmission was often accompanied by the blood covenant: TDH VI: 186-187 (Feng Laosan), 187 (Huang Kaiji did not use blood covenant if he only taught recognition signs and the like) , 187 and 297 Giang Bizhai?), 188-189 (Cao Huailin; only oath of mutual support) , 194 (Li Yugao), 297 (Li Wenl i, who was originally taught by a Triad teacher, see TDH VI: 185 and 187-188) . 65 To give only a few examples: TDH VI: 308 and 319 (Lu Shenghai as teacher of Zeng Alan and Yang Jinlang, who repeated it later on in much simpler form and without the blood covenant) , 370 and 373 (Yuan Jingbao as teacher of Qiu Sheng'en, who taught extended knowledge with blood covenant for more money, whereas he taught the recognition signs for less money and without the covenant). 66 TDH VI: 386. Similar statements TDH VI: 389, 396-397, 400-401, 410. 67 TDH VI: 171; 178, 187,301 and all others from this network, 301-350, 350, 373, 384, 389, 396, 400, 410, 412. In one early group in th is region, from 1801, Gu anyin and the Earthgod were worshipped. Since only the most basic T riad information was transmitted, one can argue that this was an atypical case. See TDH VI: 212.

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in Northern Fujian. He wrote an agreement (hetong), and each participant was given the common family name Hong and the shared lineage generation character Jin (meaning "gold," taken from the Genealogy of the Golden Orchid [jinlan pu] , common in sworn brotherhoodsr .P It is not entirely clear whom they worshipped, although mention is made of ancestors from Guangdong (which might refer to the ancestor from Guangdong). The case is of extreme importance in the early history of the Triad tradition and will be analyzed extensively in Chapter Seven (in section 7.4.1.) . Nonetheless, the Du Shiming case is atypical of the Jiangxi-Northern Fujian region in most respects and much closer to the situation among Triad groups elsewhere in the south. In Triad groups in Guangdong and the other southern provinces, as well as in overseas Chinese communities, the ideal of the brotherhood and belonging to the Hong family are crucial notions. For reasons that remain unclear, the brotherhood ideal is more frequently mentioned in the confessions.v" than the ideal of the common family name Hong.?? Nonetheless, Western writings on Triad groups active on China's periphery and in Southeast Asia, as well as Chinese local histories on Guangxi and Guangdong provinces, and finally the abundant records produced by the Triad groups themselves, regularly mention both aspects as part of the same conceptual whole.?! Maybe, the brotherhood ideal was TDH VI: 284, 287-288. TDH VI: 77,88-89,424-425, 431, 433, 438, 440, 445, 451-2 (from 424 onwards all branches of the first large Guangdong Triad network) , 461, 468 , 483 , 493; VII: 163, 187, 197, 202, 209, 297 (?), 312(?), 347( ?) , 369, 376, 439(?), 446, 469(?), 480, 450 . 70 Such references should be distinguished from references to the mythical founder Monk Hong Two or the number three, which derives from the radical of the Chinese character for this family name. The number three had long since become an independent symbol. For explicit mentionings of the family name, see TDH VI: 422, 424, 430 , 438, 440, 442 , 445 (all branches of the first large Guangdong Triad network), 460-461 , 464 ; VII: 485, 507, 516. In a number of confessions concerning groups from Guangxi, from 1820 onwards, there is mention of a "Hong Command Tablet" on the altar. This might refer to the demono logical notion of commanding divin e armies, but its precise meaning is nowhere explained. See : TDH VII: 402, 405, 409, 412, 416. 71 Early texts : TDH 1: 4 line 20 and the entire document (1810 ; Guangxi) both ideals; I: 156-161 (1787 proclamations on Taiwan) only the brotherhood ideal; VI: second photo (1802; Guangdong) mentions both ideals; 304-307, 340341 (1806 and 1811 texts from same original network in Southern J iangxi) both ideals, but the Hong family name is mentioned only once in an obscure fashion ; VII: 214-215 (1808 text from Guangxi) brotherhood and single family ideals, but 68

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mentioned more often, simply because it was explicitly covered by a specific legal prohibition, and had direct penal consequences, which the ideal of a common family did not. All in all, the evidence is quite clear that the notions of brotherhood and belonging to one Hong family were linked together in the typical Triad group, both in the southern provinces, and in overseas Chinese communities. In the rest of this section, I will, therefore, consider the two notions in combination with each other. The worship of the five mythical founders as the Five Ancestors was the typical form of worship in the Triad groups. This notion was essential to conceiving of the Triad community as one and the same Hong family. Thus, several groups in Northern Fujian, Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan worshipped the Five Ancestors (wuzu) as one entity.72 The oldest of these groups dates from 1805. Five of them were founded by people from Guangdong, one of whom had been taught by someone from Fujian. In 1808, we find two cases in Guangxi in which one of the Five Ancestors is worshipped individually. Curiously, in each case a different founding father is worshipped. They are identified as Patriarchs (zushi). The original teachers of the networks involved in these two cases are unknown.P Two different groups in Guizhou, whose founders had been taught by someone from Guangdong, worshipped the First Ancestor Hong Qisheng and the Crown Prince (Zhu) Hongying.I! In all of these groups, it is clear that the various figures were worshipped as ancestors. Since the mythical founders were perceived as the ancestors of no mention of the Hong family name; VII: 350-354 (1812; Guangxi); 389-390 (1820; Guangxi) brotherhood and common descent, but no mention of Hong family name). The 1787 oath mentions both ideals (see the translation in section 5.2.) . Guangxi huidang from 1828: 487 and passim mentions both ideals, and so do all later manuals (whether in original form or in Western translations or summaries) . Local gazetteers: Youlin zhouzhi (1894) 18: a1b-a2a, 18: 18b, Gui xianzhi (1893) 6: 14b, 22a and Pingnan xianzhi (1888) 18: 11-12 (quoted in Taiping tianguo geming shiqi, 372) all mention both aspects. Guangzhou fuzhi (compiled in circa 1870, 1879 preface) 81: 41b-42a (based on local information gathering, the account is also quoted by the Xiangshan xianzhi, [1873] 22: 49a-b) and Binyang xianzhi (1946) xia: 531 (quoted in Taiping tianguo geming shiqi, 559) mention only the Hong family . 72 TDH VI: 232 and VII: 418, 427, 446 , 450 (literally: "the Five Tablets of Hong Yin~ etc. "), 503-504, 507. 3 TDH VII: 261 (not entirely representative, since no blood covenant was practised) . 74 TDH VII: 486 and 517-519.

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the Hong family, they were represented by names on spirit tablets (shenwez) , instead of by statues or paintings as deities (including the Buddhist and Daoist pantheon) and guild patriarchs were. 75 Only the original deities of the Shaolin Monastery, from which the mythical founders had fled after its destruction, could be worshipped as statues. In the 1810 manual, we actually find a description of two statues, a "Buddha patriarch and a Guanyin one foot two inches high. " 76 These were the deities who had originally been worshipped in the Shaolin Monastery and who were invoked during the blood covenant ritual as witnesses. They formed only a minor focus of overall Triad worship. Later manuals do not contain such descriptions. The all-important collective worship of the Five Ancestors on spirit tablets, rather than deities represented by statues, underlines the degree to which Triad groups were constructed as a quasi-descent unit with a common family name and not just the usual groups of sworn brothers with different family names. It has been suggested that Triad groups came close to forming quasi-lineages (sib groupsl .?? Certainly, the division of the group into Five Houses (using the term for lineages fang) and the practice of an ancestor cult favor this interpretation; there is also a strong shared consciousness as a descent group, with property held in common and collective rituals. Even the elaborate Triad rules (to be analyzed in the following section) might be compared to lineage rules, which regulated the moral obligations of the lineage. On the other hand, the Triad members were clearly conceptualized as brothers belonging to one and the same household, rather than to a larger unit of uncles, cousins, nephews, etc. Thus, the model of the lineage is not applied consistently and the real model was the much more intimate nuclear family. In Singapore, up to the official prohibition of "secret societies" in 1890, an especially elaborate ancestor cult was practised by local Triad groups, which not only included the mythical founders,

75 Compare the prescriptions for such tablets in Guangxi huidang, 494-497. Not all manuals are equally clear, but they always prescribe th e relevant texts to be written on the tablets. The Berlin ms. , 22a-23b gives an elabora te set of texts , which even includes the various anc estors of the Ming prince. 76 TDH I: 20 lines 29-31. The text also describes the re st of their clothing. In th e Guangxi huidang, 494-497 even the deities are represented by tablets. 77 See for in stance the remarks by Freedman (1958 , 1965 ) 119-125.

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but also former Triad members. As many as 73 ancestor tablets are still extant today, dating to before 1890 and devoted to important local Triad leaders. Originally these tablets stood in the public Triad lodges. After the 1890 prohibition, they were placed in a temple for the God of the Earth in Singapore, and somehow survived without being identified by the authorities as Triad objects. When the local Triad groups in Malaysia and Singapore were dissolved in 1890, the proper continuation of the ancestor cult was an important issue . In Penang, several Triad groups were explicitly permitted to retain their tablets in the buildings where their former headquarters had been.l" The Singapore lawyer J.D . Vaughan has left us an excellent description of the ancestor cult in the Ghe Sin Society in Johore (Rochore in his transcription), as it existed around the mid-nineteenth century. According to him, the tablets of the Five Ancestors (he calls them Patriarchs) were in the principal hall of the lodge, and in front of them stood tables with incense burners. On the left and right of the shrine were carved woodwork cabinets, containing the tablets of deceased officers of the local Triad group, with their names and dates of death inscribed on them in gold letters. In front of the two cabinets were more incense burners. These tablets were sacrificed to and worshipped "at the proper seasons." Every deceased member was worshipped, as long as his membership certificate was handed in for registration at his death. Vaughan estimated that "[t] 0 receive this worship at death appears to be one of the chief objects of all Chinese in joining these secret societies. "79 Elsewhere in the same description, he noted that the most important religious ceremony of these societies was the annual worship of the dead. "The night preceding the day on which this festival [i]s observed pigs, fowls, and ducks are killed and cooked, and a party of musicians perform for several hours at the door of the Kongsi house. Early in the morning the food, with arrack (liquor) and other drinks are sent to the cemetery, and the members follow ."8o It cannot be established on the basis of the extant sources, Blythe (1969) 239-240. Vaughan (1879) 110-111. Description goes back to 1854. 80 Vaughan (1879) 98-99. Confusingly, Vaughan uses the term Kongsi for Triads as well as other types of local clubs . However, the next paragraph makes clear that he is (also) speaking of the Triads. 78

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whether such elaborate ancestor worship also took place in Malaysia or Singapore after 1890 under the more customary circumstances of persecution and prohibition, or elsewhere from the moment that a Triad group established itself. We only know that the minimal cult of the Five Ancestors was alwayscarried out. When the candidate member makes the all-important passage under the bridge during the initiationjourney, he sees the spirit tablets (shenWet) of all departed brethren. This confirms that the ideal of worshipping deceased members was retained, even if, in actual practice, such worship may have been hard to carry out. Traditionally, brotherhoods only proclaimed themselves to be brothers sharing a common womb in metaphorical terms, while continuing to use their own family names. The literary examples of the Ximen Qing brotherhood from The Golden Lotus and the Peach Garden brotherhood of Liu Bei, Cuan Yu and Zhang Fei from the Three Kingdom vernacular tradition are cases in point. By taking on a new family name and collectively carrying out an ancestor cult, the Triads went much further than the conventional sworn brotherhood in creating a descent group structure. This also necessitated the exceptionally strong ritual form of the initiation journey through the landscape of life and death, in order to accomplish this change of kinship status succesfully. 5.3 .2. Moral obligations The essence of kinship groups and local communities (villages or neighbourhoods) always was and still is perceived to be the moral obligation of mutual support. In a sense, artificial groups-such as guilds or also the Triads- came into being largely in order to compensate for the lack of mutual support among people away from home and/or in a marginal social postition. Unlike quasinatural groups, they felt a need to describe the contents of the moral obligation of mutual support in great detail. In the case of the Triads, this was done in the written covenants, which consisted to a large extent of such normative passages (see for example the 1787 written covenant, translated in the preceding section). From these passages lengthy sets of rules developed, the so-called Thirty-Six Oaths (sanshiliu shi), that were transmitted as independent texts.81 These lengthy moral prescriptions continued to be 81

Originals: Xiao (1935) 2: la-13a (Or. 8207D, E and 2339) ; Berlin ms. 79a-

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read aloud as an integral part of the blood covenant ceremony, to guarantee that members would take them seriously. An important transitional place is occupied by the following two sets of rules from the 1828 Guangxi manual, which show the development from the normative passages as an integrated part of written covenants, to the independent and even more detailed Thirty-Six Oaths. The principal changes are the tremendous increase of detail over time, and the fact that the moral points are elaborated in numbered rules. The 1828 rules already have this basic format, but are still fairly brief. Because they summarize the moral values and supernatural sanctions of the more complex Thirty-Six Oaths rather well, I have translated them in full below. "The thunder-regulations of the Ten Great Rules and Five Vows "82 1. One may not divulge the plan of Heaven, or one will be struck by Heavenly Thunder. 2. One may not privately transmit the slogans, or five horses will pull one's body apart. 3. One may not privately sell one's membership certificate, or a thousand swords will carve one up ten thousand times. 4. One may not privately sell one's jacket, or a fierce fire will burn one's body. 5. One may not as an elder brother abuse someone's wife and children, or one's flesh will be separated from one's bones. 6. One may not swindle others out of their money, or one's progeny will be annihilated. 7. One may not abus~ one's strength to cheat the weak, or one will be executed by Heaven and annihilated by Earth. 8. One may not guarantee that others will cross the passes [of the initiationjourneyJ, or one's head will become separated from one 's body.

89a. Translations: Schlegel (1866) 135-144; Stanton (1900) 61-64 and 118-124; Ward and Stirling (1925) 64-70; Morgan (1960) 157-160; Murray (1994) 238-246 ("Tiandihui Oaths," namely two versions of the 36 rules, one from Newbold and Wilson [1841] and the other from an 1849 article by Dr. Hoffman on the basis of material collected by S. Wells Williams). To keep the footnotes manageable, my analysis in this section is limited to the material in Schlegel (1866), Stanton (1900), and Xiao (1935). 82 Guangxi huidang, 492. The combined title is in the original. Instead of the Chinese term li for regulations, the homophonous term li for the sound of thunder has been written. This "mistake" may well be a pun, inspired by the frequency with which thunder appears as a punishment for moral transgressions in traditional China. A slightly different first set is given in Guangxi huidang, 493. Such divergences suggest that the manual was not composed at a single point of time by one and the same person.

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9. One may not utilize one's wealth to cheat the poor, or one will be pursued eternally by a karmic settling of accounts. 10. One may not use public means to settle private grudges, or one will be sliced up slowly and carved into pieces. 1. One must beware of liquor, and after consuming liquor one should not kill or be violent. 2. One must beware of sex, when aroused one should not abuse the wives and sisters of [members of the Hong] family. 3. One must beware of wealth, when rich one should not embezzle the possessions of brothers. 4. One must beware of bad temper, and one should not beat brothers to death in anger. 5. One must beware of meat, having eaten meat one should not insult or scold the Hong family .

The Five Vows were evidently modelled on the five lay Buddhist vows, no indulgence in liquor, to have no sexual desire, not to steal, not to use uncouth language, and not to kill. They have been adapted to the specific Triad moral program. Violence as such is not prohibited, bloody meat and liquor are used in the sacrificial rites, sex is only prohibited with the wrong people, and so forth. The reason for such quasi-Buddhist terminology, together with the Buddhist deities invoked during the covenant ceremony, is the presumed historical founding of the first Triad group by the five monks of the Shaolin Monastery. In reality, the Triads were very little influenced by Buddhist traditions. When we analyze the extant sets of Triad rules, we find that a crucial aim was to regulate the behavior of the sworn brothers towards each other and each other's relatives. They served to create the new and artificial Hong family . The same obligations and prohibitions that normally pertain only to one's blood relatives in society at large, now applied exclusively to the relatives of one's sworn brothers. This is typical of the sworn brotherhood in general, but the Triad tradition goes much further in developing specific rules of behavior. The construction of a new family is particularly clear from the taboo on marrying the female relatives of sworn brothers (unless there is explicit permission from the Triad brother, rather than from her actual parents!). The prohibition on having sexual relationships with the children of sworn brothers is also interesting, in view of the fact that sexual relationships with the under-age (female as well as male) were quite common in pre-modern Chi-

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na. In the same category, we find the prohibition on encroaching upon the graves of ancestors and relatives of sworn brothers (in clear text, on stealing suitable burial land) .83 The obligations of the Hong family members to each other took precedence over earlier obligations to their blood relatives, even in the case of revenge when a fellow member had killed someone's real brother or father.84 When we consider that in Fujian and Guangdong blood vendettas were an endemic social phenomenon, this reveals something of the strength of the newly created family ties .85 It indicates a potential tension between the sworn brotherhood of the Triads and that other strong South Chinese social organization, the lineage. In actual practice, there may have been less competition between the lineage and the Triads than one might assume. The Triads tended to recruit most participants from marginal social groups (who often lead a travelling existence and/or lived outside their place of origin) to whom lineage organization had little to offer anyhow. Without doubt, the largest group of rules concerns the duties of the sworn brothers vis-a-vis each other, again based on the belief that they now formed part of one extended family and had the usual brotherly obligations to each other. The rules are expressed in two forms , positive rules stressing the need for mutual support, and negative ones prohibiting deceit and betrayal. Thus, in the first category some rules prescribed mutual financial support for marriage and mourning ceremonies.P" Other rules stated 83 Schlegel (1866) 135-144 (1,5,30,31) ; Stanton (1900) 61-64 (1,2,30,36) , 118-124 (1,9, 11, 19,33,34); Xiao (1935) 3: la-13a (set 1: 1,3,4,8, 10, 12,27; set 2: 1,5, 16,30,32; set 3: 1,6,8, 16,33; Or. 8207D , E and 2339) . Xiao (1935) 3: 8a-13a (set 3: 31; Or. 2339) prescribes that when a brother is on the road, his brothers at home have to warn him should his wife commits adultery. Schlegel (1866) 135-144, rule 30 prescribes politeness to wife or concubines of brothers. 84 Schlegel (1866) 135-144 (24) ; Stanton (1900) 118-124 (26); Xiao (1935) 3: la-13a (set 1: 15; set 2: 23; set 3: 12, 18; Or. 8207D , E and 2339) . Prescriptions on secrecy usually specify that blood rel atives are not to be informed (see note 90) . Schlegel (1866) 135-144 (23) , Stanton (1900) 118-124 (25) and Xiao (1935) la-13a (set 2: 23; set 3: 18) give rules on the precedence of the brotherhood above existing vengeance obligations against fellow brothers. You/in zhouzhi (1894) 18: a2a notes that they explicitly deny the existence of blood relatives and only obey their leader. Pingnan xianzhi (1888) 18: 11-12 (quoted in Taiping tianguo geming shiqi, 372) stresses the same po int of leaving one's blood relatives and becoming a mutual support brotherhood. 85 Lamley (1990) 27-64. 86 Schlegel (1866) 135-144 (11) ; Stanton (1900) 118-124 (2) ; Xiao (1935) 3: la-13a (set 1: 7, 34; set 2: 26; set 3: 15; Or. 8207D, E and 2339).

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that brothers had to support each other during conflicts with officials and other outsiders, offer brothers a free meal and shelter them if they were on the run from the authorities.V The category of negative rules is much larger, prohibiting stealing from one another, getting angry if a brother does not want to lend money, betraying brothers, fighting, cheating brothers during gambling and so on. Naturally, this also included a prohibition on embezzling Triad funds. 88 Finally, there were rules prohibiting oppressing the weak and slandering people or fighting while drunk.f" Probably, this last group of rules only concerned fellow brothers and not society at large. The rules furthermore state explicitly that Buddhist and Daoist priests are to be treated politely, because the founders of the Triads were priests. There is also a group of rules to regulate the affairs of the brotherhood as a ritual and religious entity. Thus, there are rules elaborating the general need for secrecy, specifically with respect to the conclusion of a covenant and to the handbooks, and also pertaining to ritual objects and secret language (whether oral, written or in the form of symbolsj.P'' There is always a rule that the blood covenant is considered to be binding until the oathtaker's death, even if the covenant were to be ritually retracted in a local temple." Other rules regulate after how many years of membership one is allowed to take on which post. One can attain the leading ritual post oflncense Master (x iangzhu) only after three or five years of membership.P'' Incidentally, these are both Yang or positive num87 Schlegel (1866) 135-144 (8, 13, 15,32,33); Stanton (1900) 61-64 (14, 17, 18,27) ,118-124 (3,7,20,21); Xiao (1935) 3: la-13a (set 1: 2, 3, 5, 16?; set 2: 13, 21; set 3: 9, 19, 25, 27, 29, 32; Or. 8207D, E and 2339) . . 88 Schlegel (1866) 135-144 (6,7,9,10,13,14,16,17,19,20,22,25,26,27, 28,29,31) ; Stanton (1900) 61-64 (4, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16,22,23,24,29,30,31,32, 35),118-124 (6,8,10,11,14,15,16,17,18,22,23,27,28,29,30); Xiao (1935) 3: l a-13a (set 1: 6,11 ,18,24,25,28,29,30,32; set 2: 2, 4, 7, 8,11,12,14,15,17, 18,19,20,24,27,30,33,35,36; set 3: 3, 4, 5,11 ,14,17,21,22,23,30,33,35; Or. 8207D, E and 2339). 89 Schlegel (1866) 135-144 (4, 31) ; Stanton (1900) 61-64 (5, 6, 11, 31, 33), 118-124 (31,32); Xiao (1935) 3: la-13a (set I: 9, 13,33; set 2: 3, 6, 7, 31; set 3: 2,24, 26, 28; Or. 8207D, E and 2339). 90 Schlegel (1866) 135-144 (2,21,27) ; Stanton (1900) 61-64 (3, 7, 21), 118124 (5,35) ; Xiao (1935) 3: la-13a (set 1: 14, 17,24,26,29; set 2: 9, 22; set 3: 10; Or. 8207D, E and 2339) . 91 Schlegel (1866) 135-144 (12); Stanton (1900) 61-64 (28) 118-124 (13) ; Xiao (1935) 3: la-13a (set I : 31; set 2: 28; set 3: 34; Or. 8207D , E and 2339) . 92 Schlegel (1866) 135-144 (18, 19, 33) ; Stanton (1900) 61-64 (26) , 118-124

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bers, whereas four would be Yin and the Chinese word for it is homophonous with the word for dying. The rules also cover the celebration of certain religious festivals, namely on the Fifteenth day of the First Month (purpose unspecified) , on the Twenty-fifth day of the Seventh Month (for the Five Ancestors), and on the Seventh or Ninth day of the Ninth Month (for the mythical founder Wan Yunlong).93 It is probably no coincidence that two of these dates occur during the two most important festival periods of the Chinese religious calender, namely the New Year period that usually ends with the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the First Month, and the Ghost Festival which takes place in the weeks preceding and following the fifteenth day of the Seventh Month. The Ghost Festival is devoted to the spirits of the ancestors and hungry ghosts (demons), for whom extensive ritual and theatrical performances are put on to improve their status in the world of the dead. Whatever our judgement on the quasi-descent group structure of Triad groups, it is clear that they were not organized like the ordinary sworn brotherhoods in which the participants preserved their different family names. They went much further in the adoption of one family name, a name which also possessed a variety of religious connotations. In order to confirm their far-reaching adoption of a descent group structure, the Triads adopted the strong ritual tool of the blood covenant. They also developed elaborate moral prescriptions, at first as part of their written covenants, but from an early date onwards in the form of separate sets of rules. The mature Triad tradition, as it is documented in its own internal written documents and in a variety of sources concerning the southern provinces (except for the atypical situation ofJiangxiNorthern Fujian), consisted of a brotherhood ideal, the common family name Hong, and elaborate moral prescriptions. Through the initiation ritual an artificial family was created, including the worship of ancestors on spirit tablets. Most of these concerns can be seen from the earliest appearance of the Triads in our sources (24); Xiao (1935) 3: la-13a (set 1: 36; set 2: 25; set 3: 7, 10; Or. 8207D, E and 2339). 93 These dates are given in three sets of rules: Stanton (1900) 61-64 (9); Xiao (1935) 3: Ia-Sa (set 1: 35; set 2: 29; Or. 8207D and E). Furthermore, Schlegel (1866) 135-144 (rule 34 gives only the festivals for Guan Yu, All Souls and Yulanpen).

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in 1787 onwards, but not necessarily in each and every case . The additional worship of common ancestors is first documented only a little later, from the early nineteenth century onwards.

5.4. Concluding remarks

In this and the previous chapter much attention has been paid to the blood covenant, because of its importance as the concluding ceremony of the Triad initiation ritual, but also because of the scholarly confusion about its precise contents and the way it fitted into Chinese culture. On the basis of a detailed investigation of the historical and ethnographic evidence, I have been able to demonstrate that the Triad blood covenant continued a long-established and widespread ritual tradition. This observation allows us to recognize references to vernacular literary traditions, such as the Three Kingdoms story, as embellishments, rather than direct sources of inspiration. Such references were intended to legitimate a custom by providing it with respectable precedents. This is important, since the literary descriptions of the oath of brotherhood in the Peach Garden actually rarely match blood covenant practices. The same observation on the widespread practice of the blood covenant also makes the often presumed influence of the Water Margin story rather unlikely.P" The description of the blood covenant in the commonly read version of the novel is fairly close to actual practice, but by no means the same. Furthermore, at no point during the Triad ritual do we find any explicit references to the vernacular tradition of the Water Margin. The tendency for Chinese scholars and officials to assume, without closer inspection, that the written is always the source of the oral is a common phenomenon among the Chinese intellectual elite, but also something against which modern historians should guard themselves. It was precisely because the blood covenant was not an esoteric and rare custom, that it possessed such great significance as a social event. When people concluded an agreement by means of a blood covenant, this meant that they were very serious about their undertaking. Shedding the blood of a white cockerel and pronounc94

Full references are given in note 1 to Chapter Four.

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ing gruesome execrations were not considered to be trifling matters. The Western descriptions of oaths provide graphic evidence on the actual power of such execrations upon those who pronounced them, in their descriptions of oath-takers who trembled and sweated with fear throughout the ritual. Even if the contents of the agreement had to be kept secret, as is specified in most Triad covenants, local people, relatives and friends would certainly have known that some kind of agreement had been concluded. The covenant owed much of its social impact to this semi-public awareness that it had taken place. The Triad blood covenant ceremony was not in itself innovative. This is even true of the use of written texts, as written covenants had been common in the Spring and Autumn period and again, much later, in the context of sworn brotherhoods and eighteenth century blood covenants. In terms of their contents, the covenant texts and the elaborate moral prescriptions built on existing oral practices. Apart from using the structure of Daoist memorials, there is little evidence that the covenants were directly modelled on other written models such as community compacts or lineage rules. 95 What is remarkable about the Triad blood covenant ceremony is not the ritual practice itself, but rather the detailed way in which the Triad ceremony further developed this common practice, and the elaborate use of writing for its formal memorial and the detailed rules that clarify the moral obligations of all Triad members. The blood covenant was the concluding ceremony of the Triad initiation ritual. It did not, however, create the change of status from membership of majority society into full membership of the Hong family, for this occurred during the preceding initiation journey of death and new birth. Instead it served to seal the results of the preceding ritual by means of an irrevocable and very powerful ceremony. It also laid down an elaborate normative framework and defined the Triads in ethical terms as a moral community like any other social group (such as kinship groups or villages). The ceremony derived from familiar elements of Chinese religious culture that would have been known to all participants and even-s-despite their professed ignorance about local religion95 See Wang (1959). Taga (1981) 560-568 discusses the punishments in clan rules . See Ubelhor (1989) 371-388 on the early Song community compact.

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to most local officials . After this ritual and for the participants highly emotional conclusion, the Triad group would join in a festive banquet, during which the sacrifices were be consumed. The sense of community and belonging to the same family was thus further confirmed by collective merrymaking. The initiation ritual was therefore not merely a personal rite of passage, but a major socially constitutive event.

PART III NARRATIVES

INTRODUCTION The Triad initiation ritual was an enactment of life, death and rebirth. It used the same basic script each time that it was performed , justifying the use of the term "ritual." All the same, we should not overlook the fact, as I have stressed in the concluding analysis of Chapter Three, that with every single performance this script was interpreted as an enactment of the actual life (or lives) of the specific participants in this performance. All performances of the initiation ritual were therefore unique, since they always involved the transformation of new candidate members. This uniqueness is an essential quality of any ritual. In the following chapters, I turn to the narrative structures of Triad lore, whether the story of a future, new world or the history of the founders of the first Triad group. Here, specific events are placed in a fixed and unique time sequence, hence my use of the term "narrative structures". Unlike the initiation ritual that was re-created afresh with each performance for the individual participants, these narratives paradoxically remain the same with each telling (even if individual versions may differ more from each other than do ritual performancesl) . They only touch upon the lives of Triad members in so far as each member is a soldier in the growing Triad army that will one day overthrow the Manchu imperial house of the ruling Qing dynasty and restore the imperial house of the former Ming dynasty. Like the theatrical performance, these stories can only be made part of one's life by an act of appropriation, by attaching one's own lifestory at the end of the story that is being told or by treating the story as a metaphor for one's own life . Whereas Triad ritual was not primarily concerned with communication (though this function was by no means absent), communication was central to the narrative structures. As we will see , elements from these structures also regularly appeared in Triad incidents and rebellions, to be communicated to the outside world, unlike elements from the Triad initiation ritual. In Chapter Six I reconstruct, in extensive detail, a demonological messianic tradition that has been little noted until now, despite its pervasive influence on Chinese history. Then, in Chapter Seven, I analyze the striking impact of this tradition on Triad lore. This includes the names and functions of the mythical founders,

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the central place of the City of Willows, the role of the youthful Ming prince who is to be restored to the throne, and the thoroughly demonological structure of Triad lore. Although Triad lore partly arose out of a demonological messianic tradition, the messianic message was rarely activated and the eschatological disasters that are typical of a messianic movement were limited to barbarian invasions. Thus, the messianic dimension of early Triad lore is very much a lost story, a narrative which had contributed to the creation of Triad lore in its early phase, but soon lost its eschatological sting. To make a claim, as I do in Chapter Eight, for the overriding political nature of Triad lore might easily be misunderstood as an attempt to turn back the pages of historiography and resurrect the hackneyed old view of the Triads as a continuation of the proMing resistance movements of the early Qing. Recent scholarship has convincingly demolished the old view that the Triads were descended from the ideologically motivated Ming loyalist movement of intellectual elites active during the first decades of the Qing, or that they originated among the remnants of the pro-Ming armies of Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) who continued to fight the Qing until they were finally defeated in 1683. 1 I fully agree with the overall thrust of this scholarship, but do not think that the conclusion can therefore be drawn that political ideals did not matter to the Triads as an overall social tradition, or only entered Triad lore at a very late stage (implying that they are, therefore, less significant). On the contrary, we will see that these political ideals played a significant role in the Triads, sometimes to the extent of fuelling outright rebellion or underground resistance. Even more importantly, the belief that the Triads had a political mission legitimated their existence as a closed community that resisted the outer world. Political elements can be found all through Triad lore, whether in the initiation ritual, the foundation account or slogans on flags etc. My analysis in Chapter Eight deals with two aspects, namely the larger context from which Triad political elements originated and their specific use by the Triads. We will see that this political dimension did not imply that Triad lore was essen-

1

See Chapter Eight for a more detailed discussion.

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tially secular, since all political practice in traditional China was predicated on Heaven-as the source of legitimacy and power. The full story of why and how the Triads had been given this political mission is told in the Triad foundation account. I analyze this story in Chapter Nine, specifically its historical origins, its similarities with a number of other foundation stories of religious groups (sharing the same "fall from grace" plot), and its function in marking the Triads as a group with a higher mission. In an appendix, I analyze some recent new theories on the possible origins of the Triads from a Shaolin Monastery located in southern Fujian.

CHAPTER SIX

THE DEMONOLOGICAL MESSIANIC PARADIGM In this chapter I reconstruct a little known demonological messianic paradigm, which has exerted a remarkable influence on Chinese history in general, and on the Triads in particular. Since my hypothesis about the demonological messianic origins of Triad lore differs radically from the established historiographical views, it is imperative that we first examine this paradigm in more detail. The demonological messianic paradigm distinguishes itself from other types of messianism by the way in which people deal with the threat of apocalypse. In the more Buddhist inspired messianic traditions that have been studied by Daniel Overmyer, Susan Naquin and others, the threat of apocalypse is dealt with by changes in the individual's lifestyle. People keep vegetarian fasts, meditate, recite spells or sutras, and so forth . Only those who adopt the proper lifestyle can be saved, all others will be destroyed by the apocalyptic disasters. There is a strong moral dimension involved.! In the alternative demonological paradigm, there is no need to change one's personal lifestyle and one's behavior is irrelevant. People fight off eschatological threats using exorcist techniques, calling in the aid of divine armies and protective amulets. The demonological messianic paradigm culls from the same repertoire as Daoist exorcist ritual traditions and is, in fact, historically related to the latter as well . In the first section of this chapter, I provide an overal survey of the demonological messianic paradigm during the eighteenth century and discuss several better documented incidents in more detail. In the following section, I turn to the especially well-documented and influential incident of Ma Chaozhu (from 1747 until 1752), which is highly typical of this paradigm. I draw the available material together in section 6.3., in order to bring out some common themes of the demonological messianic paradigm. The next chapter is then devoted to a detailed analysis of the influences of this paradigm on Triad lore. Here I will also be able to point out some remarkable resemblances with the Ma Chaozhu case, 1

Naquin (1985) 255-291.

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although we should not go so far as to see Ma's followers as a Triad group avant la lettre. 6.1. Saviors from demons A crucial element in the demonological messianic paradigm is the fear that the world is about to be invaded by all kinds of demons. After these have been defeated, a perfect age will arrive of Great Peace (taiping) , governed by a Perfect Ruler. The term Great Peace literally means "great flatness," since the earth will become completely flat once the apocalyptic disasters have been dealt with. The original implication must have been that with the disappearance of mountains, grottoes and other barriers or passageways from the mythical landscape of life and death, human life itself would no longer know any transitions from one stage to another, and henceforth become eternal. The belief in a demonic threat was incorporated in Buddhist inspired forms of messianism, but also continued to flourish as an independent tradition. We find it in Daoist scriptures.f and in the tradition of the Classic of the Five Lords (wugong jing), to be discussed below. The principal weapons used against demonic invasions are exorcist techniques, especially amulets and divine armies, under the leadership of royal figures (kings and princes). The figure of the Luminous King plays a key role in this particular messianic paradigm and I shall therefore begin my brief historical survey with him. References to this messianic savior should be distinguished from the more narrowly political usage of the term "luminous king" as a complimentary way of referring to an emperor. The notion of the Luminous King as a savior goes back at least to the sixth century, when he appears as the assistant of two other saviours, Maitreya and the obscure Prince Moonlight (yueguang tongzi) in a messianic text preserved in Dunhuang. The Luminous King (mingwang) is sometimes referred to as Luminous Ruler (mingzhu) or True Ruler (zhenzhu). It is in this particular tradition, that the cities Yang'zhou and Liucheng feature as safe havens for the elected few, before they cross into the City of Transformations. 3 The names of both cities mean "City of Willows." The Luminous King and the City of Willows are central elements of Triad lore. 2

3

Seidel (1984) 305-351 and Mollier (1990) . Zurcher (1982) 1-59 and Forte (1976) passim. Ter Haar (1992) 120-121 dem-

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The Luminous King features prominently in the Classic of the Five Lords (wugong jing), which stems from a demonological messianic tradition that has inspired many incidents from the late Tang until the present all over Southern China. A book with this title is frequently mentioned from the Northern Song onwards. Five bodhisattva's (the Five Lords) predict the future and advise mankind on the right way to handle the approaching apocalyptic disasters-Leo by means of protective amulets and by possessing this book. Dating of important events takes place with the cyclical characters yin and mao. The Luminous King is accompanied by another savior, called Luo Ping. Their appearance will bring about Great Peace." The King also appears in several other Song and late Ming or Qing apocryphal texts with political or messianic prophecies.P During the late Yuan, the belief in the appearance of the Luminous King circulated widely and may eventually have inspired the name of the Ming dynasty." During the Ming the King featured in several incidents." but we do not know if and how the Ming population connected this figure to the Zhu imperial family . By the Qing, however, the connection between the Zhu imperial family and the Luminous King was definitely made, always in connection with the demonological messianic paradigm. I have summarized the relevant cases from this paradigm during the first half of the Qing period in Table 2, "Messianic saviors." We know very little concerning the religious dimension of most of these incidents, and what little we do know has been included in the above table. In the remainder of this section, I only discuss those incidents on which we possess more detailed information. onstrates that the belief in the Luminous King was not derived from Manichaean traditions. 4 Ke (1983) 197-203 and (1987) 364-371; Takeuchi (1988) 1-25, especially 11-16. Some additional primary references can be found in ter Haar (1992) 99100 note 100. 5 He is mentioned in the title of a southern Song messianic work, see Shimen zhengtong, 4: 412a (Chikusa [1982] 220-221 and 22&-227) . He is mentioned several times in the Precious Scroll to Settle the Kalpa (dingjie baojuan) , quoted in Ma (1988) 45-48, 157, 171. This is probably a late Ming or Qing text. He is mentioned once in the Charts for Prognosticating the Unknown (tu ibei tu), see Bauer (1973) Station 57. On this work, see Nakano (1970) and (1992) , Baue r (1973) and ter Haar (1992) 99-100 note 100. 6 Ter Haar (1992) 115-118 and Chang'an kehua, 1:1. 7 Ming period: Taizong shilu, 94: 6a (1406 incident) ; Yingzong shilu , 277: 15a and Shuanghuai suichao, 8: 139 (1457 incident); Xianzong shilu, 140: 2a (1475 incident) .

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Table 2. Messianic saviors Date

Protagonist(s)

Saviors

1677 circa 1707

Cai Yin

1721-1727

Zhai Binru

1729-1730

Li Mei

1734 1736-1756 1743

Chen Zong DuQi Huang Tianrui

1743 1746 1748

Huang San followers of Zhang Baotai Li Awan

Third Prince Zhu. 8 Rumors about a Third Prince Zhu (several people were arrested, including a descendant of the imperial family, but the prince was not foundj .? Li Kaihua or Li Jiutao as the new emperor (discussed below). Third Prince Zhu, LiJiukui, and Luo Ping (discussed below). Fourth (sic!) Prince Zhu . lO Li Kaihua (said to come from Guangdongj.!' the Orchid Dragon (lanlong) Zhu Son of Heaven, and Li Kaihua.12 Li Kaihua (discussed below) . Zhu Niuba, Zhu Hongsheng and Li Kaihua.P

1747-1752 1752

Ma Chaozhu Li Dexian

1753 1767

Sun Dayou

8

33b .

Five colored flags with the five characters for Great Country of True Person Li from Heaven (li tianzhen daguo) . 14 Zhu Hongjin and Li Kaihua (see section 6.2.) . Possessed flags with the names of Li Kaihua, Zhu Hongzong, Zhu Hongzhu and others on them (discussed below) . Rumors about Li Kaihua and Zhu Hongzhuo.P Claims to be Zhu, Son of Heaven; has colored flags in white, red, yellow and blue, with slogans such as "Heavenly Signal of the Heavenly Command of the Great Ming in the West" (xi daming tianling tianhao) and "Luminous Prince of the Hua of the Middle, when he sees Han[-people] he does not kill them" (zhonghua mingjun jianhan busha) . 16

Tong'an (Fujian) ; (Chongcuan) Fujian tongzhi (1829) 268: 33b-35a, especially

Lower Yangzi region; Chikusa (1979) 499-514, especially 513-515. Zhuluo (Taiwan); Shiliao xunkan, tian-series: 324a . Sasaki (1970) 236-237. 11 Shaowu (Fujian); Shiliao xunkan, di-series: 441a-451b. Sasaki (1970) 183189. 12 Gutian, Minqing (Fujian); Kangyongqian, 626. 13 Guizhou; Kangyongqian, 640-648, especially 646-647 . Suzuki (1982) 258, 260; Ma and Han (1992) 1202-1203 (based on archival documents not available to me , mentions Zhu Hongsheng, the mythical head of the Iron Ship Teachings, and Li Kaihua) . 14 Chenghai (Guangdong); Kangyongqian, 653 . 15 Zengzheng (Guangdong); Kangyongqian, 671. 16 Jingmen (Hubei) ; Shiliao xunkan, tian-series: 250b-251a, 254b-255b and Kangyongqian , 676-677. Sasaki (1970) 190-193. I have dropped the mysterious character nan (south) at the end of this slogan, because the final part "when he sees Han [-people] he does not kill them" also appears in this form on two other flags. This part was clearly one coherent unit. 9

10

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Table 2. Cont. Date

Protagonist(s)

Saviors

1770

Gong Hai

1796-1804

Liu Zhixie

1813

Li Wencheng

Patriarch Zhang, Zhu Tianshun alias Zhu Tianlong (discussed below) . ZhuJiutao, Zhu Hongtao, Niu Ba, Maitreya, the Son of Heaven of the True Ming (discussed below) . Luminous Ruler, True Ruler.!?

An alternative analysis of a number of these cases is presented by Suzuki Chusei in one of the most important studies on Qing messianism and millenarianism that have been written to date. Suzuki uses the sociologically inspired typology of "sects" (in my terminology "new religious groups") developed by Bryan Wilson. In Wilson's typology as applied by Suzuki, the demonological messianic paradigm could be classified as thaumaturgical.l" I will not attempt a further sociological analysis, but defer to Suzuki's important contribution. The first incident that we need to consider took place from 17211727 in Shaanxi province. In 1721 the geomantician and fortuneteller Zhai Binru from Zezhou heard that someone called Li Kaihua, or Li Jiutao, was about to ascend the throne and that a certain Man of the Way (daoren) or Divine Immortal (shenxian) Pan from Heyang would assist him, who was already over a hundred years old and knew both the past and future of the world. Zhai claimed to have become Pan's pupil and started to sell yellow amulets. The amulets were empowered by the authority of the Patriarch Puan, which is quite common in popular amulets. Zhai told one of his key followers that these would protect them against pestilences, weapons and soldiers. Zhai expected an uprising to take place in He'nan, Shanxi and Shaanxi. In 1724 the Man of the Way Pan (or at least someone who was thought to be the man in Zhai's prophecies) was arrested and beaten to death on the orders of the local magistrate. In 1725, Zhai Binru tried to form a coalition with a Maitreyist group led by Zhang Jindou, whose members he tried to get over to his side. In 1726 outright fighting broke out between the two groups and in 1727 Zhai Binru was arrested. He had subversive intentions, but was by no means systematic in his 17 Kangyongqian, 874-875. Naquin (1976) 216-217 quotes partly from this important document. Naquin (1976) 92,216-217. 18 Wilson (1973) and Suzuki (1983) .

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preparations.l? ZhangJindou stood at the beginning of a long line of teachers, which eventually produced one of the networks that started the so-called White Lotus uprising of 1796-1804.20 At the other end of China, in 1729-1730, the teacher Li Mei (actually a pseudonym, meaning Peach Plum!) was active in Enping (Guangdong) . His prophecies speak ofThird Prince Zhu (wellattested since 1677) and Li Jiukui, but also of the curious figure of Luo Ping. Luo Ping's name was written on flags . It was believed that these three figures lived in the "Little Western Heaven" (xiao xitian), situated in Vietnam. Tliey were expected to come with a large army and Li Mei made the explicitly political claim that" [the Mandate will be] bestowed by Heaven and the Way will be carried out" (tianyu daoxing). In other words, Third Prince Zhu would henceforth rule the All-Under-Heaven. Li Mei and his followers sold certificates (zha) , which would provide protection against the apocalyptic disasters of plagues and demons. They claimed to be able to dig gold and silver from the ground.U Luo Ping appears in the Classic of the Five Lords as the assistant of the Luminous King (who does not himselffeature in the 1729-1730 incident) and also functioned as a savior in his own right in various incidents before the Qing. As I noted above , a central claim of the Classic of the Five Lords is that possessing it and using its amulets (ju) provides protection against apocalyptic disasters. Thus, the 1729-1730 incident combines the belief in the saviors Third Prince and LiJiukui, with demonological elements that could well have been derived from the tradition of the Classic of the Five Lords. We find exactly the same complex of elements in a 1743 inci19 Zezhou (Shanxi) ; Shiliao xunkan, tian-series: 298a-b, Kangyongqian, 606613 and material quoted by Ma and Han (1992) 1264-1266. Also see Suzuki (1982) 235-238 and especially Gaustad (1994) 51-67 for more detailed discussions. Gaustad (1994) 59 adds the interesting detail that one of Zha i's key followers concluded brotherhood covenants to form stronger groups. In the original account, the Qing officials suggest repeatedly that Zhai Binru was making everything up. Given the consistency of his claims with the demonological messianic tradition reconstructed in this chapter, it is evident that he did not invent things out of the blue. The Shiliao xunkan refers to Pan as Man of the Way (daoren) ; the archival materials consulted by Gaustad (1994) use the terms Daoi st master (daoshi) or "evil [Man of the] Way" (yaodao). On the contents of the amulets, see de Groot (1892-1910) VII: 1043-1044 . 20 Gaustad (1994) 40-71 deals with Zhang Jindou and his followers. 21 Shiliao xunkan, tian-series: especially 21a-b, 24a , 53a-b and Kangyongqian, 613-616. The memorial by E Ertai in Zhupi yuzhi 7: 61a-b contains further information. Sasaki (1970) 188 and Suzuki (1982) 239.

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dent from Guizhou province. Huang San, Zhang Zuxian and others claimed to be able to dig up silver from a grotto in the southwest of the province and predicted the advent of epidemics. They sold amulets that guaranteed protection against ghosts, tigers, and illness, and which would enable people to live on until a hundred. They also foretold of the appearance of Li Kaihua, alias Li Tianbao (Li the Treasure from Heaven) , as a new king. 22 Probably, this figure was connected to the find of silver, but we do not know how . From 1747 onwards, the messianic teacher Ma Chaozhu was active in the Hubei-Anhui border region. In 1752 most of his followers were caught by the Qing authorities, but he himself was not. He had taught about a young descendant of the Ming imperial family, called Zhu Hongjin, who was assisted by-amongst others-Li Kaihua. This prince would come from his kingdom in the Western Ocean Fortress on Mount Emei in Sichuan, at the head of a large army of divine soldiers, to conquer China and restore the Ming dynasty. Ma Chaozhu was one of his generals. I shall discuss this case extensively in the following section, since it is exceptionally well documented and can be connected to Triad lore in a number of ways. In 1752, there was also another teacher active in nearby Shangyou (jiangxi province), whose name was Li Dexian. There is little information on this man, except that he came from Fujian. Events began with the find of a cache of silver by the charcoal burner He Yasi. This gave rise to all kinds of local rumors, which are not specified in our sources. Li Dexian then insinuated himself into He Yasi's trust and became his advisor. Li used He Yasi's silver to buy seals and told his followers that they should make special flags in order to summon "spirit soldiers" (yinbing). He engraved the following text: "Seal to summon the Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals" (tianbing and tianjiang respectively) on a copper seal. Li also had two flags made with the text "Great Saint Equal to Heaven" (qitian dasheng), as well as the names of the heavenly generals, Li Kaihua, Zhu Hongzong, Zhu Hongzhu, Li Wandou (?), Li Wanxian, Li Wanyun, and Bu Yexian on them. Li Wandou and Li Wanxian are presented as the alternative names of two of his followers (who actually had Li as their family name), but clearly 22 Takeuchi (1988) 13-14. He bases himself on a Qing archival source unavailable to me. He poses a link with the Classic of the Five Lords, which is not confirmed by th e evidence that he quotes.

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the names of the Heavenly Generals are all symbolic in nature (as explained in more detail in section 6.3.) . The group worshipped the flags and decided to take action on a certain unspecified day. They also believed that Zhu Hongzong would come from nearby Chongyi county in Jiangxi with 400 soldiers. However, the group was rounded up before their expectations could be realized.F' The title "Great Saint Equal to Heaven" is also the title of Sun Wukong, the monkey assistant of the Tang Monk, Xuanzang, in the vernacular tradition of the Journey to the West, and a popular deity in his own right. 24 "Equal to Heaven" has religious as well as political overtones, whether "equal to the Son of Heaven"the emperor-or "equal to the Lord of Heaven"-the Jade Emperor. Sadly, nothing is known about the particular connotations of this title in the Li Dexian incident. The belief that apocalyptic disasters can be averted through the assistance of an imperial descendant reappears in the following incident: In 1770 in Rong county in Sichuan, the travelling doctor Gong Hai together with some friends made up rumors about coming military disasters and epidemics (this is the official view; it is equally possible that they made use of rumors that were already in circulation) . The rumors attempted to exploit local memories of Zhang Xianzong's extremely bloody destruction of most of Sichuan in the late Ming period. Gong Hai claimed to have gone to Yunnan and to have obtained an amulet seal from a Patriarch Zhang who was over eight hundred years old. With this seal one could avoid the apocalyptic threat. According to Gong Hai, the Patriarch was the helper of a Ming descendant, called Zhu Tianshun, alias Zhu Tianlong. This person also lived in Yunnan and was only twelve years of age. Gong Hai and his helpers printed the amulet seal (a fake which they had made themselves) on pieces of yellow silk on which they wrote official titles. According to them, one could avoid the coming events by buying these official documents, which cost from three to eight silver ounces (or 3000 to 6000 cash) per piece. They also sold small flags made from yellow cotton doth, that would expel epidemics and which only cost 80 cash per piece.25 Gongzhongdang qianlong zouzhe, IV: 93, 177 and Kangyongqian, 664-665 . For Sun Wukong's story, see the Wu/Yu (1977-1980) translation of the The /ourntry to the West. 2 Xinzeng cheng'an suojian j i (xu 2,3 ji) (1793 edition) 33: 20b-23a. When no disasters broke out in the following year , the customers pressurized one of the men involved to pay everything back. The affair only came to light, when some23 24

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Of course, selling amulets was a common enterprise amongst travelling healers and local priests. Such amulets were often ascribed to the Heavenly Master Zhang (zhang tianshi) of Dragon and Tiger Mountain inJiangxi province, who served as their source of authority. In the above case, rumors about the activities of the religious leader Zhang Baotai in Yunnan are the most likely source of Gong Hai's story about Patriarch Zhang. 26 Both the names for the young Zhu prince contained imperial references; Tianshun is the inverted form of "Following Heaven ['s Mandate]" (shuntian), and the prince's alias Tianlong means "Dragon of Heaven." The use of yellow silk and cloth might also be interpreted as an imperial reference, despite its common use by Daoist priests for communications with Heaven. However, Gong Hai and his friends had no rebellious intentions and only wanted to make money. They used the charisma ascribed to certain politico-religious figures to promise healing. The Qing official view that they were imposters does not alter the fact that many local people were prepared to pay substantial sums of money for their "documents" and "flags," which amply illustrates the power of the underlying beliefs. The above cases were all pure examples of the demonological messianic paradigm, in which the individual's personal lifestyle does not playa role, and in which safety is attained through exorcist techniques which are somehow linked to (a) sacred ruler(s) . The prophecies that circulated before the big , so-called White Lotus uprising of 1796-1804 in the Sichuan-Hubei-Hunan border region are somewhat different from these instances. In the rumors preceding the 1796-1804 uprising, this paradigm functioned together with the Buddhist influenced paradigm in which the individual could only be saved by Maitreya and his helpers by changing his lifestyle in certain ways. My discussion of these prophecies is limited to the relevant elements of the demonological paradigm, specifically the symbolism surrounding the different saviors.V There appears to have been competition between different teachone else tried to use the same amulets to play the same trick again in 1778. 26 De Groot (1892-1910) VII: 1044-1045, 1050, 1182-1185. 27 Gaustad (1994) gives an exhaustive analysis of the even ts leading up to th is uprising, based on an intimate knowledge of the archival sources. On the term White Lotus, see ter Haar (1992) 250-261. Sato (1983) 109·129 and Yamada (1990) 63-79. Takeuchi (1988) suggest a connection between the prophecies preceding this uprising and the apocalyptic vision of the Classic of the Five Lords.

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ers, which resulted in claims about who was the "real" savior. 28 One claim (the "Zhu-Ming descendant" claim) centered on an individual called Niu Ba, a descendant of the Ming imperial house. This name is derived from the Chinese character for Zhu, the family name of the Ming imperial house, by splitting it into two independent characters (henceforth I will refer to this type of riddle as "split characters"). The leading teacher Liu Zhixie selected a little boy (whom he had bought from someone else) to be Niu Ba. He claimed that his teacher Liu Song's son Liu Si (Liu Four) was the incarnation of Maitreya and would assist this Niu Ba. By joining this group, people could avoid the apocalyptic disasters of water, fire, swords and soldiers. This belief dates back to at least 1788. 29 Other prophecies concerning the Zhu figure identified him as Zhu Hongtao.P'' Both the Niu Ba and the Maitreya figures were very young boys. The other view (the "Immortal Lad" claim) centred on a savior who was called Li. According to the confession made in 1794 by Liu Xigour (Liu Happy ' the doglike'), his father was called Li. His parents had died while he was still young and he was adopted by someone called Liu. This man had studied the way of the immortals with his father and had always locked the boy up inside. When the boy became ten sui (in circa 1784), his foster father had told him that his real father had claimed to be Maitreya and an immortal, and that therefore the boy was an Immortal Lad (xiantong) and the incarnation of Maitreya. The boy had become blind in his left eye as the result of pox. According to his interrogators he was very short and ugly, which is hardly surprising if he had been kept inside for so long during his youth.P! One preacher claimed that the boy's father was called Li Sanxiazi (Li Three, the blind one). The boy himself was called Maojindao (a split character version of Liu), and according to this same preacher, he was only temporarily blind, because his face had been covered by yellow sand. Once the "revolution" (yun)-i.e. the end of the kalpa-arrived, his blind eye would open again.32 This boy is also 28 Gaustad (1994) 187-191 discusses the conflict in some detail on the basis of original archival sources. 29 Qingzhongqi unssheng, 1:23 and V: 103 (on Liu Zhixie) . 30 Qingzhongqi tuusheng, I: 3, 4. Here, I have simplified Yamada's original distinction of five different views. 31 At the time of the confession in 1794, the boy was eighteen sui. Qingzhongqi wusheng, I: 14-15 (=Qingdai dang'an shiliaocongbian IX: 191-192). Also see Gaustad (1994) 232. 32 Qingzhongqi wusheng, I: 23.

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identified as the Ox Patriarch (niuzu, very likely inspired by Niu Ba, the split character version of Zhu) .33 No references are made in the "Immortal Lad" claim to the Ming dynasty or the Zhu imperial family. There is a mixture of these two claims, which dates from about the same time. One leading teacher had been told by his own teacher about the birth in 1778 of a True Ruler (zhenzhu) called Li Quam (Li 'the doglike'), with the characters "su n " (ri) and "moon" (yue) in his two hands (a split character version referring to the Ming dynasty) and extraordinary looks. Li Quam was bald and had problems with his eye(s) ("the sides of his eye[s] were slightly rotten"); he also pretended to be deaf. Li Quam was a Divine General (shenjiang) , who was to be assisted by Liu Zhixie as a general, and Zhu Jiutao as his minister. This teacher had also told of countless apocalyptic disasters that were about to strike. Given his title of Divine General, Li Quam was the anti-demonic general who would deal with these disasters. The name Li 'the doglike,' and his bad eyes suggest connections with Liu Happy ' th e doglike,' from the "Im mo rta l Lad" claim. However, this Liu Happy had been born in circa 1774 (since he was circa ten in 1784) , instead of 1778. Other details, including the mention of Liu Zhixie and Zhu Jiutao, place this version in the "Zh u-Ming descendant" claim.P" This particular teacher had never met any of the figures about whom he taught, not even Liu Zhixie. Although he probably mixed up different streams of rumors, this in no way lessened the impact of his version and his following was very large. Yet another group of teachers taught about the advent of Zhu Hongtao as the Niu Ba figure, who was supported by Maitreya Buddha.P The references to this Zhu Hongtao figure led to a wild goosechase that implicated a hapless farmer with the name Zhu Hongdao, but yielded no further results.P" 33 This specific information is given in Gaustad (1994) 188-189 on the basis of archival sources not seen by me. 34 Qingzhongqi urusheng, V: 5 (confession on this teacher) , 37-38 (confession by this teacher) . Also see Gaustad (1994) 201·202, who notes that we know rather littl e on this particular teacher. This and the following instance have been seen as evidence of a Triad influence , but clearly the mentionings of Zhu J iutao here and Zhu Hongtao below reflect th e influence of the demonological messianic paradigm, rather than Triad lore (which usuall y has Zhu Hongzhu or Zhu Hongying) . 35 Gaustad (1994 ) 199 on the basis of archival sources not available to me. 36 Gaustad (1994) 240-241, 250.

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The pro-Ming sentiments that follow from the "Zhu-Ming descendant" claim, were translated into political action during the 1796-1804 rebellion. One proclamation, which was posted by rebels in Xing'an (modern Shaanxi) in 1797, states unequivocally that their aim was "to restore the Han and annihilate the Manchu's" (xinghan mieman), which carries even stronger nationalist, almost racist, connotations than "restoring the Ming and destroying the Qing." The text notes that the "Son of Heaven of the True Ming" (zhenming tianzi) had already appeared. The text also addresses local people as the subjects of the former Great Ming dynasty. The receipt of the Mandate of Heaven is expressed by the phrase "accepting the affairs of the Revolution on behalf of Heaven" (weitian chengyunshi).37 In another proclamation, rebels defended themselves against accusations of belonging to the supposed heterodox tradition of the White Lotus Teachings. "[Officials] look at the fact that our flags and clothes are all white, and [therefore] see us as belonging to the category of the Yellow Turbans and Red Eyebrows. This is because all army camps wear mourning clothes for the late father of our ruler. ... Our ruler is originally of the blood of the Great Ming."38 Mourning clothes are always white. The Ming descent of the saviors is discussed in many confessions, but the aim of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming is never once mentioned. We can only assume that this was because the participants in this rebellion were well aware of the potential consequences this might have had (at the very least a much more gruesome execution) , whereas the interrogating officials were afraid of getting involved in a very messy political situation.P All in all, the prophecies that circulated before the 1796-1804 uprising resemble those from the demonological messianic tradition, but there is no mention of amulets or divine armies. The reverse is the case in a small millenarian incident in southern China, where we find the elements of an eschatological threat and a promised rescue by demonological means, without the involvement of a savior. The incident took place in Lingshan county in Lianzhou prefecture (in the west of Guangdong) in 1800. A 37

Zhang Xingbo (1980) text 156-157, explanation 158-164.

38

Shengun: ji, 13: 8a. Confessions from this group mention that their leader

was a descendant of the Ming house, Qingdai nongmin, VI: 73, 205, 208-209. 39 Examples of the risk to officials of oversights even in less sensitive areas can be found in Kuhn (1990) and ter Haar (1992) .

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teacher warned local people of the imminent advent of military disasters and pestilence. However, those who had bought a "door plaque" (menpai) from the teacher would be saved by immortal soldiers (xianbing) , who would come across the Bridge of the Immortals (xianqiao) from a local grotto. He was able to sell a number of these paper door plaques.t" Here we find a number of familiar elements from the demonological messianic paradigm: the combination of a bridge and a grotto passage to another land beyond life and death, immortals as saving beings (but no political savior), the demonological notion of a good army that will protect against an evil army, and finally a door plaque that will identify those people who should be saved.

6.2 . The Ma Chaozhu case

Among the Qing incidents within the demonological messianic paradigm, the case of Ma Chaozhu is unique because of the detail of its sources.t! The Qing officials present the evidence as if Ma Chaozhu and his collaborators invented their teachings out of the blue, showing a genuine lack of understanding of this type of religious movement. The large number of similarities between the various incidents treated in the last section, and the Ma Chaozhu case, prove very clearly that teachers such as Ma Chaozhu were not operating in a religious vacuum. There is far too much continuity and coherence in their claims-despite the distortions caused by biased and fragmentary sources-to ascribe them to the fertile imagination of isolated preachers. On the contrary, their claims were deeply steeped in traditions of messianic beliefs and folklore. Ma Chaozhu came from Qizhou county (in Hubei), but had Yuedong cheng'an chubian , 5: 1a-6a, especially 3a. Suzuki Chusei has been the first to investigate this incident, see Suzuki (1982) 267-280. He used only a small set of the available documents in the National Palace Museum in Taibei, which I have been able to expand. I shall refer to the material that is available in Taiwan as TAIWAN. Important additional material from the Imperial Palace archives in Beijing has recently been published in Qingdai nongmin, III: 153-229. This publication also contains material from the Veritable Records and some local gazetteers (230-249) , followed by the Chinese version of Suzuki's analysis (250-265) . These sources allows us to reconstruct the Ma Chaozhu incident in much more detail than was possible for Suzuki Chiisei . Kuhn (1990) 62-65 is based on the Chinese version of Suzuki's article. 40

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moved to nearby Huoshan (in Anhui) . There he became the friend and sworn brother of the Buddhist monk Zhengxiu. Before he embarked on his new career as a messianic teacher, he had been a charcoal burner in the mountains. As a youth he had been a Buddhist monk, but later he had left the order and married. In 1752 , he was circa 33 years of age.42 In the course of his activities as a messianic teacher, Ma Chaozhu used his charisma and power to acquire several additional wives.43 A large number of his relatives were involved in his activities, and they included numerous Mas with the same lineage affiliation character chao. Many of them were arrested in 1752 .44 Unlike many of the figures who featured in his messianic prophecies, Ma Chaozhu himself appears to have been a real person of flesh and blood. Although Ma Chaozhu was himself illiterate, he was definitely the charismatic leader around whom the movement revolved. The monk Zhengxiu was his most important collaborator, according to Zhengxiu himself, as confirmed by the confessions of the Daoist priest Wang Chaorui and the group's scribe Fang Zhen.45 Ma Chaozhu's teachings and claims of magical abilities all originate in a distinctly Daoist background. At the time, Qing officials also remarked that the texts from the Ma Chaozhu group had a Daoist flavour. Three full-length texts have been preserved which can be connected to the group. One of these clearly reflects Daoist cosmology (translated below), another is a standard bureaucratic document and a third is written in a colloquial style that is extremely difficult to understand (discussed in the Appendix to this sectionj.t" In Ma Chaozhu's residence in the Hall of Heaven Fortress, government soldiers found Daoist ritual paraphernalia, one or more "command tablets" (lingpai) , one illustrated booklet by Ma Chaozhu, four sheets of amulets (written or printed) on yellow paper, three sheets of "tablets for rewarding and avoiding" (shangmian pai) , three sheets of rebellious texts written on red and white paper, one package of powdered iron (according to another Qingdai nongmin , III: 156, 160, 182, 185. Qingdai nongmin , III : 239-240 (use treasures). Also see references to his wives, Qingdai nongmin, III: 183, 186, 209. 44 Qingdai nongmin, III : 154-155, 183, 223 and passim. 45 Qingdai nongmin, III : 182, 194, 223. 46 Qingdai nongmin, III: 182 (general remark) . Daoist document: TAIWAN 008264 (4975) (confession by Hu Nanshan) . Official document: TAIWAN 9066 (31204) . Colloquial document: Qingdai nongmin, III: 228-229. 42

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source this was a red powder, probably used for writing red characters in religious documents), one Daoist ritual specialist's hat, an unfinished spear, and finally one Tablet for the Soldiers and Horses of the Five Fierce Ones (wuchang bingma pai, the HunanJiangxi equivalent of the divine soldiers and divine generals of the Five Encampmentsj .f? In the rest of our discussions we shall see how these various objects were actually used by Ma Chaozhu. In the course of a few years, Ma Chaozhu and Zhengxiu built up a charismatic claim underpinned by finds of precious objects in local grottoes. Having first established Ma Chaozhu's credentials as a religious teacher, they then started to spread an elaborate set of demonological messianic teachings. The political claim of restoring the former Ming dynasty and its imperial family, the Zhu, formed an important part of these teachings. I shall first describe the process of how they built up a charismatic claim, before proceeding with my analysis of Ma's messianic teachings, his exorcist techniques and his political claims. Next, I shall analyze the actual constitution of the movement as a community by means of these teachings and the blood covenant ritual. Ma Chaozhu and Zhengxiu claimed to receive communications from the supernatural world by means of dreams. According to one source, Ma often dreamed that people entered him and told other people's fortune through him. 48 In 1747, Ma and Zhengxiu started to spread the word that when Ma was a youngster of 16 sui, it had been revealed to him, in a dream, by a deity that his teacher was in the Protecting the Nation Monastery (huguo si). According to them, Ma had then gone to Huoshan and located a temple there, which had once been this very monastery. The resident monk had instructed him to proceed to Mount Jin. There he saw the flesh-body (roushen, i.e . the mummified body) of the monk Yang the Fifth (unidentified), which looked exactly like the deity in his dream. Later, when Ma was 20 sui, it had been revealed to him in another dream that he should go to the Nine Dragons Qingdai nongmin, III : 159 for the list (shorter version op .cit ., 157) . Qingdai nongmin , III : 169. This is confirmed by a slightly more general remark in another confession about "the extraordinary man Ma Chaozhu who knows the affairs of past and future,n see Qingdai nongmin, II: 164. Ma also claimed to have "seen" a black tiger on top of Hu Nanshan while Hu was sleeping and claimed that Hu was the reincarnation of the literary character Hu Dahai (on which more below) . 47

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Grotto on Mount Wan (wanshan jiulong dong) in neighboring Tongcheng (in Anhui) . There he would (and did) find a Heavenly Book and a precious sword. This was the beginning of a series of visits he made to local grottoes on different mountains and in which he found many objects. These objects had been prepared and hidden in advance by Ma and Zhengxiu.t? From their activities it is clear that they perceived themselves as active instruments in carrying out the will of Heaven. Certainly, as we shall see below, their manipulation of symbols made "good sense" in terms of well-established religious traditions. The matter of their "sincerity"-hard to judge at the best of times-need not concern us here, as their own followers appear to have accepted them as good and honest. On the 26th day of the eleventh month of 1750, Ma Chaozhu organized his last expedition to a local grotto. Thirty to forty people were invited to accompany him. They gathered at his home. There Ma wrote an amulet on a piece of yellow paper.t" which he let those present drink with a cup of tea. This was probably to purify them from evil influences. They proceeded to the mountains at midnight. Ma burned incense and paper money in front of a small grotto, about two feet wide and three or four feet deep in size. Then he carried out an exorcist dance with his sword to expel all evil influences. After these ritual preliminaries, he took a number of objects from the grotto. The descriptions of these objects vary, because nobody present was able to see everything and/or some of them were illiterate. They all depended for their understanding on Ma Chaozhu's presentation of the objects and their texts. 51 On similar expeditions from 1747 onwards, Ma Chaozhu "found" 49 The most coherent and complete summary of Ma and Zhengxiu's teachings still is the Gaozongshilu text of Qianlong 17: 6: 15, in Qingdai nongmin, III: 239-241. It gives much information that is not in the archival sources published in mainland China or in the material that I have found on Taiwan . The booklet found in the Nine Dragons Grotto is described as military or heavenly. The confession by Ma Chaozhu's scribe, who had been told by Ma himself, gives Heavenly Booklet. See Qingdai nongmin, III : 221 and 223. 50 llliterate spirit mediums on Taiwan also write, but in an illegible, and for outsiders meaningless, scrawl, which is perceived to be a divine script and has to be interpreted by a helper. 5l The most complete description is in the confession by Lii Shian, TAIWAN 008264 (4975). Slightly less detailed is the description by Hu Nanshan, in the version given in Qingdai nongmin, III : 164. Lii Shian stood at some distance, TAIWAN 008264 (4975); Hu Nanshan was illiterate, Qingdai nongmin, III: 165.

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a whole series of objects. The messages on these objects served to underpin his claims to legitimacy and demonstrated his abilities as a religious teacher. In 1747 and subsequent years, he found a "dharma sword" and six flags that had the following names" [Flag which] Settles Heaven," "Omen," "Auspicious Omen," "Benevolent Omen," "Dispatching the Command" and "Unfolding the Souls." In 1749, he found a copper sword, on which the names of his wives-to-be had been engraved, and with the words "Army Standard and Ritual Sword of [Ma] Taichao" (taichao junling Jajian) and "To Unfold the Spirits of the Hun and Po Souls" (zhan hunpo ling) . Ma also found a piece of cloth meant for wrapping around the head. He claimed that these two objects were a golden sword and a silk gauze kerchief respectively. Finally, on the big expedition of 1750, he found a copper sword and scepter, which he also claimed to be precious objects made of gold. These two objects again carried inscriptions, such as "Army Standard of [Ma] Taichao" and the "Hongluo Sign." Taichao IS Ma Chaozhu's alternative name. At the same time Ma Chaozhu found two flags and a copper mirror that could reflect the All-Under-Heaven (tianxia) , enabling him to see the three incarnations of all mankind (of the past, the present and the future). Significantly, he claimed that the mirror, flags, and scepter were all instruments of battle. He also possessed a Cover Heaven Umbrella (zhetian san) and a Supporting Heaven Fan (chengtian shan), with which he could travel over the clouds to reach the Western Ocean Fortress in six hours. He had also found these in a local grotto.52 I shall deal with the exorcist function of many of these objects below in more detail. At this point it is important to note their role as treasures in establishing Ma Chaozhu's legitimacy as a religious (as well as political) teacher. This role is not 52 I follow the list in the Gaozong shilu text of Qianlong 17: 6: 15 in Qingdai nongmin, III: 240, which is the most detailed version. The term fa usually means (exorcist) ritual in a Daoist context. The confession by Lii Shian makes clear that the sceptre was in the form ofa sword , TAIWAN 008264 (4975). Hu Nanshan in Qingdai nongmin, III: 165 describes it only as a sword and gives a slightly different version of the texts on the sword /sceptre. On the fan and the umbrella, Gaoumg shilu text of Qianlong 17: 6: 15 in Qingdai nongmin, III: 240, as well as references in the confessions by Hu Nanshan and Ma Chaozuo in Qingdai nongmin, III : 160 and 165, and by Lii Shi an in TAIWAN 008264 (4975). The sword found in 1749 was later recovered: Qingdai nongmin, III: 166 (where the complete text is given). During the searches of the encampments of followers of Ma Chaozhu, both old and new swords were found, such as one dating back to the late Ming. See Qingdai nongmin, III : 168.

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stated in so many words, but Ma made a special point of stressing to his followers that these were precious objects and not merely instruments for practical ritual use. 53 In Chapter Eight I deal with the phenomenon of treasures which establish legitimacy. In addition to the messages they received from supernatural figures by means of dreams, and the finds of precious objects in grottoes, Ma Chaozhu and Zhengxiu made special seals that were also intended to demonstrate their legitimacy. The most important of their seals contained the text "to control completely the rivers and to settle everywhere the altars of the soil; once we receive the Mandate of Heaven, prosperity and good fortune will flourish forever. " 54 This text was inspired by one of the most famous dynastic treasures, the State Transmitting Seal of the Qin, and clearly had a political purpose.P" Ma Chaozhu and Zhengxiu used their repeated visits to local grottoes and finds of precious objects to enhance their charisma as teachers supported by Heaven. They built on the age old belief in grottoes as passageways between the realm of the immortals and the human world. As the well-documented visit of 1750 demonstrates, these expeditions were thoroughly orchestrated religious events. The name of one of these grottoes, the Nine Dragons Grotto on Mount Wan (wanshan jiulong dong), was especially imbued with ancient religious connotations (as discussed in the following section). However, as we will see, the choice of a mountainous scenery had greater implications than providing passageways to the supernatural world. In 1749 , Ma Chaozhu and his followers moved to several mountain fortresses in Luotian county, located close to the border with Huoshan and Yingshan counties. No doubt such locations provided physical safety because of their extreme isolation, but there were 53 Find of a "precious sword» in the Nine Dragons Grotto. Confession Lii Shian in TAIWAN 008264 (4975) : "He told me to come on the 26th day of the 11th month to watch him collect precious objects» and "Ma Chaozhu told us [=all those present] that these were precious objects and I believed him then." It is stated several times that objects were made of gold . 54 Qingdai nongmin, III : 156-157. 55 Qingdai nongmin, III: 169. The same text was also used on a seal in another incident from the demonological messianic paradigm, namely the Du Qi group that was active in Shaowu (northern Fujian) from 1736 to 1756 (on which see note 11). On the Qin seal and 'some of its legends, see Wagner (1987) 174-204. Of the other participants, Hu Nanshan possessed a stone seal with the texts "Seal of Nanshan of the Ming" and "Seal of Hu Shiying," see Qingdai nongmin, III : 166.

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also significant religious reasons for the choice of these particular fortresses. These may not have been known to his outer circle of followers, but Ma's immediate relatives were certainly aware of them. From his brother Ma Chaozuo, we learn that Chaozhu spoke of three different fortresses: the Great Fortress located in the All-underHeaven, the Lower Fortress of the Western Ocean (xiyang zhai, located on Mount Emei in Sichuan and the residence of the saviors) and finally the Middle Fortress of the Hall of Heaven Fortress (tiantang zhai) situated on a mountain in Luotian county in Hubei.56 The terms Great (da), Middle (zhong) and Lower (xia) reveal a striking hierarchy. The Great Fortress was the place to be conquered (maybe the former Ming capital Nanjing, as we will see below) and the Lower Fortress was the residence of the saviors, with the Middle Fortress as the mediating point between the two others. The residence of the saviors in the West is a special feature of ideal worlds in the demonological messianic paradigm, to be discussed in the next section. The names selected for the two principal fortresses of the Ma group, Hall of Heaven Fortress and Heavenly Ma [Chaozhu] Fortress (tianma zhai), are indicative of their place in the overall symbolic universe that was created by Ma Chaozhu. Their primary religious importance is confirmed by the fact that Ma himself rarely actually resided in either of these fortresses. Their precise function is stated by another relative of Ma Chaozhu's. According to him, there would be war very shortly in Yunnan and Guizhou, and then people could take refuge from these calamities in the Hall of Heaven Fortress. After the disasters "a world of Great Peace" (taiping shijie) would begin.57 Ma Chaozhu had actually told his general Hu Nanshan that in the fourth month of 1750, an army of 3000 dark magpies had crossed Huguang and the population had changed into blood.f" That there was some kind of connecQingdai nongmin, III : 160. On the choice of this name Qingdai nongmin, III: 156; as a place of refuge Qingdai nongmin, III: 216-217 . On the frequency of Ma Chaozhu's residency, Qingdai nongmin , III : 161. On the other fortress, Qingdai nongmin, III : 161. Direct evidence on Ma Chaozhu preaching the adven t of chaos is found at the beginning of the confession by Lii Shian, in TAIWAN 008264 (4975) . 58 TAIWAN 008264 (4975) . This seems to be inspired by the old southern Chinese fear of the Nine-headed Bird (or Insect). This being has lost one of its heads, which is still dropping blood. Each time it flies over, some blood drips down on people and may kill them. Especially children are endangered. See, for instance, the Qijueliao zaji, xia: 23b. 56

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tion with Yunnan also emerges from the testimony of the Daoist priest Wang Chaorui, a member of Ma Chaozhu's intimate circle. He had heard from Ma himself, that in Yunnan there was a high official called Cui Junlie with whom Ma had formed a covenant. This man had given him a hat-pearl expressing official rank (dingzi) and official ritual clothing (bufu). 59 How the different pieces of information tie together is unclear, but that the apocalyptic threat was very real to these people is clear enough. The mountain fortresses functioned as the safe havens of Ma Chaozhu's followers. In a sense, these two fortresses recreated the messianic world that was claimed to exist already in the Western Ocean Fortress on Mount Emei. Furthermore, we should take into consideration that all these mountain fortresses were located in the liminal world of mountains and grottoes, between the land of the living and the land of the immortals. Ma Chaozhu alone was able to communicate with the liminal world through dreams and grotto passages, and by using his magical umbrella and fan. In terms of overall cosmology, it would make eminent sense if the Great Fortress, located in the All-under-Heaven, could be identified as the divine city of the imperial capital-in this case the former early Ming capital of Nanjing, which Ma Chaozhu intended to conquer. The divine city and the mountain world both function in the mythical landscape as a place beyond life and death. 60 However, we lack explicit evidence on this point. Ma Chaozhu and his principal helper Zhengxiu claimed that their prophecies were based on the Heavenly Book that had been found in the Nine Dragons Grotto on Mount Wan. The story is that a Young Ruler (youzhu) had been born in the Western Ocean Fortress on Mount Emei in Sichuan. He was only 18 years (sui) of age. This prince was called Zhu Hongjin or Zhu Yuancheng and was a descendant of the Ming imperial family. He was perceived as a Luminous Ruler (mingzhu). His assistants were the Grand Counsellor Zhang Xiyu , and the two generals Wu Chengyun (who is a grandson of Wu Sangui and supposedly had three eyes), and Li Rongjue (or: Yongjue). The True Ruler (zhenzhu) Li Kaihua was over 20 sui of age and came from Shanxi. They all resided in the Western Ocean Fortress.P! 59 60

61

Qingdai nongmin, III : 183. See my introductory discussion in section 3.1.1. I have collapsed the different summaries of this story into one version, since

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Wu Chengyun had overall charge of the armies-comprising a total of 37,000 soldiers-located in Shaanxi and Shandong. Ma Chaozhu gathered money to buy provisions for the soldiers and horses. People were promised that by contributing to these funds their lives would be saved later. 62 Ma Chaozhu (under his alternative name Taichao) sent Hu Nanshan to carry a message to some of his generals in Hubei, claiming that these generals had a total of 60,000 soldiers under their command. The illiterate Hu Nanshan had no idea who, and where these generals were, but he was still able to recall the contents of the Instruction (zha): We have received the Revolution and received the edict of the Son of Heaven, stating: we model ourselves upon the excellent customs ofYao and Shun, and the accomplishments left behind by Tang and Wu . The excellent soldiers from the Eight Grottoes will each out of themselves welcome the (imperial?] carriage. The Heavenly Generals and Heavenly Divinities will all enter into the Golden Pass (guan , possibly a mistake for Palace or que]. On the dragon hour of the dragon day, we will exhaustively raise an army without limits. In the dark (yin) we will destroy Anqing and in the light (yang) we will attack Nanjing. The 100,000 Divine Soldiers from the Three Passes will help us. The Coiling Dragon Army that rules the East, the White Tiger Army that rules the West, the Red Water Army that rules the South, and the Dark Water army that rules the North will assist. Servant Zhang (Xi]yu has respectfully carved (this text] . Lord (Ma] Taichao has instructed Hu Nanshan the General who Restores the Ming. In the year of Heaven's Revolution, month, day.63

Apparently they planned to conquer Nanjing, the original capital of the Ming dynasty, established as such by the founding emperor they are consistent with each other in most respects. Qingdai nongmin, III : 160 (Ma Chaozuo), 165 and 170 (Hu Nanshan), 221 and 223 (scribe Fang Zhen, based on Ma Chaozhu's direct teachings) ; TAIWAN 008264 (4975) (Lu Shian) ; Gaoumg shiiu text of Qianlong 17: 6: 15 in Qingdai nongmin, III: 240 (unclear, but wellinformed source). On the age of the Ming pr ince, see confession by Hu Nanshan, in Qingdai nongmin, III: 171. For the details on Li Kaihua, see Zhang Xiyu, quoted by a relative of his in TAIWAN 009236 (3973) . On the alternative way of writing his name, see note 67. On Wu Chengyun's eyes, see Qingdai nongmin, III: 153154. 62 Qingdai nongmin, III : 223 (confession Fang Zhen) ; Gaozong shilu text of Qianlong 17: 6: 15 in Qingdai nongmin , III : 240 . 63 TAIWAN 008264 (4975) document included in the confession by Hu Nanshan. On his illiteracy, see Qingdai nongmin, III: 165. If this information is correct, it means that someone-most likely Ma Chaozhu or the author of the text-must have helped him to learn the text by heart. Or he was only able to read and not to write .

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Zhu Yuanzhang with the year title Hongwu. The names given to their young savior, Zhu Hongjin or Zhu Yuan cheng, also indicate that they were exploiting the charisma of the founder of this great Chinese dynasty to underpin their own political claims.P' I will analyze the political elements of this text below, but first need to clarify the military and demonological dimensions ofMa Chaozhu's claims. Ma Chaozhu and his close followers saw themselves as generals in these divine armies. They made a special attempt to recruit people with some command of the martial arts. One of these was the above-mentioned Hu Nanshan, who made a living as a teacher of martial arts and by trading mules. Extensive military preparations were actually made, such as preparing weapons, buying ammunition and provisions etc., although the claims made by Ma himself always greatly exceeded actual reality.65 Ma dispatched his followers in all directions to set up shops (it is unclear for what purpose) and to start recruiting people/" Some relatives of Zhang Xiyu travelled south to try and buy horses/'? It was believed that with the military support of the armies of the savior and his assistants, in addition to the armies that Ma Chaozhu was raising himself, they would be unharmed by the impending disasters. 64 Qingdai nongmin, III: 195. They even decided to change the way of writing of yuan in order not to infringe the taboo of Zhu Yuanzhang's personal name. They also invented descendants of Hu Dahai and Chang Yuchun (two of Zhu Yuanzhang most trusted generals) , a descendant of Huang Feihu (on e of the principal generals in the founding of the Zhou, inspired by plays in the vernacular tradition of the Enfeoffment of the Gods [fengshen yanyi]) , and finally a descendant of Xu Chu, a brave general from the tradition of the Three Kingdoms. 65 Qingdai nongmin, III : 171. On the preparations, Qingdai nongmin , III : 154 (furnaces to make arms) , 156 (confiscated arms), 161 (selection capable people as spe cial soldiers; mentions that arms and gunpowder are not kept in the Hall of Heaven Fortress, but in another place), 168 (buying provisions, capture of some weapons) , 200 (claim that Ma Chaozhu was gathering people for an rebellion) . Also see the Gaozong shilu text of Qianlong 17: 6: 15 in Qingdai nongmin , III : 240-241. On the limited military power of Ma Chaozhu, consider for instance the remark by Hu Nanshan, ~I do not have any soldiers or horses at all, nor have I ever seen that Ma Chaozhu has any soldiers or horses." Quoted in Qingdai nongmin , III : 165 . 66 Qingdai nongmin, III : 156, 160, 168, 240 . 67 TAIWAN 009236 (3973) . Zhang Xiyu is called Zhang Xishi in this confession. From a document produced by Ma Chaozhu and Zhang Xiyu themselves it is clear that yu must be correct, see TA1WAN 008264 (4975) , where Hu Nanshan quotes it from memory. It was signed by Zhang [Xi]yu. Due to a lapse of memory by Hu Nanshan the character Xi was dropped .

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Ma Chaozhu's messianic and military claims were based on the mastery of very common exorcist techniques, involving the violent expulsion of demons. To do this the ritual specialist has to carry out a ritual dance, holding a sword or some other weapon. Flags or pieces of cloth in five colors are used to represent the five armies of divine soldiers from the five directions. The specialist is able to summon these armies and put them in his service by means of ritual acts and speech.P" This is the same type of violent mastery of the liminal world which underlies the Triad use of the grain bushel with exorcist implements (analyzed in Chapter Two). I already mentioned the five colored flags which represent the divine armies of the five directions in that particular context. The divine soldiers (shenbing) and divine generals (shenjiang) can alternatively be called spirit soldiers (yinbing) and spirit generals (yinjiang) , or heavenly soldiers (tianbing) and heavenly generals (tianjiang). They are the souls of men who have died a violent death in battle, and are bloodthirsty, hence potentially dangerous, demons. Harnessed through ritual, they can become a positive force in the hands of the ritual specialist. Part of this ritual entails a blood covenant between the specialist and the divine generals (as described at the outset of Chapter Four). After the movement had been put down, government soldiers found a Tablet for the Soldiers and Horses of the Five Fierce Ones (wuchang bingma pai)-who are the local equivalent of the divine armies of the Five Encampments (wuying) from the Fujianese cultural regions-in a hut in the Hall of Heaven Fortress where Ma stayed when he was in residence.P? Other indications that Ma used exorcist techniques are to be found in the names of the ritual and magical objects which he "discovered" in local grottoes; i.e. the flags with names such as "[Flag which] Settles Heaven" and "Unfolding the Souls," or the precious sword with the texts "Army Standard and Ritual Sword of [Ma] Taichao" and "To Unfold the Spirits of the Hun and Po Souls."?" Ma Chaozhu also explicitly 68 Jordan (1972) 50-53; Lagerwey (1987) 227-229 and my own fieldwork in the Minnan cultural region. 69 Qingdai nongmin , Ill: 159. For some examples in Daoist exorcist rituals, see Daofa huiyuan , 30: 235: 464b; 30: 236: 471c-472a; 30: 240: 484b-485c. They are th e same wuchang (five chang) that puzzled David Johnson in his (1989) 1318, 22, 37 note 68. 70 Qingdai nongmin , Ill: 160, 166 (the sword; its text also includes several unidentified names); 221 and 223 (first flag); 239 (all six flags).

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referred to the assistance of divine armies-mentioning "Heavenly Generals and Heavenly Divinities" or "Divine Soldiers"-in the Instruction which he handed to Hu Nanshan. Most likely, the reference to "the excellent soldiers from the Eight Grottoes" also refers to divine soldiers from the liminal world of the mountain grottoes. According to one confession the possession of a special flag protected against people who threatened to kill .7I In exorcist ritual, the flag usually signifies the individual's command over divine armies; the overall command is represented by the "command flag" (lingqi or shuaiqi) and each of the divine armies is represented by a colored flag . Therefore, the possession of a particular flag actually provides the protection of those divine armies controlled by that flag. We have already seen the same belief expressed quite explicitly in the cases of Li Dexian in 1752 and Gong Hai in 1770 . The most spectacular evidence of Ma Chaozhu's demonological expertise is actually provided by an incident that took place many decades later! In 1815, a group was rounded up in Chongyi county (in Jiangxi, somewhat south of the region where Ma had been active) which presented itself as a Triad group and had been formed by means of a blood covenant. The group had supposedly been inspired by rumors about the Triads, but had used a booklet containing a long list of names, with those of Ma Chaozhu and Ma Chaowen at the top. The list has all the signs of being a membership list of Ma Chaozhu's following. Because of this list (or so they claimed), the 1815 group worshipped Ma Chaozhu as their patriarch. The booklet also showed how "to use water bowls, to draw amulets and to recite spells" and included examples of amulets. The reference to the water bowls is not entirely clear, but nowadays Daoist priests on Taiwan use rice bowls to represent the constellation of Yin and Yang and the Eight Trigrams during exorcist rituals. In addition, the booklet dealt with the way to initiate new pupils, martial arts techniques, as well as the way of summoning ''Yin and Yang Soldiers of Heaven and Earth, Thunder Soldiers and Thunder Generals." These last terms clearly refer to divine soldiers.Y We can only speculate as to how this booklet Qingdai nongmin, III : 153. On the booklet: TDH VI: 353 and 356; TAIWAN Gongzhongdang 17069. Possibly, this was the "Military Booklet" (bingshu) or "Heavenly Booklet" (tianshu) found on Mount Wan of which some confessions speak, Qingdai nongmin, 111: 160, 169, 223. One of these confessions also mentions the practice of martial 71

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survived the suppression of the Ma Chaozhu group, but it serves to confirm Ma Chaozhu's knowledge of demonological exorcist techniques.P Ma Chaozhu's political claims are evident and were an essential part of the enterprise. His use of a seal inscribed with the claim of having received the Mandate of Heaven was in itself a major political challenge to the Qing dynasty. Ma and his followers stated quite explicitly that they wanted to restore the Ming dynasty. At one point in time they even enacted the visit of the "wife" of the Ming prince Zhu Hongjin, dressing her up in imperial clothes and making everybody present kowtow before her. Because some of her clothes were those worn by opera actors and other clothes were of the type worn by the current dynasty, some people in the audience became suspicious.I" Hu Nanshan received the title "General who Restores the Ming." The Instruction which he had been given by Ma Chaozhu refers to the examples of the ideal mythical rulers Yao and Shun and the exploits of the dynastic founders Tang (of the Shang) and Wu (of the Zhou). The text uses standard phraseology from imperial edicts; the terms in question express the receipt of the Mandate of Heaven (on which more in Chapter Eight).75 Another text was found appended to a wall in Xiao county in Xuzhou prefecture (jiangsu province), quite a distance from the center of Ma 's activities. It stated explicitly that Ma Chaozhu had received the Mandate of Heaven and it incited people to take up their weapons.?" Leading participants were given, or promised, high ranks and titles, which was always an imperial prerogative."? In 1751 , the group decided to let the hair around their queues arts, Qingdai nongmin, III: 223. Ma Chaowen is not mentioned in the documents concerning the Ma Chaozhu case, but these documents do not give an exhaustive listing of all relatives involved at the time . 73 One of the participants claimed that he had bought the booklet from a hawker in Guangdong in 1813 for twenty cash . This explanation raises more questions than it answers, since it is absolutely unclear how the book landed in that spot and why the group connected the Triads with this booklet. It seems more likely that he inherited the booklet from someone. The connection with the Triads may well have been suggested to him by his interrogators and does not need to be authentic. 74 Gaozong shilu text of Qianlong 17: 6: 15 in Qingdai nongmin , III : 240. 75 TAIWAN 008264 (4975) . 76 Text is appended to TAIWAN 9066 (31204) . Qingdai nongmin, III : 203 describes the circumstances under which the text was found. 77 Qingdai nongmin, III : 165, 191, 194, 221.

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grow back again as a sign of mutual recognition, abandoning the Qing hairstyle for the old Ming custom.P' Around the same time, Ma concluded blood covenants with his followers in the Hall of Heaven Fortress and elsewhere, so that they became sworn brothers, thus cementing his group closer together with himself as the covenant leader. Each time he concluded a covenant he took out two swords and "spread them at the top" (baishang). The participants had to worship the swords, maybe they even had to pass through a gate of swords. They also invoked some deities, but these are not specified by name. After kowtowing, they drank liquor mixed with the blood of a cockerel (jixue jiu) and swallowed water in which the ashes of a protective amulet had been mixed. This amulet had been drawn by Ma himself. People with special contributions were made Martial Sirs (wush i). They were the only people who also received an amulet in its original form, written on yellow paper with dragons drawn all around the edges (an imperial color and imperial symbols). The text included the year title "Nian cheng" and the words "Ma Taichao, General of the Great Ming."79 According to Hu Nanshan, his amulet also contained the words "Hu Nanshan, General who Restores the Ming." This suggests that the amulet for the Martial Sirs may have functioned as a personal membership diploma. Ma Chaozhu threatened to use a Peachwood Amulet to silence Hu Nanshan if he were to break the blood covenant. He also threatened Hu Nanshan with the fact that he possessed amulets which, if consumed, made people bleed from their seven apertures.I'" This is a typical supernatural punishment for those who do not keep their word. Thus, the Ma Chaozhu blood covenant incorporated all the standard characteristics: the consumption of blood of a cockerel mixed into liquor, the worship of swords, and violent maledictions. Early in 1752, the group intensified its military preparations. The Qingdai nongmin, III: 153. Qingdai nongmin, III: 153, 168, 182 ("a memorial for a covenant before deities") mention the conclusion of different blood covenants; 160-161 gives most details. It is unclear whether the amulet contained more text. The term baishang is unclear to me . 80 Qingdai nongmin, III : 165. TAIWAN 008264 (4975) on Ma's claim about the amulets. Another claim by Ma was that he posse ssed three measures of an iron powder. He could let it float on the wind and when it would touch the ground, people would change into pools of blood. This clearly refers to gunpowder, maybe as used in exorcist ritual, as argued by Boltz (1993) for the Song-period. 78 79

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thirteenth day of the fifth month (the date of the Guan Yu festival!) was set as the day when the commands for the uprising would be distributed, and the fifteenth day of the eight month was fixed as the day when it would start. 81 Hu Nanshan himself admitted that he had been engaged as a general, but from his and other people's testimony one does not get the impression of a tightly organized plot. 82 judging from Ma Chaozhu's claims of military prowess and the anticipated arrival of huge supporting armies, he did indeed intend to rebel. In both his mind and the minds of his followers , their own preparations and the military support by divine armies formed part of one and the same reality. In the meantime, the activities of the group had triggered a stream of rumors about impending rebellion. Acting upon these, local officials finally started an investigation and many followers were arrested. Ma Chaozhu, however, escaped and was never found. A search was ordered for the various mythical personages and places, such as the Western Ocean Fortress, but none of them were ever found. The same applied for Ma's elusive armies. The Qing officials took Ma's claims very seriously and never distinguished between the real elements in these prophecies and the elements derived from the demonological messianic paradigm. Given the closely interconnected mixture of military and demonological, messianic and political beliefs which they held, it must have seemed a logical decision for Ma Chaozhu and his followers to take the road to rebellion. Their driving motivation was the threat of apocalyptic disasters, rather than some fundamental dissatisfaction with Qing rule. Ma Chaozhu and Zhengxiu acted in a remarkably systematic way, almost as if they were following a pre-existing scenario. All evidence suggests that they had received this scenario from unknown oral sources, rather than written texts. The Heavenly Book found in the Nine Dragons Grotto on Mount Wan apparently only functioned as a legitimizing treasure.

81 Qingdai nongmin, III : 171 (confession brother Hu Nanshan). One proclamation was found as far as Xiao county in Xuzhou prefecture Uiangsu provinc e). Someone carrying a letter from Ma Chaozhu was arrested as far away as Changshan county in Zhejiang province . 82 TAIWAN 008264 (4975) confession Hu Nanshan.

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Appendix: A mysterious document

One document linked to the Ma Chaozhu incident still needs to be discussed. It was published in 1991 , together with the other material from the Imperial Palace archives in Beijing pertaining to the Ma Chaozhu incident.P Sadly, there is no information in the relevant source publication of the date when, and location where, the document was confiscated. Nor do we know anything about its wider historical context, apart from what can be gleaned from the text itself. The mainland editors have neglected to specify the circumstances under which the document was preserved in the archive. This is a pity as the location where the document was found and the possible dates of other documents in the same archival box might have been very informative. Nevertheless, the document is of great potential importance for understanding any possible connections between the Ma Chaozhu incident (or the demonological messianic tradition it represents) and the Triads. Due to the lack of context, it could not be fitted into my main treatment of the incident, and at present I can only attempt a preliminary analysis. The grammar of the text is often unclear and may at times be incorrect (a difficulty compounded by confusing modem punctuation) . Textual errors abound, including both substitutions of characters with roughly the same pronunciation and variant written forms. Several characters cannot be found in the standard dictionaries; maybe they are local variants. All in all, the document betrays the same type of limited literacy that we find in the early Triad manuals. From the large number of place names in the document, it is clear that it originates from Guangxi province.P' It is the account of a search for mythical treasures that have been buried in many different places, mostly in Guangxi, and a few in Yunnan and Guizhou. A number of treasures had been retrieved by the time that this account was written, but the nature of the treasures is never specified. However, the search is linked to several divine beings (whom we know from other incidents to be messianic saviors and who will be discussed below). The text recalls the incidents Qingdai nongmin, III: 228-229. Here the text presents a number of problems that I have been unable to resolve. Since these names do not appear to bear on the demonological messianic paradigm, I have not included any further analysis. 83

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of Li Mei, Huang San, Li Dexian and Ma Chaozhu himself, in all of which the search for, and discovery of, treasures was an important element. Several names and statements in the document imply that its authors wanted to restore the Ming dynasty, such as the fact that the search for treasures is located in the Great Ming Country (darning guo) . Later on in the document, a Great Ming Mountain is mentioned and reference is twice made to "the Luminous King of Wu." It is tempting to identify this figure as Wu Sangui or one of his descendants. Of course, the belief in a descendant of Wu Sangui also featured in the Ma Chaozhu incident. Furthermore, the use of the phrase "to carry out the Way on behalf of Heaven" (daitian xingdao) makes the politico-religious intentions of the authors of this document explicit. Although the text almost certainly dates from the Qing, it is set in themythical present of the Ming. The following phrase seems to hold the clue to the nature of this document: "Great King Zhu, Second King Zhu, Protector Li, King Li the golden star, Ma Chaolie and Ma Chaozhu have issued 72 tablets." That these persons (mentioned in pairs of two with the same family name) together form one object of worship is indicated by a sentence almost at the end of the document, "we must also hurriedly report by means of a text to the Three Great Kings Zhu, Li and Ma." Zhu and Li are the names of saviors in the demonological messianic tradition, from which Ma Chaozhu had derived his teachings. This information suggests that Ma himself had by this stage become part of the tradition. The nature of the 72 tablets is unclear to me. At this point, there follows a number of personal names that seem to belong to local people. They have vowed to carry out an important task, the precise nature of which remains unclear. The somewhat obscure phrase "they do not care for their Hong body" used in connection with the vow is particularly tantalizing, since it uses the same word hong which is so crucial in messianic (and Triad) lore and which also appears in the name of Ma Chaozhu's young Ming prince, Zhu Hongjin. The devotees are carrying out an ongoing search for hidden treasures all over the southern provinces. The devotees are referred to in the document as the "people of the bridge" (qiaoren) . In Ma Chaozhu's teachings, the bridge played no role, but it is a common element in messianic prophecies (such as the 1800 case from Lingshan county) and in the Triad

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initiation ritual. It is possible that the "people of the bridge" were a group of liminal persons already well on their way to eternal salvation, if they were only able to find one or more treasures. Such an explanation would certainly fit a number of the instances from the demonological messianic paradigm in which the discovery of treasures is always somehow connected to the advent of a savior. Finally, the document specifies when the most recent treasures were found, namely in the jiashen and jiayin years. After the Ma Chaozhu case , the first jiashen year is 1764 and the first jiayin year 1794. These were, however, most likely mythical years, playing on the well-established messianic connection of the cyclical character jia. Interestingly, the jiayin date is extremely prominent in Triad lore. The document raises many problems, of which its precise relationship with the Ma Chaozhu incident is only one. Despite the large number of unclear passages, the text again brings out very clearly the importance of the treasure element in prophecies from the demonological messianic tradition and testifies to the impact of the Ma Chaozhu figure on that particular tradition. Furthermore, several pieces of information are mentioned in the text that are also crucial in Triad lore, namely the family names Zhu and Li, the word Hong, the bridge, and the jiayin date.

6.3. Common themes of the paradigm

My reconstructions of the different Qing incidents in the demonological messianic paradigm demonstrate a set of common themes, which are much too consistent to be dismissed as the chance products of the fertile imagination of individual teachers. Undoubtedly, individual teachers adapted their prophecies and claims according to their own requirements and the level of their cultural baggage. However, they clearly did so within the overall parameters of the demonological messianic paradigm and under the restraint of the expectations of their audience. One characteristic of the demonological messianic paradigm is the frequency of claims about the restoration of the Ming and its imperial family, or the appearance of a Luminous King. The names of saviors involving a dragon (long)-which is the principal imperial animal-are another form of imperial reference. Any such

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mention in a political context further strengthens the political dimension of that context. The cases discussed above also illustrate the use of common legitimation terminology to underpin the politico-religious claims of the preachers. I have found two explicit examples of anti-Manchu ethnic sentiments, which go beyond the replacement of the Qing by the Ming. The first instance is the 1767 case of Sun Dayou inJingmen (Hubei), who used the slogan "Luminous Prince of the Hua of the Middle, when he sees Han [-people] he does not kill them." The second instance is the 1796-1804 uprising in the Shaanxi -Sichuan-Hubei border region, which used the slogan "to restore the Han and annihilate the Manchus." I shall discuss the eschatological dimension of these ethnic sentiments in the next chapter, and deal with the issue of political language and symbolism extensively in Chapter Eight. A more unexpected political element is the reference in the Ma Chaozhu case to the general Wu Chengyun, who was identified as a grandson of Wu Sangui. It shows that the Wu Sangui, who had once invited the Manchus to come and rescue China from the rebel armies of Li Zicheng, was now seen as a supporter of the Ming cause. As a reward he had been enfeoffed by the Qing as a king in the southwest of China. Later he had rebelled against them during the rebellion of the Three Feudatories, and apparently this was seen in the popular mind as a redeeming factor. In 1795 , a leader of the Miao people in southern China also claimed descent from Wu Sangui in order to legitimate his uprising against the Qing. 85 In all of the above incidents, we find that two family names of messianic saviors occur time and time again: namely Zhu (the name of the former Ming imperial family) and Li (an old messianic family name going back to the Han dynasty). In the case of the rumors leading up to the so-called White Lotus uprising of 1796-1804, there was a tendency to replace a savior's real family name with the more messianic family name Li. For reasons which are unclear to me, the two other common messianic family names, Liu and Zhao, are virtually absent in a messianic function. As we have seen, in the course of the eighteenth century the Zhu family name took over many of the messianic associations that were once typical for the Li family name. Notable features of the Zhu and Li saviors and their assistants 85

Kangyongqian shiqi, 723 .

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are youthful age and their remarkable personal names, characterized by flower symbolism, a wealth of puns on the sound hong and the recurrence of the auspicious numbers "nin e" (jiu) and "ten thousand" (wan). Eight incidents involve a savior called Li Kaihua, "Li of the flowers opening up." In other instances we find "Nine Peaches" (jiutao), "Nine Sunflowers" (jiukui) , or "Red Peach" (hongtao) as personal names. The name Li Mei was also a pseudonym, meaning "Peach Plum." The flower symbolism started with the Li savior, and was eventually also projected onto the Zhu savior. "Peach es" (li, tao, taoli) have always been associated with everlasting youth, such as the peaches of the Queen Mother of the West. 86 The messianic family name Li actually means "peach es." The combination of imagery involving "peaches," flowers and gardens with the advent of a new political-religious leader can be found as early as the apocryphal prophecies that circulated during the Sui-Tang transition.s? The phrase "Zhao of the flowers opening up, Ruler Li from Shaanxi" (shaanxi lizhu zhao kaihua) is the oldest reference to a savior with this particular epitheton. It is part of a list of five figures who will come with "men and horses" to assist a savior in an incident that took place in Shaanxi in 1449. Some of these military leaders used titles referring to demonic deities leading divine armies. The overall leader claimed to be "the dharma-ruler of the Third Meeting under the Dragonflower Tree who had descended into the world," which was a reference to the savior Maitreya. They distributed civilian and military ranks and used the explicitly political signals "Receiving [the Mandate of] Heaven" (jengtian) and "Following [the Mandate of] Heaven" (shuntian). The group actively planned the military conquest of Taiyuan, assisted by some 400.000 troops/" Given the demonological context of the "Li of the flowers opening up" during the Qing period, it is interesting to see that there is a similar context to this earlier incident as well. Many of the incarnations of saviors were quite youthful. The precise age of the Third (or Fourth) Prince Zhu is never specified, but a similar name which immediately comes to mind is that of the Third Prince Li (li santaizi) or Nezha (Nocha), who never 86 Queen Mother of the West: Schipper (1965) 5-6, 53-54, 73-74. Messianism and peaches: Mollier (1990) 96. 87 Li (1986) 282-283, 304-313. 88 Zhu j ianzhai gong zouyi, shang : 51a-52b.

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really grew up. He is characterized by unruly and unorthodox behavior, but is, at the same time, a prominent exorcist deity. As a Divine General, he leads the central army of the five Divine Armies of Divine Soldiers. He is also a popular figure in possession cults, where he descends into martial mediums who combat (or rather: through whom he combats) demons with bloody violence.s? Concerning Third Prince Li, Nakano Miyoko, a prominent scholar of the vernacular tradition of the Journey to the West, quotes an interesting comment by the Japanese folklorist Takaki Toshio. Takaki suggested in 1916 that it is always the last and youngest son, who possesses superior powers and will succeed where others have failed.P" This explanation evidently applies to the case of Third Prince Zhu in the demonological messianic paradigm (and the young Ming prince in Triad lore, to be discussed in the following chapter) as well. In the Chinese case, we need to qualify Takaki's suggestion by adding that it is not only the figure 's ranking as the youngest son that is of significance, but also his actual youth. By virtue of being young and unspoiled, the prince is especially fit to rule and drive away the demonic beings. The saviors are explicitly stated to be very young in the Ma Chaozhu incident of 1747-1752, in the prophecies preceding the 1796-1804 uprising, and in the rumors used or created by Gong Hai in 1770. 91 Their youth correlates with the notion of the peach as a symbol of everlasting youth and the birth symbolism expressed by the use of botanical references in the names of the saviors. Liu Xigour's descent from immortals in the prophecies preceding the 1796-1804 uprising, and the rescue by immortal soldiers in the 1800 case from Lingshan county, also express the themes of rejuvenation and immortality in connection with protection against apocalyptic disasters. The notion that a youngest son will be the source of divine deliverance is a fundamental reversal of Chinese social hierarchy, in which it is always the oldest (whether real age, seniority in an 89 For his myth, see the translation by Gu (1992) 131-167 and the discussions by Liu (1962) 217-242 and Sangren (1996) 150-170. As an exorcist deity and divine general, he is very popular on Taiwan. As a deity in possession cults, see for instan ce Eliott (1955) passim. 90 Nakano (1984) 214-228, esp . 226-228. 91 Additional historical examples are Prince Moonlight (yueguang tongzi) (discussed above) and Han Lin 'er (the Small Luminous King or xiao mingwang) from the late Yuan Red Turban uprising.

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organization, or genealogical rank) who is the source of authority. A similar inversion occurred in the prophecies preceding the 1796-1804 uprising, where two of the young saviors were ugly and handicapped. In Chinese physiognomy and traditional theater (and even in Chinese culture in general), ugliness is a reflection of someone's moral depravity and low social status. Here, this common perception is reversed and the ugly becomes the source of deliverance. It is the kind of inversion which is so common in mythological accounts and heightens their religious impact: only exceptional people can rule the world. The sound hong also appears with great frequency: Zhu Hongsheng ("Vast Life") in 1746 among the followers of Zhang Baotai (as the mythical head of the Iron Ship'Teachings) , Zhu Hongjin ("Vast Brocade") in the Ma Chaozhu incident in 1747-1752 , Zhu Hongzong ("Red Ancestor") and Zhu Hongzhu ("Red Bamboo") in the Li Dexian incident of 1752, Zhu Hongzhuo ("Red Covering/Table") in the rumors of 1753, and Zhu Hongtao ("Red Peach") in the pre-1796 prophecies. These puns on the sound hong may still unconsciously reflect the old tradition of the savior Li Hong, even if by the late imperial period they have become a messianic theme of their own. Puns on Li Hong's family name as either "floods, vast" (hong) or "red" (hong) can be found as early as the Sui-Tang transition.P As we have seen in Chapter Three, water masses separate the human world from the supernatural world in space. It turns out that they also play this role in time. Thus, floods stand between us and the golden age before King Yu, who tamed the waters and thereby started our present time, and they also stand between the present human world and the future perfect age of Great Peace (in the form of apocalyptic disasters) . The color red has very strong positive connotations, deriving from people's belief in red blood as representing a force of life. For this reason, red ink is used in imperial and Daoist documents, and the bandeaux around the heads and sashes around the waists of religious officiants and rebels are also red. 92 On Li Hong, see Seidel (1969 /1970) 236-246 and Mollier (1990) 22-23, 159-162. For puns on Li Hong's name, see Li (1986) 282-283,287,304-313. The latter sees these alternative forms as a way of avoiding the prohibition on using the original name Li Hong, with the other associations as secondary. In my opinion, however, these associations can be explained in two ways, as intentional in order to enrich the field of positive references of the name Li Hong, or as coincidental as the result of oral transmission.

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Auspicious numbers are a well-established practice in Chinese name-giving. Personal names were composed by combining a propitious character with the rank number of the person within the respective family unit. Special numbers could also be used in this way, including wan (ten thousand, often used for "very many" and the highest traditional number in counting), qian (thousand) , or yuan (beginning, origin). Nine (jiu) is a particularly ancient auspicious number, going back to the Zhou dynasty. Originally denoting "many," it acquired other connotations after the original one had been forgotten. However, it retained its basic auspicious aura. Thus, nine is explained as three times three, a double Yang number that can contain the evil Yin forces. It also consists of the Eight Trigrams arranged around a center. The number is homophonous with jiu, meaning "long period of time. "93 Early examples of its auspicious usage are the Nine Tripods of Yu (a mythical dynastic treasure), the Nine Continents that were created by Yu after taming the floods and the Nine Heavens in Daoist ritual and mythology. We find the number nine in the auspicious personal names of Qing saviors, "Nine Peaches" and "Nine Sunflowers." The number ten thousand (wan) occurs in the Ma Chaozhu incident as the name of Mount Wan, and in the Li Dexian incident of 1752, in the names of the three heavenly generals Li Wandou (?), Li Wanxian, Li Wanyun. The Nine Dragons Grotto on Mount Wan from the Ma Chaozhu incident was clearly a highly propitious place name, taking up the imperial symbol of the dragon and two auspicious numbers. "Nine Dragons" (jiulong) also belongs to a cluster of similarly sounding religious names, which also includes jiulang (Nine Lads), for instance in the name of the patriarch Jiulang of the exorcist Liishan tradition in the Fujian region.f" The same use of positive names is found during the Ming-Qing transitional period, when local self-defense groups in southeastern China adopted auspicious family names, such as wan (ten thousand), baa (to preserve), qi (complete) and tong (equal), to express their unity of purpose.l" Some twentieth century scholars

93 Hansen (1995) 123. On the original connotations ofjiu (nine), see Chang (1983) 97. 94 As pointed out by Hou (1979) 196-197. He suggests a Jiulong/ Jiulang/ Jiuliang complex in Southern China going back to the Han. 95 Weng (1977) 433-449. Zhuang (1981) 12-16 with additional evidence.

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have even assumed a direct historical connection between these groups and the later Triads on the basis of the occurence of the family name wan in Triad lore as well. Since such names were very common, and there is no further convincing primary evidence for this kind of connection, I would hesitate to make this assumption. Instead, it seems more likely that the similarity stems from the existence of a common cultural practice of selecting auspicious names. An element of the demonological messianic paradigm that is easily overlooked is the discovery of treasures, which served to legitimize the messianic claims. Such finds are a central element in the 1729-1730 case of Li Mei, the 1743 case of Huang San c.s. and again in the 1747-1752 case of Ma Chaozhu. These finds were not necessarily concrete objects serving as dynastic treasures, but could simply be finds of gold and silver in the mountains.I" These princely and kingly saviors , with their auspicious names suggesting youth and long life , functioned within a larger eschatological framework of predictions of war and epidemics, two of the principal apocalyptic disasters. People were offered protection by either joining a group and/or buying the amulets that were sold by the teachers. In the near future, so people were told, one or more saviors would arrive with an army of (divine) soldiers, to fight against the evil demons that brought about the apocalyptic disasters. The saviors of Ma Chaozhu and Li Dexian were to lead divine soldiers and the saviors of Li Mei would come with unspecified armies. In the 1800 case in Lingshan county, it was predicted that immortal soldiers would come to the rescue. In several other cases, the presence of colored flags also suggests the involvement of real or divine armies. As far as I know, this belief did not play a role in the prophecies that led up to the 1796-1804 uprising, in which people took their fates entirely in their own hands. The assistance of divine soldiers most likely boosted the self-confidence of messianic teachers, encouraging them, their followers and the Qing officials alike into overestimating their actual strength. In many of these incidents, the threat and/or rescue are seen to come from a distant place. The savior Li Kaihua, in the 17361756 case of Du Qi in Northern Fujian, was said to be coming from Guangdong. In the Li Mei case of 1729-1730, Li's followers in 96

Mather (1979) 119-120 quotes a similar example from 417 A.D.

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Southern Guangdong believed that their saviors would come from the "Little Western Heaven," situated in Vietnam. Li Dexian and his followers in 1752 in Shangyou county in Jiangxi believed that their savior would come with 400 soldiers from neighboring Chongyi county in Jiangxi. This is the only instance in which assistance was to come from within the same province as the actual messianic instance. Ma Chaozhu, active from 1747 until 1752, claimed that the saviors would come from the Western Ocean Fortress on Mount Emei in Sichuan and that military disasters would come from Yunnan in the South. The Li Kaihua in Ma Chaozhu's predictions originally came from Shanxi. Ma Chaozhu also specifically mentioned that he would be supported by "the excellent soldiers from the Eight Grottoes." In 1767 Sun Dayou carried the slogan "Heavenly Signal of the Heavenly Command of the Great Ming in the West," ind icating that he derived his authority from a Great Ming dynasty located somewhere in the West. In 1770 , Gong Hai likewise claimed that he had obtained amulets by going to a savior living in Yunnan. Finally, the immortal soldiers in the Lingshan case of 1800 were to come across a Bridge of the Immortals situated in a local grotto. Such notions about a distant threat, and/ or rescue, derived from the Chinese conceptualization of life and death as ajourney through a mythical landscape. The divine armies were usually perceived as residing in the Five Directions in a more abstract way, and their location was not specified in geographical terms. In the demonological messianic paradigm, the apocalyptic threats were perceived to be this-worldly and, therefore, the liminal places were also concretized. In three instances, the mythical direction of the ideal land corresponded to the location of the land of those who are beyond birth and death (namely the land of the Queen Mother of the West or the Western Paradise of Amitabha) . Li Mei's "Little Western Heaven" was located in Vietnam to the South of Enping, where Li Mei was active. Sun Dayou claimed that the Great Ming was located in the West, without further specification. Ma Chaozhu claimed that his saviors would come from the Western Ocean Fortress on Mount Emei. This was one of the major sacred mountains of traditional China. For the participants in these incidents, and for the Qing officials who had to deal with them, these places were very real.

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The Ma Chaozhu incident of 1747-1752 had as its ultimate aim the conquest of Nanjing. In the demonological messianic paradigm, this seems to be the only eighteenth century example in which the conquest of a city was the ultimate aim. Two examples are known from the nineteenth century, namely the attempted conquest of the Forbidden City in Beijing by Lin Qing and his Eight Trigrams followers in 1813, and the successful conquest of Nanjing in 1853 by the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace. Elsewhere I have argued that this last rebellion was probably influenced by the demonological messianic paradigm.P? The demonological messianic paradigm was transmitted orally. Despite the use of formulae from the discourse of legitimation, seals or flags with short texts, and bureaucratic documents, there is a remarkable absence of substantial written texts which might have served as the basis for transmitting the paradigm. Nevertheless, the same themes can be found in different regions of southern China, hundreds of miles from each other, and over a substantial period of time.P" The basic paradigm was always preserved, testifying to the remarkable strength of oral traditions. Its principal themes were youth, longevity and immortality (expressed by the names and ages of the savior figures), the threat of disasters (wars, diseases, sometimes also floods) , and combating these disasters with the help of amulets and divine armies. Authority was based on the transmission of charisma through precious objectsso-called dynastic treasures. Texts from heaven functioned as dynastic treasures, such as the Heavenly Book found by Ma Chaozhu; other divine texts were used to combat the demons, such as amulets, flags or memorials. However, the actual divine messages were transmitted orally, for instance through dreams and visions. The persistence of this demonological messianic tradition is the more remarkable, when we consider the strong competition from other, Buddhist inspired, paradigms, with their superior cohesion and quite evolved institutional structures, which were transmitted with (as well as legitimated by) prestigious printed or handcopied 97 Ter Haar (1996). The general demonological nature of the Heavenly Kingdom has been pointed out forcefully by Weller (1994) esp . 60-68. 98 An incident from 1981-1982 is discusssed in Anagnost (1985) 147-176, esp . 150-158, with additional comments in ter Haar (1996) . The incident was explicitly influenced by the Classic of the Five Lords.

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scriptures. On the other hand, for many local people the claims of the demonological messianic paradigm would have been much easier to grasp, since it corresponded to the ongoing violent confrontation with the demonic world in which they were engaged in their daily lives.

CHAPTER SEVEN

THE MESSIANIC ORIGINS OF TRIAD LORE It has long been argued that the political ideal of the Triads originated in the Ming loyalist activities of early Qing philosophers or the remnants of Koxinga's (Zheng Chenggong) armies.' After the collapse of the Southern Ming and the death of the last pretender to the throne, the Qing were very successful in pursuading Ming loyalists to support their regime: either directly, by offering them administrative positions and providing special examinations, or indirectly, by making them participate in prestigious scholarly projects that demonstrated the moral caliber of the Qing rulers and, thus, their fitness to receive the Mandate of Heaven.f As far as the educated elite were concerned, this meant the end of the loyalist movement. They remained loyal to the new dynasty throughout the following centuries, and there was never any revival of proMing feelings among the educated elite, not even among the late nineteenth century nationalist opponents to the regime. We will see in the course of this chapter that the demonological messianic paradigm is a much more likely source of origin, since it explains some of the most basic features of Triad lore. The Triad roots in the demonological messianic paradigm include: the restoration of the Ming dynasty and its young ruler, the most important Triad ancestors, the City of Willows as a safe haven, the use of special dates, and some other, minor elements. Furthermore, the demonological dimension of the paradigm was responsible for the basic division of Triad members into the Five Houses, which parallel the Five Encampments (wuying) or the Five Fierce Ones (wuchang) of exorcist traditions. In some early incidents, the demonological messianic potential of Triad lore was still explicit, but it was later channelled into a different direction, towards creating a feeling of safety, setting up strong in- and outgroup boundaries, and sometimes even inspiring political activi1 On the Ming-Qing transition, see Wakeman (1985). On Ming resistance in the South, see Struve (1984) . 2 See for instance Kessler (1976) 158-166.

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ties . The messianic dimension of Triad lore remained something that might have been, but was rarely carried into practice.

7.1. The dramatis personae

The influence of the demonological messianic paradigm is especially visible in the dramatis personae of Triad lore. Some of the most important figures in this lore bear a striking resemblance to the saviors and their generals from the demonological messianic paradigm. These include the Luminous King, the young Zhu prince, two ancestors with the family names Li and Hong (taking up the important hong element) and the figure of Wan Tixi (as well as an important location with the name Wan) . Furthermore, the peach symbolism occurs in several personal names, and in connection with the birth of the young Zhu prince. We find all saviors from the demonological paradigm in Triad lore, although not all Triad ancestors can be traced back to the paradigm. The professed aim of the Triads was the restoration of the Ming dynasty and its young Zhu prince, who is called a Luminous King (mingwang) , Luminous Prince (mingjun) or Luminous Ruler (mingzhu) . He is to be found several times in incidents from the demonological messianic paradigm. In the Ma Chaozhu case of 1747-1752 and the Eight Trigrams uprising of 1813 a Luminous Ruler appears, and in the Sun Dayou case of 1767 there is a Luminous Prince. In all three cases there is a connection with the restoration of the Ming dynasty. Since in all three incidents the restoration of the Ming is also placed in a messianic context, we can say that the name combined both a messianic (deliverance) and political (restoration of the Ming) aspect. The Luminous King features prominently in Triad lore, but due to the extremely sensitive political nature of the name, he was in variably ignored in the various texts produced by the Qing state, in the course of persecuting the Triads. 3 Despite the wealth of material that was produced concerning the Triads in the aftermath of the Lin Shuangwen uprising of 17861787 on Taiwan, none of the extant confessions ever mention the 3 We encountered the same phenomenon in other incidents from the demonological messianic paradigm (see Chapter Six) .

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Luminous King. However, the written covenant that was confiscated on Taiwan in 1786-1787 contains a very clear reference, calling him the Luminous Ruler, and claiming that he transmitted the lineage at the Horse Creek Temple at the High Creek Cloister at the Phoenix Flower Pavilion in Guangdong. Two brief texts composed in exile in 1791 , by people from an early Triad network who had been arrested and banished in 1787, associate this same spot with the goal of restoring the Ming dynasty." One suspects that the Luminous Ruler should be identified as the Zhu prince, who features prominently in Triad lore from the very beginning, although this identification is never explicitly made.f The Luminous Ruler or King continues to be mentioned in the poems and dialogues that accompany the initiation ritual, but remains strangely absent from the Triad foundation account itself. Many poems in the 1810 manual mention the Luminous King, who will ascend the throne and who now resides in the Forbidden City (zijin cheng). From the context it is clear that this is the City of Willows. The Luminous King is to be supported by all sworn brothers." We find the same types of references in the later manuals. The Luminous King is also referred to as the True Ruler. The 1810 manual contains the following short poem: Couplet on the True Ruler (zhenzhu) When the sun shines and the moon is bright (ming), the Heavenly Ruler appears. The house (fang) of the ruler-king is in Sichuan."

The term True Ruler, which is also used elsewhere in the same manual, is common both in messianic and purely political prophecies about the perfect ruler who will bring about a perfect age. s Whereas the Luminous King is always mentioned in texts which TDH V: 413. The 1786-1787 covenant has been translated in section 5.2. I have found only one example, in the Guangxi manual, Guangxi huidang, 518 where "Zhu Hong" (probably Zhu Hongying) is explicitly equated with the Luminous Prince. 6 TDH I: 6 lines 23 and 25, 7 line 20, 12 line 8 (as City of Willows in this entire passage), 17 line 5, 18 lines 4,10, and 30, 19 line 21, 20 lines 9 and 11,21 line 14, 22 line 7. 7 TDH I: 5 lines 22, 23. A similar poem is quoted in a confession from 1811 and stems from the teacher Fan Qi who was active in 1791-1793, see TDH VII: 328. On this figure, see section 7.4.3. 8 In a political context, e.g. Tuibeitu , Bauer (1973 ) Station 25. 4

5

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describe how to carry out the initiation ritual, but rarely in the foundation account or in external sources, the Zhu prince is mentioned in all types of texts. He is identified as the central figure of worship during the initiation ritual, features in the foundation account and in confessions, and even in various external sources, by local literati and officials. According to one confession from 1787 he was called Zhu Hongde ("Vast Virtue") . He was about 15 or 16 Chinese years of age and had been begotten by eating "a peach from the immortals" (xiantao) . Another confession from the same year mentions that the Triads were founded by a Li and a Zhu figure from Sichuan." In 1792, people mentioned that in the High Creek Monastery, in Shicheng county in Guangdong province, there was a Heaven and Earth Gathering (the early name for the Triads), headed by Hong of the Third House (undoubtedly Monk Hong and discussed below) , with the family name Zhu and the names Hongzhu ("Red Bamboo") orJiutao ("Nine Peaches'tj.!" In 1806, Du Shiming and fellow Triad members believed that Zhu Hongzhu ("Red Bamboo") would come from the City of Willows (or muyang cheng, literally "wood willows city," which this group misread as "wood mill" [muchang]) and started an uprising.I! A teacher who was active between 1812 and 1816 told his followers about Zhu Dahong (Zhu Great Vastness), who was a descendant of the Ming house and only one fathom tall (in other words, still very young) . 12 In an early reference to the foundation account from 1806 (from a text originally in the possession of a teacher who had begun practising a Triad initiation ritual as early as 1797), it is said that "in those years they started a rising in Sichuan." There is no mention made here of the Zhu prince. 13 Another text also confiscated in 1806, but from another network, contains a poem on the appearance of the Son of Heaven with the line "the Son of Heaven lives in Sichuan." The text mentions a figure called Zhu Qigui (Zhu "seven cassias"), and the group expected the advent of the savior TDH I: 87, 112. TDH V: 455. From the confessions it is quite clear that these people belonged to a representative Triad group, see TDH V: 451-452, 455, 458. They had also been associated with the Lin Shuangwen uprising, TDH V: 458. II Discussed extensively in section 7.4.1. 12 Zhuang (1994) 18. More on this group at the end of section 8.3.1. 13 TDH VI: 340. 9

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Zhu Hongzhu as a future ruler.l" As the short poem translated above indicates, at the time of the 1810 manual, it was still assumed that the True Ruler resided in Sichuan. Sichuan functioned in early Triad lore as the distant liminal territory from which the saviour (as well as the demonic threat) comes. The shared mention of Sichuan in all of these references allows us to draw them together and conclude that the Zhu prince was indeed the Luminous King or Ruler. The connections with Sichuan, the element "Hong" in the personal name, the youth of the Zhu figure , and the mention of peaches, are all familiar elements from the demonological messianic paradigm. Zhu Qigui might be a positive name for the Zhu figure ("cassia" being a wellknown auspicious tree) and/or a pun on the name of Wu Sangui, the general who let the Manchu forces into China proper and who later rebelled against them. Ma Chaozhu had taught about Wu Chengyun, a grandson of Wu Sangui and one of the generals in the service of his Luminous Ruler. Thus, Wu Sangui was not necessarily a negative figure in this demonological messianic paradigm and might have become a source of inspiration for punning. Later versions of the foundation account call the prince Zhu Hongzhu or Zhu Hongying, often interchangeably.P In these later TDH VI: fourth page of photographs, top photo. The characters of the poem "Son of Heaven" have been shuffled. The proper reading sequence is indicated below (each character is represented by a number) . 14

1 4

6 7 8 11

13

3 2 5 10 9 12

son of Heaven poem

15 Zhu Hongzhu, using "floodlike:" Guangxi 1828 manual, see Guangxi huidang, 520 indirect reference to red bamboo; Schlegel (1866) 15 (gives the homophonous character zhu, meaning "prayer," and probably a mistake) ; Stanton (1900) 34; Xiao (1935) 2: 6b (Or. 8207 D) ; Morgan (1960) 41-43 (also Zhu Hongying) . In more elaborate confessions: TDH VI: 284 (with the additional allusion to "red bamboo"); TDH VII: 520 (Zhu Hongzhu in the form "red bamboo") . Zhu Hongying: TDH I: 5 line 2 (implicitly; 1810 manual); Guangxi 1828 manual, see Guangxi huidang, 482 ; Schlegel (1866) 22 (survey of all ancestors; different manual than the foundation story, which gives Zhu Hongzhu); Ward and Stirling (1925) 14; Xiao (1935) 3: 13b (in the written oath) ; Morgan (1960) 41-43 (also Zhu Hongzhu) . In more elaborate confessions: TDH VI: 397 (but confusing Hongying with Monk Hong Two); VII: 449-451, 486, 516-7. For another version, see Ward and Stirling (1925) 42. For Zhu Hongzhu,

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versions, he makes his entrance after the appearance of the incense burner, with its important message of restoring the Ming and overthrowing the Qing. He comes to join the blood covenant that had been concluded by the five remaining monks of the Shaolin Monastery. Restoring this prince to the throne was the principal political ideal of the Triads. The peach symbolism is only applied indirectly to the Zhu prince, when it is stated that he was descended from the Chongzhen emperor by a concubine with the name Li (meaning "peach"). It is always emphasized that the prince is very young.l" However, later versions of the account no longer mention that he came from Sichuan and the explicit use of peach symbolism has also disappeared. All in all, it seems that some time early in the nineteenth century the original messianic elements of the Zhu figure became obscured and that he became a more narrowly 'p olitical figure. We will find the same process with respect to other elements from the demonological messianic paradigm. In early Triad writings, the family names Li and Hong are often mentioned together as one unit, always in the sequence Li, Zhu, Hong.!? I have already discussed the messianic aspects of the Zhu figure above, so now we need only look more closely at the two figures with the family names Li and Hong. I will first briefly present the extant Triad evidence on them and then analyze their messianic dimension. In the earliest Triad networks from 1786-1787, a certain Li Taohong figures prominently. He is believed to be one of the founders of the Triads. His name is made up from the family name Li and the symbol "peach," in combination with the homophonous words for "red" or "floodlike."18 Li Taohong ("floodlike") also features in a document confiscated in 1802. This same text mentions the "Three Family Names" Li, Zhu, Hong and specisee also the instances mentioned above. Only one instance of Zhu Hongguang: TDH VI: 224-225 (1820; claimed to go back to 1789) . 16 TDH I: 4 lines 4 and 18, 5 lines 11-13. 17 TDH I: 112 (1787 confession); TDH VI: second photograph in front and TDH VII: 34 (1802) ; TDHVI: fourth page in front, top photograph (1806). These instances from early Triad documents are discussed in the main text below . Other instances (likewise all from confiscated books, rather than oral lore) are: TDH VI: 176-177 (1810), 189 (confiscated in 1814, but going back to the first half of the preceding decade) ; Guangxi manual of 1828, Guangxi huidang, 491. 18 TDH I: 87 and 112 (different poetry lines, both using the "red" variant) . Also, see two texts found in 1791, but going back to 1787, in TDH V: 413 (using the "floodlike" variant) .

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fies "support of Li" as a Triad aim.l? Another text, confiscated in 1806 from the Du Shiming network (see section 7.4 .1.), again mentions the "Three Family Names" Li, Zhu, and Hong. The personal names of these three figures are given as Li Kaihua ("Li, the flowers opening up")-the savior that we encountered so often in the preceding chapter, Zhu Qigui ("Zhu, seven cassias"), and Hong Shechang ("Hong, the earth altar is constant'Tf" In the early confessions from 1787, the Hong figure was also important. He was called Monk Hong of the Second House. The Qing authorities considered him to be the founder of the Triads.U These confessions gave rise to a long search by Qing officials for this mysterious figure. In the course of this search (but not in the original confessions of Van Van and other important informants apprehended in 1787), Monk Hong eventually came to be equated in the official Qing view of early Triad history with another key figure, called Wan Tuxi. The search for this elusive person eventually led to the Raozhou area in Northeastern Guangdong, where the Qing officials claimed to have found the son of Wan Tuxi alias Monk Hong, as well as some of Tuxi's early followers. Modern scholarship has taken over this view, but there is very little evidence to confirm it and much which contradicts it. 22 Furthermore, in internal Triad sources Monk Hong and the Wan figure are invariably presented as two different people, with the Wan figure given as the founder of the Triads, together with the remaining monks of the Shaolin Monastery, of whom Monk Hong is one. The Wan figure is discussed further below. Of the "Three Family Names" Li, Zhu and Hong, the personal names of both the Li and the Zhu figures are consistently associated with peaches and flowers in early Triad lore. The Li figure TDH VI: second photograph in front and TDH VII: 34. TDH VI: fourth page in front, top photograph. Three references to the three family names as one entity, twice using the additional term "Three Family Names." 21 TDH I: 112 (confession Van Van) ; Qin (1988) 310-311 on monk Wan as monk Hong. 22 In TDH I: 97, 112 Van Van clearly presents the two as independent of each other. Only in the confession of the person who is purported to be Monk Hong's son are the two identical, most likely under the pressure of Qing interrogators. See TDH I: 139 and TDH VII: 524-526 (Qin [1988) 31D-311) . The most elaborate consideration of the available evidence is He (1987) 358-409. See my detailed discussion in note 16 to Chapter One. 19

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is always put first when the three family names are mentioned as a group, and the 1802 text even suggests explicitly that he had a special role. Thus, both the Zhu and the Li figures, with their flower or peach symbolism, were initially adopted, without change, from the messianic demonological paradigm, by Triad lore. The main difference is that in early Triad lore a third figure with the family name Hong was added. It almost appears as if the long-established symbolic element "H o ng" now finally became an independent mythical person, who was placed on an equal level with the Li and Zhu figures, but always in third place. From roughly 1806 onwards, the symbolic significance of the Li and Hong figures was diluted, by making them to two of a larger group of Five Ancestors or Five Houses, while the Zhu figure retained his special position as the ultimate ruler. The Li figure was now consistently called either Li Sedi (Li "color ground" or Li "color younger brother") or Li Sekai (Li "colors opening up"). 23 The Hong figure became either Hong Dasui or Fang Dahong. The pronunciation of Fang and Hong is close in the southern language variants. 24 Fang Dahong might be translated as Fang "big Hong" or "Great Vastness." Dasui is an alternative way of writing Taisui, who is a powerful stellar general in Chinese mythology, both a protector and a potential threat.P The specific rank number of the Li and Hong (Fang) figures differs according to individual Triad traditions, but their names remain roughly the same. Henceforth, they only appeared as part of the larger group of Five Ancestors. The references to peaches or flowers also disappeared from the 23 TDH I: 5 line 15 and 6 line 21 (Third House); VI: 304 (Second House); VII: 214 (Fifth House) . In Schlegel (1866) 22-23 there is already a division in two times five patriarchs, featuring both Li Sekai, Fifth House, and Li Sezhi (Li "colours wisdom") . The variants di/zhi are most likely the result of oral transmission, since they sound similar in the southern language variants. At the same time, the poem referring to the "Three Family Names" (the "Upper Four Times Seven Base") is also copied in these manuals. In Schlegel (1866) 226 the relevant line has remained the same. In the 1810 manual, the three family names are "Li Tao Hong" (three family names out of the Five Ancestors), TDH I: 8 line 18. By then, the notion of "T h ree Family Names" had already been fossilized and its true meaning forgotten . 24 Fang Dahong: TDH VI: 304 and 340 (Lu Shenghai material; Third House) ; TDH VII: 214 (Second House); TDH I: 11 line 13 (also Hong Dasui in this manual). Hong Dasui: TDH I: 5 line 14,6 line 18 (always as Second House) . Once more, both are included in the manuals used by Schlegel (1866) 22-23 (Fifth House), where Hong Dasui is called Hong Taisui. 25 Hou (1979) 200-209.

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personal names of important Triad figures, although remaining prominent in other areas of Triad lore. We have encountered many instances of peach symbolism (referring to birth and long life) in our earlier analysis of the initiation ritual in Chapter Three (which was based on a mid-nineteenth century manual) . Also consider the following examples of this symbolism from the 1810 manual. Here, the Eight Immortals determine the moment that the peach trees blossom as the date for doing battle with the Qing forces. People leave the Mountain of the Peach Grotto to take part in this battle. Peaches grow on the left- and right-hand side of the City of Willows (or the rice bushel). During the initiation ritual, peaches are part of the cargo of the boat in which the candidate member travels to the blood covenant ceremony. The candidate member is "born" under the peach tree (taozishu xia chushi). When the flowers of the peach trees next to the High Creek Temple blossom, this announces the restoration of the Ming. 26 References to hong ("floodlike" or "red") remain prominent, but they are not associated with the figure of Monk Hong as a savior. Instead they are usually linked to the common family name of the Triad members, in the variant "floodlike." It is often given in the form of the rebuses wu dian Iff shi yi (Five Point Twenty-one) or san ba nian yi (Three, Eight, Twenty-one) . This last rebus is used in Triad lore for magical numbers, amounts and weights. The three dots of the water radical of the character hong ("floodlike") are taken up in magical characters (by adding them on the left of a normal character) and in the use of three fingers to pick up things by way of a Triad recognition sign .27 For instance, the variant "red" (hong) is used in the initiation ritual in the reference to the Red Bamboos which the candidate member sees while crossing the Triad River by boat. A number of crucial elements in the ritual are red, such as the Red Flower Pavilion in which the new Triad member is finally reborn. The pavilion is also called the Hong Flower Pavilion. The associations link red, as the color of blood or life force , and Hong, as the common Triad family name, together. The word "ten thousand" (wan) is a crucial element in Triad lore, which also appears in various incidents from the demono26 TDH I: 7 line 8 and 18 lines 15-16,8 line 3, 12 line 13, 13 line 2, 14 lines 1-3, 15 lines 2-3, 16 lines 13-14, 21 lines 15-16 (unclear) . Similar examples can be found in later manuals. 27 TDH I: 3, 5 lines 6-10, 12 lines 22-24 (1810 manual) . Also in all later manuals.

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logical messianic paradigm. We have encountered the word as the name of a mythical mountain in the Ma Chaozhu case of 17471752, and as part of the names of several divine generals in the Li Dexian case of 1752. In Triad lore, the name Wan appears in a variety of contexts, and is always significant. We encounter "Wan" as the family name of the principal inspirer of the first Triad group, as the name of a mountain, and in a common Triad slogan (jiewan "to unite the Wan/the ten thousand'Tv" From the appearance of the Triads in historical sources, a Monk Wan or Wan Tixi (Wan Tiqi, Wan Tuxi) is described as the first Triad founder, or as the original source of inspiration for founding the Triads. His first mention is in Van Van's famous confession in 1787, where he is mentioned as the founder of a Triad group in Cuangdong.P Soon, he comes to be called Wan Yunlong ("Cloud Dragon"), a name containing the "dragon" element, with all its imperial connotations. He led the five remaining monks of the Shaolin Monastery to found the first mythical Triad group and commanded the group in its first struggles against the forces of the Qing. After his death in battle, the remainder of this Triad group was dispersed all over China, and all later Triad groups are supposed to descend from it. 30 Apart from the Zhu prince, Wan Yunlong is one of the few persons in the foundation account to have received a more than cursory treatment (on which more in Chapter Nine). The mythical mountain appears in Triad lore in its traditional role as a place of ultimate origin and return. At first it was called Mount Wan or Old Mount Wan (lao wanshan) . "Old" here probably only serves as a kind of honorific prefix. Eventually, the name was replaced by Nail Mountain (dingshan; ding may well be a clerical mistake for the abbreviated form of wan) .31 Most likely, the 28 In the initiation ritual, several other persons with the same family name Wan appear. See TDH I: 5 lines 3-4 (only in the foundation story) ; Guangxi manual of 1828, in : Guangxi huidang, 502; Schlegel (1866) 88-89 QA 208-210; Xiao (1935) 4: 8a-b (Or.8207 G), 20a (Or. 2339, less clear phrasing) , 28a (Or. 8207 E) ; Stanton (1900) 42; Ward and Stirling (1925) painting opposite 14; Morgan (1960) 239. 29 TDH I: 97, 112 (Monk Wan Tuxi; Van Van confession). See also TDH VI: fourth page in front (bottom photograph) , 304 and 340 (all Lu Shenghai material found in 1806 and 1811) ; TDH I: 4 line 17. 30 TDH I: 4 line 17 (1810 manual) and Guangxi manual of 1828, in : Guangxi huidang, 491. Guangxi huidang, 484 bottom line identifies Wan Tiqi (Tixi) explicitly as Wan Yunlong. All later manuals use only Wan Yunlong. 31 See section 3.2.3.

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mountain was called "Wan," because of its auspicious numerological connotations (see section 6.3.) . In early Triad lore, a Mount Wan figures as the spot where an uprising by Fang Dahong took place, according to a summary of the foundation account confiscated in 1811 (but probably dating back to 1797, when the source of this summary started his activities) .32 In other early sources, the mountain is called Old Mount Wan. It is identified as the birthplace of the Five Ancestors, or as a place where commands are given (this element goes back to at least 1811, but the original teacher of this element had migrated to Guangxi from Guangdong in 1796) ,33 or as the location of the first Triad gathering and the mountain where Wan Yunlong had lived in retreat until the founding of the Triads (as recorded in an 1828 manual from Guangxi).34 As late as 1851, a group in Hengzhou prefecture in Southern Hunan claimed that Zhu Jiutao from Old Mount Wan in Guangdong was their chief and that they had received their precious objects from him. 35 In my analysis of the initiation journey, I have already discussed the liminal nature of Nail Mountain, as a place where the dead reside. Thus, Mount Wan as a place of birth and beginnings fits its role in the future-oriented messianic paradigm, whereas Nail Mountain as a place of death fits in quite well in the progress from near-death to rebirth that is enacted in the initiation ritual. The sloganjiewan ("to unite the Wan/the ten thousand"), which appears frequently in Triad documents, remains something of an enigma. It forms part of the cryptic line "the Three Family Names, to unite the ten thousand, Li Taohong" (sanxingjiewan li taohong) (with small variants) in various early texts.36 The obscure phrase TDH VI: 340-341. TDH VII: 436 (manual quotations) . On the background of this latter case , see TDH VII: 427-428 (the owner of this manual had entered Triad in 1811, but his teacher's teacher had come from Guangdong with his Triad knowledge in 1796!) . 34 Guangxi manual of 1828, in : Guangxi huidang, 486 explicitly identifies Old Mount Wan as the location of the High Creek Temple and the place where the first Triad gathering was held. The same manual (op.cit., 484485) also places High Creek Temple on Nail Mountain , where the first Triad group was founded . 35 Taiping tianguo wenxian shiliao ji , 312-317 and 321-323. Luo (1955) 61-79 discusses the case . Also see Xiao (1936) 3: 9-14. 36 Already in the earliest materials: TDH I: 112 (1787) ; TDH I: 8 lines 11, 13 (1810) . Variant with Li Zhu Hong, instead of Li Taohong, TDH VI: second photograph in front and TDH VII: 34 (1802). Variant: "to unite the tenthousand, to 32 33

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"the signal is ' to unite the ten thousand '" (jiewan weiji) is commonly written in the center of membership certificates.V Originally, the phrase "to unite the ten thousand" may well have had a particular meaning, given the importance of the name Wan, both in messianic and Triad lore. It might be interpreted as a call to arms to all Chinese to support the Triad ideal of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming. Judging from the complete absence of any explanations of this phrase in Triad accounts, it seems quite likely that it was primarily ritual in nature. That is to say, it communicates a message by its mere presence as an auspicious symbol, not by virtue of its contents. The word jie suggests unity, the word wan has general Chinese, as well as strictly Triad auspicious connotations. When we look at early Triad lore, the resemblances with the demonological paradigm are indeed striking. There is the Luminous King or Ruler (or: the True Ruler), who is probably the same as the young Zhu prince. Both come from Sichuan. In addition to the Zhu prince, we find different figures with the Li and Hong .family names. The Zhu and Li figures have personal names with the elements Hong ("floodlike" or "red ") , peaches or flowers. The role of Monk Hong remains somewhat underdeveloped, even though he is frequently mentioned. Someone with the family name Wan, who later received th e name Yunlong ("Cloud Dragon") , is considered to be the (co-) founder of the Triads. The Wan element also appears in the name of the central mountain of early Triad lore, (Old) Mount Wan. Together, these references seem to hide a conventional messianic prophecy, namely that one day the Luminous King, who is a young savior with the family name Zhu, will come from Sichuan. His advent will bring long life and happiness, which is underlined by the references to peaches or flowers . Those who wish to be saved will unite at Mount Wan, which is a place of ultimate origin and return. The promise entailed in this messianic prophecy was a source of inspiration for the early Triads, because of its overall support the Ming, Li Taohong," see TDH V: 413 (1791 documents going back to 1786-7) . 37 See for instance: Schlegel (1866) 28; Stanton (1900 ) 72,75,79,80,84,85. The 1802 piece of cloth with Triad lore contains a similar line drawn within two squares, see TDH VI: second photograph.

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auspicious nature and not because they completely understood what it meant! After Triad lore became a coherent tradition in itself by the early nineteenth century, the positions of these elements in the overall Triad symbolic system changed. The mythical places Sichuan and Mount Wan largely disappeared from sight, the latter to be replaced by Nail Mountain. The symbolism of peaches, flowers and "Hong" became separated from the names of the Li, Zhu and Hong figures. The individual figures Li and Hong now became just two among a set of Five Ancestors, thus diluting their original importance. In fact, all elements from the demonological messianic paradigm came to be embedded in a veritable cornucopia of stories, poems and dialogues, losing their former individuality and hence their deeper meaning.

7.2. Other messianic elements

The debt of Triad lore to messianic traditions goes further than the different dramatis personae. In this section, I will point out various other elements that are likely to have a messianic origin. The most remarkable element in this connection is the City of Willows, which we already encountered as a location of central importance in the initiation ritual. In Triad lore, the City of"willows is written in the unique form muyang cheng, in which the wood radical of the character yang is placed in front as a kind of prefix. It belongs to the overall category of cities beyond the land of the living, which function as safe havens and where the fate of people is determined. Normally, the City of Willows is called Yangzhou (which can be written in different forms). Under this name it can be a major underworld city (for instance in the Daoist exorcist tradition of Meishan, which is important all over Southwest China) or also a messianic safe haven (especially in the pre-Song messianic tradition of Prince Moonlight, Maitreya and the Luminous King). From the late Tang onwards, it appears that the Silver City and later the Cloud City had taken over Yangzhou's function as a messianic safe haven. The function of underworld city has remained until today. The presence of the City of Willows in Triad lore can be explained in two ways, either as the result of linear descent from the messianic city ofYangzhou in pre-Song traditions, or as the inver-

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sion of the underworld city ofYangzhou into a place of birth and long life. In Triad lore, however, the City of Willows is a safe haven for all members and also the location where the future ruler of China, the young Ming prince or the Luminous Ruler, temporarily resides. This exceeds the notion of Yangzhou as an underworld city or a city of birth and long life, suggesting that the City did indeed originate in messianic lore. This is confirmed by the following, previously unnoticed, mention of the City, which also happens to be the earliest reference to it in a Triad context. The City of Willows is mentioned in garbled form as the home base of the Zhu prince in a story from 1803 (recounted in 1806), which deals with an imminent uprising by the Triads to restore the Ming ruler Zhu Hongzhu to the throne. He was supposedly working in a spot called the Wood Mill (muchang). This is an obvious mistake for the City of Willows (muyang), although nobody-including the Triad members themselves-realized this at the time. In this particular case , the element of the Ming ruler functioned very clearly within a messianic context. Because of its importance, this incident is discussed extensively in section 7.4 .1. In the rare instances that the City occurs in Triad foundation accounts, it functions as a safe haven for the Ming prince and/or the Triad founders.P' Strangely, the City ofWilows is much more prominent in the initiation ritual, where it otherwise functions in the same way and receives elaborate attention. The first reference to the City of Willows in a ritual context, is in a poem (confiscated in 1806, but maybe already circulating since 1797) that was written to accompany the initiation ritual. In the poem, the City is identified both as the Residence of the Hong Family Name (hongxing fu)-in other words, the residence of all members of the Hong family- and as the ancestral residencewhich must refer to the mythical ancestors, including the young Ming prince.P? Another poem, confiscated in 1812 , goes even further. It is devoted to the meaning of the Five Colored Silk (a ritual object) and states: "If we can bind the soldiers and generals of the 38 Tiandihui wenxianlu , Shouxian 'ge version 42 (safe haven for fleeing Shaolin monks) ; Morgan (1960) 41-43. In the Guangxi manual ofl828 (Guangxi huidang, 487), it is connected to the first initiation ritual by the Shaolin monks and appears to be an influence from the Triad initiation ritual. 39 TDH VI: 305. The teacher who owned this and other poems had started teaching in 1797.

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Qing dynasty with [the Silk], then the ordinary people can all return to our [City] of Willows" (muyang) .40 In the 1810 manual, the member finds the central political aim of the Triads-i.e. the restoration of power to the Ming-represented inside the City. According to this same manual, the Luminous King resides in his Forbidden City (zijin cheng), which is equated with the City of Willows. The various poems on the objects inside the bushel make clear that the members of the Hong family are to gather in this City, to unite themselves and protect the Luminous King. 41 Thus, from its first appearance in our sources onwards, the City of Willows is defined as the residence of the Zhu prince and Luminous King, and as a safe haven for past, present and future members of the Hong family-i.e. the Triads. It was both a political centre and a place of salvation. During the initiation journey, the candidate member passes through the City after a long preliminaryjourney through the land of near-death. Preceding his entry into the City itself, he has crawled like a baby through three gates and has thus been reborn as a member of the Hong family. Apart from a final purificatory crossing of the Mountain of Fire, the passage through the City marks the end of the candidate's transition from life, through near-death, to rebirth. When one analyzes the City from the perspective of the initiation ritual, it functions very much as a point of rebirth and long-life for the new members, rather than of death. The actual place of the City in the ritual proceedings neatly matches the mythological meanings expressed in the dialogues and poems, of the City as a safe haven and temporary residence for the young Zhu prince and Luminous King. As always in the mythical landscape, the city is separated from the world of the living by an expanse of water. Before the candidate member can enter the City of Willows, he has to cross the Triad River by boat and pass it under a bridge. The second type of passage is one of the most common ritual passages that one can find in Chinese religious lore and does not necessarily stem from a messianic context. The first type is less common, though we find it in communal rituals to exorcise the plague and people 40 TDH VII: 352 line s 16-18, translation of line 18. Same manual, also see TDH VII: 353 lines 6-8 (implicit) and 25 (explicit). Other early references: TDH I: 12 lines 6-15 (1810 manual) ; VII: 389 (confiscated 1820). 41 TDH I: 18 lines 1-2, 6, and 10, 19 line 5.

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believed that one was transported into the Pure Land by the boat of Guanyin. We also find the passage by boat in messianic traditions from the late Ming and Qing periods. Especially remarkable is the detailed way in which the confession of the 1835 messianic leader, Cao Shun, describes the boat itself, its passengers and its load. The boat is always loaded with a symbolically relevant type of wood. Cao Shun's boat carried aloes wood, which can be used for incense.V The load of tao and li peaches and of Hong wood in the Triad initiation ritual can be used to bring long life. Such similarities suggest that, together with the City of Willows, the passages by boat and over the bridge may have had their origin in messianic traditions. Besides the saviors and a safe place, the essential components of a messianic tradition are apocalyptic disasters, the advent of a better age and a specific date for the advent of the savior. Triad lore features two specific types of disaster, namely floods and barbarian invasions, but without a clear eschatological role. Huge floods (hong£shuiJ) are only mentioned in a rather cryptic two-line poem, which actually dates back to the earliest Triad confessions of 1787 and is repeated in all later Triad manuals. A contract to unite the ten thousand, Li Taohong follows the [Mandate of] Heaven Huge floods (hongshui) float backwards, they spill over the All-under-Heaven

This poem is called the "two times nine base," because it consists of two lines of nine characters. The second line is a literal quotation from the Mencius, where Mencius describes the condition of the world before Yu had regulated the waters,43 The poem links the formation of a group, Li Taohong (a saviorlike figure) , and the receipt of the Mandate of Heaven to the appearance of huge floods . If we take into account the larger context of the story in Mencius, the implication is that a new era Cao Shun qiyi, 15. TDH I: 87 (1787) contains a misquote, which is corrected in the later manuals. I have translated according to the 1810 manual, TDH I: 8 lines 12-13. Later versions: TDHVI: second photograph in front and TDH VII: 34 (1802 case) ; Schlegel (1866) 198 and 225. Schlegel is the only one who has ever picked up the reference to Mencius, III A4. Not even the contemporary Qing officials, who had learned the work by heart for their civil service examinations, noticed it! 42

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will begin after huge floods, and as a result of the conclusion of the Triad covenant.t" The word "flood" is part of a larger complex of references to the sound hong, as "red" or "floodlike," which are fairly typical of the demonological messianic paradigm. The "huge floods" serve as a boundary between two different ages (in the Triad case the present imperfect age of Manchu-Qing rule and the future perfect age of Ming rule). In this sense, the "huge floods" are similar to the river from which the precious incense-burner appears, or the Triad River over which the candidate member crosses by bridge and boat during the initiation journey. One important role of apocalyptic disasters is indeed to mark the boundary between a period of decay and the perfect future, but in Triad lore the "huge floods" do not have the further eschatological function of destroying those who have not been (or not chosen to be) elected. A much more prominent type of disaster in Triad lore is the attack by barbarians, which occurs twice, first as an external enemy (the Xilu Barbarians), and then as conquerors (the Qing). The foundation account starts with the threat posed to the nation by the invasion of the Xilu ("Western Lu") Barbarians. The Shaolin monks defeat these barbarians on behalf of the Qing emperor and are rewarded with a precious seal. As a result, the monks arouse the jealousy of court officials, who convince the emperor that the Shaolin Monastery forms a threat. Armies are dispatched to destroy the monastery and all the monks. Thirteen monks escape, but after a long and torturous journey only five of them survive to found the first Triad group. They now devote themselves to overthrowing the Qing, who were already perceived as barbarians (either hu or man) in a fragmentary manual confiscated in 1812. References to the Triads themselves as Han people can already be found in a document confiscated in 1806. This and many other ethnic references in Triad lore all precede the rise of anti-Qing feelings such mid-nineteenth century rebellions as the uprising of the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace.P 44

Compare also the same role of floods in the poem in TDH I: 18 lines 25-

26. 45 In the .1810 manual only the invaders are identified as barbarians (fan), see TDH I: lines 8, 14. Here the Qing is simply referred to by its official title. Interestingly, this early manual does not refer to Han people either. We do find this type of ethnic self-reference in other early sou rces: TDH VI: fourth page with photographs, top photo (confiscated in 1806) ; Guangxi manual of 1828, in: Guangxi huidang, 501 ("us Han people"), 509 ("the era of the Han"), 511 (sum-

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Perceiving invasions of barbarians as an eschatological disaster goes back to the fifth century. Since they come from outside the All-under-Heaven of the Han Chinese cultural realm, barbarians were perceived as liminal beings and potentially very dangerous. They were expected to kill all those who had not been elected as chosen ones in order to be saved, contributing further to the havoc caused by other eschatological disasters, such as epidemics and floods.t" Qing political and messianic prophecies frequently mention barbarian invasions and the huge destruction that is wrought by them.f? In two incidents in the demonological messianic paradigm, the Sun Dayou case of 1767 and the 1796-1804 uprising, there are explicit allusions to the Manchu-Qing as non-Chinese and people who need to be removed. The Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace identified the Manchus as the principal demon that needed to be destroyed.t" The ethnic expression of anti-Qing sentiments in Triad lore, in the form of anti-barbarian feelings, could well have been inspired by this old tradition of barbarian invasions as a typical apocalyptic disaster. Like the floods , however, these invasions lack a crucial eschatological dimension, namely the role of arbitrator between moned by the Good Han [this term can also mean "good lads"]) . Similar references can be found in most later manuals as well. The following annotations concern only explicit references to the Qing as barbarians. Hu : TDH VII: 352 line 21 (1812); Guangxi manual of 1828, in : Guangxi huidang, 500 , 506 , 509; Schlegel (1866) 42 (compare older version same poem, TDH 1: 18 lines 21-22), 76 QA 124; Xiao (1935) 4: lOa (Or. 8207 G), 13b (Or. 8207 B), 18a (Or. 2339) and so forth . Man : Schlegel (1866) 70 QA 76, 113, 198 (a reference to the Yang Family generals, who fought the Liao barbarians) , 214; Xiao (1935 ) 4: lOb and 21b (Or. 8207 G and 2339, roughly same poem) and so forth . Other terms: Schlegel (1866) 82 QA 170 (Manchus), 174 (Manchus), 176 (Manchus) , 218 (Western Tartars) ; Xiao (1935) 4: lOb (Or. 8207 G and Or. 2339, roughly same poem; Manchus, Western Tartars), 14a (Or. 8207 B; Tartars) and so forth. The Schlegel references go back to a 1842 manual, and most Xiao references come from 1853 (and very likely even older) manuals. 46 Zurcher (1982) 32-33. Zurcher (1982) 48,50-51 interprets these references as a metaphor for a final stage of decay. I see them as much more literal in intent. Other messianic or millenarian references: Mollier (1990) 22-25,68-71 and passim. 47 Ma (1989) 45-48, 157, 171 quotes examples from one Precious Scroll . Ma (1989) 165-174 provides an overall discussion of the theme in Qing political prophecies. See also the Tu ibeitu, in : Bauer (1973) Station 13, 15, 32, 53. 48 In ter Haar (1996) I argue that the Heavenly Kingdom was influenced by the demonological messianic paradigm for important elements of its basic scenario.

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the chosen and non-chosen, and the subsequent task of destroying the non-elected. The demonological side of the paradigm was certainly present, for in Triad lore the Qing barbarians were perceived as demons to be combatted with anti-demonic tools, as I discuss in the following section. It was thought that after the non-ehosen have been destroyed by apocalyptic disasters, an era of Great Peace (taiping) would be ushered in, when the world would be ruled by a perfect ruler. In political ideology, the ruler who has overthrown an immoral predecessor and has, thereby, implicitly received the Mandate of Heaven will establish an era of Great Peace for all. In messianic traditions, the era of Great Peace will come about after apocalyptic disasters and only the elected will survive to enjoy this perfect age. In Triad lore, the term Great Peace is used in a variety of contexts. It is primarily used in its conventional political connotation to describe the future rule of the young Ming prince, after the defeat of the Manchu-Qing. The implication is, of course, that the present world does not know Great Peace and thatjoining the Triads will change this situation.P We have already encountered the Great Peace Market, as the name of the landing place for the boat which crosses the Triad River. The name expresses the purpose of the boat crossing and, by implication, of the entire initiation journey and the Triad enterprise. Significantly, we also find the term Great Peace used in place names associated with the Wan figure who inspired the founding of the first Triad group after the Shaolin-monks received the incense-burner from Heaven, with its message of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming. In these place names, the term is used in a religious context, with few political overtones. Thus, in the oldest version of the foundation account (1806) the Shaolin Monastery is located in the Great Peace Fortress in Great Peace prefecture in Chengdu (or "the city-capital") in Gansu province. More importantly, it is the residence of the monk Wan Tixi, who 49 TDH I: 18 line 22; Schlegel (1866) 34,44,61,80,96,106,116,117. Compare also the interesting lines in the Guangxi manual of 1828, in: Guangxi huidang, 491 in a poem on the advent of the True King : "We see the day that arms and soldiers will flourish again; we wait until the red sun reappears, why worry about [the world] not being in Great Peace?"

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is "cultivating" himself there.P" In later manuals, the Shaolin Monastery is located elsewhere, and the Great Peace location is exclusively connected to Monk Wan. In the 1828 manual, for instance, Great Peace county in Great Peace prefecture is given as Monk Wan's place of birth, and his retreat is on Nail Mountain (see section 7.1.) in Zicheng (an obvious mistake for Shicheng) county in Gaozhou prefecture. In some later manuals, Wan Yunlong is living in the White Crane Grotto in the Great Peace Fortress in Shicheng county in Huizhou prefecture in Guangdong province.P! Not only is the Wan figure consistently associated with a perfect place called "Great Peace," but he also initially resides in a mountainous world. In the 1828 version of the foundation account, he lives on Nail Mountain and in later versions his residence is the White Crane Grotto. In the mythical landscape, the mountain is a perfect world and the grotto is a liminal location between our world and the perfect world of the mountain. The white crane is the preferred means of transport for Daoist immortals, equivalent to the white horse which transports heavenly messengers (such as the Vanguard during the Triad initiation journey) .52 The use of the term Great Peace and other symbolic names for the mountainous residence and/or place of birth of Wan Yunlong serves to construct his superior position as a divine mediator between the imperfect present world and a future perfect world. A fascination with numbers and mythical dates is a common feature of all Chinese religious lore, including that of the Triads. I have already mentioned the Triad number rebuses wu dian iff ski yi (Five Point Twenty-one) or san ba nian yi (Three, Eight, Twenty-one) for the common family name Hong. Especially significant is the use of the same specific combination of cyclical characters for important Triad events, whether in the mythical past or future. We commonly find this characteristic in Chinese messianic and 50 TDH VI: 340. This place name has been preserved in some written oaths, such as an 1808 example (TDH VII: 214; translated partly in section 5.1.3.); Schlegel (1866) 132 (1842); Xiao (1935) 3: 13b (Or. 2339) . 51 Guangxi manual of 1828, in : Guangxi huidang, 484-485; Xiao (1935) 2: 2b3a (Or. 2339 version) ; Schlegel (1866) 16-17. Other manuals mention only part of the place name, such as Ward and Stirling (1925) 42 and Morgan (1960) 40. For an analysis of the changing place of Wan Yunlong in the foundation account, . see Chapter Nine. 52 See Lagerwey (1991) 39-40,48. On the white horse, see section 3.2.3.

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millenarian prophecies. Certain cyclical combinations were especially popular for the appearance of saviors or apocalyptic disasters, such as the jiazi year (the first combination in the sixty year cycle).53 In the Classic of theFiveLords, it is predicted that the Luminous King and the era of Great Peace will appear in a year carrying the second character yin or mao (which occur consecutively in the sixty year cycle) . Ke Yuxian has pointed out that many rebellions with other elements from this tradition also specifically occurred in yin or mao years. 54 In Triad lore, the cyclical combination jiayin is the standard mythical date, with the same jia as in the jiazi date and the same yin as predicted in the Classic of theFive Lords. They form the 50th combination of the sixty-year cycle. We have already encountered the jiayin date in the mysterious document associated with the Ma Chaozhu incident (discussed in the appendix to section 6.2.) . The mythical date ''Yongzheng jiayin" (1734) already occurs in a 1802 document, with the further specification "chou hour of the 25th day of the 7th month."55 The 1810 and most later manuals use this specific date for three crucial events, namely the day of the original blood covenant concluded by the founding monks, the burning of the Shaolin Monastery, and the symbolic rebirth of new brothers in the initiation ritual.P" Taken together, it seems extremely likely that the various elements discussed in this section come from a messianic context. They cover an essential part of the messianic scenario, including the prediction of disasters (floods and barbarian invasions), a safe haven (the City of Willows) that is reached by a bridge and a boat, the advent of a perfect age (Great Peace) and setting events in transcendent time expressed with cyclical characters (the date jiayin ). The apocalyptic disasters are not elaborated upon in Triad lore, except for a cursory mention of floods and the much more significant barbarian invasions. Considered in conjunction with the appearance of messianic saviors, the case for the origins of cruZurcher (1982) 3, 20-22. Ke (1983) 199-200 and (1987) 367; Takeuchi (1988) 12-13. 55 TDH VI: second photograph in front and TDH VII: 34. 56 TDH I: 4 line 19 (blood covenant) (no reign specified), 15 line 3 and 19 lines 24-25 (poem 12) (birth brothers) , 17 lines 11-12 (burning) . Other early example TDH VII: 351 lines 15-18 (1812 source) . Same type of date in all later manuals. 53 54

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cial parts of the narrative dimension of Triad lore lying in the demonological messianic paradigm still remains a strong one.

7.3. The demonological structure of the Triads

The demonological worldview has been pervasive in traditional China. It ascribes all kinds of afflictions to violent attacks by demonic beings, which can only be warded off by means of counterviolence. In the case of strong demons, people can call in the help of complete armies of demon-repelling soldiers and generals. In the Fujianese cultural region, these armies are called the Five Encampments (wuying) , elsewhere in southern China they are also called the Five Fierce Ones (wuchang) . They are situated in the five directions (Center, East, West , North and South) ; each army is of a specific size, with its own general and its own colored flag . They can be summoned in the course of a ritual, but one also finds more permanent representations of them in temples, placed around villages or at dangerous spots. These representations consist, minimally, of five different colored flags or colored pieces of cloth, to which can be added simple amulets, containing the name of the general and the direction of each army. The generals are called Divine Generals (shenjiang) , Heavenly Generals (tianjiang) or Spirit Generals (yinjiang); their armies are called Divine Soldiers (shenbing), Heavenly Soldiers (tianbing) or Spirit Soldiers (yinbing). In the demonological messianic paradigm, invasions by barbarians and plagues are important apocalyptic disasters. They are all perceived to be demons and can only be expelled by exorcist means, such as amulets and divine armies. Whether or not people are rescued from this demonic threat does not depend on their lifestyle or moral behavior, but on the use of the appropriate techniques to drive them out. The divine armies always come from specific locations in the world of the living, rather than from an abstract mythical world. I have already demonstrated that the names of the dramatis personae of early Triad lore (and to a lesser extent also of later Triad lore) bear a close resemblance to the names of the saviors from the demonological messianic paradigm. In this section, I will analyze in more detail the basic structure of a barbarian threat from

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a liminal region, and the exorcist defense used against such a threat, as we find it in Triad lore. The rice bushel containing evil-repelling and controlling objects is a crucial exorcist element in Triad ritual. It protects the altar and the participants in a ritual from possible demonic influences. In Triad ritual, the bushel is identified with the safe haven of the City of Willows. It protects all those inside (specifically the Luminous King and his followers, including the deceased members of the Triads) and those who are passing through (all members during their initiation journey) against the forces of the Qing. Thus, the bushel has a Triad-specific reading that is in full concordance with its general exorcist function , and as a result of which the reallife forces of the Qing are implicitly equated with demonic beings! A second important exorcist element is the peachwood sword, adorned with two dragons fighting for a pearl. This is the precious sword (baojian) that had appeared miraculously from the ground, when the five monks of the Shaolin Monastery were cornered weaponless by Qing troops. It was only with the help of this sword that they managed to fight their way out, despite the severe odds against them. On the Triad altar one can also find a seven stars sword, which can be a peachwood sword or a metal one. In a poem devoted to the peachwood sword in the 1810 manual, its function is explicitly described as "beheading demons" (zhan yaoxie) . In later manuals poems on this same sword identify the enemy as the barbarians and/or the Qing. 57 According to one version of the foun57 TDH I: 18 lines 21-22 (1810 manual) . TDH VII: 353 lines 9-11 (fro m 1812: "this sword is not a sword from the world of the mortals") ; TDH VII: 390 (from 1820: the sword is identified with th e halberd of Guan Yu, which was the transformation ofa bluegreen dragon and an exorcist implement) . Xiao (1935) 2: 6a (foundation story Or. 8207 D) , 5: lOa (Or.2339, qixing jian) , 5: lOb (Or. 2339, barbarians) , 5: 18 (Or. 8207 D). Or. 2339 in Xiao (1935) 2: 8b-9a contains a long section on th e sword , identifying it as a sword from Longquan (famous for its real swords) and a transformation of the bluegreen dragon, like the famous halberd of Guan Yu. Nevertheless, it is believed to be made of peach wood from the tao and li peach trees (that figure so prominently in the initiation ritual as well) , which have grown from a grave . The Guangxi manual of 1828 (Guangxi huidang, 508-509) is very detailed on the two swords and their function in exterminating any Triad traitors as well as the barbarians. Here, it is not specified from what material the sword is made. Western sources: Schlegel (1866) 42 (yaomo or evil demons). Stanton (1900) 40-41 (presence on the altar of a seven stars sword); Morgan (1960) 140 (the "Peach and Plum Wood Sword," which is also called the Seven Stars Sword) and 225 (to destroy the Qing). The Stirling altar implements include a metal sword with seven little holes, symbolizing the seven stars of the Northern Bushel.

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dation account, if the peachwood sword were pointed at the pursuing Qing soldiers, then without even touching them their heads would fall off like ripe fruit from a tree. 58 Evidently, this was no ordinary sword. The red peachwood sword (hongtaojian) and the seven stars sword are also the standard exorcist weapons of Daoist priests. The peachwood sword is made of red-eolored peach wood, which possesses special evil-repelling powers. It is adorned with either two dragons or two lions. 59 The seven stars represent the Northern Bushel constellation, whose exorcist powers are well-known (see section 2.2.1.). The function of the Triad sword(s), therefore, like that of the rice bushel with contents, is to fight the Qing adversaries as demons from a liminal world, rather than as ordinary humans. In other words, the struggle with the Qing enemy is perceived as a battle with demons. As we will see below, this perception was already implicit in Triad lore from the moment it appeared in the sources in the aftermath of the Lin Shuangwen rebellion of 17861787 on Taiwan, and was certainly well-established by the time of the 1810 manual. Triad beliefs and practices were shaped by the demonological paradigm from the very beginning, as indicated, for instance, by the activities of Woman Jin and a 1787 proclamation, both from the Lin Shuangwen rebellion. After successfully healing the son of Zhuang Datian, one of Lin Shuangwen's generals, and some soldiers with amulets, Woman Jin had gained Zhuang's trust. She made Zhuang Datian and his army invulnerable to firearms by performing a ritual before each battle, consisting of "worshipping the gods," and wearing a sword and beating a drum on a hill, whilst reciting spells.P'' The precise contents of this ritual remains unclear, but it carries various characteristics of the demonological paradigm, specifically the threat with violence and the recital of Stanton (1900) 33 and Ward and Stirling (1925) I: 39-40. Fieldwork in the Quanzhou region (February 1993) . See de Groot (18921910) VI: 958-962, 995-996. Also consider the threat by Ma Chaozhu to use a peachwood amulet to kill Hu Nanshan if he would break his covenant (section 6.2.). 60 TDH III: 124-125. All of this recalls the belief of the later Boxers, Red Spears and other groups that specific rituals could provide invulnerability against weapons. See Esherick (1987) 54-59 (on the Boxers), Tai (1985) 41-58, esp. 49-55 (on the Red Spears), 59-86 (on other groups). Perry (1985) 418, 422 gives some instances of the continuance of these beliefs after 1949. 58 59

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spells. Only because the enemy is seen as demonic, is he susceptible to such ritual activities. Even more interestingly, a proclamation from 1787 mentions "H eaven ly Soldiers" (tianb ing) , who will come and punish all those who help the Qing armies.P' This threat suggests that the rebels saw themselves as divine soldiers or expected these to come to their aid. The entire organization of the Triads is based upon the demonological construct of the divine armies of the five directions (centre, north, east, south and west), i.e. the Five Encampments or Five Fierce Ones. The oldest version of the Triad foundation account already specifies the relationship between divine armies and the founder monks. The story was told as follows by Yan Yan in 1787. There is MaJiulong who had gathered 48 monks, and who performed techniques (fashu) to dispatch spirit soldiers (yinbing). They split up to spread the teachings. Later many of the 48 people died, and only 13 people founded gatherings everywhere. That Monk Wan who founded a gathering in Guangdong has the lay name Tuxi. 62

In the 1828 version of the foundation account, the murdered monks are enfeoffed as spirit soldiers (with "the office of Regional Commander in the Spirit Department" [yinsi zongbing zhi zhi]) by the Jade Emperor.P Later versions no longer mention this detail, but they consistently construct all living and deceased Triad members (including the murdered monks of the Shaolin monastery) as members of five divine armies, led by the five monks who founded the first Triad group. The five segments that theoretically make up the Triads are called the Five Houses (wufang), since they actually form one large family, and "House" is the standard term for a lineage segment. The notion of a division into Houses (or lineage segments) must go back to the first appearance of the Triads in our sources, since several 1787 confessions already mention a Monk Hong of the Second House. Only a few years later, a Triad member from Tong'an county mentioned a Hong of the Third House, with the name Zhu Hongzhu or Zhu Jiutao, as the leader of the Triads. In TDH I: 155. TDH I: 97 (memorial version) . The fact that the memorial version is more detailed (in a convincing way) than the interrogation summary (TDH I: 111-112) raises the question to what extent the summary reflects all interrogation sessions. 63 Guangxi huidang, 484. 61 62

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this particular case, Monk Hong and the Zhu prince have clearly been confused.v" By the first decade of the nineteenth century, we find many references in Triad writings to the Five Houses as one group. Each House is led by a general (one of the Five Ancestors), located in a specific part of the empire (usually several provinces for each House) and has its own colored flag .65 Localizing the Five Houses in actual provinces corresponds to the demonological messianic paradigm, in which the divine armies always come from specific places. Because of the realistic nature of the divine armies, and its semblance of being a sophisticated organization, both Qing officials and late Qing revolutionaries were deceived into overestimating the Triads' organizational strength. There are a number of common traits shared by the Five Houses and the five divine armies of the Five Encampments. There is the common structure of five armies coming from five directions, each with its own general and own colored flag. Like the Five Encampments, the Five Houses are represented in the Triad ritual by five colored flags placed in the rice bushel (see section 2.2.2.). The colors of the Five Houses are not the standard ones of the five directions, which are East, green-blue [qing]; South, red [chi or hong]; West, white [bai]; North, black [hei]; Center, yellow [huang)) . The Triad colors are First House, pitchblack (wu); Second House, Hong-red (hong, using the character for "vast"); Third House, red (chi); Fourth House, white (bai) ; Fifth House, green ([il). The colors are fairly consistent in the various descriptions, whereas the names of the generals and their territories vary.66 The 64 First reference to the notion of houses in the name of Monk Hong of the Second House already in the 1787 confessions, TDH I: 112 (confession Yan Yan) . The 1792 case : TDH V: 451-452 and 455 (additional confessions by other participants in TDH V: 472 and 481) . 65 The 1816 fragment published recently by Zhuang (1994) 19-20 explicitly identifies the generals of the Five Houses with Five Encampments. An implicit reference to Five Houses can be found on a 1802 document, see TDH VI: second photograph in front and TDH VII: 34. Other relatively early references: TDH VI: 304 and 340-341 (1806 summary of the foundation account, possibly going back to 1797); TDHVII: 214 (1808 oath) ; TDH I: 5 lines 4-19 and 6 line 15 until 7 line 4 (1810 manual) ; Guangxi manual of 1828, in : Guangxi huidang, 489 and 491. 66 Schlegel (1866) 36-39 also gives these colours. Ward and Stirling (1925) 46-47 gives both "yellow and carnation" and "crimson" as the third flag (in th e photograph in front of the book the flag is dark red) . Morgan (1960) 132-134 gives "vermilion" as the third colour and "green" as the fifth colour (in the illustrations between pages 114-115 the third flag is light red and the fifth flag is blue) .

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double use of red was no doubt inspired by the importance of the hong symbolic element. Thus, the Five Houses can be interpreted as the five armies of divine soldiers which are summoned by ritual specialists and lay people to protect against evil demons. The generals were adopted from the demonological messianic paradigm, but in the Triad version they were seen as the five remaining monks who had founded the first Triad group. They were liminal figures, who had twice escaped from near-death, each time across a bridge or by boat (depending on the variant of the foundation account) sent from the supernatural world. The second escape always carried them immediately out of the sight of their pursuers, across the liminal waters. One could certainly interpret this second escape as a passage into the liminal world between the lands of the living and the dead. With this escape they became divine generals, mediators between the worlds of ordinary humans and demonic beings. Two of the five monks and founding fathers of the Triads, namely the Li and Hong figures, had started their careers as demonological saviors. Wu Chengyun from the Ma Chaozhu incident from 1747-1752, the supposed grandson ofWu Sangui, could well have been the figure who became Wu Tiancheng. Wu Tiancheng features in almost all the lists of the Five Houses from the inception of Triad lore onwards. Zhang Xiyu, from the same Ma Chaozhu incident, is a more shadowy figure, but he might be tentatively identified with Zhang Yuantong, who only features in one early Triad list.69 Thus, both the escape of the five monks into liminal territory and the actual origins of several of them in the demonological messianic paradigm confirm my suggestion that Triad groups should be interpreted as divine armies led by divine generals, with the combat of demonic beings as their calling. Early Triad lore remained quite close to the original messianic demonological paradigm, but the eschatological dimension never took hold, and soon Triad lore took on a different form . The demonological aspects were further developed and systematized, Interestingly, the Guangxi manual of 1828, in: Guangxi huidang, 489 gives qing, chi, hei, bai, til . Only the last colour (green) differs from the standard colours of the five directions. 69 A Wu figure in the 1802 document. Wu Tiancheng in 1806, 1808, 1810 and 1816 documents. A Zhang figure in the 1802 document. Only in the 1806 document is he called Zhang Yuan tong. For these documents, see note 65.

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following the common model of the five divine armies of the five directions. The former messianic generals (specifically the Li and Hong figures, as well as possibly Wu Tiancheng [from Wu Chengyun] and Zhang Yuan tong [from Zhang Xiyu]), were reinterpreted within the standard demonological framework. They lost their explicit messianic connotations, such as their names. The Zhu figure also lost his messianic personal names (such as Zhu Jiutao) and was now called in a specific Triad fashion by the names of Zhu Hongying or Zhu Hongzhu. On the other hand, the Five Houses continued to be placed in the mythical landscape in a very realistic way. The messianic task of saving people from impending apocalyptic disasters, by means of affiliation with political leaders in charge of divine armies, was given a different focus. Only one apocalyptic threat remained significant, to wit the invasion and subsequent rule of China by barbarian forces , the Xilu ("Western Lu") Barbarians and the Manchu/Qing respectively. This apocalyptic threat was defined in purely demonological terms, and the Triad battle against that threat was carried out using the standard exorcist means of the rice bushel (=City of Willows) , the peachwood and the seven stars swords, and the five divine armies. At times, this battle was translated into the more earthly terms of armed rebellion, as I will discuss in Chapter Eight. 704. Demonology in action

A few Triad incidents are documented in which members made active use of demonological techniques in a more or less messianic context. One of them, the incident of Li Lingkui and Du Shiming, involves the earliest extensive treatment of the Triad foundation account. This incident (1801-1806) and the slightly later one ofLi Laowu (1813-1815) bear active witness to the close historical relationship between Triad lore in its earliest stage and the demonological messianic paradigm. 704.1. The Li Lingkui and Du Shiming incident

The Li Lingkui and Du Shiming incident provides the key to the messianic roots of Triad lore. It is one of only two instances in which the demonological messianic structure of Triad lore was

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realized in a more or less eschatological context. The second instance is discussed in the next section. In 1803, Li Lingkui was arrested in Jianning county in Shaowu prefecture (Northern Fujian), not far from the region in Jiangxi where Li Dexian had been active only half a century before. In 1782, almost two decades before his arrest, Li Lingkui had been working in a paper shop in the provincial capital ofJiangxi, Nanchang. At that time he had become the pupil of a certain Wu Zixiang who had taught him to keep a vegetarian diet and to recite a specific religious text,68 which would eable him to avert disasters and heal sicknesses. He paid his teacher five Western silver tael for the booklet containing the text. In the course of the years he was able to sell some ten or so copies of the booklet, thereby earning over 50 Western silver tael. Then he joined the Triads in 1801, under a teacher who came from Shaowu county. He started to teach these new teachings in addition to the old ones, but to two different sets of peoplel'P According to his followers, Li Lingkui claimed to be the reincarnation of the Son of Heaven of the Tang dynasty. This claim was inspired by their common family name Li. He also transmitted a poem which predicted that he would sit in court on the yin or mao hours (recalling the importance of these two cyclical characters in the Classic of the Five Lords) . He planned to rebel in a zi or chou year, which would have been 1804 (which was also a jiazi year!) or 1805. 70 Although he was arrested in 1803, his followers still went on to prepare a rebellion. One of the persons inspired by Li Lingkui was Du Shiming from Shaowu prefecture, who like him had also become a follower of Wu Zixiang when he was working in Jiangxi in 1782. Later, Du had joined the Triads as a pupil of Li Lingkui and together they had worked to extend the Triad branch of the network."! After 68 Ma and Han (1992) 1104-1108 discuss Wu Zixiang, who is the tenth patriarch of the modern Unity Teachings. For a detailed Western account of this group, see Jordan and Overmyer (1986) 213-266, 289-303. 69 TDH VI: 246 confession by Li; TDH VI: 245 confession on formation of the Triad group. Also, see Ma and Han (1992) 375-379 on this incident. 70 TDH VI: 259 and 276. Interestingly, Li Lingkui only confessed to a very limited amount of Triad lore, whereas his professed pupil Du Shiming is exceptionally well informed. Evidently, Li Lingkui was able to keep much hidden from his interrogators or Du Shiming had another teacher whom we-do not know about. 71 TDH VI: 287 (confession by Du himself) and 285 (confession by a pupil

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Li's arrest, Du Shiming and others from the Triad branch started to prepare an uprising. They were inspired not only by Li Lingkui's claim, but also more specifically by Triad ritual and mythological lore. In 1805 and again in 1806, they came together under the leadership of Du Shiming to conclude a blood covenant by drinking Heaven and Earth Gathering Liquor (tiandi hui jiu). There is no mention of an extensive initiation ritual. They drew up "an agreement" (hetong) and a "co m pact of discussions" (yiyue) on two separate sheets of silk. They recorded the recognition signs (tuji) Hong and Wan on the sheet on which the agreement had been written. In addition they wrote all brothers entrusted themselves to the leadership of "Elder Brother Wan with the recognition sign Hong" (wan dage hongji). They changed their family names to Hong and usedJin (gold) as their lineage affiliation character. Only the last character of their original names remained the same. 72 The conclusion of this agreement clearly reflects Triad lore, both in its ritual form (the practice of the blood covenant) and mythological contents. The group around Du Shiming had a fairly elaborate version of the Triad foundation account, which has been transmitted to us in a slightly garbled version by one of his followers , Wu Wenchun.P Du Shiming had told Wu Wenchun that there was a certain Zhu Hongzhu living in Chongren county, who was 32 years of age. He was a descendant of the Ming imperial house and his only living relative was his mother, who also lived in Chongren county. When he was born, three red bamboos (sanzhu hongzhu-note the measure word, zhu or pearl, almost the same word found in the family name Zhu, and homophonous with the word for bamboo) were growing next to the village, from which this Ming descendant derived his name. At the present time, he was helping to grow gourds in someone's woodmill (muchang) on Fengjin mountain. Those who have "consumed the [liquor mixed with blood of the] Heaven and Earth Gathering" (chi tiandi hui de) in Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi and Shandong all wished to support him. Du had also said that there was an Elder Brother Wan in Shandong and that the local manpower situation there was especially good. On the nineteenth day of the second month of the followon the division of Du 's followers in a vegetarian and a meat-eating group) . 72 TDH VI: 284-285, 287-288. See also my analys is in ter Haar (ms.) . 73 Complete confession by Wu Wenchun in TDH VI: 283-285.

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ing year, they would rise starting in Shandong, all together on the same day. Lighting the "ocean lantern" (yangdeng) would be their signal. 74 After their blood covenant, Du Shiming had gone to Fengjin mountain to find this Zhu Hongzhu, but had been unsuccessful. This statement concludes the oral account by Du Shiming as Wu Wenchun remembered it. Wu Wenchun's version of Du Shiming's account hides some crucial information in its references to the different locations, namely the wood mill (muchang), Chongren county, and the provinces from which the various members come. The mention of the woodmill is a distorted reference to the City of Willows, the only difference being the earth radical in chang (from muchang, meaning "woodrnill"), instead of the wood radical in yang (from muyang, meaning "City ofWillows"). The reference to Chongren county (located in Fuzhou prefecture) makes little sense in terms of the personal careers of Li Lingkui and Du Shiming. However, Chongren and the reign title, Chongzhen, of the last Ming emperor are quite similar. The character for "Chong" is the same in both names, whereas ren could well be a misreading of the shi radical of zhen , In the foundation account, the Chongzhen emperor is the father of the young Ming prince and the mother of the prince is one of his concubines. The notion that those who had concluded a Triad blood covenant in the various provinces would now join the uprising by Du Shiming and his followers reflects the belief in the Five Houses, which were also located in China's thirteen provinces. The reference to the "three red bamboos" (sanzhu hongzhu) plays on the homophonies between hong ("red") and hong ("floodlike") , and between zhu ("bamboo") and the family name Zhu. We have seen similar wordplay in the initiation ritual and in the demonological messianic paradigm. The fact that the candidate member actually encounters Zhu Hong Bamboos (zhuhong zhu) during his initiation journey when he crosses the Triad River by boat is also relevant at this point. 74 The role of this lamp remains puzzling. I have translated "ocean lamp" in the light of the Western Ocean Fortress from the Ma Chaozhu incident. There is of course the bushel lamp (as analyzed in section 2.2.). In the 1810 manual (TDH I: 20 lines 27-28) there is a couplet for the "Lantern of Great Chaos" (daluan denglong) . Note the special form for long "grand," undoubtedly used as an auspicious homophone for long "basket." This couplet is already contained in a 1802 document from coastal Guangdong, TDH VI: second photograph.

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In addition to this oral account, Wu Wenchun also received a written sheet from Du Shiming, which contained a set of amulets with explanations on how to use them. When the uprising started, he was to paste the first amulet above the entrance gate, draw the second amulet on a sheet of cloth, wrap it around his head, and hang a plaque on his waist as a recognition sign. Finally, he was to write four characters signifying "to Follow the [Mandate of] Heaven and Restore the Ming" on a flag. One text was to be written on a lantern (possibly the mysterious "ocean lantern") according to the prescribed model, and hung above the entrance gate. A couplet was to be copied from the amulet sheet and hung beside the door, while the "water mouth amulet" was to be pasted at the entrance of the village.75 Wu Wenchun was told that these exorcist measures would provide protection against the soldiers of the armies which would help Zhu Hongzhu to the throne. These soldiers were a divine army subject to the control of exorcist amulets, which makes eminent sense in the light of my overall analysis of the Five Houses who support the Young Ming Prince, Zhu Hongying, as a divine army as well. Finally, it is implied here that all those without such amulets would be killed by these soldiers. On Wu Wenchun's sheet, the amulets with explanations are followed by some brief passages full of mythological information, which prove convincingly that this group already possessed a version of the Triad foundation account. Apart from expressing the ethnic political aim of restoring the Ming dynasty and the Han people (sic!), and of overthrowing the Qing, there are several interesting mythological references. The ancestors are said to come from Guangdong. A reference is made to the river at Changsha, which we know, from the 1810 foundation account, as the place where the five remaining monks of the Shaolin Monastery escaped from the pursuing Qing armies. One rather cryptic line from a poem refers to the fact that the Son of Heaven lives in Sichuan. Finally, it is stated that during the Ming dynasty, three men had left from somewhere (no place is actually mentioned), who were 75 TDH VI: fourth page of photographs, top photo. On the poem, see note 14 to this chapter. Du Shiming's text also refers to Huang Tingchen and Wu Zixiang, who were important teachers of the vegetarian religious tradition to which Du Shiming also belonged. They are discussed in detail by Ma and Han (1992) 1100-1108. I suspect that they have been inserted by Du Shiming into the text, for there is no indication whatsoever that they ever taught any Triad lore.

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called Li Kaihua ("of the flowers opening up") , Zhu Qigui ("Seven Cassias"), and Hong Shechang ("the earth altar is constant"). This line suggests a larger plot, which has , however, been lost. However fragmentary, the mythological lore possessed by the Li Lingkui and Du Shiming group is already remarkably close to later versions of the Triad foundation account, except that they assumed the advent of the Zhu prince and Elder Brother Wan at the head of his Triad armies to be imminent. The lore of this group still contains many elements of the demonological messianic paradigm, such as the name symbolism, the Li and Zhu figures, the provenance of the Son of Heaven from Sichuan, and the advent of soldiers from specific other regions. Furthermore, Du Shiming interpreted the events within an explicitly eschatological context, in which the soldiers were believed to destroy all those without the right kind of demonological protection. The big riddle remains where did Li Lingkui and Du Shiming obtain their information from? Theoretically speaking, there are several possibilities. The group might have heard of the Zhu Hongzhu story through their vegetarian background and combined it with Triad lore to yield their particular mix of ideas. However, their vegetarian teacher Wu Zixiang is well-documented both in the Qing archives and in the records of his own religious tradition (including the present-day Unity Teachings [yiguan dao]). He never taught about the Zhu prince and the City of Willows, but about Maitreya and the Old Unborn Mother.?" Moreover, earlier Triad texts dating from 1787 (the first extant covenant from Taiwan), 1791 (two sheets from the Chaozhou region in Guangdong) and 1802 (elaborate information from coastal Guangdong below the Chaozhou region) also contain references to the Triad foundation account, indicating that this story was already circulating from early on within the Triads themselves. The only thing that is mentioned here for the first time is the City ofWillows, so it is highly probable that the Li Lingkui and Du Shiming group obtained its demonological messianic views from their unknown Triad teacher. The Triad network of Li Lingkui and Du Shiming did not die out with the persecution of its leaders and many of their followers . As late as 1813, the teacher Xiong Mao was active in the Northern Fujian region. He originated from Shicheng county in Jiangxi 76

Jordan and Overmyer (1986) 262-263.

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province and had become the pupil of a Triad teacher in 1803. For a long time, he did not spread Triad lore due to the continuous persecutions in the aftermath of the Li Lingkui and Du Shiming incident. He started teaching again only in 1813 , transmitting a document which contained substantial Triad lore. From the description of the text in the official memorial on this case , it is clear that this was the same text that Wu Wenchun once received from Du Shiming. Unlike the earlier group, however, Xiong Mao never developed its messianic and rebellious tenets, but used it as a piece of esoteric knowledge to substantiate his status as a teacher.I?

7.4 .2. The incident of Li Laowu As the examples of Li Lingkui and Du Shiming indicate, people

from Northwestern Fujian often travelled to Northern Jiangxi to try and make a living. Li Laowu originally came from Guangze county in Shaowu prefecture in Northwestern Fujian.?" He worked in Shangrao county, directly across the border withJiangxi. At first he had been a tailor and silversmith, later he learned surgery (sic!). He travelled around in Fujian as a doctor and sold divine songs (shenqu) . In 1813, he met a certain Tao Shengsan from Fujian, who was specialized in grave geomancy and who possessed amulet handbooks for expelling evil by means of spirit writing and for healing through prayer. Tao's younger brother had also learned geomancy, as well as surgery and martial arts. Given their mastery of geomancy (which minimally requires the ability to read the Luo Compass) and amulet writing, it seems likely that they had direct access to literacy. The Tao family may have had a tradition of literacy, since their father had been buried with a copy of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo zhi yanyi) . The grave gifts had also included a wooden sword, one suspects for exorcist purposes, suggesting that their father already possessed exorcist knowledge. Li Laowu and the two Tao brothers decided to make counter77 TDH VI: 186 (quotations ofa manual) and 193-194 (on Xiong Mao him self) . The investigating officials were not aware of the connections with the Li Lingkui and Du Shiming case. The text also contained the reference to Wu Zixiang (see note 75) . 78 The following account is based on TDH VI: 358-362. See TDH VI: 358 for the detail on the father of the Tao's. I have restructured Li Laowu 's confession to facilitate our comprehension of his various claims. The original presentation is much more chaotic.

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feit silver. By this time, Li Laowu already knew the rules and symbols of the Triads, so he decided to use that particular framework to cement their group together more firmly. Each of the three men contributed some money, to buy a cockerel and liquor. They wrote their precise dates of birth ("the eight characters") on a sheet of paper. The sheet was then burned and the ashes were put in a bowl of water. They placed a plaque for the deities on a sacrificial table, writing "Lord Lao on High" (taishang laojun) in the middle and "Three Officials of the Purple Palace" (ziwei sanguan) next to it. On the plaque, they also wrote the three magical Triad characters for Heaven, Earth and Hong. Tao Shengsan and the others kowtowed in front of the altar, while Li Laowu began to carry out the ritual, combining both specific Daoist and Triad elements. Li Laowu had bare feet, like a vernacular Daoist priest or a medium. He held the bowl of water with the ashes in his left hand and wrote an amulet with the above three characters with his right hand. Then he pronounced that the three brothers now formed a group and that traitors would not die a peaceful death. He killed the cockerell and let the blood drip into the water (probably a textual mistake for the liquor which we know that they had bought in advance) . Each of them drank some of the mixture. Afterwards, they carried out several business transactions, which need not concern us here. It is interesting to note that Li Laowu was combining elements from Triad lore and ordinary Daoist ritual. They worshipped specific Daoist deities, such as Lord Lao on High and the Three Officials of the Purple Palace. The worship of Heaven, Earth and Hong (referring to Li's purported teacher Monk Hong the Second) was then placed by Li Laowu in this particular context. In 1815, Li Laowu started to develop the demonological messianic aspects of the Triad teachings. He asserted that his teacher, Monk Hong the Second (with the alternative name Hong Wanhe, Wanhe being the name of Li's former shop!) was now on a local mountain in Fujian. Monk Hong possessed many magical techniques, such as the ability to kill people by spitting water on them from a bowl of ritual water (fashui) without using a sword. He also had a fire ball , the mere sight of which could burn many people to death. Elsewhere in Shaowu there were over 300 people who kept a vegetarian diet (this element is not explained further). Li Laowu himself was Monk Hong's principal general and the second in command of the Triads. He forged a letter to him from

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Monk Hong, in which it was announced that he would soon come and that the date for the uprising had already been set. Military violence would also soon take place in Henan,jiangxi and Fujian. On the letter some chicken feathers had been pasted, a practice which will be discussed briefly below. It was against this apocalyptic background, that Li Laowu developed a set of demonological counter-measures. His amulets would provide protection against the violence, and he announced that only by joining the Triads through a blood covenant, could an individual gain protection for himself and his household. His followers were made to change their names, adopting Hong as their family name, and Wen as their lineage affiliation character. Finally, he made Tao Shengsan attach a bronze mirror to the roofbeam of his house. On this mirror he pasted a sheet of red paper, on which he had written the Five Phases and the Eight Trigrams. Furthermore, he changed the "year title Heaven's Revolution that was used in the Heaven and Earth Gathering" (as phrased in Li Laowu's own confession) into "Opening Year of Heaven's Revolution" (t ianyun kainian) , which he also told Tao to attach to the roofbeam. The mirror and this phrase were intended to ward off military violence, in the same way that mirrors with the Eight Trigrams on them are still used today in many areas of China to keep demons away. The Triad elements are clear enough. They include the notion of a military struggle, the assistance of soldiers from elsewhere, the leading position of the Hong figure , and the three magical Triad characters to refer to Heaven, Earth and Hong."? The amulets are used in precisely the same way as they were in the Li Lingkui and Du Shiming case : to protect against military violence. In typical apocalyptic fashion this violence is perceived to be indiscriminate, unless one is protected by the proper amulets. Pasting chicken feathers on an important letter is an old military practice, and documented for at least one other Triad group.so This practice is described in some detail in the 1810 manual, but no longer in79 The special characters for He aven and Earth are already mentioned in a 1792 case (TDH V: 452), in which we also find a poem with eschatological overtones. All three characters appear in the 1810 manual, see TDH I: 4. 80 TDH VI: 225. The actual case took place in 1820 in Northern Fujian. The teacher claimed to have joined the Triads as early as 1789, and referred to Zhu Hongguang as the general in charge. On pasting feathers, see Hanyu da cidian, IX: 641.

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eluded in later manuals. The 1810 manual contains three different amulets to be used in letters to Triad members, depending on whether news is auspicious, inauspicious or very inauspicious. In the case of inauspicious news, one feather is pasted on each side of the amulet, while in the case of very inauspicious news there are two feathers on each side.81 Like the Li Lingkui and Du Shiming case, the Li Laowu case is a neat example of the interpretation of Triad lore in a demonological messianic context. Both cases were independent of each other, and interpreted Triad lore in different ways, showing that the demonological messianic interpretation was really part of the possible meanings of this lore. The following case of Zhu Fengguang is also relevant as a comment on the combination of Daoist and Triad ritual knowledge possessed by Li Laowu. Zhu was initiated in 1812 and received a Triad manual from his teacher. He only wished to gain some protection and-as we can surmise from his subsequent career-an opportunity to make money by selling this protective knowledge. He burned the manual when persecutions started and apparently never used, or sold, his knowledge. Afterwards, he first opened a small street stall for telling people's fortune by means of dissecting characters (first splitting characters into their constituent parts and then analyzing these) . Still later, he learned to be a Daoist priest (daoshi) , to make a seal (with the words "command by Lord Lao on High" [taishang laojun]) and to heal people by exorcising disease.P We do not know ifhe ever combined his Daoist and Triad lore in a single ritual performance, but his case illustrates yet again how the boundaries between Triad and other ritual disciplines were highly permeable. 7.4.3 . Fan Qi, Lin Chongsan and Su Zhisong Among the unidentified teachers, whom we so often encounter when tracing back Triad networks of teachers and pupils, one of the most curious figures was undoubtedly Fan Qi. Supposedly he was a blind man from Zhejiang and the teacher of Lin Chongsan, as well as of Su Zhisong in Guangxi province. The fact that he was supposed to come from Zhejiang is rather suspect, since all other 81 82

TDH I: 10. The custom is not continued in later manuals. TDH VI: 204.

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early Triad teachers come from Fujian, Guangdong or Jiangxi. If he had really been a native of Zhejiang, he would have had a very hard time making himself understood in the South, given the radically different local language variants ("dialects") spoken there. It seems more likely that Fan Qi had made this claim to prevent people from finding out his real region of origin. The Government Student Lin Chongsan, from Wuyuan county in Sien prefecture (Guangxi), received a booklet with amulets and spells from Fan Qi in 1791. Through these amulets and spells, he acquired the ability to command "spirit soldiers and divine generals" (yinbing shenjiang) . Fan Qi also said that Lin was fated to achieve high social status. Lin 's fame as a master of exorcist techniques extended as far as neighboring Zhen'an prefecture. In 1810, the local Triad leader of that region, Tang Mingsan, invited Lin to assist him in his plans to start an uprising. Tang believed that the ability to summon a divine army would greatly increase his military power. Lin then founded a local Triad group, independent of Tang Mingsan. They carried out a ritual in a local grotto (no details are given) . Lin called himself "Great King of the Hua of the Middle" (zhonghua dawang) and dressed up as a king using opera costumes. Nothing is known about his actual command of Triad lore.83 We know that Tang Mingsan wanted to found a Maitreyan Dragonflower Meeting, but nothing is said of its precise contents. He used the typical Triad recognition slogan "wh en you open your mouth you must have the character 'foundation', when you put out your hand you must stretch three fingers" (kaikou youbenzi, chushou shensanzhi) and had joined the Triads through a blood covenant. Both Lin's and Tang's groups aimed at robbing local people and becoming rich. 84 We encounter the figure of Fan Qi once again as the teacher of Su Zhisong. This man was active in Lipu county in Pingle prefecture (still in Guangxi, but some 270 kilometers Northeast ofWuyuan county). On his deathbed in 1793, two years after his contact with Lin Chongsan, Fan Qi gave Su a booklet. Amongst other things, it contained the two lines "Overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming ; a True Man will appear in Sichuan" and "Heaven's Revolution will TDH VII: 311-312 (Lin's confession). TDH VII: 314-316 (Tang's confession) , 322 (memorial with some details on the Triad ritual). 83 84

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tum and move in the winter of the xinmo year (1811)." In the xinmo year 1811, Su Zhisong started recruiting people who then took

part in a simple initiation ritual, passing through a gate of swords and drinking liquor. The group was rounded up that same year before they had the chance to undertake any concrete action. 85 The cases of Lin Chongsan and Su Zhisong took place independent of each other. No contemporary officials linked the two together. This is significant, since it excludes the possibility of contaminated sources. Both informants mention that Fan Qi came from Zhejiang and give roughly the same date of transmission, thus corroborating his existence. The Triad document that comes closest to Fan Qi's teachings in terms of contents, is the foundation account as summarized in a document confiscated in 1811 (but going back to a teacher who had begun his activities in 1797). This document also referred to a "rising once upon a time in Sichuan" and included the date "first year of Heaven's Revolution, xin month, mo day. "86 The prominence of Sichuan as the place from which the Ming ruler will come, as well as the ideal of restoring the Ming, are both well established in early Triad lore. Fan Qi's mythological knowledge, as taught to Su Zhisong, therefore accurately reflected early Triad lore. This suggests that his demonological views, as taught to Lin Chongsan, probably also reflected early Triad lore. In the case of Lin Chongsan, we find the notion of using demonological means in order to enlarge one 's military power. There is .a vague messianic connection, in the element of the Dragonflower Meeting. However, this connection is not elaborated in the sources (and, by implication, we cannot judge its significance in the original plans). Su Zhisong apparently wished to put the ideals of the Triads into practice, but we do not know in what way. Fan Qi, or the actual figure who presented himself as Fan, combined both the demonological and political notions of Triad lore.

7.5. Concluding remarks Cases like those of Li Lingkui and Du Shiming (1801-1806) and Li Laowu (1813-1815), and to a lesser extent also those of Lin 85 86

TDH VII: 328-329. TDH VI: 340-341.

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Chongsan (1810) and Su Zhisong (1811), demonstrate that the demonological messianic dimension of Triad lore was still available during the early decades of Triad history. These cases also support my analysis of crucial elements of Triad lore being rooted in the demonological messianic paradigm, especially in the form that this paradigm had been given in the incidents of Ma Chaozhu (1747-1752) and Li Dexian (1752). The relevant demonological messianic elements are the saviors Li, Zhu and Hong, the youth of the Zhu prince and his coming from Sichuan, the element Wan as a mountain or personal name, the symbolism of fruits which bring youth (especially peaches) and the element hong (both "red" and "flood like"). Furthermore, the demonological structure of divine armies, which deliver the followers of these saviors from disasters, and the location of both divine armies and disasters in the mythical landscape of China itself, are also characteristic of this paradigm. The jiayin date cannot be clearly connected with concrete demonological messianic incidents, except the Ma Chaozhu incident (but only in the curious document that was found after the incipient rebellion had already been suppressed) . However, like the City of Willows, this date can also be traced to earlier examples of the demonological paradigm. The term Great Peace is a fairly general term to denote the state of the nation under the rule of a perfect king. The precise connection between the Ma Chaozhu incident and early Triad lore may never become clear, but it is an interesting coincidence that the MaJiulong figure from Van Van's confession has the same family name as Ma Chaozhu and the same personal name as Ma Chaozhu's most important grotto (see my analysis in section 6.2 .) . The mythical figure MaJiulong carried out the same kind oflarge scale proselytizing as Ma Chaozhu. Even more curious is the mention, in one of the dialogues in the 1810 manual, of a certain Ma Chaozhi who drew the anchor of the Hong-wood cargo ship.S7 Given that Ma Chaozhu was never found, he might have survived to spread his teachings elsewhere and his followers could have turned him into yet another mythological figure in the messianic demonological paradigm. That Ma Chaozhu's teachings did survive the severe repression that followed his activities from

87

TDH I: 13 line 7.

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1747-1752, is proven explicitly by the confiscation in 1815 of a booklet featuring Ma Chaozhu and his exorcist techniques. Nonetheless, as already noted above, several crucial features of the demonological messianic paradigm are absent. First of all, the eschatological context is lacking. Of the quintessential apocalyptic disasters of barbarian invasions, floods and plagues, only the invasions play an important role, while floods receive only cursory mention. Even in the cases of Li Lingkui and Du Shiming (18031806) , Li Laowu (1813-1815), Lin Chongsan (1810) and Su Zhisong (1811), the principal perceived threat is military. However, in these cases the violence is expected to break out any moment and is expected to affect indiscriminately those outside the sphere of Triad demonological protection. Here we can speak of a limited eschatological context, which is otherwise lacking in Triad lore. In the long run, typical messianic elements such as the appearance of the True Ruler in Sichuan, the combined mention of the Li, Zhu and Hong figures, and the fruit and flower symbolism in the names of saviors disappear from Triad lore, or are contextualized in a different way. The mythical date jiayin is used only for dates in the Triad past and not for future events, which is crucial to millenarian and messianic traditions. Thus, despite the important historical connections between the demonological messianic paradigm and Triad lore in its early stages, the two were fundamentally different types of historical phenomena.ff Interestingly, the struggle against the barbarians, in the Triad case identified as the Manchu-Qing rulers, continued to be perceived in demonological terms. This can be seen in the use of typical exorcist weapons for defense and attack, such as the bushel with contents, the peachwood and seven star swords, and the divine armies of the Five Houses. Why such a routinization of the messianic aim took place is quite another matter. Judging from other Chinese messianic traditions, one reason could be the institutionalization of the Triad tradition. Evidently, a strong centralized organization never came into being, but transmission of Triad lore remained steady and many Triad groups integrated successfully into local society. They acquired long-term interests and lost the 88 He (1996) 158-160 goes so far as to claim that the Ma Chaozhu case was an early instance of the Triads, but, for reasons set out in section 11.2., I think this is an exaggeration.

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feeling of being constantly under threat. This loss of the messianic urge was similar to that of the Heavenly Masters and Maoshan traditions in the early medieval period, or the Old Unborn Mother tradition of the late imperial period. Even without the eschatological context, membership of the Triads as a socio-religious group still offered a number of advantages, especially for people who-by free choice or simple bad luck-fell outside the regular socio-religious groups of local temple cults, guilds, or lay Buddhist clubs. The local temple cult was largely based on residence and the ability to contribute to its communal occasions. A guild was the equivalent of the local temple cult for people living outside their place of origin and/or with a shared profession or trade. Lay Buddhist associations assumed a certain amount of personal devotion and an interest in moral behavior as the key to personal salvation. One advantage of joining a Triad group was that personal ties were created without which social survival would have been impossible. In the early period, Triad members often had a marginal social status and lacked a strong kinship network. They lived outside their place of origin, without having the kind of fixed profession that would have allowed them to join a guild. This applied both inside China and in Southeast Asia; there was a strong connection everywhere between male migration and the formation of Triad groups. Creating mutual support groups and brotherhoods, by means of sworn statements of varying strengths, had always been one possible method of creating a group. However, such groups were generally focused on specific purposes, and derived from preexisting personal networks. History shows that such groups were not necessarily strong. Triad ritual provided the means of solving this problem, at least to a certain degree. As a first step, the blood covenant strengthened the power of the spoken and written oaths. The elaborate rituals contributed further, both materially (by the important fact of being lengthy and complicated!) and symbolically (through their protective and auspicious acts and symbols), to the strength of the new ties . Thus, the Triad members forged a new and strong bond through ritual. This bond imitated the family structure-precisely the type of bond in which Triad members were often weak. Without a common cult, however, the group would still not have had the strength to survive the deaths of individual members that

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conventional socia-religious groups possessed. Demonological messianic lore provided a powerful solution to this problem, though other solutions could just as well have been selected. Triad members joined in the collective worship of the young Ming prince and the generals of the Five Houses, who were believed to reside in the City of Willows. Furthermore, deceased members of the Triads resided here and were thus commemorated at the same time. With each performance of the initiation ritual, a Triad group was reconstituted, as part of the larger whole that transcended the present and personal time and place of the individual members. Every member, whether dead or alive, was also alwaysa divine soldier in the divine armies of the Five Houses. Thus, he possessed a liminal position beyond life and death, which provided additional strength. The Triads might have either developed into more conventional guildtype groups (as was the case in the Malayan peninsula before 1890) or continued as a messianic tradition under different circumstances, had they not been criminalized in China itself and under the Western colonial regimes in Southeast Asia. They happened to occupy economic niches (including the smuggling of drugs and salt) which were perceived as threatening to the state, and were feared as potential political rebels. For this reason, they were outlawed and became the object of severe persecutions. They retained a strong need for an exclusivistic identity vis-a-vis the central state, despite their strong roots in local society. In the creation of this group identity, the politico-religious remnants of the demonological messianic paradigm therefore continued to play an important role, as I will demonstrate in the following chapters.

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE CENTRAL PLACE OF TRIAD POLITICAL IDEALS Much of the confusion and debate surrounding the political dimension (or supposed lack thereof) of Triad lore and actual Triad groups, stems from our general lack of knowledge about traditional Chinese political ideology and practice, and from the fundamental misunderstanding that assumes that political statements and symbols can only fulfil political roles. Furthermore, what research has been done is confined to the elite use of legitimation lore, with the result that we know very little about the broader acceptation of this lore or historical changes over .the centuries. In order to fill part of this hiatus in our knowledge, I will first discuss those elements of legitimation ideology and practice that are of direct relevance to understanding the political dimension of Triad lore. We will see that legitimation lore was not the sole privilege of the central state and its local representatives, but also permeated Daoist ritual traditions and local cults. It could be used not only to support the powers that be, but also to criticise them and even to legitimate active, violent resistance to them. On the basis of this discussion, I will analyze the incorporation of legitimation ideology and practice in Triad lore, as well as some actual instances in which Triad political ideals were put into practice. We will see that the political dimension was part of Triad lore from its earliest origins and by no means a later (and therefore implicitly less relevant) accretion. Legitimation lore also played an essential role in the creation of a positive Triad identity.

8.1. Imperial legitimation Chinese legitimation practice should be distinguished from the traditional historiography of legitimate rulership. From the Tang onwards, authors active in this latter field were opposed to many aspects of established legitimation practice, such as the use of portents from Heaven (including dynastic treasures) , and the frequent recourse to Daoist and Buddhist traditions of legitimation.

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These authors usually had a (Neo-) Confucian background. Their primary interest was in the construction of a legitimate succession (zhengtong) of dynastic authority, which was, by its very nature, very much a post facto activity for the benefit of a small literate audience. When these scholars engaged in legitimation practice, they focused on ritual activities to further the image of the ruler as a moral person.! Actual imperial legitimation practice often diverged from these scholars' theoretical views and has received little scholarly attention. Here I can only highlight some important elements to serve as the backdrop to my discussion of Triad political lore. An important aim of my survey is to demonstrate in some detail that imperial legitimation propaganda was widely disseminated among the general population, including its more technical terminology. This is significant, because it directly bears on the role of legitimation discourse in Triad lore. 8.1 .1. Imperial legitimation practice

The basic concept of Chinese legitimation theory and practice is the Mandate of Heaven (tianming). This concept was originally devised by the Zhou rulers in order to justify their military overthrow of the Shang dynasty in circa 1050 B.C. They claimed that their seizure of power was justified by the fact that the Shang rulers had lost the right to rule due to their lack of moral rectitude. The right to rule was bestowed by Heaven (tian), and was henceforth called the Mandate of Heaven (tianming). The ruler received this mandate because of his benevolence towards the people, and Heaven could take it away again if he were lacking in virtue. Subsequent ideologues developed the notion further. By the late Western Han, it was believed that Heaven demonstrated its support of a ruler by sending a variety of messages, in the form of precious objects, mysterious texts borne by special messengers (animal or human) , and omina. On his part, the ruler had to demonstrate moral rectitude through his personal moral and ritual behavior, and by proper government. The act of rulership extended to the supernatural world, through the performance of proper rituals and the repression of less benevolent beings (ranging from I Thus, Chan (1984 ) deals with legitimacy discussions, rather than legitimation practice.

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robbers to barbarians and demons). On a local level, the magistrate stood in a homologous relationship to the supernatural and human worlds, deriving his authority as much from the emperor as from Heaven.f Throughout Chinese history, the Mandate of Heaven remained the pivotal concept in all legitimation practice and theory. How and why rulers obtained or lost the mandate were topics ofjust as much interest to contemporary politicians and historians, as they were to the ordinary people. A measure of this widespread interest can be gauged from the number of vernacular traditions devoted to dynastic decline and transitions. The tripartite division of China into the Three Kingdoms after the fall of the Han (including the saga of the three sworn brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei) was a highly popular story for many centuries. The story of the struggle for power after the fall of the Qin, which ended with the foundation of the Han, at one time surpassed even the story of the Three Kingdoms in popularity. It only lost this status as the result of the early Ming suppression of the boorish image of the Han founder, who was seen as a potential foil for the Ming founder, himself of lowly peasant descent. The story of the transition from the Sui to the Tang has always been quite popular, but has never received much scholarly attention. The decline of the moral stature of the imperial center during the late decades of the Northern Song formed the backdrop to the activities of the Liangshan Moor bandits in the Water Margin tradition. Even the transition from the Yuan to the Ming (featuring the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, his advisor Liu Ji and many others) became the topic of anecdotes, plays and novels.P The notion that a ruler has received the Mandate of Heaven is expressed with a standard formula, consisting of variants on the 2 On the Mandate of Heaven, see for instance Schwartz (1985) 4~7, 50-55, 110-117,284-288 and Hsiao (1979) 484-530, both from a history of thinking perspective. For a cultural historical perspective, see Wu (1989) 87-96. On the religious role of magistrates, see Levy (1989) 219-269 and the summary of the state of the field by Seidel (1989 /1990) 254-257. 3 Plaks (1987) has argued convincingly that the novels of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the Water Margin were compositions by and for the educated elite. Most research has been on the written versions of these traditions, but these political themes were just as important in the oral versions. On the Qin-Han transition: Idema (1990) 183-207. On the Three Kingdoms: Plaks (1987) esp . 368. On the Sui-Tang transition: Hegel (1973) . On the Water Margin: Irwin (1953) esp . 23-43. On the Yuan-Ming transition: Chan (1970) , (1973) (1975) .

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phrase "following [the Mandate of] Heaven and carrying out the Way" (shuntian xingdao) . These variants are always constructed in the form "verb tian verb dao, such as "opening up [the Mandate of] Heaven and carrying out the Way" (kaitian xingdao) in the 1538 posthumous title of the Ming dynasty founder Zhu Yuanzhang. Similar phrases were used in the posthumous titles of subsequent Ming emperors.t The first half of the formula was used in the names of the capital cities of the Ming and Qing. Thus, as soon as he had conquered Nanjing in 1356, Zhu Yuanzhang (the later Hongwu emperor) established his capital there and called the prefecture "Responding to [the Mandate of] Heaven" (yingtian) . In 1402, after several ,years of civil war, one of Zhu Yuanzhang's sons succeeded in wresting power from the short-lived Jianwen emperor. He chose the yeartitle Yongle ("Eternal happiness") and founded a new capital in Beijing. He called the prefecture "Following [the Mandate of] Heaven" (shuntian) . This name was preserved by the Qing who established their principal court there in 1645 . Not surprisingly, the Qing changed the name of "Responding to [the Mandate of] Heaven" prefecture into the equally symbolic "Peace at the River" (jiangning) prefecture. In their turn, they called their northern capital in Shenyang, in the middle of Manchu territory, "Receiving [the Mandate of] Heaven" (fengtian) .5 The period of time allotted to a dynasty was called a "revolution" (yun) or "Heaven's Revolution" (tianyun) , which is the time that the cosmos takes to revolve around its axis. This term is also quite old. We find it in the Zhuangzi and early messianic texts." Using such a term on a dynastic level implied that a new ruler and his dynasty would govern for ever after. Ming and Qing dynasty imperial edicts always start with the standard formula "receiving [the Mandate of] Heaven and accepting its Revolution" (fengtian chengyun).7 In all the posthumous titles of Qing emperors, a variant of this formula is used, always in the form "verb tian verb yun," such as "Respecting [the Mandate of] Heaven and Making Mingshi, 1: 1 and 3: 55 for Zhu Yuanzhang. Ming capitals: Mingshi, 1: 5; 3: 55; 6: 79. Qing capitals: Qingshi gao, 54: 1893; 55: 1925, 1927; 58: 1984. 6 Zhuangzijishi, 5 zhong (Chapter 13) : 457-458 and 462 note 24 (tiandao), 5 xia (Chapter 14): 493 (tianyun), 496 and 502 (shun and xing) . For examples of messianic texts using these phrases, see section 8.1.2. 7 Ming examples: Qingdai dang 'an shiliao congbian VII, photographs 3 and 4. Qing examples: Qingdai dang 'an shiliao congbian III, photographs 1 and 2. 4

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the Revolution Glorious" (jingtian changyun) of the Shunzhi emperor and founder of the dynasty. 8 It was obviously insufficient for an emperor to assert bluntly that he had received the Mandate of Heaven. Quite apart from his actual policies, different types of evidence had to be provided to the population groups whose support was needed. While the basic concept of the Mandate of Heaven stayed the same over the centuries, considerable changes took place in the methods of demonstrating a ruler's receipt of the Mandate. Even before the Zhou rulers introduced the notion of the Mandate, an important role was played in the authentication of rulership by precious objects. Under the Shang dynasty, the possession of precious objects-especially bronze vessels-was the primary evidence of legitimate rulership. As K.C. Chang has pointed out, these objects demonstrated the Shang rulers' control over scarce resources (i.e . copper mines and bronze technology) and their adornments represented crucial depictions of religious mythology. These objects reflected both religious and political power in a very literal sense. By the time that iron technology started to spread, and metallurgy was no longer the monopoly of a small elite, these dynastic treasures had already become strong symbols of legitimacy.f A substantial folklore developed around specific dynastic treasures of early Chinese history. Famous examples are the Nine Tripods of Yu and the Imperial Seal of the Qin. It was said that the Nine Tripods had been bequeathed by Yu to his successor, and were adorned with representations of the nine continents. After the fall of the Zhou, they had disappeared without trace, but subsequent rulers continued to search for them.l? The actual Imperial Seal of the Qin was also lost, in the struggles that ensued soon after the death of the Emperor of the Qin. However, its memory remained important in the Chinese sphere of cultural influence, and eventually even the Mongols and the Manchus incorporated the Imperial Seal of Qin in their own political folklore. From time to time it was claimed that it had been "recovered," in order to bolster the claims to legitimacy of a particular ruler. For the ManQingshi gao, 9: 307 for the Shunzhi emperor. Chang (1983) especially 95-106. Also see Seidel (1983) 291-371. Summary of the state of the field by Seidel (1989/1990) 250-254. 10 In addition to Chang (1983) 95-106 and Seidel (1983) 291-371, see also Wu (1989) 92-96. 8

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chus (who founded the Qing dynasty) it was an important symbol of their sovereignty over the Mongols.l! More generally, imperial seals were an essential symbol of authority. They were pressed into red ink (a powerful color, inspired by the color of blood) in order to stamp official communications, or paintings and books in the emperor's possession. Relinquishing the seal symbolized the formal transmission of power to its new holder, who might be a new emperor or even an entirely new dynasty. 12 The mythical aura of the Nine Tripods of Yu and the Imperial Seal of the Qin also "rubbed off' on the larger classes of objects to which they belonged, such as ordinary incense burners (to wit the Triad incense burner, discussed in Chapter Two) and seals. Apart from bronzes and seals, dynastic treasures could also be swords, collections of art objects, rare animals and the like. Written messages from Heaven constituted an especially important type of dynastic treasure. They were written in a special script, only intelligible to a saintly figure . The quintessential examples are the "Diagram from the Yellow River" and the "Writing from the Luo River." Significantly, these two works both appeared from the boundary world of water, that both separates and connects the world of the living and the supernatural world. Originally, the appearance of a divine message was a sign in itself, but eventually the contents of the texts became ever more significant and they developed into a separate genre (the Han apocrypha). The possession of such texts implied the receipt of the Mandate of Heaven and provided control over Heaven (or at least over a substantial part of the supernatural world) and Earth. These texts developed into the earliest Daoist scriptures, but also continued as an independent genre. They carried messages from Heaven about the advent of an era of Great Peace under perfect rulers.P The Classic of the Five Lords (wugong j ing) , which was already mentioned in Chapter Six, and the even better known Charts for Prognosticating the Unknown (tuibei tu) stand in this independent tradition, without known affiliation to specific Daoist schools. In the dernonoII Franke (1978) 42-46. Wakeman (1985) 203 on the significance of the capture of the Great Seal of the Mongol Khan by the Manchus in 1634-1635. On the Qin seal, see Wagner (1987) 174-204. 12 This was of course true of each dynasty, see for instance Wechsler (1985) 83,87-88,99-100,225-226 note 48. On the seal and its political functions, Wagner (1987) 83-222. 13 Dull (1966) and Seidel (1983) ; also Strickmann (1990) 102-104.

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logical messianic paradigm, divine forms of writing played an important role, since they could control apocalyptic demons. Triad lore also used such divine writing, especially in the form of magical characters. Besides sending precious objects and divine writing, Heaven could demonstrate its views by acts of nature, ranging from earthquakes, famines, or comets, to the appearance of a special rainbow or, for instance, the birth of a strange animal with five legs. Naturally, all such signs had to be interpreted and were made public in various ways, constituting an opportunity for political debate. Only in the course of being interpreted and made public, could these signs from Heaven perform their legitimation function.l" Other strategies for demonstrating the legitimacy of a regime included: sacrifices to the supernatural world (especially to Heaven and Earth), benevolent policies (such as general pardons or tax amnesties), the use of auspicious year titles and a monopoly on the promulgation of a yearly calender. In the course of time, more reliance was placed on the behavioral expression of moral rectitude by the ruler and his representatives, in the form of personal ritual activities and benevolent policies. 15 It is often supposed that this new type oflegitimation became prevalent from the Tang, but the tradition of supernaturallegitimation was still very much alive during the Five Dynasties period (viz. the Min Kingdom in the South), the Song (the reigns of the emperors Zhenzong [9981021] and Huizong [1100-1125] stand out in this respect) and the Yuan.l'' Furthermore, even with the increasing strength of ethical legitimation, certain dynastic treasures, such as the seal and the imperial art collection, never lost their original functions. The same 14 A recent study of the political use of auspicious om ina during the Han, Th ree Kingdoms and Six Dynasties periods is Lippiello (1995). 15 This preliminary judgement is based on the secondary literature quoted throughout this study. Much is known on pre-Song legitimation practice, but rather less about later periods. On legitimation by the Yuan emperors as Chinese emperors, see Franke (1978) 25-51. For the Ming and Qing, no systematic surveys are as yet available. 16 On the Min Kingdom, see Schafer (1954) 96-100, 102-109. The use of supernatural signs by the Zhenzong emperor has been labelled Daoist, but it came into being well before we can speak of a distinct Daoist religious tradition and was long shared by Confucian traditions as well. Its main proponent under Zhenzong was a high (Confucian) official , Wang Qinruo. See Cahill (1980) 2344 and Seidel (1989 /1990) 243 and 273-275. On Yuan legitimation, see Franke (1978) .

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applies to the interpretation of natural events as indications of the moral fiber of imperial rule. The notion that only virtuous people should receive the Mandate of Heaven naturally conflicted with the felt need to transmit power to one's descendants and relatives. Thus, it came to be accepted that the legitimacy of a ruling family could also be transmitted by descent. Virtue was, so to speak, innate. The Liu family name of the Han imperial house is a good example. Already during the Han itself, individuals with this name appeared who claimed to be the chosen ruler. The Li family name of the Tang imperial house had been imbued with messianic associations since the Han, as it was believed to be the name of Laozi himself, as well as of a savior by the name of Li Hong. The long and glorious rule of the Li house during the Tang further strengthened its appeal. The Zhao family name only acquired prominence with the Song, thanks to active propaganda campaigns that used Daoist legitimation lore.'? Imperial families were believed to be descended from divine figures and be in communication with the supernatural world. In religious traditions, charisma was also believed to be transmittable through descent. The Heavenly Masters until today claim to descend from the first Heavenly Master Zhang Daoling.l'' The classical Daoist ritual traditions are also typically transmitted through descent. The late Ming messianic teacher Wang Sen spawned a long line of preachers, who remained active at least into the early nineteenth century. A tradition that descended from the early Qing teacher of Liu Ruhan and his father, also remained active into the nineteenth century. Both families continued to preach despite severe persecutions, during which many of their relatives and followers were executed or banished.l? Even after the fall of a dynasty, individuals continued to claim legitimacy by asserting descent from past imperial families. The family names of all long-ruling imperial houses have been used in this way, whether of the Liu family of the two Han dynasties, the Li family of the Tang dynasty, the Zhao family of the Song dynasties, or the Zhu family of the Ming dynasty. Even as late as 1564, 17 On the Zhao family, see the literature quoted in note 21. On the Liu and Li families, see Seidel (1969/1970) 216-247. 18 Boltz (1987) 62-64. 19 Asai (1990) 343-380; Naquin (1982) 337-357 and (1986) esp. 226-241; Sato (1983) 75-183.

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a savior claimed descent from Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Western Han dynasty.2o Significantly, messianic teachers also often adopted the family name Zhang, or otherwise claimed a connection with the Heavenly Masters.F! Especially relevant for our investigation is the ongoing appeal of the Ming dynasty and its Zhu family throughout the Qing dynasty-especially among the population at large (since among the social and educated elite, Ming loyalism was largely passe) . Sometimes, people's claims were directed solely at the restoration of Ming rule .(not necessarily under the Zhu family!) and could be qualified as mainly political.V Often, however, their claims were part of the demonological messianic paradigm involving the advent of a perfect age under the leadership of saviors from the Zhu and Li families. This paradigm has already been discussed in the preceding chapter. In the course of the Ming dynasty, an elaborate folklore had already developed around some of the emperors and their advisors. One of these advisors was the staunch Confucian Liu Ji (better known as Liu Bowen), who was assigned a crucial role as magician (sic!) in the victory of Ming founder Zhu Yuanzhang over his rivals. He came to be depicted as a prophet on the future of the dynasty.23 During the Qing dynasty, two political prophetic texts were ascribed to his authorship. One is called Meat Pie Ballad (shaobing ge), and was originally ascribed to someone else . In its surviving form (dating from the late Qing period), it is full of antiManchu and pro-Ming sentiments, and stresses the threat of the barbarians.F' The other text is called The Inscription of Liu Bowen (Chongcuan) Fujian tongzhi (1829) 267:32a. On the importance of these surnames in messianic traditions, see for instance Seidel (1969 /1970) 216-247 and Mollier (1990) 22-25 and 56-58 on preTang messianic traditions. Noguchi (1986) 141-212 and ter Haar (1992) 116,146, 148, 163, 214, 216 give Yuan and Ming examples. Suzuki (1982) 151-350 gives Qing examples. Gong Hai, one of the preachers in the demonological messianic paradigm claimed that his amulets came from the Heavenly Master (see section 6.1.) . 22 Kangyongqian, 627-633 (1738-1745, but only mention of restoring the Ming from 1745) ; 675 (1766, only mention Ming); 685 (1770) ; 736-746, esp . 739 (1696, Zhu Yigui). The texts that Luo Zhao recently found in southern Fujian demonstrated the local underground persistence of anti-Qing traditions, see Luo (19941995). Without further research, however, it is difficult to ascertain to what extent and in what way these texts formed part of an active anti-Qing discourse. 23 Chan (1970) 163-190 and (1973) 65-102. 24 Chan (1970) 163-190 and Chan (1973) 82-95. Liu bowen shaobingge, 1-5. Chan 20

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(liu bowen beiji) and is much shorter in length. The oldest version of this text was confiscated in 1813, although the title was already mentioned in 1729. This work seems to be more eschatological in nature and is not as clearly ethnically oriented as the Meat Pie Ballad.25 The Entzauberung of imperial rule increased during the Ming and continued throughout the Qing, but mainly amongst the educated elite. The ruler was now completely human and therefore fallible, which made the importance of proper moral behavior much more important than before. The reason for this change was that imperial efforts at legitimation were now focused at the educated elite as representatives of the social and political elite, instead of the population as a whole. Henceforth, legitimation practice and elite theory, with its stress on moralistic interpretations, came much closer to each other. As we will see below, this did not necessarily apply to the receipt of imperial legitimation efforts among different sectors of the population (as well as different local cultures) . The ongoing popularity of imperial family names in a messianic context, and even the addition of the Zhu imperial family name to the old repertoire of Li, Liu and Zhao, is therefore out of line with the new, exclusively ethical mode of legitimation. This suggests the ongoing importance of the old, supernatural model of legitimation among the population at large. On the other hand, even the moralistic model presumed the supervision by Heaven as an ultimate arbiter and was therefore still basically religious. The distinction between messianic and political, which I use in this investigation, should therefore not be equated with a distinction between religious and non-religious. Characteristic of the messianic model is its way of looking at change as having occurred through direct supernatural intervention, whereas the political model sees change only occurring through human intervention and places Heaven at one or more removes. has suggested that this book originated in a Ming loyalist milieu, on the basis of its contents. This seems to me a circular argument and his suggestion cannot be confirmed by independent external evidence. 25 On the 1729 incident: see Sasaki (1970) 23&-237 and Shiliao xunkan, tian series: 324a. For two early versions of the actual text: see Ma (1989) 16&-167 (first one is longer, but undated; second one-from 1813) . A late version with the same title is included in the Liu bowen shaobingge, &-7. This book ascribes several other political prophetic texts to Liu Ji, but their historical background is unclear.

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8.1.2 . The impact of imperial legitimation

The model of imperial rule was strengthened by the fact that several other religious institutions adopted the same political relationship between Heaven and man as their basis. The local temple cults, the Daoist ritual tradition of the Heavenly Masters and messianic traditions functioned (and still function) in a very similar way to the Mandate of Heaven paradigm. Local deities, Daoist priests and messianic teachers have all received the task (Mandate) from the Jade Emperor, or the Lord of Heaven, to perform certain regulative roles in the All-under-Heaven (tianxia) for the benefit of the people. Their tasks are authenticated by signs from Heaven and as long as they perform their tasks properly, they may remain in power. As Anna Seidel has pointed out, the first Heavenly Masters started out by assuming the regulating tasks of the late Han emperors, who were felt to be lacking in their role as theocratic rulers. They took over the task of bringing about the perfect age of Great Peace by theocratic rule. During the late Han civil wars, the Heavenly Masters eventually lost out, but their movement continued. The regulative claims of the later Heavenly Masters still extended to the cosmos as a whole, though in actual practice they limited themselves to the mediation between Heaven and man in the realms outside the direct political concerns of interhuman relationships and exploitation. Daoist priests alwaysconstituted a potential threat to the worldly rulers, as at any time individual priests might come forward who would extend their cosmic regulative task to the rule over man as well.26 Messianic movements, whether from a demonological or a Buddhist inspired paradigm, often made similar theocratic claims . The difference between messianic movements and Daoist priests was that the former had concrete expectations about the when and where of the advent of the new, perfect ruler(s) . As long as these expectations were not translated into rebellious action in the earthly realm, neither Daoist priests nor messianic movements posed a real threat to imperial power. In a way, by assuming the fundamental correctness of the legitimation model, they even strengthened its general acceptance. The same applies to the propaganda 26

Seidel (1983) passim. See Mather (1979) 103-122 on Kou Qianzhi.

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activities of rebels, since they, too, fully accepted the premises of the overall symbolic system . Rebel leaders frequently chose royal and imperial titles, appointed officials, selected auspicious year titles and a calender, and claimed to have received dynastic treasures from Heaven.V The crucial point was to establish their receipt of the Mandate of Heaven. The famous rebel leader Huang Chao, upon conquering the capital Chang'an in 880, chose an imperial title containing the formula "receiving [the Mandate of] Heaven and responding to the Revolution" (jengtian yingyun) .28 Many later rebels also used variants of the standard legitimation formula.P' For the same reason, the task of the Water Margin bandits is always described using the two formulae "following Heaven ['s Mandate]" (shuntian) and "carrying out the Way on behalf of Heaven" (titian xingdao).30 Such formulae were conventional phrases that could not be omitted in 27 Aubin (1987) 113-146 argues that the ideology of Chinese popular risings during the thirteenth century was fully integrated within the political ideology and practice of administration. The same could be said about rebels during other periods as well, and in this chapter 1 make the same point about the Triads. 28 Xin Tangshu , 225c : 6458 . 29 We have already encountered numerous examples, such as the cases of Li Mei, Gong Hai , and the 1796-1804 rebellion (section 6.1.) and Ma Chaozhu (section 6.2., in the "Instru ction " memorized by Hu Nanshan) . The following examples is a small selection chosen from primary and secondary literature consulted in the course of my research for other purposes, restricted to the Ming and Qing periods. Largely political incidents (in other words aim ing at the replacement of this-worldy rulers by other this-worldly rulers) have been marked explicitly. All other incidents involve messianic or millenarian beliefs. Incidents using a variant of the phrase "following [the Mandate of] Heaven" or "on behalf of Heaven['s Mandate]": Xushi haiou ji (case from circa 1577 and very clear demonological mes sianic context) xu 5: 3a; Wanli wugong lu, 220b (late 16th century, political); a very clear 1600 instance in : Liu (1984; original source from [Tongzhi] Gaoan xianzhi, 21) ; Asai (1990) 236 , 287-288 (1622 case); Kangyongqian, 648 (1748, discussed by Ma and Han [1992] 362-368, esp . 365), 672 (1753, political), 874 (1813, Eight Trigrams rebellion). Incidents using a variant of the term "Heaven's Revolution": Ozawa (1990) 373-394, esp . 379 (1638) ; Wenxian congbian, shang: 102-104 (three documents produced by Wu Sangui during the Three Feudatories Rebellion, political) ; Kangyongqian, 688 (1770, political) ; 874 (1813, Eight Trigrams rebellion) ; TDH VI: 11 (1795, political; the editors of TDH see this as a Triad case, but, according to the criteria used in the present study, this is not correct) . 30 A good discussion of the phrase in Yuan plays can be found in Liu (1990) 348-353. Since all relevant fragments are fairly similar to each other, it can be assumed that they reflect a Yuan tradition, despite the Ming date of the extant recensions. The phrase also appears in the no vel, for instance in the shortened version, which was common during the Qing. See Shuihu zhuan , 75: 15b (Chapter 71 in the long version); translation in Dars (1978) II: 557-582.

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a literary description of bandits who claimed to defend the Mandate of Heaven. For this reason, there is also no necessary connection between this particular vernacular tradition and the use of similar formulae in rebellious activities.P! As we have already seen, these formulae were common knowledge, of which more examples will be given below. Legitimation terminology is commonly used in both Daoist ritual and messianic traditions. In exorcist ritual texts from the Song and Yuan dynasties, one frequently comes across the notion that the Daoist priest summons his divine generals and soldiers to benefit the nation and the people, and "to carry out transformations on behalf of Heaven" (daitian xinghua). This formula expresses the fact that the Daoist priest fights the battle against the demons on behalf of Heaven. By doing so, he performs the ritual role that the Zhou kings and all subsequent emperors should, and partially did, perform, and acts as a intermediary between Heaven and mankind.V A fifth century Daoist millenarian text uses the formula "Heaven's Revolution" (tianyun) to refer to the new era, which is to begin after apocalyptic disasters have terminated the present one. The term "revolution" is also used in later millenarian traditions.P Nowadays, Daoist masters on Taiwan and in Fujian use the formula "Heaven's Revolution" together with the term "Great Year" (taisui) , as their year title to date memorials to Heaven.P" It is clear that such phraseology stemmed from an interpretation of the re31 Most recently, thi s view has been expressed by Murray (1994) 169-175. She bases herself on the work by Luo (1942) 77-89 and Qin (1988) 220-223. For similar views, see the literature quoted in note 1 to Chapter Four. 32 Variants of the phrase daitian xinghua (not exhaustive) : Daofa huiyuan, 29: 57: 154c; 29: 63: 191c; 29:80: 304b; 29: 93: 391b ; 29: 97: 418c; 29: 123: 598a ; 29: 141: 718a-719b. 33 Mollier (1990) 164. Zurcher (1982) 38 note 70 and 41 note 77 indicates that the term occurs in the titles of several Daoist apocalyptic scriptures. In the Longhua jing, 3: pin: 14: 6b, the phrase "to stand at the pinnacle and revolve the era" (dangji yunshi) is used for the founding emperors of the Han, Song and Ming dynasties. Longhua j ing, 3: pin 18: 38a refers to the "True Classic of the Revolutions of Former He aven" (xiantian yun zhenjing) as the source for its descriptions of apocalyptic disasters. 34 Lagerwey (1987) 66. Tanaka (1990) 35-57 claims that this reflects the influence of the Triads, because the practice is documented much earlier among them than under the different Daoist traditions in the region. The evidence presented in the main text and in note 29 indicates th at the term "Heaven 's Revolution" as a yeartitle and in legitimation phrases goes back many centuries.

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lationship between man and Heaven that conflicted with the imperial monopoly on this relationship in the form of the Mandate of Heaven. Thus, the use of such formulae had political implications, but this did not necessarily lead to explicit rebellious action and therefore using them was rarely the first cause of a persecution. Otherwise, Daoist priests would have had a much more difficult time than they actually had. Some priests, however, did make the transition to political action. We already encountered the Daoist priest Wang Chaorui as one of Ma Chaozhu's principal advisors. In the following incident from circa 1738-1745, a Daoist priest also played a crucial role in triggering political activities that potentially threatened the ruling dynasty. As the main protagonist, Xia Ruchun from Yanting county in Sichuan, later recounted the events, he once received two books from someone who had found them in a local Daoist monastery, concerning military strategy, causing storms and rains, fortunetelling, amulets and spells. Some years later, he had a son, whose birth was accompanied by many auspicious signs. He invited a Daoist priest from yet another local Daoist monastery and several local people, including an Elevated Scholar (juren) and a Brilliant Talent (xiucai). He instructed the latter to write a memorial (biaozhang) to announce the event to Heaven. The Daoist priest then said "your son has the destiny later to have the All-under-Heaven, and he cannot stay at home." Xia Ruchun believed that his son would indeed become emperor one day and was afraid that local officials might round him and his son up. In 1738 he took his child and the two books on a long trek through Sichuan. In early 1744, they entered Guizhou. Before their journey they had received the financial support of a wide range of people, often of considerable local social status. On the road, Xia Ruchun earned a living by geomancy and fortune telling, while "waiting for the moment of Heaven." He only started preparing for a rebellion of sorts in early 1745, probably under the influence of people whom he had most recently met. Soon afterwards, he was arrested and all the people who had been involved with him in Sichuan and Guizhou were also rounded up. From official documents composed by Xia Ruchun and his advisors in early 1745, it is clear that they claimed to "restore the Ming" (xingming), but they did not follow a descendant of the Zhu imperial family.35 35

Kangyongqian. 627-633 .

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In this incident, the Daoist priest plays the role of catalyst, although it seems that Xia Ruchun himself already had a sense of mission before he received the original prophecy. The social milieu in which he was active is one in which writing was available and included members of the lower examination elite. Xia clearly valued writing and the fact that he instructed a Brilliant Talent to write the memorial only reflects on the presumed higher status that a text would acquire in this way. Finally, the incident illustrates the ongoing appeal of the ideal of restoring the Ming dynasty. Rebels and religious leaders often claimed to possess dynastic treasures sent from Heaven to underpin their claims. In Chapter Six, we saw that the search for, and discovery of such treasures was an important part of the demonological messianic paradigm. For our understanding of Triad lore, two specific types of treasure are particularly interesting, namely the seal and the sword. The function of the seal, as a legitimizing object, has already been mentioned. It gave the emperor his authority in his role as representative of Heaven, assigned to "order" (zhi) man in the All-under-Heaven. This task was delegated further to the officials of the state bureaucracy, who were also given an official seal as evidence of their authority. Prior to the Song dynasty, the sword was also an important legitimizing object. Later on, it seems to have lost this function, at least in the imperial model of legltimation.t" The seal and sword were the two principal legitimation objects of religious specialists. The seal proved the authority bestowed by Heaven upon the Daoist priest as a ruler over the beings in the realms outside the land of the living (including the forces of nature, deities, and demons). The priest used it to empower his formal communications with the supernatural world (both written and oral), as well as to exorcise demons.V The seal and the two swords (one male and the other female) of the first Heavenly Master, Zhang Daoling, are famous. He is said to have received them from Heaven itself, through the intervention of Lord Lao on High (taishang laojun). According to a late Ming source, Zhang Daoling's eldest son was bequeathed these objects, and his father's 36 On swords as dynastic treasures in the period up to the Tang, see Schafer (1954) 103-104 and note 624; Schafer (1977) 148-160 discusses treasure swords from the perspective of star constellations. 37 Strickrnann (1993) passim on the seal; in a Daoist context, Strickrnann (1993) 11-20, 64-71.

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teachings, "to expel heretic influences (xie) and execute the demonic (yao), to assist the nation and steady the people.t''" We also encounter the seal and-to a lesser extent-the sword in the same combined demonological and political function in rebellions, whether political, messianic or millenarian.V In both the Ma Chaozhu case of 1747-1752, and in a messianic group that was active in Northern Fujian from 1748 until 1753, the participants copied the Imperial Seal of the Qin. In the Fujian case, they had copied the seal text from a calligraphy manual. Apparently, the Qin seal was still considered the quintessential example of an imperial seal. 40 The moral dimension of the Mandate of Heaven ideology was by no means lost on Chinese rebels, neither was it on Daoist priests or the audience (and creators) oflocal cults . Many rebellions started as protests against breaches of local customs by central or local government, in which the complaints were phrased in ethical terms. It is not always clear how precisely people linked their protests to the more abstract Mandate of Heaven ideology, although their frequent use of this ideology as such (viz. the use of imperial, royal and bureaucratic titles, year titles, dynastic treasures etc.) indicates that they perceived some kind of connection. This is quite clear in the following example, of Zhao Guyuan, who claimed in 1600 to be the "King who Follows [the Mandate of] Heaven." In an edict, he states that he made himself king to help the people. The present ruler favors the eunuchs and lets them collect unjust taxes, causing the anger of Heaven. This has led to severe droughts and subsequent flooding in the Xuzhou and Huaian regions during the past year. "Now I have raised [the flag of] great righteousness, to 38 Liexian quanzhuan, 205, 214. Also see Edkins (1880) 387-391 and Maspero (1971) 95-96. Picture of the seal of a Daoi st master, see Lagerwey (1991) 49. 39 In Chapter Six, we encountered the cases of Li Dexian (section 6.1., use of seal) and Ma Chaozhu (section 6.2., use of seals and swords). Wakeman (1985) mentions seals many times as crucial badges of office, used by rebels, Ming loyalists and the Qing dynasty alike. The following examples are all from the Qing period and do not exhaust the available evidence. Weizhe amgtan, 1: 1-2 (1659; double edged sword and heavenly writings, an exquisite seal) ; Sasaki (1970) 168169 an d Suzuki (1982) 241 (1729 ; seal, political prophecy by Liu Bowen) ; Kangyongqian, 678 (1769 ; seals, political) , 686-7 (1770; sword from Heaven, political) , 688 (1771 ; seal and precious sword, demonological abilities, aim of "restoring the Plains of the Centre," leader incarnation of Guiguzi, but otherwise no messianic context) . 40 On the Ma Chaozhu incident, see section 6.2. On the other incident, see Shiliao xunkan, di: 445b, 449a-b.

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carry out the way on behalf of Heaven, to respond to the Mandate and follow the people, I have set myself up as king." He promises that all those who submit will not be harmed by soldiers, that old debts will not be pursued and that for three years no taxes will be collected. Furthermore, prisoners will be set free .f! In this edict, the connection between an immoral government, the Mandate of Heaven and transferring this mandate is quite explicit. Within the boundaries of the present study, it would be too great an undertaking to investigate non-elite perceptions of the moral dimension ofthe Mandate of Heaven ideology, but the 1600 instance of Zhao Guyuan further confirms that this moral dimension was by no means the prerogative of a distant educated elite. We find a similar sense of moral obligation towards the people in the Daoist ritual specialist's perception of his ritual task. Daoist rituals are often concerned with the well-being of the living community, a concern which we have seen expressed in their use of legitimation terminology. In the same way that the emperor sacrificed to Heaven and Earth in the capital, Daoist priests addressed the higher and more abstract deities that represented the ultimate forces of the universe.V The following passages from a thunder ritual text (l3th or 14th century) may serve as a further example. The thunder armies have been summoned and are bound through a blood covenant to "vow by oath to rescue the people, and carry out the great illustrious and manifest transformations on behalf of Heaven." Thereupon the armies are enjoined to drive out all pestilence "and rescue the people from the misery of illness, [whereupon] the disaster of disease will be pacified, the principles of life will flourish, the ten thousand affairs will flourish, in order to equalize the transformations effected by me."43 Both the emperor and the Daoist priests claimed to be delegated by Heaven to regulate and assist man, but so were local deities. In fact, local deities performed many of the same functions for local communities in a more direct way, that Heaven and Earth 41 Liu (1984) 113-114. For more background on the anti-eunuch protests, see Tsing (1979) 280-320, esp . 287-296, and Tong (1991) 162-163. 42 Summary Seidel (1989 /1990) 273-275. 43 Daofa huiyuan , 29: 80: 304b; the passage is not entirely clear to me, but the overal meaning is sufficiently clear. I have emended wang (king) to wang (flourish) based on grammatical parallelism. Similar passage s in Daofa huiyuan, 29: 57: 154c; 29: 63: 191c; 29: 93: 391b; 29: 97: 418c; 29: 123: 598a ; 29: 141: 718a-719b.

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performed for the All-under-Heaven as a whole. Thus, the deities in local cults were perceived as rulers, with a well-circumscribed territory and following, however humble and unorthodox the actual origins of these gods might be. They played the same role as the ruler (and his local representatives), but on a level much closer to the people themselves. Their power was legitimized by treasures (including temple plaques, the incense burner, swords and seals , and various other precious objects), virtuous acts (the miracles performed by the deities for local communities and individuals, such as curing from the plague and protecting the harvest) and omina (as part of the miracles) . They were called emperors and empresses, kings and queens, princes, generals and so forth. Like the emperor, these deities ultimately received their mandate to rule from Heaven-namely from the Jade Emperor.t" People often looked on their rulers in the same way that they looked on their deities. In the following example from 1853, an official letter records that "the common people held incense in their hands to welcome" the arrival of the Wu county magistrate inJiading county to put down the Small Swords uprising in Shanghai and its surrounding counties.P That kind of welcome could also be extended to rebels, as is illustrated by a proclamation from the 1786-1787 Lin Shuangwen rebellion on Taiwan. After establishing the corrupt nature of the local Qing officials , the text continues: In order to save our people, we have especially raised righteous soldiers, and we have taken an oath before Heaven that if we are not benevolent and righteous, we shall die under ten thousand swords. As a result we have received the protection and support of Heaven on High. We have immediately turned Zhanghua [an important city in central Taiwan] into dust in just a few moments. Hereupon, we have followed [the Mandate of] Heaven and cleaned up in the direction of the north. Wherever we passed through, altars (xiang'an) stood row upon row, noisily welcoming us.46

Thus, the Mandate of Heaven ideology permeated many aspects of Chinese political, social and religious life. The emperor, the Daoist priests and the local deity all represented Heaven in orderSome further evidence is presented in ter Haar (1995) 5-7. Official letter in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 187. 46 TDH I: 153. Same moral sentiments in other proclamations by these rebels, TDH I: 154-160. 44

45

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ing the All-under-Heaven. This ideology worked well over many centuries. Authority was derived from Heaven, being expressed in the same formulae and using similar symbolic terms, and with the same moral obligation to serve the people on the part of the emperor, the priests and the deities. The ideology identified specific individuals and their descendants as recipients of the Mandate. It applied to the entire All-under-Heaven, to the extent that its inhabitants subjected themselves to the bearer of the Mandate. Ideally, this ideology was not ethnically restricted, in the sense of being confined to people of (perceived) common descent. But it could, in its millenarian and messianic form, acquire ethnic connotations, since one of the apocalyptic threats was identified as barbarian groups from outside the realm of the All-under-Heaven. People with radically different views of who was a legitimate and just ruler invoked the same Mandate of Heaven ideology, despite the fact that such alternative viewswere almost always harshly and successfully suppressed, especially when they came from nonelite strata of the population. The successful founding of the Ming , by the former mendicant monk Zhu Yuan zhang, is a rare exception in two thousand years of imperial history. Nevertheless, the very fact that rulers and the discontented alike invoked the same Mandate of Heaven ideology testifies to its remarkable impact on Chinese political culture in all walks of life.

8.2. The political ideals of the Triads

The Triads had a very clear political ideal, namely the restoration of the Ming (1368-1644) and the overthrow of the Qing (16451911). These ideals originated in the demonological messianic paradigm, but as we have already seen, the eschatological dimension rapidly lost in significance after the first appearance of the Triads in our sources in 1786-1787. Only the view of the ManchuQing as demonic barbarians who had removed by exorcist means was retained while the political dimension of the messianic paradigm was further elaborated. This dimension might sometimes be translated into rebellious action, but normally functioned to legitimate the existence of the Triads and to differentiate them from society at large.

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8.2.1. The Triad ideal of restoring the Ming The political claims of the Triads date back to their first appearance in the archival sources, following the Lin Shuangwen uprising of 1786-1787. They made extensive use of legitimation terminology and claimed to possess important dynastic treasures to underpin their claim to power. I shall discuss the various elements of the Triad political claims in this and the following sections, beginning with their ideal of restoring the Ming. The first explicit mention of the ideal of the restoration of the Ming dynasty can be found in two texts that were composed in 1791. Their author had been banished to Xinjiang in 1787 on the grounds of being a Triad member, and had been without contact with home in the intervening years. This indicates that his knowledge of Triad lore must go back to 1787. He asked Liu Zhaokui, a member of the Eight Trigrams Teachings to take a letter with him for his family at home.f? He also gave Liu two short texts, both with roughly the same contents. He promised that ifLiu took them to his family in Guangdong, the messenger would be richly rewarded. The longest of the two texts reads as follows: Gather the ten thousand and support the Ming, Li Taohong follows [the Mandate of] Heaven HONG [followed by an amulet form of this character] Red Flower Pavilion High Creek Temple Agreement to follow [the Mandate of] Heaven and submit to the Ming48

From the context it is quite clear that "the Ming" refers to the former dynasty. The other text also mentions the ideal of restoring the Ming, demonstrating its central place in Triad ideology. The Red Flower Pavilion, the High Creek Temple and the family name Hong are also mentioned in the oldest version of a Triad covenant (confiscated in 1787) . In the covenant, the two place names together indicate the place where the Luminous Ruler (mingzhu) transmitted the lineage (what this means is unclear), and where the first blood covenant was concluded.t? The 1791 47 Waley-Cohen (1991) 164-166 discusses this case, but not the involvement of Triad members. 48 TDH V: 413 (text on the right) . On the sending of the letter, TDH V: 410, on the network, TDH V: 417. 49 See the integral translation in section 5.2.

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documents seem to refer to the same act of concluding a blood covenant, except that they mention the ideal of restoring the Ming and are silent on the Luminous Ruler. When we consider the evidence from these early Triad sources, there can be no doubt that the specific ideal of restoring the Ming was already an essential part of Triad lore from its first appearance in written history. Furthermore, the mention of the savior, Li Taohong, and the early reference to the Luminous Ruler suggest strongly that the political claim was at that time still part of a larger messianic context. The ideal of restoring the Ming is rarely discussed in the available confessions, due to its sensitive political nature-for Triad members and Qing officials alike. According to the confessions from one of the earliest Triad networks in Guangdong, the ideal of "restorin g the Ming" was actually known to the participants in the blood covenant, because the text of the oath had been read to them. The ritual leader still remembered significant parts of it several months later. To restore the Ming, the Wan family name [group] is from one source, they unitedly return to the Hong lineage, together they hold the mountains and rivers, they jointly worship the Altar for the God of the Grain, on one morning they will gather and their names will be raised for eternity.... Heaven's Revolution xinyou (1801) 50 This rather fragmentary text was part of a written oath transmitted from Tong'an county in Southern Fujian to Guangdong in 180l. Its political contents are self-evident: the "moun tains and rivers" and "the Altar for the God of the Grain" are standard formulae for China as a political territorial unit. "The Altar for the God of the Grain" is, therefore, the same type of symbolic reference as the bushel filled with grain, equating territory with its main produce. The document uses the term "Heaven's Revolution" as a year title, instead of the appropriate Jiaqing year title. When the written oath was read during the covenant ritual, all those present were startled by its wording. Lin Tianshen, who was the ritual leader of the group, justified his use of this text to them by explaining that it captured the notion of mutual support particularly well. The officials chose to accept this explanation and it 50

TDH VI: 425.

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certainly fitted the activities of the group, in so far as they are documented.51 There are, however, some incongruities that need to be addressed, even though they cannot be resolved. The oath had been burned at the conclusion of the ritual, and the members, including the group's ritual leader, were only arrested and interrogated several months later. If the ritual leader was still able to recall this particular part of the text, this implies that he had read it with considerable attention and memorized it by heart. It seems unlikely that he was as innocent or "ignorant" as he attempted to make out. Even more of a coincidence, this ritual leader had been taught by the geomancer Mr. Chen from Tong'an county in Southern Fujian. We know from other sources, that the same teacher had also taught two other networks in Guangdong at the same period, but the members of these two networks never mention this part of the teachings in their confessions.52 Maybe they were never taught this covenant or they were more succesfull in hiding the politically sensitive parts of the text. At the very least, their silence raises considerable doubts about the reliability of our evidence and about the kind of inferences that we can draw from the absence of explicit statements on certain mythical or political elements. Although "restoring the Ming" implies "overthrowing the Qing," this implication was not at first made explicit in Triad writings.F' The aim of restoring the Ming stemmed from the demonological messianic paradigm, where it was linked to the advent of the LuTDH VI: 422-460. TDH VI: 430-431 and 442-443. 53 Restoring the Ming: M; overthrowing the Qing: Q. TDH VII: 34 and TDH VI, second page with photographs in front (1802): 51

52

M.

TDH VI: 283-293 and TDH VI, fourth page with photographs, top photograph (1806; discussed in section 7.4.2.): M. TDH VII: 208-209 and 214 line s 1 (1808) : QM. TDH I: 4 line 16 and passim (1810) : QM. TDH VII: 328-329 (1811) : QM. TDH VII: 351 line 13, 352 line 18, 353 lines 11 and 14, 354 line 10 (1812) : QM. TDH VII: 449 (1816) : M. Zhuang (1994) 19-20: QM (text from 1812, confiscated in 1816) . TDH VI: 517 (1819) : QM. TDH VII: 485 (1831), TDH VII: 507 (1830), TDH VII: 516 (1835) all contain the same pro-Ming poem.

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minous Ruler and the Zhu prince as a savior and protector against demonic beings. It actually predated the Ming and, therefore, the absence of a concrete reference to "overth rowing the Qing" may not be altogether surprising. Both the anti-Qing and the anti-barbarian (whether hu or man) references appear slightly later in the extant sources, in texts confiscated in 1808 and 1812 respectively.54 The whole point of the advent of a Zhu prince of the Ming initially was not the overthrowing of the Qing, but rather his healing and exorcising abilities, in other words the protection that he could provide. The full political implications were apparently developed only later. Arrested members clearly had a strong self-interest in keeping silent about the political ideal of restoring the Ming and destroying the Qing. For officials, too, mentioning the existence of these ideals in their reports to the throne would have resulted in an enormous amount of politically highly sensitive investigations. Significantly, there was never any follow-up investigation on the provenance and implications of these subversive political ideals, neither in the 1791 and 1801 cases discussed above, nor in the many later instances in which written material was confiscated that contained clear references to these ideals. We encountered the same type of conspirational silence on the part of members and officials in the uprising of 1796-1804, also concerning the pro-Ming claims of some rebel groups. Philip Kuhn has pointed to a similar phenomenon (as well as the imperial anger caused by it) during the 1768 queue cutting rumors. 55 It is an attitude that is equally common to large bureaucracies in our own time-namely of ignoring something in the hope that it will go away of itself. Notwithstanding the lack of full investigations at the time by Qing officials that might have clarified many specific issues, the fact remains that explicit slogans to "restore the Ming" were part of written Triad lore throughout its entire history, from its first appearance in the sources onwards. "Overthrowing the Qing" was added as an explicit goal during the first decade of the nineteenth century. Its meaning changed from a demonological messianic one into a more narrowly political (and still religious) one.

54 55

6.1.

See note 45 to Chapter Seven. Kuhn (1990 ) 76-77, 124-131, 196-222. On the 1796-1804 case, see section

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8.2 .2. Foretelling the advent of the young Zhu prince As I have demonstrated in Chapter Six, the figure of the young

Zhu prince was a standard element of the demonological messianic paradigm. From the fragmentary statements made by Triad members arrested on the Chinese mainland in 1787, we can piece together the following story: there was a small boy called Zhu Hongde or Zhu Dingyuan, who was born from eating a peach (taoli) and who travelled around in the guise of a Buddhist monk. He was about 15 or 16 Chinese years of age. He was the Luminous Ruler and continued the lineage of the imperial family or the Hong brotherhood. The resemblances to the young Zhu prince from the demonological messianic paradigm should be self-evident. The first coherent narrative is preserved in the 1810 manual. After Li Zicheng had rebelled and conquered the nation (jiangshan), the pregnant imperial concubine Li Shen (li shenfei, or "the divine concubine Peach") ofthe Western Palace fled to High Creek Temple in the southern province of Yunnan. There she gave birth to a boy, the Small Ruler (xiaozhu). She and her son were protected by Heaven. Later, the Small Ruler travelled around in the guise of a Buddhist monk. When the monks of the Shaolin Monastery were fleeing from the vengeful Qing armies, he joined them in their blood covenant. In the ensuing battle with the Qing armies, the Triad leader Wan Yunlong died, but not before enjoining all Triad members to protect the Small Ruler. Strangely, the Small Ruler himself vanishes (both from the text and from the military stage) without any explanation being given. It is, however, prophesied that his future return will mark the final victory of the Triads.P" Elsewhere in the same manual, the flowering of peaches is a symbol announcing the imminent appearance of a savior and the restoration of the Ming. 57 Later versions of the foundation account remained essentially the same, at least in so far as the story of the Zhu prince is concerned. 58 He is not yet mentioned by name in

TDH I: 4 (lines 4-7, 18,21-22),5 (lines 3-5 and 11-13). TDH I: 15 lines 2-3, 16 line 14, 21 lines 15-16. 58 The Guangxi manual of 1828, Guangxi huidang, 482 contains an interesting variant, where the young Zhu prince is brought to the Shaolin monastery in Gansu Province for safekeeping. Nevertheless, he plays no role in the subsequent story until after the founding of the Triads, when he joins the Triads in the same way as in other versions. 56

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the 1810 manual, but later he is virtually always called Zhu Hongying or Zhu Hongzhu. . The resemblances between the above narrative and the account that could be teased out of the 1787 evidence are striking: the birth of the Zhu figure from either a peach or an imperial concubine with the surname Li (meaning "peach"), his descent from the imperial house of the Ming, his youth, his identity as a monk and his name containing the sound Hong (usually in the variant "floodlike") . These last two elements played on the fact that the founder of the Ming dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, had started his career as a Buddhist monk and had the year title Hongwu. Year titles were often used as a term of address for reigning emperors (at least during the Ming and Qing, when each emperor only had one year title that lasted his entire reign), such as "Ruler [Kang]xi" in the Triad foundation narrative.P" Besides the many explicit references to the Zhu family name throughout Triad ritual and mythology, there is one other hidden reference to the family name, which has never been remarked upon by modern scholars and was probably obscure to most Triad members. The reference is contained in the slogan muli doushi zhi tianxia ("tree, to stand, bushel, era, to rule the world") . This slogan was part of the earliest lore of the Triads (dating back to 17861787) and continued to be used in most subsequent Triad texts. The first four characters were always prominently displayed in the initiation ritual.P" Despite its frequent quotation in Triad materials, the line is only explained in one rather obscure poem from 1828 produced by the Triads themselves/'! Members sometimes offered explanations during the interrogations.P but the line seems 59 TDH I: 4 lines 8,13; Guangxi huidang, 482-483; Xiao (1935) 2: 3b-4a (Or.8207 D); Tiand ihui wenxianlu , 41-42. The manuals always abbreviate Kangxi to Xi. 60 First versions: TDH I: 70, 71 (two versions of same poem) , 87, 97. Other early texts: TDH I: 8 lines 1 (implicit) and 15 (Poem); TDH VII: 34 and VI: second photograph (Poem) ; TDH VI: 340 and Zhuang (1994) 20. The line returns in virtually all other Triad texts . 61 The only "explanatory" text that I have found is a poem in the Guangxi manual of 1828, Guangxi huidang, 490. Although I cannot claim to understand this poem, it certainly differs from all explanations given above . 62 Already in 1787 Qing official s were mystified by th is line. Only after threatening with torture did one Triad member "confess" that the phrase muli doushi referred to four dates. The first three characters referred to the last years of the reign periods of the first three emperors, the last character referred to the founding date of the Triads in the 32rd year of the Qianlong reign (TDH I: 69 use torture,

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to have functioned primarily as a performative utterance. In this sense, it is comparable to that other mysterious phrase jiewan ("uniting the ten thousand/Wan"). The point was knowing and pronouncing these phrases to express one's Triad affiliation, not to communicate a message. All the same, the slogan contains a relevant political message that can be perfectly understood. One clue to its meaning comes from a political prophecy from the late Tang, about someone with the Zhu family name who aimed to take over power. In this prophecy, the family name was referred to in the form of the split characters "tree" (mu) and "bushel" (dou).63 WheIl; we draw the character for bushel into the character for tree, we obtain the family name Zhu. Another clue can be found in one of the pictures in the Charts for Prognosticating the Unknown (tuibei tu). It depicts a monk sitting underneath a tree (mu), with a foot measure (chi) in the tree. The monk is a reference to Zhu Yuanzhang, the tree and the foot measure form an incomplete split version of his family name.f" If we apply these insights to the above slogan, this yields the following translation: "when a 'tree' is set up and at the time of the 'bushel," these will rule the world," or more plainly: "the Zhus will rule the world." Such hidden references to people's names are, of course, extremely common in Chinese messianic and political prophecies. Analyzing people's fortunes by splitting the

70-71) . From an unknown source, Gustave Schlegel (1866) 24-25 note 8 gives the same interpretation of the first three characters, but now the fourth character is taken to refer to the last year of the Qianlong reign, and the characters tianxia zhi (later texts use this new sequence) are interpreted as the length of the reigns of the three emperors following Qianlong. Morgan (1960) 131 offers yet another explanation, in which for instance the last character shi (world) refers to the number 31, namely the 31 battles fought by the Five Ancestors against their enemies. Schlegel's version is evidently a post-facto interpretation, since the line predates the end of the Qianlong reign and the first four characters form the central unit. Morgan's suggestions (even if they go back to Triad informants) are equally unlikely from a historical perspective, because he explains the characters in terms of a foundation story which did not yet exist in 1787. Furthermore, if this line really carried the-rather trivial-meanings given in 1787 or by Schlegel and Morgan, it is difficult to understand why it occupied such a central position and was never explained in any manual (except for the Guangxi manual of 1828, with an explanation that I do not understand). 63 Beimeng suoyan, 16: 117. 64 On the Tuibei tu picture, see Bauer (1973) 60. The same type of references to the family name Zhu can be found in other prophecies, see Chan (1970) 176.

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characters of their names into smaller parts is a widely used method of fortune telling. In early Triad lore, the restoration of the Ming dynasty under the Zhu family was projected as the fulfilment of the prophecies of Liu Ji (Liu Bowen) , the renowned expert on the fate of the Ming. An interesting example of such a prophecy can be found in the 1810 manual, which is a nice illustration of the indebtedness of Triad lore to broader traditions. The manual tells us how, in 1643 , an "Inscription by Liu Bowen" (liu bowen beiji) was spat out by the "Heavenly Waters" (tianshui) in Kaifeng prefecture.P The various elements of this statement can all be traced to other sources. An "Inscription by Liu Bowen" was already mentioned in an incident which took place in 1729. The oldest extant version dates from 1813. The date of 1643 occurs already in a related apocryphal story, dating from roughly 1657, about the Chongzhen emperor, who was besieged in Beijing by rebel forces. At this crucial point in time, the emperor opened a chest preserving secret documents on the future of the nation that had supposedly been left behind by Liu Ji. The documents contained exact predictions of the events of those days.66 Furthermore, the Yellow River had actually flooded Kaifeng city in 1642, because it had been diverted during the siege of the city. The water had caused considerable damage.f? Thus, the passage in the 1810 manual was inspired by both historical events and fictional lore about the final days of the Ming. The use of the term "Heavenly Waters," to refer to the Yellow River, indicates its special nature as a passage-way between the worlds of man and of the divine. The appearance of the "Inscription by Liu Bowen" from the "Heavenly Waters" emulated the appearance from the liminal world of water of two of the archetypical dynastic treasures of the past, the "Diagram from the Yellow River" and the "Writing from the Luo River." The prophecy was itself a dynastic treasure. Some later Triad manuals still contain references to a text bequeathed by Liu Ji (Liu Bowen), while in other manuals these references have disappeared.F This was part of a TDH I: 4 line 6-7. Chan (1973) 97-100. 67 Goodrich and Fang (1976) 123. 68 Guangxi huidang, 516 ("the poem hidden on the body by Liu Bowen"); Xiao (1935) 5: 3b ("the poem from the brocade sack by Liu Bowen"; Or. 2339) . Schlegel 65

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general tendency for Triad lore to loosen its ties to Ming dynasty lore (such as the decreasing significance of the Ming prince).

8.2.3 . The authentication of Triad political claims The Triads not only claimed to support the only legitimate ruler, but also maintained that they possessed the Mandate of Heaven. The rebels under Lin Shuangwen in 1786-1787 used the year title "Following [the Mandate of] Heaven" (shuntian) and claimed "to follow [the Mandate of] Heaven and carry out the Way" (shuntian xingdao) , because of the corruption of Qing officials on Taiwan.69 Both the reign title and the full formula (or the variant "carrying out the way on behalf of Heaven" [daitian xingdao]) remained essential parts of Triad lore, and were widely known to the groups themselves.I" The common legitimation formula "Heaven's Revolution" (tianyun) was mainly used in Triad lore as a year title, in the same way as it is still used today in Daoist ritual. Only in some early confessions and in the 1810 manual, was active use made of the original political and messianic connotations of the terms "revolution" (yun) and "Heaven's Revolution" to refer to an imminent change of dynasty."! The Triad use of political expressions was, however, not limited to such well-known legitimation terminology, and the explicit (1866) 24 note 8 claims that the slogan muli doushi tianxia zhiwas part of a prophecy by Liu Ji, but gives no SOUTce for his remark. 69 TDH I: 153-161. 70 TDH I: 70, 71 (same poem from different teachers in 1786) ,413 (text confiscated in 1791, group goes back to 1786) ; TDH VI: 170; 177; 189; 200 ; 204205; 285 and first photograph on the fourth page with photographs in front of TDH VI; TDH VI 305 and second photograph on the fourth page with photographs in front of TDH VI; TDH VI: 336 and 340-341; 487-488; 505 ; VII: 34 and second page with photographs in front ofTDH VI; TDH VII: 165; 214 ; 248; 353; 449. TDH I: 7 line 17,8 lines 11, 13, 15 (1810 manual) . The phrase is also fre1uently used in all later manuals. I TDH I: 153 (1786; date); strong connotation in the text on the top photograph on the fourth page with photographs in front of TDH VI; TDH VI: 336 and 341 (as a date) ; 361 (strong connotation) ; 425 (as a date); VII: 328 (strong connotation). TDH I: 6 line 11 and 17 line 14 (roughly same line, with strong connotation). The phrase is no longer used in a strong sense from the 1828 Guangxi onwards. As a date, see Xiao (1935) 4: 14a (memorial in Or. 2339) ; Stanton (1900) 80 an d Ward and Stirling (1925) opposite 132 (same diploma) ; Stanton (1900) 82 and 86. A meaningful variation is "H ong's Revolution" (hongyun), Berlin ms: 22, Stanton (1900) 83 and Morgan (1960) 121.

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aim of restoring the Ming and destroying the Qing. The poems of Lu Shenghai, confiscated in 1806 (although he himself had been active since 1797), contain numerous political expressions. They refer to "the mountains and rivers," which denotes the nation as a political unit. A poem for the Lord of the Earth contains the line "to struggle for [the All-under-]Heaven and capture the nation, one branch of Hong." The yellow parasol (itself a standard symbol of imperial authority) carries the line "Chief Marshall who opens the nation." The line commemorating the final bow of the eight ritual bows that have to be made before the altar notes that "on a later day [the young Zhu prince] will be called emperor and each [of the valiant heroes] will be enfeoffed as king."72 Most other early Triad writings and all later manuals contain similar political references, and it is hard to imagine that none of these statements would have been understood by Triad mernbers.P These assertions of possessing the Mandate of Heaven were further supported by more concrete forms of supernatural authentication. Thus, it was claimed that several dynastic treasures had been donated to the Triads by Heaven as physical evidence of its support, specifically the prediction by Liu Ji (Liu Bowen), the incense-burner, the seal and the sword. All of these treasures stemmed from a special source, whether Heaven, Earth, or the emperor as Heaven's representative. We have already encountered the incense-burner with the message "Restore the Ming and Extirpate the Qing," and the prediction by LiuJi, both of which came from Heaven through the liminal world of water. The seal always remained an important object of legitimation, even when the general importance of precious objects to legimate imperial rule decreased during the late imperial period. The seal occupies a central place in Triad ritual and mythology. The foundation account begins with the defeat of the barbarian invaders by the Shaolin monks. At a certain point in the story, either before or after their successful battle with these barbarians, the monks received an Imperial Seal from the emperor. This gift indicated that all the activities of the monastery were automatically authoTDH VI: 305. Other early sources: top photograph in TDH VI (1806); TDH VII: 214 (1808). The 1810 manual in TDH I and all later Triad manuals are full of similar references. On the Yellow Parasol in particular: TDH VI: 305; TDH VII: 517 (stuck inside the rice bushel) ; Schlegel (1866) 33; Morgan (1960) 141. 72

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rized by the emperor, providing the monastery and its monks with imperial protection and potential power. It was the monastery's most prized treasure and came to be coveted by (a) court official(s), who started to plot the monks' downfall. It was claimed that possessing such a powerful imperial treasure would enable the monks to overthrow the state. Thereupon, the emperor sent an army to destroy the monastery. The surviving monks managed to take the seal with them on their flight.?" The seal had an unusual triangular form (inspired by the three dots of water symbolism), which was therefore used by all later Triad groups for their own seals . A small triangle form was even drawn on the membership certificates, and usually contained the common family name of all Triad members, Hong. In these certificates, the text of the Imperial Seal would be written above the triangle containing the Hong family name.P The sword had long since lost its power as an object of legitimation on an imperial level and among the educated elite, but not in Daoist and other cui tic contexts. I have already noted the central position occupied by the peachwood and seven star swords in Triad ritual, both of which possessed the exorcist power to defeat the demon barbarians (of the Qing dynasty). The importance of the Triad precious sword(s) as a political symbol is underlined by the fact that they were adorned with two dragons fighting for a 74 We already find a triangular seal in the 1810 manual (TDH I: 3, 31 and 32 and TDH VII: 297 on the teacher who used this manual) . The foundation story itself from the 1810 manual mentions another seal, with an unclear text. This story is translated in the next chapter. In the Guangxi manual of 1828 (Guangxi huidang, 483), the seal contains the characters "White Mountain" (baishan). These two characters make eminent sense, because in the foundation story of this manual, the Shaolin Monastery is located on Great White Mountain (taibai shan) . In later versions of the foundation account. the location of the monastery changed, but the seal text remained more or less the same. As a result, the text was no longer understood and came to be corrupted into the cryptical Sun Mountain (rishan) . Other versions: Schlegel (1866) 11-14. Also Stanton (1900) 30-31; Ward and Stirling (1925) 33-39; Xiao (1935) 2: 1b-2a (Or. 2339), 4a (Or. 8207D) . 75 Separate triangular seal : Stanton (1900) 79,80; Ward and Stirling (1925) opposite 132 and 134-135. Triangular seal incorporated into the text: TDH VII: 422; Schlegel (1866) 31; Stanton (1900) 72,75,79,80,84,85; Ward and Stirling (1925) opposite 132; Xiao (1935) 6: 19b-20b . Confessions: TDH VI: 194 (triangular seal; 1803), 397 (normal seal ; 1822), 461 (normal seal; 1802), 483 (normal seal; 1804), 487 (three triangular seals ; 1804),504 (form unclear; 1814) ; VII: 165 (form unclear; 1803-1804),331 (1808; triangular piece of red cloth as evidence of membership), 439 (form unclear; 1813) .

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pearl, and that the peachwood sword sometimes carried an inscription with the same message as was on the incense-burner.I" In the foundation story given in the Guangxi manual of 1828 , the sword is treated in an especially interesting way. The story starts by describing the sad fate of the Chongzhen emperor, who commits suicide on Coal Hill (officially called Prospect Hill) . A loyal servant rescues the young prince, born of the Li ("Peach") concubine, and takes with him two precious swords , called "Peachwoodred Sword of the Loyal Ministers" and "Sword of the [Two] Dragons Fighting for the Pearl." It is only many years later, when the first Triad group has been founded and the young Ming prince has reappeared, that the two swords also reappear. The names of the two swords , and their specific history, physically connect the Triads and their young Zhu prince to the last Ming ruler.F In other versions of the foundation account, the same sword appears from (or is made of a peach tree growing on top of) the grave of a loyal supporter of the Shaolin monks. The prophecy of LiuJi, the incense-burner, the peachwood sword and the triangular seal were all clearly presented as dynastic treasures that legitimated the Triads and their political mission. Their divine provenance is made explicit in the foundation account: the prophecy and the incense-burner appeared from Heaven through water, the sword(s) originated with the last Ming emperor (or the Son of Heaven) or from Earth from a grave, and the seal was donated by the Qing emperor (or the Son of Heaven) . With the exception of Liu Ji's prophecy, the treasures were actively used during the Triad initiation ritual. This ritual was structured around the sacred incense burner and the act of offering incense. The sword was a major exorcist weapon and functioned in the malediction ceremony accompanying the blood covenant. The seal validated Triad documents in general and the membership certificate in particular. When they were not being used, the sword and the seal were placed on the altar for all to see. Because these objects were used in the ritual, all members could share in their aura and the objects contributed to the legitimation of the ritual. Unlike the use of legitimation terminology and the numerous references to the restoration of the Ming, the use of dynastic trea76 77

See also the sources quoted in note 57 to Chapter Seven. Guangxi manual of 1828, Guangxi huidang, 482, 486, 508-509.

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sures cannot be traced back to the first appearance of the Triads in our sources. The oldest extant manual with a complete foundation story, confiscated in 1810, mentions both the seal and the incense burner; in one poem the sword is assigned an important role in defeating the Qing barbarians, but is not mentioned as such in the foundation story. By the time that the 1828 manual from Guangxi was written, all three objects had become fully developed dynastic treasures.

8.3 . Political ideals in practice

For the Triads, their ritual was therefore not merely something that affected the participants, but also a display of symbolic acts and objects for an audience. We shall see in the following sections, that Triad leaders could be quite astute in manipulating religious and political symbols, an ability which found its basis in their ritual experiences.P' Up to this point, I have focused on reconstructing the overall structure of Triad political ideals, ignoring what these ideals might have meant to the individual members. In the remainder of this chapter, I look more closely at some concrete cases in which these ideals inspired concrete political action (section 8.3 .). Finally, I will suggest that these ideals also fulfilled an important social function , regardless of whether they were put into practice or not (section 8.4 .) . 8.3 .1. Early awareness of political ideology

During the Lin Shuangwen uprising on Taiwan from 1786 to 1787, the rebels posted numerous proclamations with a strong political content. In these proclamations, the local magistrates were blamed for their greed and corruption. People were warned against supporting the adversaries of Lin Shuangwen's armies. Furthermore, an effort was made to calm the local population, by stressing the

78 Ahern (1981) has suggested seeing Chinese ritual as a learning ground for political activity. Although I do not wish to put things this exclusively, ritual experience certainly helped in attaining local leadership . Ritual specialists were often among the leaders of local rebellions, not only because of their excellent local networks, but also because of their ritual and ideological knowledge.

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intention of the rebel armies to behave properly.I? The following is a translation of those fragments of such a proclamation that concern the ethico-political justification for the rebel enterprise. Chief Lin of the Covenant that Follows [the Mandate] of Heaven ardently proclaims through a prayer to Heaven, to settle people 's hearts and to safeguard the affairs of the farming undertaking. We communicate that only he who as an official loves the people like his children, can be called a father and mother to the people. Nowadays, those who occupy Taiwan are all greedy officials and corrupt clerks. They harm the living souls. This general cannot bear not to punish them. In order to save our people, we have specifically raised righteous soldiers, concluded a covenant before Heaven, that those who are without humaneness or righteousness will die under ten thousand swords . As a result, we received the protection of Heaven on High and we immediately turned [the] Zhanghua [county capital] into dust. [There follows a description of the military progress of the rebels, in the course of which rebels of Southern Fujianese stock left behind in Zhanghua behaved badly towards the local Guangdong people. The proclamation points out that due to the pressures of warfare, it is impossible to investigate all such occurrences as promptly as one should] This general is utterly public-spirited and without private preferences, you ought not to harbour any doubts about this and thus damage social harmony. Except for [the present discomfort of] relaxing the proper time limit to investigate the irregularities, if our army ever again creates trouble for the innocent, Heaven on High will not allow it. Our intentions are as hard as iron and rocks, but we fear that our people will not trust us, and therefore we pray to Heaven to make this thoroughly clear, in order to manifest the goodness of Heaven. We have put out a proclamation to instruct all . Through this proclamation we hope that the people from Fujian and Guangdong will all know. After this proclamation, you must exert yourselves in being content with your lot and in performing your farming tasks . You must wait until the returned army will investigate and punish. Do not start to fight and kill because of minor irritations, which will breed the disaster of being killed....80 Four proclamations in TDH I: 153-156. TDH I: 153. In a footnote, the editors deduce from the use of the yeartitle "Heaven's Revolution" instead of "Following [the Mandate] of Heaven" that the author must be Lin Xiaowen, instead of Lin Shuangwen. However, they adduce no additional evidence. Furthermore, the title "Chief of the Covenant" (mengzhu) was definitely Lin Shuangwen's. The interpretative comments between brackets are mine. 79

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The author of this text adopted the higher moral stance of the universal ruler. He emphatically claimed to have received Heaven's support for the performance of his moral duties. The slogan "Followin g [the Mandate] of Heaven" was used in these proclamations, in letters and on flags. 81 These materials show that Lin Shuangwen and his political advisors were well-aware of the basic principles of the ethico-political system. They combined these principles consciously with their own practice of the blood covenant before Heaven and Earth in an attempt to build up a broader constituency among the different Han-Chinese ethnic groups on Taiwan. At the same time, it transpires from the proclamation that the rebels were not very successful in their attempts to transcend ethnic boundaries.V Until the mid-nineteenth century, there is only limited documentation on members' awareness of the political implications of Triad lore. Numerous members noted the rebellious political purport of Triad writings, but their responses after becoming aware of this political dimension varied almost from case to case . Furthermore, in the extant confessions one never encounters any discussion of the most rebellious Triad claim of all, namely the aim of restoring the Ming and overthrowing the Qing. Take, for instance, the example of the Military Student Lin Yingwei in 1806, who, in exchange for some money, had been teaching people the basic three finger sign of recognition. Later in that same year, he encountered another Triad teacher, who possessed an old manual dating back to 1796. Because this teacher was afraid that the booklet would be found on him, he gave it to Lin for safekeeping. Lin took it home to read, but he was afraid to spread its contents further because of its "rebellious nature." Clearly, however, Lin was not careful enough, for he was subsequently betrayed by his own brother, a Student by Purchase.P The precise contents of the manual, and what Lin Yingwei or his interrogators thought "rebellious" about it, remain a mystery to us. A frequent response to finding out more about the contents of the manual was to destroy it. A member who had joined in 1805 TDH I: 153-161 proclamations and letters; TDH I: 252 flags. On the uprising, see Ownby (1996) 55-81, 187-191. Older accounts includes Cai (1987) 66-122 and Qin (1988) 238-274. 83 TDH VI: 168. The authorities subsequently confirmed that he had not written thi s manual himself. 81 82

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in Northern Fujian, had received a manual, which granted him the right to teach other pupils. When this man noted that it contained "rebellious" words such as "Following Heaven ['s Mandate] ," he first copied the amulets in the book and then burned it .84 Another member, who was active in 1815, decided to tie it up in a piece of cloth and to wear it close to his body, almost like a protective amulet. He practised a simple Triad ritual, but never used the manual, because it contained "rebellious" words such as "Li, Zhu, Hong.,,85 Most likely, the particular choice of terms such as "rebellious language" in the confessions reflects the editing by the Qing officials. We will never know which words were used by these people themselves. Whether or not the disclaimers of people like Lin Yingwei about having used the texts are true or false, we have no way of knowing, but their behavior certainly suggests a minimal awareness of the political nature of the texts. It also indicates, as do a number of other cases to be summarized below, that most Triad members did not actually have any rebellious intentions at all . Besides hiding or destroying the manuals (or claiming to have done so), people could also pretend not to understand the contents of these texts; One method was to deny any knowledge about the precise connotations of formulae such as "following Heaven['s Mandate]" or "on behalf of Heaven" (daitian) .86 In such cases, it is extremely difficult to say anything with certainty about the "real" amount of knowledge possessed by any given member. Sometimes, however, we can catch someone in the act of lying. Yin Zhiping claimed that he had made up a series of poems and dialogues in 1812 to accompany an initiation, with the purpose of "swindling money" out of people. In the accompanying description of his initiation ritual, no mention is made of the actual use of this material. Quite apart from the derogatory terminology inserted in Yin Zhiping's confession by Qing officials, even a cursory ex84 TDH VI: 188. Two roughly contemporary cases of hiding or burning, see TDH VI: 186. These cases have to be distinguished from those instances in which a manual was burned because of impending persecutions, as in THD VI: 204 and many other instances. 85 TDH VI: 213. 86 TDH VI: 199-200, Li Faguang. We find the same attitude with respect to the names of the Triad founding fathers. See TDH V: 455-456, 472 (different persons from the same case) ; VII: 261, 436, 488, 507.

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amination of the material suffices to show that it fits entirely within the Triad ritual rradition.F His claim to having made up the material is manifestly untrue, and it also seems unlikely that he never used it in an actual ritual. I would suggest that Yin Zhiping simply successfully attempted to hide as many facts as possible from his interrogators. Yet another possibility was the sincere reinterpretation of Triad slogans, as in the following case. In 1805, a teacher in Qinzhou prefecture in Western Guangdong founded a group with the intention of robbing neighboring villages. He had someone carve the standard Triad slogan "following Heaven['s Mandate] and carrying out the Way" on a rectangular wooden seal. This was then explained as "following Heaven is good, carrying out the public way and not harboring an evil mind." Note that this rephrasing does not involve any rebellious intentions. They also prepared the characteristic triangular seal(s?) with three typical Triad magical characters on them. The group concluded their blood covenant on the 13th day of the 5th month, which was the main festival date of the deity Guan Yu, who was widely celebrated for his loyal and righteous life. Such a date was chosen, because the leaders of this group felt inspired by the figure of Guan Yu and the values that he represented. Given that the group made such statements on moral values, it seems likely that their explanation of "following Heaven and carrying out the Way" was indeed their own, rather than a post facto rationalization prompted by the considerable pressure of an interrogation.ss This case demonstrates the possibility of re-interpreting Triad slogans. In two other cases , both dating from 1810 and quite unrelated to each other, the political connotations were simply ignored.s? In one case, Lin Jingyan, a Government Student and undoubted87 TDH VII: 348. Compare TDH VII: 370, where a teacher claims to a pupil that he has invented a poem. 88 TDH VI: 487-488. Compare the case of a man who was literate enough to practice Daoist exorcist healing and fortune telling through splitting characters, but who was unable to understand the meaning of his Triad manual (TDH VI: 204 and 208) . Also compare the case in which a group is constituted to take revenge on local gentry and do some robbing. During the blood covenant and gate passing ritual an old written Triad oath is used. Only then do participants realize that this is more far reaching than expected, but things are too late (TDH VI: 417-418). 89 Also consider the case of Lin Tianshen, discussed in section 8.2.1.

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ly literate, observed that his membership certificate contained many "rebellious" phrases. He asked his teacher what they meant and received the reply that it did not really matter. Qing officials interpreted the teacher's reply to mean that the aim of these phrases was to swindle money out of people. We cannot be sure how Lin himself originally interpreted the words of his teacher and how he reported them to the interrogating officials, but it is evident that he chose to ignore the political contents of his texts and went on to proselytize widely.P" A similar case is that of Xie Zhonglao, who gave his manual to a pupil for temporary safekeeping, because it contained "rebellious" language. He intended to copy the book eventually and use it in proselytizing. He certainly did not have any further political intentions.P! Of course, an explicitly political and rebellious interpretation was equally possible. In 1808, the horse trader Van Yagui (originally from Nanhai county in Guangdong, but now living in Gui county in Guangxi) was staying in an inn in Laibin county in Guangxi. There he encountered a fellow guest from his native Nanhai, a peddlar called Van Chao. They began to talk about each other's poverty. Van Chao then mentioned his "Song of the Peachgarden," and claimed that joining the Triads would bring great benefits later on. Van Yagui read the text and asked why it contained so much "rebellious" language. Van Chao secretly (m i) told him that six men (his "Song of the Peachgarden" tells us that these are Monk Wan and the five Shaolin monks, who had together founded the first Triad group) from the foot of Nail Mountain in Shicheng county in Guangdong were gathering people to rebel. They had sent him to Guangxi to recruit more people. Van Chao instructed Van Yagui not to tell anybody about the secret aim of this text, but only to say that "if something happens one will be helped and one can preserve one's riches." Van Yagui was also to select someone with whom he was on good terms from each covenant that he organized. He should tell only this person about their ultimate aim and give him a white fan. This fan was called the Pure Wind Fan; on it were written four Triad magical characters. Van Yagui inquired about the meaning of these characters, but Van Chao did not tell him. Van Yagui was to wait until he re90 TDH VII: 248. I discu ss the exchange between Lin Jingyan and h is teacher in more detail in section 10.2.1. 91 TDH VI: 177-178.

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ceived a letter from Guangdong, before revealing the "rebellious" purpose to the members. Van Yagui then proceeded to organize a Triad covenant as instructed, revealing the ultimate aim only to one close acquaintance.F Van Chao had also instructed other people in the same vein, who also started to organize Triad groups according to his instructions. Leading followers included a Student with a local school, a Military Student, and a Student by Purchase. The various constituent networks, in fact, only engaged in small scale robbery.P'' The text of the "Song of the Peachgarden" has been preserved in the Qing archives. It is not a song (since it does not use rhyme or meter), but a written oath to be used during a blood covenant ceremony. The plan for an uprising as delineated by Van Chao to Van Yagui in so much detail is not referred to in the text, but reflects an additional point of view. A newly discovered fragment of the foundation account suggests that this may have been more than an individual, eccentric interpretation. The fragment was part of a now lost Triad manual, that had been illegally copied in 1816 by a local schoolteacher from a version (originally more than eighty pages long) stolen from a local Triad teacher. The schoolteacher intended to use it as evidence in his denouncement of a local Triad network in the capital (sic!). The Triad teacher had been active in Baoning county in Yunnan province since at least 1812. One of his pupils had attempted to recruit the schoolteacher in 1816, but the latter had refused (or claimed to have done so later on). According to the schoolteacher's later confession, the Triad teacher had stated during a gathering that a descendant of the Ming house called Zhu Dahong, who was only one fathom (zhang) tall, would become emperor. They would support him and the ten heads of the gathering would become his ministers. The extant fragment of the foundation account lists the Five Houses, each of whom will rebel ("raise righteousness" [qiyi]) in two or three provinces. The aim of the rebellion is explicitly mentioned as the overthrow of

92 TDH VII: 208-209. 93 TDH VII : 209-211,222-223,228-230,231-234. The written oath of this group is still extant, confiscated fro m Van Yagui (TDH VII: 214) . Clearly this text did

not represent Van Chao's overall command of Triad lore. Someone must have taught him how to carry out the ritual. On his use of the fan as a re cognition sign, see the 1810 manual, TDH I: 18 lines 23-24.

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the Qing and the restoration of the Ming. 94 Clearly, the members of this particular Triad network were well-aware of the political nature of Triad lore and their foundation account explicitly mentions rebellion in a way that is not seen in other versions of the myth. All in all , at least a number of Triad members were aware of the political nature of Triad lore. Though in some cases, their protestations that they had no rebellious intentions seem sincere, the fact remains that it would have been extremely stupid of them to admit to harboring anti-Qing feelings. In fact, the political undercurrent remained conspicuously present in Triad lore throughout its subsequent history and did not hinder people from using this lore to create social groups. This is evident from the above material, and the simple fact that throughout the nineteenth century the number of Triad groups continued to grow.

8.3.2. Triad political ideals in South-East Asia All indications are that overseas Triad groups continued the tradition as it had been handed down to them at home (or, later on, as they had picked it up in their respective overseas communities) . As we shall be able to observe in this and the following section, overseas Triad members continued to interact with home. As far as they were concerned, being a Triad member at home or abroad was not essentially different. Despite the fact that people often settled abroad permanently, anti-Qing and pro-Ming sentiments remained alive among the Triad members. In Vietnam a particularly interesting development took place, that shows the fundamentally political nature of Triad lore in quite an unexpected way. Throughout the nineteenth century, Vietnam was under French colonial rule, and gradually the Triad ideal of resisting Manchu-Qing rule was directed in an anti-colonial direction. The Triads had entered Vietnam from Southern China, and it seems that until the 1870s members were predominant94 Zhuang (1994) 18 discusses the background and the Triad teacher's oral comments. Zhuang (1994) 19-20 reproduces this important document for the first time. He (1996) 65-67 traces the manual back to HuangJiaojing. This may be correct, but the memorial quoting from Huang Jiaojing's manual (TDH VII: 449) refers to a Ming prince by the name of (Zhu) Hongying, whereas this manual fragment refers to Zhu Dahong.

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ly Chinese. After 1875, many Vietnamese also joined local groups, as a method of binding themselves together. Some people now changed the former slogan "restoring the Ming and destroying the Qing" into "Overthrowing the French and Restoring Vietnam." When the leaders of a new religious group, the Buu Son Ky Huong, instigated active nationalist resistance, these Triad groups also became involved, especially in the 1916 anti-French riots. After that date, Triad members were absorbed into secular political movements or into various new religious groups.l" It is unclear whether .Triad networks were involved in anti-colonial movements in other Southeast Asian colonial territories, such as Singapore and the Malayan peninsula, then under British control. The loyalty of Triad groups was certainly a subject of some concern to British colonial administrators. Pickering mentions this fear in his description of a Triad initiation ritual, adding that the ritual leader explicitly attempted to allay it.96 That the pro-Ming and anti-Qing ideal of the Triads lasted throughout the nineteenth century is shown by epigraphical evidence and the involvement of overseas members in the Triad rebellions in Shanghai and Amoy (Xiamen) in 1853. One way in which Triad members could represent their political ideals in a more permanent and public way was on their gravestones. Naturally, this would have been out of the question in China itself, since it would have been noticed by the authorities, with severe consequences for any surviving descendants, as well as for the burial place itself. In Southeast Asia, only fellow Chinese would have known, but they would never have reported this to the colonial authorities and the latter would probably not have been interested in it anyhow. The inscriptions on the graves of Overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia are usually dated in the conventional Chinese way, by means of the cyclical characters of the year of death, a year title and/or the name of the dynasty. In a small number of cases in the former Dutch Indies (modern Indonesia) and Malaysia a distorted form the character Qing is given. Instead of the 95 My summary is based on Tai (1983) 55-56,67-69,72-74,78-84. Since I cannot check Tai 's Vietnamese sources, I am unable to ascertain how much is based on outsider perceptions of the nature of the Triads and how much on inside information. I have replaced her term "sect" by "new religious group," for reasons set out in Ter Haar (1992) 12. 96 Pickering (1879) 16-17.

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usual form, the top part of the phonetic element on the righthand side is omitted. The omitted part can also be read as "ruler" (zhu) and its omission implies that the Qing is (or rather, should be) without a ruler.P? The most interesting material relating to the political ideals of Overseas Chinese is contained in a set of 73 pre-Republican spirit tablets in a Temple for the Lord of the Earth (shegongmiao) in Singapore. Their relevance has been pointed out before by local historians, most recently by Mak Lau Feng, Zhuang Qinyong (D.KY. Chng), and the Japanese scholar of traditional Chinese theater Tanaka Issei. 98 Thanks to the efforts of the Singapore local historian Zhuang Qinyong (D.KY. Chng) and his predecessors, we now have a fairly good idea of the place in local society of many of the people who were once worshipped through these spirit tablets. I already discussed the practice of ancestor worship by the Triads in Chapter Five, and here I confine my analysis to the fascinating social and political dimensions of the texts on the tablets. As Zhuang Qinyong has pointed out, these people were quite active in local society. A number of them were leaders of local merchant associations and had contributed to the restoration of local temples and collective cemeteries. Of the 48 persons with spirit tablets on whom we have some information, the geographic background of as many as 39 such ancestors can be ascertained.P?

97 On Singapore: Chen Yusong, "Guanyu qing'rnu de yanjiu," Yeyinguan uiencun, I: 100-103 (not seen) referred to by Franke and Chen (1985) 510 (comments to G.5.2.18) (two instances from 1877 and 1884); Pekan (in Pahang): Franke and Chen (1985) G.5.2.18 (no date). On the former Dutch Indies: Franke (1988) C.6.7.7. (1883) with detailed comment and further references, C.6.7.8. (1890), C.6.7.11. (no date) , C.7.6.12. (no date), C.7.6.14. (no date) . Curious is also the "Ming Tomb" from 1921, inJohore Bahru, set up by members of the local "Kongsi of Righteous Restoration" after it had been ordered to disband in 1916. See Franke and Chen (1982) B.1.2.2. 98 Mak (1981) 139-141; Zhuang (1986a) 124-150; Tanaka (1990) 1-170. 99 Zhuang (1986a) 126-131 (material), 131-133 (summary of his results) . My own count slightly differs from Zhuang's. Chaozhou (mostly Haiyang and Chenghai, only one from Raozhou): 4-9, 11, 20-22, 25, 26, 28, 32-36, 41, 44-46; Ningyang: 2, 42, 43; Dapu (or Chayang) : I , 14, 48; Hakka: 29, 31; Hainan: 16, 17, 30; Guangzhou: 3, 15; Fujian: 24, 27; Zhaoqing: 36.

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Table 3. The geographic origins of the ancestors number

geographic origins

23

Chaozhou prefecture (mostly Haiyang and Chenghai, only one from Raozhou) Ningyang ([Pu]ning and [jie lyang in Chaozhou prefecture?) Dapu (in Chaozhou prefecture), a Hakka region Hakka Hainan Guangzhou prefecture Fujian (one from Taiwan) Zhaoqing prefecture

3 3 2 3 2 2 1

Evidently, most of these people came from Chaozhou (Teochiu) prefecture, including the three Hakka people from Dapu. The five persons from Hainan and Fujian (most likely from Southern Fujian) probably spoke a Minnan language variant. Incidentally, Blythe notes that in Singapore there was a dividing line between the Teochiu (Chaozhou) people, who were supported by Cantonese and Hakkas, and the Hokkien (from Southern Fujian) . 100 This fits the evidence of the spirit tablets quite well. Several of these individuals can be identified as leaders or members of Triad groups, more specifically various branches of the "Kongsi of Righteous Restoration" (Ghee Sin kongsi, transcribed in pinyin as Yixing gongsi) , on the basis of information external to the tablets. Thus, Zhang Zuchang (fl. 1854-1887) was a leader ofa subgroup of the "Kongsi of Righteous Restoration." His tablet contains the title "Righteous Gentleman of the August Ming" (huangmingyishi).lOl Chen Kaishun (1803-1857) was a leader ofa "Kongsi of Righteous Restoration" in the 1840s. His tablet contains the title "Righteous Gentleman who Served the Ming" (houming yishi).102 Han Wangyi (1822-1868) was a leader of the Hainan "Kongsi of Righteous Restoration," and was succeeded, after his death, by Han Xingyi (fl. 1868) . Wangyi's tablet contains the title "Righteous Gentleman who Waits upon the Ming" (daimingyishi) . Xingyi's tablet contains the title "Righteous Gentleman bestowed by the Ming" (mingci yishi) .103 Hong Rukun was buried in a cemetery which 100 101 102 103

Blythe (1969) 76. Zhuang (1986a) 126 and 135 (1). Zhuang (1986a) 127 and 137 (11) . Trocki (1979) 102, 104-106. Zhuang (1986a) 128 (16 and 17) , 138 (16 and 17) .

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contained numerous graves with the special character for the Qing dynasty (as mentioned above).l°4 If the identification of Liang Qiyuan as Leo Keh Quan is correct, he was a leader of the Hainan "Kongsi of Righteous Restoration" during the 1860s. His tablet contains the title "Righ teous Gentleman of the August Ming" (huangmingyishi) and the Triad ritual title "Teacher" (xiansheng) .105 Guo Tou (1803-1872) can be identified as the Quay Ah Tow from a Western source and the leader of the Chaozhou "Kongsi of Righteous Restoration" in the 1860s. The sound "Ah" is a common Chaozhou prefix before personal names. On the tablet he is called "Instructor Righteous Gentleman" (jiaoduo yishi) and "Teacher" (xiansheng) .106 The "Teacher" was, of course, the principal ritual figure in the initiation ritual. His function is repeated in the more formal honorific title on the tablet. Lin Yatai (1823-1881) was a leader of the Chaozhou "Kongsi of Righteous Restoration" in the 1870s. He was considered to be the main instigator of the Post Office Riots in December 1876 and was, therefore, expelled from Singapore. He returned there in December 1877, but was denounced by the headman of his group to Pickering and again expelled. Apparently, he returned once more afterwards, since his tablet was preserved as well in the Lord of the Earth Temple. It contains the title "Righteous Gentleman Donated by the Ming" (mingzeng yishi) .107 There is no internal evidence about the Triad background of the 73 persons named in these tablets, unless one assumes that any pro-Ming sentiments by definition imply a Triad background. Of these 73 persons, as many as 63 persons had a title incorporating the dynastic name Ming. 108 The following titles take up the ideal of restoring the Ming very explicitly: "Protecting and Shielding General who Supports the Ming" (fuming huwei jiangjun) of Zhong Axi (1801-1858) and Yu Biting (fl. 1861), "Righteous Gentleman who Assists the Ming" (fuming yishi) of Li Yining (18181871) and Su Yuanguo (fl. 1822-1824), and finally "Righteous 104 Zhuang (1986a) 128 and 138-139 (21) . He adds that the cemetery had been owned by a Kongsi from Chaozhou Prefecture. 105 Zhuang (1986a) 129 and 140 (30) . 106 Zhuang (1986a) 129 and 139-140 (25). 107 Zhuang (1986a) 130 and 141 (33) . Good description by Blythe (1969) 201203 and 206 on his double deportation. 108 Zhuang (1986a) 135-145 no use of "Ming" in 7, 12, 13, 18, 25, 36, 40, 42, 43, 51.

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Gentleman who Restores the Ming" (fuming yiski) of Xu Lanfang (no dates known) . 109 It is unclear whether the military title "Vanguard," which appears in some tablets, also refers to the important Triad functionary by this title, since the tablets are full of such military titles. On the whole, the view that these people must have been affiliated with the Triads seems to be justified. I base this conclusion not, however, on the pro-Ming sentiments expressed in the tablets (which has been a major consideration for previous scholars) , but rather on the known affiliation of eight of the persons named in these tablets as Triad leaders. The title "Vanguard" further confirms, but does not prove, this overall identification. The title "Teach er" could likewise be a general term, but in the case of Guo Tou it probably had a specific Triad connotation. Significantly, a number of tablets in the Temple for the Lord of the Earth commemorate people who were already active before the wave of Triad rebellions in China around 1853. This once more confirms that the pro-Ming sentiments of the Triads predated these uprisings and were not recent imports from China. Zhao Wenbing (1796-1864) was in Singapore at least as early as 1840. Chen Ling (1796-1852) had already died. The known "Kongsi of Righteous Restoration" leader Chen Kaishun (1803-1857) was also active in 1844 and even earlier. Others who were already active before 1853 were Su Yuanguo (fl. 1822-1824), Cao Fuyi (1782-1830), Cao Fucheng (1798-1856) and Jian Meisheng (1794-1845) .110 The latest person mentioned in these tablets is the Triad leader and local foreman Zhang Zuchang (fl. 1854-1887), who was already mentioned above. The 1890 prohibition on the Triads in Singapore is the most likely explanation for the absence of any tablets for persons who died after this date, since it put a stop to the public creation and expression of Triad institutions and symbols . In fact, it has been suggested that the tablets ended up in the Temple for the Lord of the Earth, after having been removed from the local Triad lodges, as a result of this very same prohibition. From 1890 onwards, the Triads in the Malayan peninsula

109 Zhuang (1986a) 127-128 and 137-138 (15) , 131 and 144 (47) , 129 and 140 (27), 130 and 142 (39), 144 (53) . 110 Zhuang (1986a) 126-131 (cases no 2, 3, 11, 13,39,42,43).

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(including Singapore) went underground, as the Triads everywhere had already for many decades. I I I The gravestones and the spirit tablets demonstrate that pro-Ming and anti-Qing feelings were still important in the consciousness of Triad members throughout the nineteenth century. The early dates of some tablets indicate that these political sentiments had not been the result of the rapidly growing chaos in Southern China in the 1840s and 1850s, but reflected well-established Triad ideals and practices. Stanton remarks that Triad groups in Singapore had cooperated with the British in 1841 during the Opium War and that local Triads in Hong Kong had offered their assistance to the British in 1857 during the Arrow War. Both times their aim was expelling the Manchu-Qing.Uf We do not know Stanton's sources, but it certainly fits in the overall picture. Several important figures in mid-nineteenth century Triad rebellions were Triad members who had returned home from overseas, especially from Hong Kong and Singapore. In a sense, these places functioned as safe-havens for dissident political ideas, in the same way that especially Hong Kong and Japan would again towards the late nineteenth century. The founder of the Small Swords Gathering (xiaodaohui) in Xiamen in 1850 had been a certain Chen Qingzhen from Singapore, who worked for the British firm ofJardine, Matheson and Co. in Xiamen. He was arrested in January 1851 by the Qing authorities because of his organizational activities. The British consul argued that he already had British citizenship and should be handed back on the grounds of his "extraterritorial" status. In the meantime Chen Qingzhen had already been beaten to death and the British only received his corpse back. 1l 3 In 1853, a full scale rebellion broke out, led by 111 Until then, they were quite publicly active in local society, to wit Franke and Chen (1985) H. 1.23.8, an inscription from 1860 (Penang) on the occasion of the establishment of a shrine for the Lord of the Earth and a cemetery, by Triad groups and Landsmannschaften together. The "Kongsi of Righteous Restoration" and other Triad groups are mentioned quite openly. The text was com posed by a "Student" from Xinning. Other inscriptions collected by Franke and Chen (1985) also mention Triad leaders as local leaders. 112 Stanton (1900) 25-26. 113 Zhuang (1986b) 37-41 gives a useful discussion of the figure of Chen Qingzhen. He corrects the account by Stanton (1900) 15-16 and correctly po ints out that Hirayama Shu's account of Chen was based on Stanton (1900) . Chen's further ethnic background is unknown. For a general survey of the events and principle sources, see Sasaki (1963) 520-545.

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this same Small Swords Gathering and occasioned by another arrest. Other leaders of the rebellion were also reputed to be from Singapore, and after their defeat many returned there.P" The principal leader of the Shanghai rebellion of 1853, Liu Lichuan, had been initiated in Hong Kong in 1845 and also spoke English. Many young Singapore Chinese, fluent in English, were also reported among the Shanghai rebels. After the defeat of the Shanghai rebellion, survivors joined the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace and some of them fled (back to) to Southeast Asia. ll5 The presence of Chinese from Hong Kong and Singapore in the Xiamen and Shanghai treaty ports was the direct result of the opening up of these harbors as a result of the "unequal treaties" after the Opium War of 1839-1842. As trade grew rapidly, there was a large need of Chinese fluent in English and these obviously had to come from outside China itself.

8.3 .3. The Small Swords Uprising When we look at the Triad uprisings of the mid-nineteenth century, we find quite a few cases in which elements from Triad ritual and mythology were explicitly used.I!" Nonetheless, we rarely learn what these elements actually meant to their audience. The only exception is the Small Swords Uprising in the Shanghai:Jiading region, which is extensively documented in both Western and Chinese contemporary sources. It allows us to obtain a detailed impression of the way in which the political dimension of Triad Scarth (1860) 184-185; Stanton (1900) 15-16; Blythe (1969) 75-83. Scarth (1860) 218-219. On Liu Lichuan, see my discussion in the following section. 116 Guo (1987) 463-492 surveys the mainland secondary literature on Triad uprisings during the Heavenly Kingdom period. Song and Wang (1987) 440-457 discuss the main Hunan rebellions. Fang and Cui (1985) 363-385 discuss the Guangxi uprisings. They stress their low political consciousness, ignoring the possibility that this might be the result of a lack of interest among the elite authors of our sources and/or the oral character of Triad lore. Furthermore, they have a different, much more narrow, view of the political sphere than is proposed in the present chapter. Extant Triad proclamations certainly reflect some political awareness, see Guangdonghongbingqiyi shiliao, Vol. 1: 38-74 (Guangdong and Guangxi) and Guangdonghongbingqiyi shiliao, Vol. I: 138-145 or Sasaki (1967) 246-247 (Xiamen) . Luo (1981) 356-359 discusses a 1959 find of seven objects in modern Rucheng county in Southern Hunan, of which some have a clear Triad background. However, Luo's description is too sketchy to be of much use. 114

115

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lore functioned in actual practice. The uprising consisted of two interconnected rebellions, led by Liu Lichuan, whose armies occupied the county capital of Shanghai and by Zhou Lichun and local gang leaders, whose armies occupied the capital of neighboringJiading and also ransacked other surrounding counties. The Western sections of Shanghai, located outside the county capital, were left untouched. The uprising as a whole lasted from the middle of 1853 until early 1855. The Triad forces succeeded in maintaining their occupation of Shanghai until early 1855, when the Qing armies were finally able to reconquer the town. Zhou Lichun and his supporters were only able to hold Jiading for a few weeks in September 1853, before they were defeated. Zhou Lichun himself was captured and executed. In the neighboring counties, the rebel forces were also soon defeated, and the survivors pulled back to Shanghai, joining the forces of Liu Lichuan. My discussion in this section is limited to the analysis of the use of Triad lore in the course of the uprising, the events themselves have already been studied by various scholars.U? The Triad groups in the Shanghai region made an extensive and highly visible use of their lore. They possessed maps of the City of Willows and membership certificates (both types of material are extant). They used the five magical characters associated with the Five Houses (on a piece of cloth and on flags) and the four magical characters associated with the Four Gate Protectors, as well as the autonym "Kongsi of Righteous Restoration" (yixing gongsi) . 118 117 Johnson (1995) 267-291 , esp. 279-291 discusses the events of the uprising . Perry (l985b) 85-100 (not used byJohnson [1995]) deals with the main events of the rebellion and its background in local tax protests. A Chinese survey of the events is given by the compilers of the Shanghai xiaodao hui , entitled "Shanghai xiaodao hui qiyi zongxu," 7-29, followed by a detailed chronology. Except for Scarth (1860) , I have not rechecked the references, since most works are extremely difficult to trace (often only available in manuscript form in China). Please note that I have used the revised 1980 edition of this source publication. liB A map and a certificate were obtained by A. Wylie, on which see note 46 to Chapter One. The same type of certificate is described in some detail by Sanlile huibian, in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 983, as well as more cursorily by a contemporary description, Shanghai xiaodao hui qishi benmo in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 38 and in an official memorial in Anonymous, Yizhao lou hongyang zougao, Shanghai xiaodao hui, 1174. The group of five magical characters is mentioned in Shanghai xiaodao hui qishi benmo in Shangha i xiaodao hu i, 38 and very cursorily in Anonymous, Yizhao lou hongyang zougao, in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 1174. The group of four magical characters is mentioned in the proclamations in Shanghai xiaodao hui , 28-29 and

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Six tablets for worship were confiscated from Zhou Lichun's house in Qingpu county-with the name "Zhu Hongzhu, Emperor of the Ming" (mingdi zhu hongzhu) written on a tablet of the imperial color, yellow, and five other names (undoubtedly the Five Ancestors) on red tablets.U? This same group had gathered people from Fujian and Guangdong who were to assemble on the 24th, 25th and 26th days of the seventh month and conclude a blood covenant. They drank "Liquor that Unites the Hearts" and "each person wore a piece of red cloth wrapped around the head, knelt down on the earth for a very long time, and I do not know what words they pronounced, but they only stood up after several hours."120 Our author did not know this, but the 25th day was the traditional Triad festival date for the Five Ancestors. Since the entire ritual took several hours, it seems likely that the full initiation ritual was performed. Incidentally, the blood covenant was practised by both the Triad groups and their opponents.P! In Shanghai, the young Zhu prince was referred to as [Zhu] Hongying. 122 Both Zhu Hongzhu, used by the Zhou Lichun group, and Zhu Hongying are well-established names for the prince. John Scarth, probably one of the best-informed Westerners on most aspects of the Small Swords Uprising, observed that the laws in the Shanghai county capital were those of the Triads, "a mixture of common sense added to a strong tincture of Lynch justice." "Th ey were sworn to an oath. Each chief had them drawn out on a large yellow sheet of parchment. One of the leaders pretended to read them to me one day; but as I knew he scarcely could tell a single character, it was rather a farce; however, he knew them by rote, and when he had gone through them, ... there was nothing but penalties and no rewards, ..."123 This incident graphically as protective slogans in Shanghai xiaodao hui qishi benmo in Shanghai xiaodao hu i, 43 and Scarth (1860) 195. On the autonym in Shanghai, see seal text of Liu Lichuan, in: Xiaolin xiaoshi, in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 974. On the autonym inJiading, see proclamations Shanghai xiaodao hui , 28-29. 119 Anonymous, Yizhao lou hongyang zougao, in Shanghai xiaodao hui , 1103. 120 Anonymous, Pingyue jiwen in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 1115-6. 121 Shangha i xiaodao hui qishi benmo in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 40 and North China Herald, trsl. in Shanghai xiaodao hu i, 56 (same incident) ; Sanlii e huibian , in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 983 (general remark) . 122 Name mentioned in protective slogans, see Shangha i xiaodao hui qishi benmo in Shanghai xiaodao hui , 43 and in the seal text of Liu Lichuan, in : Xiaolin xiaoshi, in Shanghai xiaodao hu i, 974 . 123 Scarth (1860) 195. Scarth (1860) 189 and 195 confirms their higher po-

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demonstrates the enormous significance of the Triad rules to this leader (since he obviously knew the Thirty-six Oaths by heart), and the prestige ofliteracy (to the degree of pretending to be able to write). The evidence on the performance of rituals and the swearing of the oath indicates very clearly that Triad lore actually provided the organizational structure of the local Triad forces. It was by no means an empty formality. The ideological dimension of the Shanghai:Jiading Triad groups comes across most clearly in the texts on their flags, which they placed on the city walls. Many flags carried the familiar slogan "to follow [the Mandate of] Heaven and carry out the Way," as well as the slogans "to rebel against the Qing and restore the Ming" (janqing fuming) and "to stabilize the country and settle the nation" (anbang dingguo).124 Furthermore, the rebels, especially in Shanghai, produced a series of political proclamations with a strong moralistic undertone. During the early phase of the uprising, they even seriously attempted to set up some kind of political system. In their proclamations they referred to the receipt of the Mandate of Heaven, using the standard formula from imperial edicts "receiving [the Mandate of] Heaven and accepting its Revolution" (jengtian chengyun) and the additional formula "Heaven's Revolution" (tianyun) . Liu Lichuan in Shanghai called his territory "the Great Ming Nation" (daming guo), using the year titles Heaven's Revolution and Great Ming. The Triads in Shanghai, in particular, made an extensive effort to get ordinary local people to join in their rebellion. Although their propaganda did not succeed, it resulted in a large number of proclamations, which show a great familiarity with the Mandate of Heaven ideology.P" The following fragment is a representative example:

litical aims, instead of mere plundering. The strictness of Triad regulations, certainly in the early phase of the occupation of Shanghai, is further confirmed by their own proclamations (Shanghai xiaodao hu i, 4-29) and remarks by other contemporary observers, e.g. Shanghai xiaodao hui qishi benmo in Shangha i xiaodao hui, 42-43,46. 124 Anonymous, Yizhao lou hongyangzougao, in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 1090-1091 , 1093, 1174-1175 and many other references in this source publication. Some sources also specify the colours of the different flags. It seems likely that some flags belonged to the Five Houses. 125 Proclamations quoted in Shangha i xiaodao hui, 4-29.

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Liu , Chen, Chen, Li and Lin who have received [the Mandate of] Heaven and accepted the Revolution, and have the Great Merit of founding a Nation, make this proclamation to steady the region. They consider that slicing to death the barbarian Manchus is long overdue, since the Mandate of Heaven is not permanent, it should revert to a virtuous one. Now, our Ruler's virtue responds to the auspicious revolution. He energetically shakes his divine martialism, eradicates evilness and violence , purifies and brings peace to the realm. Having observed the heavenly phenomena up high, and investigated the hearts of the people down here, [we have found that] the time of the disastrous essences is up, and the auspicious revolution is with our Ruler. Therefore we have raised an army of humaneness and righteousness to exterminate the violence of wolves and poisonous birds, to rescue the people from floods and wars, and to secure the national sacrifices. Wherever the great army comes by, not the least bit of harm will be done. For this reason, we issue this proclamation to steady the region, so all will be at ease in their professions....

The proclamation continue by stressing the need to maintain public order, without adding any further information or new points of view. 126 Other proclamations by these Shanghai rebels reiterated the following ideas: the fate of the barbarian Manchus was sealed, the rebels possessed the Mandate of Heaven and their armies would behave properly in the interests of the people. Actually, the only substantial difference between these proclamations and those made half a century earlier by Lin Shuangwen was the explicit barb at the Manchus. A lengthy proclamation by the rebel leader Li Xianchi (the Li figure in the previous proclamation) starts with the claim of having received the Mandate of Heaven, followed by a general diatribe against "barbarian tribes" from the past. In this context mention is made of the "Hua of the Middle" (zhonghua) , who are seen as the good guys in Chinese history. This is followed by a scathing description of the Manchus themselves. We sigh that since the Manchu bandits have usurped the throne, the rites and righteousness have not been preserved any more, and modesty and a sense of shame have been completely lost. Those out in the provinces are all clerks with wolfish sentiments and canine behavior, with their cruel taxes and unjust levies. Those in court are 126 Fragment from an original Chinese proclamation quoted from the source publication Taiping tianguo shiliao, in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 6.

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all people with hare heads and deer brains, with their peddling of offices and the sale of ranks. When you have money, you live; when you do not, you die. In the end the yamen has become like a market place. They squash out people's marrow and scrape off their fat . The magistrature has become just like robbers and thieves. Furthermore, the examinations are not impartial and the promotion of talents has been abandoned. The clans from the Eight Banners now fill the court, the talents of the world now hide out in the undergrowth. Those who have passed the exams and been chosen from the ranks, can only become old men in the countryside. Those who have paid bribes and donated money, however, are promoted into the imperial bureaucracy. This is why the instructions of government decline each day, and customs have started to decay. People 's sentiments become disengaged and the national situation becomes hard to support.

After these harsh criticisms, the Triad leader states that he has now concluded a covenant to clear up this mess and throw out the Manchus.P? Triad political ideas were not only spread through slogans on flags and political proclamations. For instance, merchant households protected themselves by pasting crucial Triad slogans on their doors, including the four magical characters that symbolized the Four Gate Protectors of the City of Willows . I28 A. Wylie tells us that the map of the City of Willows was used as a passepartout for merchants who wanted to cross Triad lines during the siege of the city. Since the City of Willows was conceived as a safe haven for past and present Triad members, using a representation of it as a passepartout was quite approprlate.P? The Triads even ordered that people should dress according to Ming custom, though one doubts if this was ever put into practice. We do know that Triad members let their hair grow in typical Ming fashion.P" Thus, Triad information was not guarded as a body of esoteric knowledge, but publicly shared with and imposed upon the local people. The fact that specific political slogans were selected, and not just any rand127 Fragments from an original Chinese proclamation quoted as a whole in the Shanghai xiaodao hui qishi benmo, Yuefei zalu, and Yizhao lou hongyang zougao, and transcribed in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 4-5. 128 Shanghai xiaodao hui qishi benmo in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 43. 129 Wylie (1853) 136-144. 130 Shanghai xiaodao hui qishi benmo in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 45. Scarth (1860) 194. On the sketch opposite to 187, their hairstyle is only visible in the case of the man on the right.

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om Triad phrase, signifies that quite a few Triad members must have known roughly what those slogans implied. The Triad manipulation of political and religious symbols was not restricted to the use of their own lore. Like earlier rebels, the Small Swords rebels identified themselves as possessing a strong life force by binding a piece of red cloth around their heads. At one point, the Triad leader Liu Lichuan, in an effort to stem the desertion from his armies, stated that he had asked help from the gods at a seance involving a medium (the precise format of which is unknown), and had obtained an amulet that would protect the wearer against cannon-fire.P! The claim of being legitimate rulers entailed behaving like rulers, so the Triad leaders visited local temples to burn incense, "all of them wearing metal helmets, clothed in dragon robes-very imposing." They had borrowed the clothes from local theater companies and temples. Our anonymous author feels that all this is pretty ridiculous, but it certainly shows the conscious manipulation of symbols, and the importance of pomp in self-legitimation. 132 As pointed out in Chapter Three, during the Qing period the theatrical costumes of emperors, high officials and the like were inspired by the Ming style of dress. This obviously fitted their usage in a rebellious context which aimed-at least theoretically-at the restoration of the Ming. Another author describes a visit by a rebel leader in ornate dress, first to the Queen of Heaven Temple (for the Fujianese goddess Mazu) and then to the Chen Zhongmin Shrine. There the rebel leader threw the moonblocks three times, but each time received a negative answer, upon which he angrily removed the headgear from the statue of the deity (which symbolized the latter's rank and connection to the Qing state) and wrapped a piece of red cloth around its head instead (connecting the deity, as it were, to

131 Sanlile huibian, in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 990. On binding a red scarf around one's head, see my discussion in section 3.2.3. 132 Shanghai xiaodao hui qishi benmo in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 45. The use of theatre clothes is confirmed by Sanlile huibian, in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 986. Another religious occasion is alluded to in the North China Herald, quoted in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 103. I suspect that our source felt these activities were ridiculous, not necessarily from the atheist point of view that such visits were silly and po intless as such, but because the clothes were not the real clothes for such occasions and illegitimate people performed the rites.

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the rebels) .133 To the author, the event illustrated that this particular deity had remained loyal to the Qing dynasty. To us , it illustrates the conscious manipulation of religious and political symbolism. Like other Triad rebels elsewhere, Liu Lichuan also nominally linked his uprising to the enterprise of the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace. However, he only did so from roughly September 25, 1853 onwards, i.e . after his own rebellion was already starting to feel the pressure of the besieging Qing armies. Until then, he had used exclusively Triad legitimation terminology.134 He attempted to send a memorial to Hong Xiuquan in Nanjing, which was confiscated en route. In it he submitted loyally to Hong and requested an official title. In his postscript, he mentioned that he had been "transmitted the bushel" (i.e. become a Triad member) in Hong Kong in 1845 and that he was "a warrior of secret revenge." 135 Although his memorial does not ask for concrete assistance, Liu Lichuan did tell the missionary I. Roberts, around September 25, that he hoped that the Nanjing regime would send someone to help him arrange his affairs in Shanghai.P'' The mention of "secret revenge" seems to suggest that Liu Lichuan thought that Hong Xiuquan shared the Triad ideals. This was correct in so far as both wished to drive out the Manchu-Qing dynasty, but wrong in that the Triads wished to place the Zhu house of the Ming back upon the throne.P? Although the two rebellions took place in the Shanghai region, most Triad participants came from Fujian and Guangdong. This Xiaolin xiaoshi, in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 976. Mostly proclamations recorded in the North China Herald or preserved in Cambridge, Shangha i xiaodao hui, 11-26. September 25, Liu Lichuan still used the old terminology. Perry (1985b) 94-100 discusses the attempts to link up with the Heavenly Kingdom enterprise. 135 Memorial preserved in Anonymous, Yizhao lou hongyang zougao, in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 12. The text must date after September 18. 136 North China Herald, quoted in Shanghai xiaodao hui , 62-63. Liu told Roberts that he was still waiting for a reply . Roberts used the occasion of this conversation to tell Liu something about the Ten Commandments and told him that these were the army rules of the Heavenly Kingdom. Roberts also told Liu that Hong Xiuquan had studied with him . Scarth (1860) 218 claims to have seen two letters from the Nanjing regime in the possession of the rebels. 137 Perry (1984) 346-351 observes that Triad members may well have interpreted Heavenly Kingdom beliefs in Triad terms, citing the examples of an anonymous emissary from Nanjing in 1853 and of Luo Dagang, a Triad leader turned Heavenly Kingdom general. 133

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means that we are basically still dealing with the same Southern Chinese Triad phenomenon that occupied us in the preceding sections and chapters, and not with a different phenomenon among other ethnic groups. Liu himself came from Xiangshan county in Guangdong and spoke some English. He was 34 years of age and had come to Shanghai in 1849. The regional background of a number of leaders is also known.P'' Table 4. The geographic origins of Shanghai rebel leaders Guangdong: Xiang'an Chaoyang Fujian: Tongan Xinghua Elsewhere: Nanxiang Nanjing

5 3

Xinhui Chenghai

1 3

6 1

Longyan

1

Shanghai Ningbo

1 1

Dongguan Jiaying

1 2

Thus, fifteen leaders came from Guangdong, split over the Canton (seven from Xiang'an, Xinhui and Dongguan), Chaozhou (six from Chaoyang and Chenghai) and Hakka (two from Jiaying) regions. Eight leaders came from Southern Fujian (of whom six came from Tong'an county near Xiamen). All Han-Chinese ethnic groups from which the Triads stemmed were represented. Only four-fairly minor-leaders were recruited more or less locally; local gangs and bandits were also drawn into the rebellion, but never fulfilled an important role. An unspecified number of youths from Singapore took part, who were quite fluent in English. One even claimed English nationality. When conflicts among the Triads eventually broke out, these always followed the original ethnic backgrounds of the main participants.P" The fact that the Small Swords Uprising was and remained very much a Southern Fujian-Chaozhou (Teochiu)-Cantonese phenomenon, suggests that their 138 North China Herald, quoted in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 62-63. I have included Liu in the list below. For the rest of the list, see the Wu Xu archives, quoted in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 210-211. Compare also two shorter lists (to a large extent the same) in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 165 and 168. 139 General remarks on the ethnic background are typically made by Western sources, quoted in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 54-55 (on the Singaporeans), 57, 128. Also see the remarks by Scarth (1860) 188-189, 196, 216-217.

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political propaganda did not succeed in transcending the omnipresent ethnic divides of Chinese society either. The only significant exception is the figure of Zhou Lichun, who came from a long-established family of local farmers in Qingpu county and was himself a local dibao-functionary. In this function, he stood at the head of a group of local farmers who broke into the yamen to protest against unjust tax demands, at a time of bad crops due to a drought, in the summer of 1852. A fracas ensued and the magistrate was injured. Zhou Lichun organized local tax resistance on a large scale and the violence kept escalating. Sometime in the summer of 1853, he also joined Liu Lichuan's Triads. Despite Zhou's local background, many of his soldiers were of Triad background from Shanghai.I''? In the end, the Small Swords Uprising in Shanghai achieved very little. At first the use of Triad lore helped to create a semblance of unity, but this did not last . However, the uprising shows that Triad political claims were much more than mere formal assertions, that had become part of Triad lore by accident and then survived out of ritual conservatism. The half-hearted cooperation that took place during the last two decades of the Qing dynasty between the early nationalists and local Triad groups again demonstrated the significance of the political claims that were made in Triad lore. Even if the Triads were not devoted full-time to political aims , and should therefore not be called a political organization, the Triad political ideals could always be activated by interested individuals.

140 Guo (1992) 102-108, esp . 106. On Zhou's background, the author refers to two memorials in the First Historical Archives . The same information can also be found in official documents recorded in the Yizhao lou hongyang zougao, in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 1102 (his own confession), 1169-1171, and in the fuller anonymous account in Sangz,i wenjian lu , in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 1054-1055. Th is last account is by no means unsympathetic to the rebels' original demands. On Zhou Lichuri's membership of the Triads, Guo refers to the Huangdu xuzhi, quoted in Shanghai xiaodao hui, 1087. Although we can be fairly sure that Zhou was a member given his proclamations and the spirit tablets found in his house, the Huangdu xuzhi is not as explicit as Guo make s it out to be.

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8.4 . The Mandate of Heaven and social relationships Triad lore contained a very strong political dimension, which encompassed not only the ideal of restoring the Ming dynasty and its imperial family, with the use of legitimation terminology and dynastic treasures, but also strong anti-Manchu and pro-Han ethnic feelings. Furthermore, a substantial number of members were aware of the political connotations of their lore. This awareness was sometimes expressed in the form of violent uprisings, where it provided legitimation to rebel (without necessarily being the ultimate cause of specific uprisings, which could be predatory banditism, specific local protests, the need to free a brother from prison, and so forth). The evidence from the nineteenth century Singapore ancestor cult and Triad grave inscriptions demonstrates that political sentiments could also survive outside an active rebellious context, and in a more or less institutionalized form . The political dimension of Triad lore was not a gradual nineteenth century development, but an intrinsic part of Triad lore right from its earliest appearance in the historical sources. The frequent use of the formula "following [the Mandate of] Heaven" illustrates this point, as do the proclamations of the Lin Shuangwen rebellion of 1786-1787 on Taiwan. Such political lore derived from the demonological messianic origins of the Triads and was by no means unique to them. On the contrary, messianic and more narrowly politically inspired uprisings and groups were rife during the Qing dynasty, and in a number of cases these uprisings also expressed pro-Ming sentiments. Although eschatology never played a strong role in Triad lore, the political ideals remained embedded in a demonological worldview. As I have suggested in the preceding chapter, the ethnic dimension of Triad lore derived directly from this demonological messianic worldview. Triad political ideals were communicated to a wider audience in two ways, by means of short slogans on flags and banners, and by means of extended proclamations. The short slogans were of the type "following [the Mandate of] Heaven and carrying out the Way," "restoring the Ming and overthrowing the Qing" and the like. Such flags and banners were used in the initiation ritual and during all kinds of violent incidents, even when no other texts were used. They could be carried around in battle, placed on city walls and so forth . They were eminently public texts and reflect the

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existence of a minimal level of political awareness. The proclamations further indicate a strong interest in the ethical consequences of the Mandate of Heaven ideology. However, neither slogans nor proclamations constituted a fully-fledged program of ongoing political action of the sort that would be developed later by the nationalist revolutionaries. In the mid-nineteenth century rebellions, the political elements of Triad lore certainly constituted an important dimension of the participants' worldview. During the remainder of the Qing period, political notions remained part of Triad-inspired rebellions.lt! For this same reason, local Triad groups in Guangdong sometimes also cooperated with the fledgling nationalist movement of the late Qing. 142 In fact, Triad lore became an important source of inspiration to the early Nationalist revolutionaries around Sun Yatsen, who attempted to cooperate with them (not altogether successfully, but that is another matter), used elements from Triad lore to increase their nationalist appeal, and received some fundin g from Triad groupings outside China. l43 The use of a covenant and internal rules by the Alliance Gathering (tongmeng hui) , the precursor of the Nationalist Party (guoming dang), were inspired by those of the Triads. The positive connotations that the word dang has today as "party" probably originated in the positive evaluation of the secret societies ("gatherings and factions" huidang) by the nationalist revolutionaries. They also found important inspiration in the strong nationalistic stance which they perceived in the Triad foundation account-namely anti-Manchu, anti-barbarian and proHan (the pro-Ming element was conveniently ignored). We already saw that the Triads specifically viewed themselves as representing the "Hua of the Middle" (zhonghua), "H ua" referring to the HanChinese. From a nationalist perspective, the Triads and other se141 See for example the case of Dai Chaochun in 1861, with a very clear political context, that included the worship of former politically inspired rebels Zhu Yigui and Lin Shuangwenl See Daian jilue, 1-2. Also see Stanton (1900) 23-24. 142 See my discussion in section 1.2.2. 143 Blythe (1969) 279-280 (but little explicit evidence) ; Schiffrin (1968) 45, 85-93 (mentioning our Inspector W. Stanton who uncovered Triad activities in Hong Kong in 1895), 175-177,214-254,304-306,326-332,349,356-359; Rhoads (1975) 42-46,48,111-121 (on Sun Yatsen 's activities) ; Ma (1990) passim. I should note, however, that our record is still heavily influenced by the writings of nationalist participants in the events , who tended to overestimate their influence among the Triads.

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cret societies were therefore of great ideological importance. They were assigned a crucial place in a teleological pre-history of ethnic Chinese nationalism, in which the Qing dynasty was fated to end, almost naturally, with the founding of the "Republic of the Hua of the Middle" (zhonghua minguo), nowadays translated less ethnically as Republic of China.P" Ultimately, however, the Triads did not provide all-out support for the early revolutionaries. They were more important to the latter, than the latter were to them. The individual Triad groups were much too well-integrated in local society to have risked everything in an enterprise that was aimed at overthrowing the very system of political thinking that they ultimately also shared, that of the Mandate of Heaven. To define the relevance of the political dimension of Triad lore in terms of the (failed) requirement of unconditional support for the efforts of the early nationalists is rather outmoded and ignores the real nature of Triad political ideals. What we need is a different understanding of the concept of "politics" in Chinese traditional culture as entailing the earthly management of the regulative power of Heaven. The imperial system, Daoist priests and local deities all derived their authority from Heaven, which was expressed and legitimated in remarkably similar ways. Therefore, the tasks of the priest and the local deities were political in the same sense as the tasks of the emperor and his representatives, but they were active in distinct sectors of the All-under-Heaven (albeit with some overlapping) . As long as priests and deities did not encroach on the imperial claims of supreme rule and allowed for a certain amount of imperial control over their activities (such as the granting of titles), the potential friction would not lead to suppression. Chinese religion, or at least an important part of it, was fundamentally political in nature and the sphere of "politics" was not restricted to man-man relationships only. Besides Daoist priests and local deities, a number of religious traditions in late imperial China also claimed their own particular relationship with Heaven. The Triads are only one example among 144 To wit the early stage of the historiography on the Triads, recently critically su mmarized by Dian Murray (1994) 117-132. The fact that this historiography was imbalanced and incorrect (from our po int of view) does not make it less important as a historical phenomenon in itself.

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many. They formulated their relationship in an alternative interpretation of history, which was demonological and messianic in inspiration. This interpretation was laid down in its most complete form in the foundation account. It explained the world as imperfect and open to improvement by means of violence, but did not set out a concrete course for future action. Instead of defining man's relationship with Heaven as mediated by the current political power (the emperors of the Manchu-Qing dynasty), they opened up their own privileged path to Heaven by claiming to support an alternative ruler (the young descendant of the Ming dynasty). Because their ruler was supposed to be morally superior, they acquired a very independent position in the present world of decay. Whether the Triads engaged in active political action or not (and most of the time they did not) is therefore quite irrelevant to the essential place that their political claims occupied in the creation of an independent socio-political identity. I shall further elaborate on this issue in the following chapter, in which I analyze the Triad foundation account. Thus, it seems to me that Emily Ahern's suggestion that local religious life served as a learning game about political life incorrectly subordinates religious cults to politicS. 145 It also assumes a separation between the political and religious sphere, which only existed for a small segment of traditional society. Instead, I argue that they share(d) the same paradigm of relationships between Heaven and man. In earlier periods, the similarities were probably much larger than they were during the late imperial period, due to the "Entzauberung" of elite legitimation practice that seems to have taken place in this period. When seen from the perspective of the educated elite, politics and local religious life must have seemed worlds apart. Making claims about local religious life, however, means adopting the perspective of the local people, for whom the similarities between imperial politics and religious life will have remained very real. For them, imperial power was legitimated by means of heavenly treasures and other special signs . It was supported by human armies as well as divine armies which both had the power to expel demonic influences.

145

Ahern (1981) passim.

CHAPTER NINE

DEFINING THE TRIAD MISSION The central focus of scholarly attention has always been the Triad foundation account, usually at the expense of other aspects of Triad lore. The story presents itself as a description of historical events, and early Triad historians always tried to connect these events to historical facts known from other sources in order to trace-what they perceived as-the origins of the Triads. They based themselves on the versions of the story available at the time that they were writing, all of which dated from the mid-nineteenth century and after. Contemporary Chinese historians from Taiwan (Zhuang Jifa) and mainland China (Cai Shaoqing, Qin Baoqi and others) have now largely refuted this kind of argument, on the basis of the rich archival resources from the mid-Qing period preserved in Beijing and Taibei.! Nevertheless, many historians still attempt to identify place names and local expressions in the available accounts, in order to find the precise place where the first Triad group was founded. It is nowadays believed that a specific temple in a local township in Yunxiao county, in the far south of Zhangzhou prefecture, can be identified as the High Creek Temple where the Triads were first founded.f Thus, even today, albeit in a more sophisticated manner, the Triad internal account of its origins is used as a source on historical events.P Most recently, Triad scholars have unearthed Murray (1994) 151-175 evaluates the existing historiography. Murray (1994) 149-150, 168-169. The badly damaged "Triad" text that was found here only contained the characters Heaven and Earth. Given the frequent use of th ese characters in religious texts , this proves nothing on a possible affiliation with Triad tradition. Furthermore, it is unclear how the link between the village and the first Triad group was perceived by local people before the advent of Tri ad sch olars. In other words , how did th ese scholars "learn" of this link and to what extent could it have been constructed only recently by th e local population in interaction with these scholars. From a ritual perspective. the whole set-up contradicts most that we kn ow about Triad ritual practice. Here is a local cult group organized as territory and worshipping a statue of Monk Wan. whereas a Triad group was always constructed as an ancestor worshipping group. focussed on spirit tablets (see the relevant discus sion in section 5.3.1.) . 3 Another article along the same lines is Zeng (1991) 80-85. This author 1

2

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a wealth of material in southern Fujian, including a manuscript with notices on Quanzhou, inscriptions and a liturgical manual, which is being used to support the old hypothesis that the Triads originated in early Qing Ming loyalism and the remnants of Zheng Chenggong's (Koxinga's) armies. All names in the foundation account are "identified" as the names of, or references to, real people of the early Qing period. Although this material is extremely valuable for the study oflocal history, 1 do not agree with this specific hypothesis and will discuss the material in an appendix to this chapter. When analyzing the different extant versions of the foundation account, one problem is that we are probably dealing with different lines of transmission of an oral tradition, which have eventually been put in writing. This is indicated by the fact that most of the prose sections of Triad lore, specifically the foundation account and the initiation dialogues, are written (I would suggest: written down) in a very colloquial style. Among the many extant versions of the foundation account no close affiliation can be established on a written level, but only in terms of overall plot structure, which further points to a largely oral transmission. It seems likely that the people who passed on a given version of the account would have added local place names and other details from their own local cultures, and that their subsequent recording of the account would have been influenced by their own local language variant and level of education. This is confirmed by the fact that in the course of time the place names of the foundation account, such as the location of the Shaolin monastery, were adapted to the Minnan (southern Fujian) and Guangdong cultural background of most Triad members. Therefore, place names and language can only tell us something about the provenance of the authors (more precisely the recorders) of a specific version of the account. Rather than approaching the internal Triad account of their origins as a potential historical source, or ignoring it completely on the grounds of its dubious factuality, 1 wish to investigate its proposes a place of origin in southernmost Zhangzhou prefecture on the bas is of the local language elements used in the story. However, he ba ses himself on different versions of the foundation account (probably from different language regions as well), as if they form one consistent whole, which seriously damages his argument. Luo (1994-1995) and He (1996) are the major contemporary representatives of this literal approach to the foundation account.

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relevance as a mythological account. Like all good stories it allows for numerous interpretations and supposedly always stays the same. We will see that many events and names are better understood as symbolic references (for instance to the mythical landscape of life and death) , than as simple facts . The principal functions of the Triad foundation account were to justify the privileged access of the Triads to Heaven, bypassing the authority of the Qing rulers, and to set up strong in- and out-group boundaries. We will see that the account belongs to a larger group of narratives that legitimate the superior status of very marginal groups. . One reason for the scholarly confusion about the nature of this internal account, is that in Chinese culture-as in our own-historical accounts are often adapted to fit the need for a common myth, while claiming at the same time that the account reflects reality itself. Nowadays there is an important stream of scholarly thinking which would completely deny any possibility of representing reality in a text. From such a perspective, all historical texts can be seen as mythical in nature. In a sense this is true, except that I do not see this as a problem. Given the vast complexity of the world that surrounds us, the selection of information throughinevitably partial and subjective-models is a vital necessity in coping with this world. The claims to absolute truth that are made by more traditional historians and scientists are equally void and ideological, but without such claims it becomes difficult to communicate with each other. Effective problem-solving requires that we pretend that a given set of explanations is true, at least on a temporary basis , in order to be able to build forth on these existing explanations. This is true in daily life, as much as it is in scholarly communication. For this reason, scholars, like all other social groups-including the Triads-build their own communities of interpretation, within which the meaning of language is more or less unproblematic and within which the same paradigmata for problem-solving apply. The difference between history writing as a narrative genre like mythology, and an analytical genre like modern science, is located in the openess of the scientific analytical approach to critical investigation, without any sanctions. That this openness of historical research is constantly threatened, also from within the ivory towers of academia, only indicates the strength of people's wish for this mythbuilding potential of historical writing and the (well-

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justified) fear that modern historians will question one myth too many. In the case of the Triad foundation account the situation is clear. We are not dealing with an open approach, but with the use of a historical style in order to create a collective identity, in other words to create a group.

9.1. The foundation account The oldest extant complete foundation account of the Triads is contained in a manual that was confiscated in 1810 . This is also the oldest datable full manual and includes an extended set of poems, initiation dialogues and teacup signs. Crucial elements of the plot can be traced about one decade further back in time, suggesting that earlier versions had already been circulating. As I will argue later on, the basis plot of the foundation account was already in existence before 1800 . In the following sections, I first translate the complete 1810 version of the foundation account with a brief commentary on some significant inconsistencies (section 9.1.1.) . Then I analyze the evolution of the account from the first available references in 1787 until the detailed version contained in the 1828 manual from Guangxi (section 9.1.2.). There are a substantial number of versions of the foundation account extant from 1828 onwards, allowing for a more detailed structural analysis (section 9.1.3.) . I conclude the first part of this chapter with some general comments on the functions of the foundation account (section 9.1.4 .). In Table 5. below, I have included all extant complete versions of the foundation account, with a terminus ante quem and their place of origin, when such information is available. Such information is merely indicative, since a particular version may have been in circulation for many years and owners of the manuals may have travelled far from the original place where they had obtained their manuals. 9.1.1. The 1810 foundation account The career ofYao Dagao, the owner of the 1810 manual, is a good example of the nomadic existence of many Triad members. He originally came from Pingyuan county (Guangdong) and had come

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Table 5. A survey of extant complete Triad foundation accounts' Chinese versions: 1810 version (from Yao Dagao, Wuyuan County, Guangxir'' 1828 version (preserved in Tianlin County, Guangxij'' 1842 version (confiscated in the Dutch Indies) 7 1853 version (Or. 8207 D, probably Canton backgroundj'' 1881 version (Or. 2339, background unclear, maybe pre-1863)9 undated version (Guixian xiuzhiju, Guangxi) 10 undated version (Shouxian 'ge, owner with Hakka background, Shouning County, Guangdong) II Western versions: 1849 version (The Chinese Repository, probably from the Canton region) 12 1878 version (Singaporej P 1900 version (Hong Kong) 14 1925 version (Singapore) 15 1950s version (Hong Kong) 16

to Wuyuan county (Guangxi) to make a living as a tailor. He had already joined the Triads in Guangdong and it seems likely that he had taken the booklet with him from there. In 1810 he started recruiting people locally in Wuyuan county. At least one initiation ritual was held, in the simple form of passing through a gate of swords and concluding the blood covenant. The participants 4 Murray (1994) 197-228 discusses seven Chinese ones, of which the Hirayama version actually is the plagiarized version of Stanton (1900) . She only had an extremely brief summary of the 1828 Guangxi version at her disposal. She did not use Western translations, nor the 1842 version from the Dutch Indies. 5 TDH I: 4 line 4-5 line 18 foundation story. 6 Guangxi huidang, 482-488. 7 Berlin ms ., 15-22. For practical reasons I will be quoting from Schlegel's generally reliable translation, instead of the original. The only thing to note is the addition of one episode (on the two boatmen) from an account collected by Dr . Hoffmann (extant only in English). 8 Xiao (1935) 2: 3b-7b . 9 Xiao (1935) 2: Ib-Sa, 10 Tiandihui wenxian lu, Guixian xiuzhiju , 1-3. II Tiandihui wenxian lu, Shouxian 'ge, 41-43. 12 Anonymous (1849) 288-291. 13 Pickering (1878) 66 has amalgated different traditions, making his version useless for comparative purposes. 14 Stanton (1900) 29-38. 15 Ward and Stirling (1925) 30-35 (A. tradition) and 35-46 (B. tradition) . On the two traditions see below. 16 Morgan (1960) 32-48 (the story has also been influenced by twentieth century writings on the purported descent of the Triads from Ming loyalists!) .

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received a membership certificate from Yao Dagao, which was made out of red cloth with a triangular seal on it. He told them to keep this document hidden and taught them a recognition slogan. The professed purpose of his group was general mutual support, and to help each other to rob other people. By the middle of next year, Yao Dagao had died in prison, before additional information could be elicited from him. I? As a result we know nothing on the way in which his manual was used, such as the discrepancy between his detailed manual (containing all the requisite materials for an elaborate ritual performance) and the extremely concise ritual which he practised according to his pupils. The 1810 manual starts with the slogan, "if you raise your hand, it should not leave the number three; if you open your mouth, it should not leave the foundation ." The slogan is not explicitly explained at this point. However, from reading the rest of the manual it transpires that "if you raise your hand, it should not leave the number three" refers to the way in which one has to hold certain objects. It also transpires that "if you open your mouth, it should not leave the foundation" refers to a set of seven poems, which are called the "foundation" poems. From one of the manuals in the British Library, we know that each poem should be accompanied by a mudra or hand posture. IS Thus, this slogan referred to a coherent body of ritual lore, which combined speech and behavior. The reader is next warned to keep the manual away from the eyes of others. This is followed by the secret characters for Heaven, Earth, and Gathering. This refers to the "Heaven and Earth Gathering," which was the original name of the Triads during the first decades of their existence. The foundation account follows immediately upon this introductory, but evidently crucial, information. The story itself starts with the birth of the young Zhu prince in the chaotic years surrounding the fall of the Ming. The plot proceeds in loose chronological order, but with several repetitive passages and many loose ends.l? The text is composed in vernacular Chinese, with influences from the standard classical style. As TDH VII: 297, 299. See TDH I: 9 ("foundation" poems), 22 (picture 4 with text), 24 (picture 2 with text), 25 (picture 3 with text) ; British Museum manual Or. 8207 D, first page (not reproduced in Xiao [1935]) . See also section 10.3. 19 TDH I: 2-3 (prefatory knowledge) , 4 line 4-5 line 18 foundation story. 17 18

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far as I can judge from the modern edition (which has been reset in abbreviated characters), the number of incorrect characters is limited. I have attempted to preserve the clumsy style of the original in my translation, by remaining as faithful as possible to the original, and by refraining from speculative interpolations.F'' a. In the twelfth year of the Chongzhen period (1639), after Li Zicheng had rebelled and the nation had been seized, the lady of the Western Palace, Divine Concubine Li went away. She went off to Fuhua Mountain, and after becoming pregnant she went to the High Creek Temple in Yunnan. [There] she gave birth to a Young Prince , received the protection of Heaven on High, and also received the benevolent support of the people. On the sixth day of the sixth month of the sixteenth year [of the Chongzhen period] (1643), the Heavenly Waters at Kaifeng Prefecture spat out the Inscription of Liu Bowen. b. In the years of the Kangxi period, the Xilu Barbarians rebelled.V The Kangxi ruler put up a placard that whoever was able to vanquish the Xilu Barbarians would be enfeoffed Duke for Ten Thousand Generations. In Gansu province, there was a Shaolin Monastery, with a general military official, who signed up as Vanguard and received the seal of commander. The seal was made of iron,22 it weighed two pounds and thirteen ounces. On the seal were written the two characters [White Mountain (baishan)] as signs. 23 The people of the Shaolin Monastery were led by the Vanguard and then went to combat the Xilu Barbarians. They did not use a single soldier or general. With only the 128 people from the monastery, they faced battle with the Xilu Barbarians. When the Xilu Barbarians had fled in defeat, the number of their deaths could not be counted. The people of the Shaolin Monastery returned to court while beating the drums of victory. The Kangxi ruler [wished to] reward them, but [they said that] one does not accept 20 The division into paragraphs is mine, though partly based on the division in the modern edition. 21 Th e id entification of the Xilu Barbarians has been mu ch debated. Xilu means Western Lu , which makes little sense. The common Western translation is Eleuths, upon the assumption that Xilu simply transcribes this name. I suspect that the character lu was a clerical error for the similar character fan (barbarian). Once this mistake had been made, a word for barbarian had to be added again to the name. Thus, Xilu originally meant xifan or Western Barbarians, probably referring to the Mongols as in the other stories with the "fall from gra ce " plot (discussed in section 9.2. below). 22 Iron' is written with an unknown character, similar to the abbreviated form for tie "iron." 23 I have emended the unknown zheng character, on the basis of the 1828 version in Guangxi huidang, 483, which gives Wh ite Mountain. This mountain actually exists in Gansu. Later versions all give Sun Mountain. Obviously, bai (white) looks similar to ri (sun), with the addition of one slanting stroke on top.

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official posts in a monastery. They returned to the Shaolin Monastery to recite sutras, expound upon the dharma and cultivate the Way as before. c. Later, a traitorous official once raised an army and persecuted them in a very cruel way. [The remaining] eighteen men travelled for more than four years. They went as far as the point where the sea and stones reached to Heaven, at Long Sand (changsha) and the Mouth of the Han[-river] (hankou) .24 d . An incense-burner of white stone, weighing 52 ounces, floated upward to the surface of the sea . On the bottom of the incense-burner were the four -characters [meaning] 'Restore the Ming and Extirpate the Qing'. The men then took the incense-burner [made of] white Ding [porcelain] out [of the water],25 and concluded a covenant before Heaven. Only the master and five pupils had survived. The venerated teacher Wan Tiqi, with the dharma name Yunlong, together with his younger and elder brothers once more assembled [people] until there were 107 persons altogether. One small boy also came to raise [the flag of] righteousness. They made up 108 people altogether. At the chou hour of the 25th day of the Seventh Month of the jiayin year, they bound themselves to righteousness in front of Heaven, took Hong as their family name, smeared blood and worshipped the covenant, binding themselves into the Hong family . e. All brothers venerated Master Wan as the Elder Brother. Upon the ninth day of the Ninth Month, Yunlong selected that day to face battle with the Qing armies. Yunlong died on the battle field, a minor general reported it to the five brothers, who were protecting the Young Ruler. When the brothers heard the news, they went out with their armies that same day to face battle with the Qing. The Qing armies fled in defeat. Later the brothers took the corpse of Elder Brother Wan back and cremated it in the direction of the East. The soul of Elder Brother Wan rose up to the Nine Clouds, his corpse and head were buried at the foot of the three story pavilion of High Creek Temple, directed towards wu (=kun trigram or Earth) on zi (=qian trigram or Heaven) mountain at the Winnowing Basket with Dung (fenji) Lake. 26 When the five brothers returned, they had lost the Young Ruler. They did not know his whereabouts and were without someone to rally around. f. The poem says: At the gate no one knows Hongying, We do not know where he went and ask our brothers [for it]. 24 I have interp reted these four characters literally, since Changsha and Hankou do not lie near the sea and therefore make little sense here. 25 On this burner, see section 2.1. 26 See the geomantic compass in Feuchtwang (1974) opposite 44.

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g. After Elder Brother Wan had died, there was an infant nephew, he was a holy monk. One name was Dao Fangwuci, who now holds Guangdong. Another name was Dao Fangliu, who now holds Huguang. Later, the Young Ruler strayed until Fujian. Later, he bore five sons, and that same day divided them into the Five Great Houses and set them up as the chiefs of the Five Banners (wu biao, a Qing military term). 27

h. Fangwuci now holds Guangdong. The Chongzhen Ruler had a lady from the Western Palace, who was pregnant and managed to escape. She was called Divine Concubine Li. She hid on Fuhua Mountain and gave birth to a son, who received the benevolent support of the ten thousand ancestors, and also received the continuous protection of Heaven on High. She later bore a son, who had terrific spirit. He was a heroic and outstanding talent, and also came to the covenant. All the brothers supported this son. i. Wu Tiancheng of the Eldest House is in Zhejiang, his flag sign is Wujiang (black color and recognition sign jiang). Hong Dasui of the Second House is in Fujian, his flag sign is Honghong (red color and recognition sign hong) . Li Sedi of the Third House is in Guangdong, his flag sign is Chiri (red color and recognition sign ri) . Tao Bida of the Fourth House is in Yunnan and Sichuan, his flag sign is Baiqi (white color and recognition sign qi). Lin Yongzhao of the Fifth House is in Huguang, his flag sign is Liitai (green color and recognition sign tai). These eighteen brothers are within the Red Flower [pavilion], with Zhao Wenliang as their chief and Wu Chenggui commanding in Shandong. They are called the Five Great Tiger Generals.

This version of the foundation account is by no means consistent within itself or with the rest of the 1810 manual. The treatment of the Young Ruler, or Ming prince, is repetitive and contradictory. The initial paragraph (see a.) on his birth is later repeated with some alterations (see h.) . In the second version, the concubine is already pregnant when she flees the palace and the fact of bearing a child is mentioned twice. From his title of Young Ruler (see a.) and the remark that he took part in the blood covenant (see h.), it is clear that this young Ming descendant is the same person as the figure who appears immediately after the appearance of the incense burner (d., mentioned again in paragraphs e. and g.). One inconsistency which is never resolved in any of the extant versions of the foundation account, is the long lapse of time between the 27 Here, I have left out a section with in translatable esoteric characters (TDH I: 4 lines 6-10). It mentions the five colors of the Five Houses, the five recognition signs and some cryptic chara cters.

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fall of the Ming and the birth of the young Ming prince and his re-appearance in the Kangxi or even Yongzheng periods. In a sense, this inconsistency befits the messianic origins of this particular element. He appeared from a point in the mythical landscape which was beyond time, like his place of birth on Fuhua Mountain (which can be translated as Mountain of the Hidden Hua/Chinese). Paragraph (g.), which mentions Wan Yunlong as having one nephew, is especially confusing. Not only does the nephew turn out to be two persons holding different regions, the Young Ruler is presented as the physical father of the Five Ancestors of the Triads. If we consider that the Triad sworn brotherhood was constructed on the model of a natural family, then this is not so surprising. After all, in the context of Triad social relationships, the Ming prince was indeed the symbolic father of the Triad members. As a physical fact, however, it is somewhat baffling, since at that point of time the Triads had already been founded by Wan Yunlong and these very same Five Ancestors. Later manuals no longer mention this specific fact, probably, one suspects, because it confused later members. The sudden appearance of Wan Yunlong's (two) nephew(s) is also somewhat mystifying. There are numerous other inconsistencies between the foundation account and the remainder of the 1810 manual, which we will not enumerate here in too much detail. 28 When smoking a pipe, a member can be asked: "Brother, why are the fire and smoke on that mountain (referring here to a monastery) so large?" He should reply: "The fire is burning the Shaolin Monastery." Then follows: "When was it burned?" "It was burned on the chou hour of the 25th day of the Seventh Month of the jiayin year."29 When 28 a. One poem places the True Ruler (= Small Ruler) in Sichuan, preserving an element from the messianic substrate (TDH I: 5 line 23, see section 7.1.). b. Two poems (TDH I: 8 line 7 and 19 line 21) call the leader of the Five Tiger generals Zhao Qixian or Zhao Yunliang, instead of Zhao Wenliang as in the foundation story. I suspect he can be identified as Zhao ZHong, one of the Five Tiger generals in the vernacular tradition of the Three Kingdoms. c. The initiation dialogue (TDH I: 12 lines 18-19, including a gr ave inscription often cited in later manuals) locates High Creek Temple in Fujian. d. The body of Wan Yunlong is burned, but it is also buried intact. e. The poem (f.) is slightly different elsewhere in the manual (TDH I: 19 lines 28-29) . A close analysis may well yield even more incongruencies, but this would not alter my basic argument. 29 TDH I: 17 lines 10-12 (also compare TDH I: 14 lines 20-21) .

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asked about the number of defeats and victories, the candidate member should reply: "In the first three battles, the Qing armies were defeated and fled; in the last three combats, we lost the Young Ruler. I have especially come to my elder brother's (= your) house in search of the Ruler."30 This last line refers to the poem from the foundation account, "At the gate no one knows Hongying, we do not know where he went and ask our brothers." In these questions, the destruction of the monastery is elaborated in more detail and the number of battles fought against the Qing armies by the newly formed Triad group is specified. Apparently, the narrative had already become more detailed in oral transmission than the particular written version included in the same manual. It also shows that the manuals consist of numerous segments written down by different people at varying points of time.31 The various inconsistencies and the very loose semi-vernacular style of writing in the prose parts of this manual, suggest to me that the 1810 manual, as we have it now, was not composed at one point in time and by one person, but should be seen as the product of a longer period of transmission. When new materials were added, the oral usage of the material in a ritual context hindered the kind of rigorous editing that becomes possible when a tradition is committed to writing and exclusively transmitted in that way as well. The inconsistencies within the foundation account also point in this direction. 9.1.2. The early evolution of the foundation account The nucleus of the foundation account was already in existence by 1787. It appears as follows in the confession by Yan Yan. There is MaJiulong who had gathered 48 monks, and who performed techniques (jashu) to dispatch spirit soldiers. They split up to spread the teachings. Later many of the 48 people died, an d only 13 people founded gatherings everywhere. That Monk Wan who founded a gathering in Guangdong has the lay name Tuxi. 32

TDH I: 15 lines 16-17. Later manuals show similar discrepancies between the constituent parts. 32 TDH I: 97 from the summary, which gives more details than the "original" confession. The reason is, no doubt, that Van Van was interrogated in different sessions and th at our "original" confession only reflects some of these sessions. 30

31

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The crucial elements of the story are the figure of Ma Jiulong (possibly inspired by the figure of Ma Chaozhu) and his mastery of demonology, the monastic background of the original group, the death of most of Ma's followers, the founding of new gatherings and the existence of Monk Wan in Guangdong. Yan Yan added elsewhere that, according to "hearsay" (chuanshuo) , the Triads had been started in Sichuan.P The Young Prince appears in the evidence given by other Triad members at that time as well, but without many additional details. The first extant written covenant (also dating back to 1786-1787) contains the following line: "Th e Luminous Ruler transmitted the lineage at the Horse Creek Temple at the High Creek Cloister at the Phoenix Flower Pavilion in Guangdong." This line suggests the existence as early as 1787 of a more elaborate narrative, of which the Ma Jiulong story would have been only a small part. Except for the 1810 and 1828 versions, all other early evidence on the foundation account is extremely fragmentary. In the first place, officials usually included little information on Triad lore in their memorials (in only a few cases did they include written Triad material as appendices to their memorials) and, secondly, because members tended to destroy their texts at the slightest hint of an impending persecution. Teachers, as we have learned in the course of this study, were also quite capable of hiding much of their knowledge, so even many ordinary Triad members probably never had a very active grasp of Triad lore anyhow. In the following table, I have brought together all pre-1828 references to the various themes of the foundation account, including the City of Willows. I have excluded most elements from the demonological messianic paradigm or political aspects, since these have already been discussed in the preceding chapters. The different themes have been arranged in the proper narrative sequence of the foundation account. Between brackets, I have indicated where significant differences with the theme concerned exist.

33

TDH I: 112 (confession).

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Table 6. Pre-1828 references to the foundation account34 The prelude which tells of the young Zhu prince who is a Ming descendant and then has to flee from the imperial palace: 1803-1806 Li Lingkui and Du Shiming (Zhu Hongzhu story) ; 1810 Yao Dagao; pre-1814 Huang Jiaojing. The reappearance of the Zhu prince to the Triads: 1801-1802 Chen Lanji; 1803-1806 Li Lingkui and Du Shiming; 1810 Yao Dagao; pre-1814 Huang Jiaojing; 1812-1816 Huang Fengchao. The City of Willows as the residence of the Zhu prince and/or a safe haven for the Triad members: 1803-1806 Li Lingkui and Du Shiming (as the residence of the Zhu prince) ; 1806 Zhou Dabin c.s. (pupils of Lu Shenghai, who had been active since 1797) ; 1810 Yao Dagao; 1812 Yin Zh iping; 1813-1816 Xi Shenghe; 1819 Jiang Wuyi. The presence of Triad armies (or the Five Houses) in specific provinces: 1803-1806 Li Lingkui and Du Shiming; 1806 Zhou Dabin c.s. (pupils of Lu Shenghai, who had been active since 1797) ; 1807 Lin Jingyan; 18071808 Van Chao and pupil Van Yagui ; 1808 Zhou Wenyun; 1808 Huang Zushou; 1809 Xie Peicheng; 181OYao Dagao; 1811 ChenJichuan c.s. (pupils

34 I have arranged the different cases alphabetically, for easy consultation: Anonymous: see translation of the text in section 3.2., original TDH V: 161162. Chen Chuanji: TDH VI: 340-341. Chen Lanji (Boluo county in Guangdong) : TDH VII: 27-28 (confession father) and 33 (confession son) . I rely on the son 's confession, the confession of the father is modelled on the son's testimony. TDH VI: second photograph. The size of this flag is not given. Huang Fengchao: Zhuang (1994) 18-20. He (1996) 65-67 traces the manual back to Huang Jiaojing. However, the Ming prince in this version is called Zhu Dahong, whereas he is called (Zhu) Hongying in the Huang Jiaojing manual. Huang Jiaojing: TDH VII: 449-451. Huang Zushou: TDH VII: 261-262. Jiang Wuyi: TDH VII: 389-390. Li Lingkui, Du Shiming case, see section 7.4.1. Lin Jingyan: TDH VII: 248 (one line is quoted which is rather similar to the lines that adorn a diploma from the 1840s. See for example Stanton [1900] 80, 85,87 and many others) and 254. See section 10.2.1. Lin Runcai: TDH VII: 427-429, 432-433, 436. Xi Shenghe: TDH VI: 515-517. Xie Peicheng: TDH VI: 170-172. Yao Dagao : see preceding section. Van Qingzhen: see translation of one of the two texts in section 8.2.2., original TDH V: 413. Van Chao and Van Yagui: confession Yagui TDH VII: 208-209, text TDH VII: 214-215. Yin Zhiping: TDH VII: 351-353. Zhou Dabin : TDH VI: 301-345; texts: TDH VI: 304-306; fourth page of photographs, bottom photograph. Zhou Wenyun: TDH VII: 215, 258-259.

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Table 6. Cont. ofLu Shenghai, who had been active since 1797) ; 1812Yin Zhiping; 1819 Jiang Wuyi; 1812-1816 Huang Fengchao. The precise location of the Shaolin Monastery, which is virtually always in Gansu Province: 1807-1808 Van Chao and pupil Van Yagui (no mention of the Shaolin Monastery, but only of its traditional location in early Triad lore, "Great Peace county, in Great Peace prefecture, in Gansu province" as the place of origin of the various Buddhist protectors of the Triads); 1809 Xie Peicheng (does not mention the Shaolin Monastery, but mentions that the ancestors come from Gansu) ; 1810 Yao Dagao (Shaolin Monastery in Gansu province) ; 1811 Chen Jichuan c.s, (pupils of Lu Shenghai, who had been active since 1797; "Sh aolin Monastery in the Great Peace Fortress in Great Peace Prefecture in Chengdu [or: the capital city] in Gansu province") ; 1812 Yin Zhiping (mentions only the burning of the Shaolin Monastery, written as chaolin si, a mistake based on the similar pronunciation of shao and chao). Mount Wan (and variants) in its role as a passageway between different worlds of being: 1807-1808 Van Chao and pupil Van Yagui ("foot of Nail Mountain in Shicheng county in Huizhou prefecture in Guangdong"); 1808 Huang Zushou ("Triad River at the foot of Nail Mountain"); 1810 Yao Dagao ("Under the Cloister of the Wan Character at the foot of Nail Mountain") ; pre-1811 Lin Runcai ("Old Mount Wan") ; 1811 ChenJichuan e.s. (pupils of Lu Shenghai, who had been active since 1797 ) . The specification of Wan Yunlong's residence: 1808 Zhou Wenyun (gives Wan Yunlong's residence, without his name: "Red Flower Pavilion in th e Marchmount Deity Temple in th e White Heron Grove in Shicheng cou n ty"). Changsha (Long Sand) as a location for crucial events: 1803-1806 Li Lingkui and Du Shiming; 1810 Yao Dagao; 1813-1816 Xi Shenghe ("the mouth of Changsha Bay") . High Creek (Temple) in Huizhou prefecture in Guangdong as an important location: 1787 anonymous (covenant text from Taiwan); 1791 Van Qingzhen ("Red Flower Pavilion, High Creek Temple"); 1807-1808 Van Chao and pupil Van Yagui (only mentions "foot of Nail Mountain in Shicheng county in Huizhou prefecture in Guangdong"); 1810 Yao Dagao; 1811 ChenJichuan c.s. (pupils of Lu Shenghai, who had himself been active since 1797). The Red Flower Pavilion as an important location: 1787 anonymous (covenant text from Taiwan, as the homophonous "Phoenix Flower Pavilion") ; 1791 Van Qingzhen ("Red Flower Pavilion, High Creek Temple") ; 1808 Zhou Wenyun ("Red Flower Pavilion in the Marchmount Deity Temple in the White Crane Grove in Shicheng county"); 1810 Yao Dagao; 1813-1816 Xi Shenghe. The mythical dates from the foundation account: 1801-1802 Chen Lanji (Yongzhengjiayin year, chou hour of the 25th day of the Seventh Month) ; 1808 Zhou Wenyun (the reign periods Kangxi and Yongzheng); 1810 Yao Dagao (Kangxi period); 1812 Yin Zhiping (only the jiayin date).

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The evidence presented in this section allows us to make a number of general statements about the foundation account and its historical evolution. First of all, the 1810 manual is not the first Triad text to mention any of the above mythical elements. Some elements are documented as early as the Chen Lanji case of 18011802 or the Li Lingkui and Du Shiming case of 1803-1806. This confirms my deduction, made on the basis of the 1787 evidence, that a detailed foundation account must have circulated early on, most likely in oral form. Secondly, the foundation account, as documented in the 1810 version from Yao Dagao's manual, was not the only, nor the most elaborate version in circulation. For instance, the covenant text used by Yan Chao and Yan Yagui in 1807-1808 contained much more detailed place names for the Shaolin Monastery, and for the location of the founding of the Triads. The principal ancestor Hong Qisheng, who is quite common in later versions of the account, is mentioned twice in earlier references (in the covenant text from 1807-1808 and Huang Jiaojing's testimony in 1808), but not in the 1810 manual. In the next section, I will demonstrate that the later foundation account belong to two distinct traditions (which I have dubbed the A. and B. traditions) . Interestingly, the first split between the two traditions must have taken place long before 1810 , since some characteristics typical of the A . tradition can be traced back to a lost manual owned by Zhou Wenyun in 1808 . This manual gave the specific location for Wan Yunlong's residence as "Red Flower Pavilion in the Marchmount Deity Temple in the White Crane Grove in Shicheng county" and placed the events in the reignperiods Kangxi and Yongzheng. These two pieces of information are not given in the 1810 manual, but are standard in the A. tradition. In the 1810 manual, all events take place during the Kangxi reign, which is a characteristic of the B. tradition. 9.1.3. The foundation account from 1828 onwards The 1828 manual from Guangxi contains a long and very rich version of the foundation account.P It starts with the fall of the Ming dynasty and the birth of a young prince, who is hidden with

35

Guangxi huidang, 482-488.

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the help of the monks of the Shaolin Monastery. The monastery is located on the Great White Mountain (taibai shan) in Gansu province. The loyal servant who brings the prince to safety also takes two precious swords with him. Incidentally, the Gansu location is typical of the early manuals (see Table 6.) and indirectly confirms the early date of this particular account. Much later, the nation is invaded by the Xilu Barbarians, and the Chinese armies are defeated. The Kangxi emperor posts a proclamation offering a reward to anyone who can repel the invaders. The Shaolin monks rise to the challenge under the leadership of a martial arts specialist resident in their monastery. They travel to the border region and after three years of battle, they return victorious. They refuse any rewards and take leave of the emperor, to go back to their monastery and resume their religious duties. Because they do not take leave of the principal advisor of the emperor, this man bears a grudge against them. He convinces the emperor that the monks, to have been able to vanquish the barbarians without supporting soldiers, must have concluded a pact with them. Thereupon, the emperor allows this advisor to take an army and bum the monastery to the ground. Only eighteen monks escape the conflagration, across a cloud bridge sent from Heaven. They are constantly pursued by Qing armies and encounter terrible ordeals. Eventually only five of the monks survive , but they too are ultimately surrounded and cut off from escape. This time, Heaven sends them a bridge to cross over the sea and succeed in getting away. Thus, they are saved twice by a bridge sent by Heaven. The five surviving monks now reach a mountain, called Nail Mountain or Old Mount Wan, which is where Wan Yunlong-with the personal name Tixi-lives. They receive the incense-burner and a proclamation from Heaven, entrusting them with the mission of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming. Under the guidance of Wan Yunlong, they build a City of Willows, in which they place the incense-burner. There they conclude a blood covenant and gather new members, founding the first Triad group. Before they can begin their struggle against the Qing, they are betrayed by one of their own number. In the ensuing battles, many die, including Wan Yunlong. Only then do the Five Ancestors come down the mountain and defeat the Qing armies. They bury Wan Yunlong in the Dung Chicken Hollow on White Tiger Mountain. The traitor is executed, but in the fracas the young prince van-

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ishes and the remaining members of the first Triad group are dispersed over the whole of China. All in all, this version follows the same chronological sequence as the 1810 version, but with many more details. Both versions begin with the fall of the Ming and the birth of the young Ming prince. A military official (1810) or martial arts specialist (1828) leads the Shaolin monks against the Xilu Barbarians. Wan Yunlong has almost the same curious personal name, Tiqi (1810) or Tixi (1828). Since all events take place during the Kangxi period, and no mention is made of the Yongzheng period or of the White Crane Grove as the residence of Wan Yunlong, this places the 1828 foundation account in the B. tradition . To the familiar cast of characters from the 1810 version of the foundation account is added a certain Guo Xiuying. In later versions she becomes the wife of Zheng Junda and features in the bestowal of the precious sword. Here she is only mentioned as a gate-keeper, without further details. She, Wan Yunlong and the Shaolin monks all appear in later versions as well. On the other hand, the 1828 myth also includes the names of many generals (barbarian and Chinese), of the treacherous court official and of the Triad member who betrayed the group, who do not appear in any earlier or later versions. The 1828 version contains four important themes that differ fundamentally from most earlier or later manuals: 1. The two precious swords derive directly from the last Ming emperor, while they stem from a grave in the later versions (as the incarnation of the loyal Shaolin supporter Zheng Junda). The young prince is hidden by the Shaolin monks after the fall of the Ming, instead of appearing out of the blue in other versions. This direct linkage between the Shaolin Monastery and the Ming imperial family is unique to this version of the foundation account. 2. There are two separate episodes of betrayal. First, the Shaolin monks are betrayed by the same court official who first advised the emperor to hire outsiders to fight the invaders. The second time, the mythical first Triad group is betrayed by a member with the curious name "Changed Appellation" (yiwei). In later versions, the second instance of treachery is incorporated into the first instance, when a fellow monk or former servant betrays the other monks to the court official. 3. The 1828 version of the foundation account contains numer-

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ous explicit references to the contacts between Heaven and the Shaolin monks. First, the Buddha Patriarch and Guanyin (undoubtedly worshipped in the monastery'") are moved by the prayers of the teachers and pupils in the burning Shaolin Monastery. She helps eighteen of them to escape over a cloud bridge, of whom only five survive the subsequent ordeals. When they are pinned down by the pursuing Qing armies, they pray to Heaven and the Jade Emperor becomes very angry about the wrong done to them and the other monks. He sends down the incense-burner and a proclamation. The text sets forth that the All-under-Heaven must not be ruled by one man, but by the people of the All-under-Heaven and that they should organize a blood covenant. He also lets all monks who have already died become spirit soldiers. Later, Guanyin is ordered by the Buddha Patriarch of the Western Heaven (i.e, Amitabha) to help the remaining monks to escape once more, this time across a floating bridge made of three bronze and iron beams. In later versions of the foundation account, Bodhidharma is the only divine helper and his involvement is never as elaborate as in this version. In these later versions, Heaven is largely a distant presence. 4. The first Triad blood covenant takes place in the same elaborate ritual space that is prescribed for the normal Triad initiation ritual, including the City of Willows. In all other foundation accounts, it is stressed how the first blood covenant was carried out in an improvised way, and the City is not even mentioned. Two late versions do mention the City, but only as a conventional place name and without devoting any further attention to it.37 The specific detail with which the City of Willows is described in the 1828 version suggests the influence of the initiation ritual. In the light of the 1828 version, the following segment from the 1808 oath also becomes much easier to understand than from the perspective of the 1810 version of the foundation account.P" We invite to come the white faced and golden bodied Buddha Patriarch Tathagata from Auspicious Creek Society, in Great Peace county, in Great Peace prefecture, in Gansu province. 36

According to the 1810 manual, they are worshipped in the High Creek

tem~le, see TDH I: 20 lines 29-31. 3 Tiandihui wenxianlu, Shoux ian 'ge:

42 (safe haven for fleeing Shaolin monks); Morgan (1960) 41-43. 38 Translated in full in section 5.1.3.

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We also invite Mister Guigu, [and the two gods] Thousand-Miles-Eyes and Following-the-Wind-Ears. We also invite the Namo Bodhisattva of Great Compassion and Great Pity who Sees the Sounds of the World and Saves from Misery and Hardship, [the Namo Bodhisattva] with the Long Eyebrows who Sees the Sounds of the World, and [the Namo Bodhisattva] who Sees the Sounds of the World and Saves from Misery and Hardship and Expels the Red [Dust]. [Guanyin's] manifestations are inexhaustible.

Admittedly, these are not precisely the same divine figures that appear in the 1828 version of the account, but there are some significant similarities. The Buddha himself is mentioned, as well as different manifestations of Guanyin. Only Amitabha is absent from the 1808 oath. Such similarities suggest that the 1828 account (or a related ancestor) had already been circulating for some time. All in all, the 1828 account is extremely detailed, but many of its most interesting aspects are not taken up in later versions. In sharp contrast, all extant versions of the foundation account that postdate the 1828 version can be grouped into two coherent traditions. In both of them, increasing stress is placed on loyalty and the ultimate task of fighting the Qing. The story of the Shaolin Monastery and the first Triad group becomes ever more prominent, featuring many new dramatis personae. In comparison, the episode dealing with the fall of the Ming and the birth of the Young Ruler is drastically shortened and moved from the beginning of the account to a point much later in the plot, when he joins the first Triad group. Furthermore, the role played by divine agencies in moving the events along becomes less explicit. Otherwise, the basic plot remains the same: loyal support of the Qing -> unjustified betrayal -> the burning of the monastery -> the long trek of the remaining monks assisted by Heaven -> founding the first Triad group through a blood covenant -> the appearance of the Ming prince -> their battle against Qing forces and subsequent dispersal after the death of Wan Yunlong. As I have noted, Tradition A. can be traced back to a lost manual from 1808. The oldest extant version is the 1842 version translated by Schlegel, with a much shorter version in one of the British Museum manuscripts.P? This tradition is characterized by the 39 Schlegel (1866) 7-19 (1842 manual). Short Chinese version in Xiao (1935) 2: la-3a (Or. 2339) . Parts of this tradition are also incorporated by Pickering (1878) and by Ward and Stirling (1925) , see note 40.

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appearance of the Xilu general Peng Lengtian, the defending border generals Liu Jing and Huang Siquan (or: Zhongquan, written similarly), and the treacherous Qing official Deng Sheng. In this tradition, Wan Yunlong lives in the White Crane Grove in the Great Peace Fortress. The figure of Chen Jinnan only appears in Schlegel's version (without location). The long description of the magical methods used to defeat the Xilu Barbarians is also typical of this tradition. The monastery is surprised by the Qing armies and then burned down, without further complications. The loyal service still takes place under the Kangxi emperor, whereas the betrayal takes place under the Yongzheng emperor. The oldest foundation account in Tradition B. is probably the version in the 1810 manual, followed by the version translated in an anonymous article in The Chinese Repository of 1849 and a slightly fuller Chinese version in one of the British Museum manuscripts dating from 1853 .40 This tradition is characterized by the appearance of the border general Guo Tinghui, the traitorous Qing official Zhang Jianqiu and his helper, a former Shaolin monk or servant with the family name Ma. In this tradition, Wan Yunlong becomes less significant and Chen Jinnan takes over his role of advisor to the first Triad group. Chen Jinnan resides in the White Crane Grotto. The Xilu Barbarians are defeated by military means. The monastery is burned to the ground through a ruse-involving the monks being offered imperial liquor. In some versions, the monks find out that the liquor is poisoned, while in others they simply become drunk. In either case, they are unable to escape

40 Anonymous (1849) 288-291. Long Chinese version, Xiao (1935) 2: 3b-7b (Or. 8207 D). Other Chinese versions in Tiand ihui wenxian lu, Shouxian 'ge, 41-43 (mentions Zhang Lianqiu as traitorous official, but lacks the episodes involving the crucial Triad friend and Qing official Zheng Junda and the Ma traitor, and describes drunk Shaolin monks instead of clever ones, in addition to various smaller differences) and Tiandihui wenxian lu, Guixian xiuzhiju, 1-3 (no mention of the border generals, mentions the traitorous official Deng Desheng from the A. tradition, but otherwise completely follows the B. tradition) . The Western versions by Stanton (1900) 29-38 and Morgan (1960) 32-48 follow the full B. tradition. Ward and Stirling (1925) amalgated two traditions, 30-35 (A. tradition) and 3546 (B. tradition from the liquor episode onwards) . Pickering (1878) 67-84 probably used a version from the B. tradition with the addition from the A. tradition of the Peng Lengtian episode and his defeat by the Shaolin monks with magical me ans .

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and most of them die in the burning monastery. All episodes take place under the Kangxi emperor. Not only is the burning of the monastery episode in the B. tradition very elaborate, but a more complicated treason episode is added. The entire episode takes up more than one fourth of the total narrative in its fully developed form. It consists of three parts, namely (a.) the forced suicide of the loyal ZhengJunda, (b.) the betrayal of the monastery by a fellow monk or former servant with the family name Ma, and (c.) the burning of the monastery by means of a ruse (the gift of imperial liquorj .f! The addition of this lengthy episode further increased the focus of the foundation account on the issue of loyalty. Zheng Junda is introduced at the outset, when he helps the Shaolin monks in their fight against the barbarians. After the defeat of the Xilu Barbarians, he is given a post in Huguang. Then follows the treason episode itself, in which a Qing emissary forces ZhengJunda to commit suicide. His corpse is thrown in the river, but later buried by his loyal family. The overall plot then continues with the desperate flight of the five remaining monks. When they are about to be captured by the Qing forces, they encounter Zheng Junda's family who are worshipping at his grave. Suddenly, a peachwood sword springs from the grave, bearing the text "to resist the Qing and restore the Ming." With this sword, the monks are able to defeat the pursuing armies.V Apparently, the ZhengJunda story also circulated independently, as one manual (Or. 2339) in the A. tradition includes the story as a separate account, without integrating it into the foundation account itself and without the other elements of the treason episode.P The betrayal of the monastery by the Ma figure (his personal name varies considerably) , and the imperial gift of liquor, together form the central part of the treason episode. In some versions, the Ma figure is a former servant of the monastery, in others he is a former monk. He bears a grudge because he has been expelled from the monastery for his careless behavior, or his immoral beOr. 8207 Din: Xiao (1935) 2: 4b-5b. Or. 8207 Din: Xiao (1935) 2: 4a-4b (before treason episode) , 4b-5b (treason episode itself), 6a (arrival at grave etc .) . 43 Or. 2339 in: Xiao (1935) 2: 8a-9a. This version of the origin of the swords is also taken up in Morgan (1960) 40-41, without the rape elem ent. Schlegel (1866) 7-19 (1842 manual) only contains a very brief reference to Zheng Junda. 41

42

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havior toward ZhengJunda's wife and sister. When the Qing armies are on their way to the monastery to burn it down, this man guides them. After escaping from the monastery, the remaining monks notice him standing in the neighborhood and execute him.t" His execution is often presented as the origin for the ritual practice of cutting off the head of the cockerel during the blood covenant ceremony. The Cantonese words for chicken and seven are homophonous, and it was believed that the Ma figure had been the seventh Shaolin monk in order of physical strength.j'' This is an excellent example of the way in which ritual traditions develop post-facto etiologies for general ritual practices. In order to enable a surprise attack on the otherwise invincible Shaolin monks, they are presented with a gift of imperial liquor. The 1828 version of the foundation account (which is closest to the B. tradition) already mentions the donation by the emperor of three cups of imperial liquor to the monks in reward of their victory over the Xilu Barbarians, without connecting the gift to the treason episode.t" In the treason episode, however, the treacherous official (s) are sent with an imperial gift of liquor for the monks, secretly bringing a small army and gunpowder with them to destroy the monastery by surprise. In some versions, the monks discover that the liquor is poisoned either by dipping a precious sword in it or by using a special cup. They then kill the imperial emissary (actually the traitorous official), but the monastery is still burned down and the majority of the monks are trapped by the fire . In other versions the ruse succeeds, since the monks cannot refuse such an honorable offer and get drunk. When the fire breaks out, most of them are caught in their sleep.f? 44 Xiao (1935) 2: 5a-b (Or. 8207 D; servant, broke objects) . Other versions: The ChineseRepository, 1849 (no author) 289 (his motivations for treason are not explained) ; Pickering (1878) 75-77 (revenge for blow by inmate of the monastery) ; Tiandihui wenxian lu , Guixian xiuzhiju, 1-3 (seventh monk in strength, broke an important oil lamp); Stanton (1900) 31 (seventh monk in strength, immoral); Ward and Stirling (1925) 36-37 (seventh monk in strength , immoral); Morgan (1960) 35 (seventh monk in strength, immoral and broke the lamp). 45 See section 5.1.2. for more details. 46 Guangxi huidang, 483 . 47 Xiao (1935) 2: 4b-5a (Or. 8207 D) (precious sword) ; Pickering (1878) 7576 (precious sword); Ward and Stirling (1925) 36-37 (gives the version ofa special cup, and notes the sword variant in a footnote) ; Morgan (1960) 36 (precious sword); Tiandihui wenxian lu, Guixian xiuzhiju, 2 (drunk monks) and Shouxian 'ge, 42 (drunk monks) .

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The elaborate treason episode is specific to the B. tradition, but another change has taken place in both traditions, virtually re placing the crucial Wan Yunlong figure by someone else. 48 In the 1810 and 1828 versions, as well as in many other early, partially transmitted, accounts of Triad lore, a central place is assigned to the figure of Wan Yunlong. He joins after the five Shaolin monks have completed their long trek through China, and have received the incense burner. Under his leadership the first Triad group is formed and he leads them against the Qing armies, dying in battle. After his death, the remaining members disband and spread throughout the entire country, forming the Five Houses that constituted the Triads as a whole. By the 1840s, the new figure of ChenJinnan has suddenly usurped Wan Yunlong's role of Triad founder in both traditions; in the B. tradition, he even takes over Wan Yunlong's place of residence, the White Crane Grotto. It is entirely unclear why this new figure appears, as at first this alteration does not substantially alter the plot of the foundation account. Wan Yunlong preserves his role of battle leader, and his death continues to inaugurate the dispersion of the first Triad group. Chen Jinnan only gradually becomes more important and by the time of the version recorded by Morgan in Hong Kong in the late 1950s, he has even taken over the role ofWan Yunlong as battle leader, and it is his death that marks Chen Jinnan: C; Wan Yunlong: W. 1810 version: W. 1828 version : W. 1842 version: WC (Schlegel [1866] 14-17). 1849 version: WC (The Chinese Repository [1849] 290-291). 1853 version: WC (Xiao [1935] 2: 6a-7a [Or. 8207 D]) . 1878 version: WC (Pickering [1878 ] 80-84, with a detailed role for Chen Jinnan) . 1881 version: W (Xiao [1935] 2: 2b-3a [Or. 2339 , maybe pre-1863]). 1889 version: WC (Stanton [1900] 33-37, with a detailed role for Chen Jinnan) . 1925 version: WC (Ward and Stirling [1925] 41-45, with a detailed role for Chen Jinnan) 1950s version: e (Morgan [1960] 40-44, no mention anymore of W, except at the beginning, prior to the activities of the Shaolin monks and the subsequent founding of the Triads, Morgan [1960] 31-32) . undated version: we (Tiandihui wenxian lu, Guixian xiuzhiju , 2-3, too concise for analysis). undated version : we (Tiandihui wenxian lu, Shouxian 'ge, 42-43, too concise for analysis). 48

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the dispersal of the Triads in the same way as Wan Yunlong's death had before. Wan Yunlong is still mentioned in the Hong Kong version of the foundation account, but now he has become a heroic resistance fighter during the early years of the Qing and the Shaolin monks descend from his followers!

9.1.4. The nature of the Triad foundation account The first point to note in concluding this historical survey of the Triad foundation account is the creativity of the people who told, heard, read and transmitted the story. The net result of these changes was the complete eradication of all elements that were derived from the demonological messianic paradigm. These elements included the location of the monastery in Gansu and placenames incorporating the words "Great Peace," the special names of the Li and Zhu figures , the prominence of the link to the Ming, the Wan element (as a mountain and in the name of Wan Yunlong), and the degradation of the original Five Houses to the position of Posterior Five Houses. The task of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming became subordinated to the general themes ofloyalty, treason and steadfastness. The episode of the you ng Ming prince remained the same in length, while most other parts of the foundation account grew considerably in length. By removing the episode from the beginning and placing it at a much later point in the narrative, it certainly lost its original messianic impact. On the other hand, these alterations did not signify the weakening of Triad identity, but rather the change of the Triads from a semimessianic into a more conventional type of marginal groups. The Triad foundation account as a whole can be analyzed from different perspectives. Obviously, it served first and foremost as a "charter myth" to explain and legitimate the Triads' existence. In addition, it included episodes that took up elements from the initiation ritual, such as the crossing of bridges and especially the blood covenant. Such episodes were made to serve an etiological function (i.e. legitimating the performance of certain ritual segments), but this need not have been their real origin. At all developmental stages of Triad lore, the foundation narrative and the initiation ritual formed two separate traditions with fundamentally different aims. The one can not be interpreted as an explanation of the other.

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In the foundation account, there is first of all the topes of loyal service to the legitimate keeper of the Mandate of Heaven. The Shaolin monks and the Triads are never revolutionaries or rebels (at least not in their own perception). We encounter the topos of loyal service twice, when the Shaolin monks help the Qing ruler to expel the Xilu Barbarians, and again when they swear to support the Zhu prince of the former Ming dynasty. In both instances, the adversaries are other ethnic groups. Noteworthy is the implicit assumption that as long as the Qing ruler can be trusted, he deserves the Mandate of Heaven. Even the final act of betrayal by the Qing government is due to the plotting of evil court officials and not undertaken on the initiative of the emperor himself. It is only after their long flight, closely pursued by the Qing armies, that the remaining Shaolin monks shift their loyalties. And even then they only take this final step after the appearance of dynastic treasures (the incense-burner and sometimes also the precious sword) from Heaven carrying the message about overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming. The importance of loyalty to the Triads is further underlined in their foundation account by the elaborate treason episode. The crucial point of this episode is located in the nature of the imperial gift. We need only recall my earlier point, made in Chapter Four, that the primary function of consuming liquor in Chinese society is not to obtain oblivion from the surrounding society, but, on the contrary, to create a bond between those who participate. In some versions of the treason episode the liquor is poisoned; the monks discover the betrayal, but too late and so are massacred. In other versions, the monks feel bound to drink the liquor because they had received a similar gift of imperial liquor after their initial victory against the barbarians. Then the imperial gift had cemented a bond between emperor and monks, this time they are killed while drunk and asleep. In both episodes, the plot is predicated on the basic purpose of the ceremony of drinking liquor-i.e. to create a bond. Abusing this ceremony automatically disqualified the Qing authorities from further trust and loyal support. This episode also further underlined the importance of the consumption of liquor mixed with blood in the initiation ritual, without providing a direct etiology. It is not difficult to imagine that for artificial groups, i.e. those without quasi-natural family ties (as in lineages), without a history

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of cohabitation (as in villages and urban neighborhoods), and without a common profession (as in guilds), it was very important to stress these two values of loyalty and steadfastness. They were traditionally closely linked to oaths of brotherhood, whether accompanied by a blood covenant or not. We already saw in Chapter Five that these values were stressed in the Thirty-Six Oaths and the other texts, or pronouncements, that accompanied the blood covenant. Together, the foundation account and the moral rules that were sworn to during the blood covenant "constructed" the Triads as groups which were more loyal to their rulers than the rest of surrounding society. The story demonstrated to them that they were in their right to place themselves outside society.

9.2. The "[allfrom grace" plot

It is quite apparent that the Triad foundation account shares many characteristics with the standard plot of the vernacular military romance, as summarized for us by C.T . Hsia. This genre is characterized by accounts of continuous warfare, usually accompanied by magical techniques. A typical element of the plot structure is the loyal military service provided by the protagonists against a foreign (barbarian) enemy and their subsequent betrayal by treacherous court officials. The protagonists always remain true to their higher aims of serving the nation. The military romance is usually inspired by a specific historical incident, although always dominated by a wealth of fictional additions. Standard plots and themes (topoi) take precedence over historical facts .t? We can safely assume that local people were familiar with many of these stories, not necessarily from written versions, but certainly from local opera, puppet theater and story telling. However, this is not to say that the Triad account is merely a patchwork story made up of elements loosely drawn from the military romance tradition and in which only the names differ. Quite the contrary, very substantial correspondences in structure exist between the Triad account and the foundation accounts of two specific religious traditions from the late imperial period, 49 Hsia (1974) 346-358 on the importance of magical techniques, 351-352 and 359-370 on the importance of the various plot elements.

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namely the Luo Teachings-which eventually developed into several different groups, including the Green Gangs- and the Eight Trigrams Teachings. Together, these foundation accounts form a narrative tradition of their own , sharing what I have called the "fall from grace" plot. These correspondences were first pointed out by the japanese historian of the Eight Trigrams Teachings, Sato Fumihiko, in 1983. 50 In this section I will propose a functionalist explanation why this type of story appealed to particular kinds of groups in Chinese culture. The Luo Teachings go back to the teachings of Luo Qing, or Patriarch Luo, who probably lived in the early sixteenth century. On Luo Qing little is known with certainty, except that he had a military career and subsequently devoted himself to spiritual selfcultivation. He has been adopted by different religious traditions, that all claim him as their patriarch.t! The small nucleus of historical information was developed into detailed stories of his life and works in later texts, such as the Precious Scroll on the Circumstances of the Three Patriarchs Spreading the Teachings (Sanzu xingjiao yinyou baojuan, preface 1682, reprinted in 1875). The first chapter of this text tells us the story of Luo Qing's life, but with strong mythical elements. The other two chapters describe in a very factual way the life and teachings of two late Ming religious teachers who saw Patriarch Luo as their source of inspiration. Although Maitreya receives cursory mention, the two teachers spread a lay Buddhist devotionalist message and made no messianic claims.52 The scroll tells us that the Patriarch served in the Beijing garrison as a soldier. Only at the very end of the story, is it specified that his scriptures were written in the thirteenth year of the Zhengde 50 Sato (1983) 78-85. To my knowledge, nobody has picked up on this extremely important suggestion. Sato asked the Triad expert Cai Shaoqing about these similarities, but he discarded it as influence from the Triads. 51 There is a huge secondary literature on this historical figure. See for instance Overmyer (1978) 284-302. . 52 Sanzu xingjiao yinyou baojuan , 129-371. I plan a further investigation of this important text elsewhere. The text has been discussed and summarized by Overmyer (1984) 370-372. On the Precious Scroll itself, see Ma and Han (1992) 325-327 and 344 note 1 for technical details, and 344-351 on its contents. A book with roughly this title and the same contents is already referred to in a memorial from 1748. Exactly the same version as discussed by Overmyer was already summarized by Edkins (1880) 379-379 and later by Masuda (1939) 97. Edkins ' article dates back to 1858 (see de Groot [1903] 192) , providing further evidence that the book precedes the earliest extant version of 1875.

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period (1518 A.D.). Otherwise there is no explicit indication of the time when this story took place. The commander of the garrison learns, in a dream, that there is an immortal in the city, who can help him. With five sticks of True Incense in his hands, this man will order his army to advance. His soldiers then tell him that there is indeed someone like this in the army, whose whole body is enveloped in a purple mist and who radiates a brilliant light. Holding incense in his hands, the commander goes to pay this person his respects. The person turns out to be Patriarch Luo, who asks what is the matter. The commander tells him that at this very moment there are 108,000 red-haired Tartar troops (hongmao dazi, also referred to as janbing, barbarian troops) from a foreign country (waiguo), outside the walls of Beijing. They have already slain many troops and horses. Patriarch Luo agrees to help, for he has "accepted the Five Hundred Commandments" with Heaven as a witness (suggesting that he had passed the initiation rituals of a monk), and has fed himself from the emoluments of his saintly ruler (a common way in vernacular Chinese of referring to the ruling emperor). When the enemy troops see him, they are terrified and realize that he is no ordinary mortal. The patriarch then shoots three arrows from his bow, each of which turns into a white lotus flower floating down from the sky. Upon seeing this, the barbarian troops return to their own country with their weapons and horses. The Chinese commander returns to court and reports on the events. Thereupon, Patriarch Luo is also summoned to court and asked to repeat his performance. When he does so successfully, the court officials are displeased and the emperor has him imprisoned. An attempted beheading fails, because the steel blade snaps of its own accord. He continues his devotions in prison and even converts the warder. With the help of two disciples who are allowed to visit him in prison, he dictates his Five Books in Six Volumes. These scriptures are offered to the emperor and the Patriarch is then set free. 53 Some time after his release, the Patriarch is again invited by officials to save the court. This time the threat comes from seven barbarian monks from a foreign country (waiguo youjanseng) , most likely from the same country as the earlier invaders. They offer an old bronze Buddha image to the throne, challenging the court to 53

Sanzu xingjiao yinyou baojuan, 142-165.

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penetrate its secret. If the court is unable to do so, they threaten to "return" Beijing to their own country (implicitly identifying themselves as Mongols, who saw themselves as the inheritors of the former Yuan dynasty that had once ruled over China) . China would then be subjected to their nation. A lively court debate ensues, in which Patriarch Luo successfully bests the foreign monks by means of a brief exposition of his own iconoclastic teachings (including not burning incense and not practising Buddhist rituals) . In return, he is given the title "Teacher of the Tradition of Non-Action" and his scriptures are printed, with imperial approval. 54 The Five Books in Six Volumes teach a lay Buddhist devotionalist message, without further messianic claims. They formed the basic teachings of Patriarch Luo and were very important in the new religious group in which this particular account circulated. The parallels with the Triad account should be clear, and will be more systematically presented below. At this stage, I only wish to add that the miracle of arrows turning into lotuses is a conventional one. During the attack by Mara and his armies on Shakyamuni, when he is still a Bodhisattva and meditating under the Tree of Enlightenment, the later Buddha turns the arrows aimed at him into lotus flowers.P'' The story formed part of the Lives of the Buddha, and was probably widely known among more devout practitioners. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, different versions of this account circulated among the Green Gangsa type of loosely organized predatory group in the Lower Yangzi region. They had developed out of the demise of the socio-religious organizations of the Grand Canal labourers during the first half of the nineteenth century.P" In the Green Gang versions of the account, the events always take place in the late Ming period. Patriarch Luo is born into an educated family in Gansu province Sanzu xingjiao yinyou baojuan, 165-180. Beal (1883) 153 (II1: 13) (Chinese translation from circa 420 A.D.) and Edkins (1880) 22. 56 Martin (1996) 10-18. In the light of my own work on the "Gatherin g of Brothers and Elders" (gelao hui) as a label, Martin's view of this "organization" as one of the sources of the Green Gangs may need to be revised. See ter Haar (1993a) . On the Grand Canal Labourers and the Luo Teachings during the Qing, see Kelley (1982) 361-391 and some brief remarks on the late Ming situation in ter Haar (1992) 202-203. 54

55

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and has passed the highest examinations. Thereupon, "Northern Countries" (in one version Miao rebels, and in another version Turfan invaders) rebel. Patriarch Luo is placed at the head of an army that is sent to repel them, but the rebels retreat without fighting, in the face of such a large army. When Luo Qing returns, his easy victory raises the suspicion that he might have connived with the enemy and he is thrown into prison. He is almost executed, but saved at the request of officials from the Manchu court (sicl). In prison, he writes his famous scriptures. He is eventually set free by the new Manchu rulers of the Qing. His scriptures are offered to the throne and he receives official recognition. He then teaches his disciples, who found their own traditions. Numerous versions of this account exist, without any changes to the basic plot structure. Interestingly, in all versions the patriarch is born in an educated household in Oansu.P? The 1682 version of the Patriarch Luo account and the much later Green Gang versions are evidently historically related, but we do not know how. The religious groups from which we have the 1682 version, and the Luo Teachings tradition of the Grand Canal laborers (from which the Green Gangs later developed) had been separate traditions since the early seventeenth century. They were also active in different regions and among different social groups, which makes a mutual influence less likely. Therefore, it seems plausible that the different versions of the account in these two religious traditions must go back to an even older parental tradition. The foundation account of the Eight Trigrams Teachings cannot be traced as far back in time as the accounts of the Luo Teachings or the Triads. We are, however, able to trace the mythical names of its founders back to the early nineteenth century. A member of the Qin family of teachers stated, in 1814, that the first patriarch of the Eight Trigrams Teachings had been taught by the eunuch Wei Ziyi during the Shunzhi reign (1645-1661). He was called Li Letian ("Li who Rejoices in Heaven"), but had changed 57 The existence of these stories was first pointed out by Sawada (1975) 306308. He also noted the similarities with De Groot's summary of Edkins. The stories are also taken up by Ma and Han (1992) 324-325. Slightly differing Chinese versions can be found for instance in San 'an quanji, 18-21; Qingpu jiyao, 26-33; Daoyi zhengzong, 28-30; Qingmen kaoyuan, 41-45. A similar series of events is given for Luo 's successor.

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his name to Liu Fengtian upon arriving in Shandong. Among his pupils had been someone called Hao from the south. In a confession from 1813, another member of the same Qin tradition called Liu Fengtian by the title "Old Father from Former Heaven" (xiantian laoye). In another confession from that same year, someone from the Hao family of teachers specified that Old Father Liu was the teacher of his mythical ancestor Hao Yunlong.P'' From archival sources, we know that the historical founder (or at least the earliest known patriarch) of the Eight Trigrams Teachings was a certain Liu Zuochen, who lived from the late Ming into the late Kangxi period. The oldest source on this person dates from 1748 .59 It is almost self-evident that the names for the patriarchs which circulated during the early nineteenth century were all mythical in nature. They all suggest a form of political recognition by Heaven, viz. Li Letian or "Li who Rejoices in Heaven," Liu Fengtian or "Liu who Receives the [Mandate] of Heaven," "Old Father from Former Heaven," and Hao Yunlong or "Hao, the Cloud Dragon." Both Liu Fengtian and "from Former Heaven" reappear as the names of the founding patriarchs in late nineteenth century versions of the foundation account. It is, therefore, quite likely that full narratives had already accumulated around these patriarchs by the early nineteenth century, but we lack the textual evidence to substantiate this supposition. The political connotations of these names further confirm my earlier analysis of the religious and social importance for religious leaders of receiving the Mandate of Heaven, even when they did not have rebellious intentions (as in the above cases). The oldest full and datable version of the foundation account that is presently available stems from 1886. It is contained in an article by D.H. Porter, who was a missionary in Shandong province. I shall first summarize this particular version, and then draw attention to some crucial divergences between it and other versions. In Porter's version, Li Xiantian ("from Former Heaven") is a common laborer from the south. One day, sometime during the late Ming or early Qing, he receives a set of teachings from a mysterious Daoist priest. He then starts to spread these teachings 58 Ma and Han (1992) 936 (date in note 2.), 936-937 (date in note 1.),979 (dates in notes 1. and 2.) and 1063 (date in note 1.) . 59 Ma and Han (1992) 933-935 ff. (1748 and 1786 sources) .

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and gathers eight pupils, who each receive a separate sign (hence the group's autonym "Eight Trigrams") . After this they proselytize on a large scale. At this point, the Manchu dynasty is threatened by a huge Muslim uprising in Kashgar. An edict is promulgated by the emperor, offering great honors and emoluments to whoever succeeds in subduing these rebels. Li Xiantian gathers all his pupils and together they are able to defeat the rebels. The emperor offers to promote him to high office, but he turns the offer down. The only thing Li Xiantian wants in reward for his support is permission to spread his teachings.f" The founder's name can also be Li Tingyu (in different forms) or Liu Fengtian ("Liu who Has Received [the Mandate of] Heaven") . He is always born in Northern China during the last years of the Ming, but active under the Shunzhi and Kangxi emperors. Most likely, Porter's version is incomplete, for several other versions of the account add the subsequent betrayal of the master and his pupils during the Kangxi period. Two of the extant versions record a particularly interesting version of the betrayal. In it treacherous officials at the court memorialize that the group was harboring rebellious intentions. The Kangxi emperor then invites the leaders to come to court. He organizes a banquet and gives them poisoned liquor to drink. The founder and seven of his pupils die, only the pupil with the family name Hao was able to escape. His descendants spread the teachings all over Northern China.P! Quite unhistorically, in these two versions the enemy besieging Beijing is identified as Wu Sangui who had once let the Manchus enter the passes of China Proper and later on rebelled against the Manchus from his fief in southeastern China, which he had received as a reward. Wu Sangui is driven away by magical techniques or by

Porter (1886) 4-6. I know of four other versions : a. from the Japanese yearbook Kahoku shilky6 nenkan VII: 2: 494, originally in Chinese and quoted by Li (1948) 131 and Ma (1988) 53; b. from an Yiguandao scripture, quoted in Li (1948) 132; c. Ma (1988) 51-52 (most likely early Republic, since it implies the fall of the Qing); d. Chen (1957) 46. The anecdote on death by poison is in the b. and c. versions. The d. version does not contain a treason episode; a., b., and c. do . The a., b. , and c. versions all mention the same remaining disciple. The d. version implies it. 60

61

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DEFINING THE TRIAD MISSION

persuasion, and in the latter case becomes a follower of the founderl'V The similarities between the foundation accounts of the Luo Teachings and the Green Gangs (which should be considered one overall tradition), the Eight Trigrams Teachings and the Triads are striking. I have summarized the evidence in the following table. Table 7. A comparison of three narrative traditions 1. Patriarch Luo account (1682) . 2. Green Gangs (late nineteenth-early twentieth century) . 3. Eight Trigrams (late nineteenth-early twentieth century) . 4. a. Triads (up to 1828). b. Triads (from 1840s onwards) .

a. religious leader (or group) b. his/their provenance b.I. Gansu b.2 . Northern China b.3 . Southern China c. military threat in Northern China c.I. foreign invasion c.2. Wu Sangui d . court/ official asks for su pport e. succeed in defeating "the enemy e.I , military means e.2. magical means e.3. persuasion f. rewards by court g. permission to proselytize h. betrayal i. destruction of group LI. through poisoned liquor j . survival of select few, who found a new group

4. (a)

(b)

+

+

+ +

+ + +

+ +

+ + +

+ +

+ +

+ + + +

+

+

+

+

+

+

+ (B. tradition) + (A. tradition)

+

+

+ + +

+ + + + (B. tradition)

+

+

62 Both in the b. and c. versions. The a. and d. versions only mention subduing some enemy in general. 63 In the version by Porter (1880). However, th is location is almost certainly a mistake by Porter or his source.

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From this table, we can easily recognize that the basic plot structure of the three traditions is remarkably similar, and even more so in the case of the foundation accounts of the Eight Trigrams Teachings and the Triads. The oldest extant example of this structure is the Patriarch Luo account from 1682, but the structure as such may well go back further in time. The absence of the elements i. andj. (which explains the survival of only a few pupils) in the 1682 account, follows from the fact that this story only speaks of one religious leader, without pupils. The sequence of the elements f., g. and h. is also changed into h., f. and g., but otherwise the structure of the 1682 account is the same as in the other traditions. The peculiarities of the Patriarch Luo version of 1682 also apply to the much later Green Gang versions. The similarities extend to some of the details as well. Especially interesting in this respect, is the anecdote concerning the death of the founder and seven early pupils of the Eight Trigrams Teachings through drinking poisoned liquor at a banquet organized by the emperor. We have seen above that in some versions of the B. tradition of the Triad foundation account, the Shaolin monks were also almost poisoned by a gift of imperial liquor. Another remarkable similarity can be found in the personal names of the leader and founder of the surviving group after the betrayal episode, Hao Yunlong of the Eight Trigrams, and Wan Yunlong of the Triads. Finally, in the Green Gang versions of his story, Patriarch Luo is born in Gansu, while the Shaolin Monastery is also located in Gansu in the early versions of the Triad account. The enemy is always located in northern China, even in the case of Wu Sangui who is thought to have besieged Beijing. In the Triad account, the enemy remains in the north as well, even though the location of the Shaolin Monastery is moved to the south in later versions. It is likely that the foundation accounts of these three traditions are somehow related historically. The geographic focus of the stories seems to suggest a northern connection. The Eight Trigrams Teachings originated in northern China and remained predominantly active there. The Luo Teachings also originated in the north, but eventually spread southward as well. The 1682 Precious Scroll which contains our Patriarch Luo account stems from the Lower Yangzi region, but the story may well have spread from the north with the Luo Teachings. Even the Triads from the southernmost provinces retained this northern focus in the oldest versions of their

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foundation account. For the time being, the lack of better documentation makes it impossible to speculate any further. Instead, I wish to forward a sociological hypothesis as to why these groups all selected this particular plot structure, which is independent of any historical considerations about which version of the plot influenced which. Characteristic elements shared by the plot structure in all three traditions are: a. the performance of loyal service for the emperor (not the nation as a whole!), b . successfully combatting foreign invaders or rebels (in only one case are they Han-Chinese), and c. the undeserved betrayal or "fall from grace." I therefore propose to call this structure the "fall from grace" plot. The three traditions were prohibited throughout most of their history, both inside and outside China. Their members were socially marginal, though not necessarily poor. The Luo Teachings enjoyed some highly placed protection during the late Ming period (from eunuchs and palace ladies), but never any formal legal status. The "fall from grace" plot provides an excellent explanation of the marginal nature of the groups in these three traditions, as well as counterbalancing their precarious present-day situation with a glorious past of patriotic and loyal spiritual ancestors. Important is that the "fall from grace" plot is not bound to specific locations or family relationships and that it glorifies the value of absolute loyalty. These two features are absolutely essential in the formation of a successful non-residential, non-professional and non-familial network. Especially during the late imperial period, the number of such networks consisting of socially marginal people, which were distributed over a larger geographical space within one and the same network, substantially increased. Without very strong feelings of mutual loyalty, such networks could never have survived the deaths of their founding members. The "fall from grace" plot therefore stresses the significance of true loyalty in a variety of ways, and provides a common history and purpose in life to the group in question. Here we also see the structural difference with the sagas of the bandits of the Water Margin or the heroes of the Three Kingdoms, despite all the similarities in matters of detail. They all share the theme of the loyalty of the heroes towards the legitimate emperor and towards each other, despite the difficult straits in which the protagonists repeatedly find themselves. The basic plot of the Water

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Margin story is one of 108 single individuals joining together to form one close-knit group. One of the plots of the Three Kingdoms saga also tells the story of the extreme mutual loyalty between the three sworn brothers of the Peach Garden, despite defeats and other temptations. However, the essential element of betrayal from the "fall from grace" plot, with all of its consequences for the group, is completely absent from these two sagas . This underlines once more that the Triad foundation account did not originate in these particular vernacular traditions, but rather in plots that were circulating orally among marginal groups and which had direct relevance for such groups.

9.3. Concluding remarks

The Triad foundation account is best understood as the combination of the "fall from grace" plot with elements from the demonological messianic paradigm. These widespread narrative structures were then combined with a southern Chinese narrative on the burning of the Shaolin Monastery. As I pointed out before, the political aspects of the demonological messianic paradigm were more important in mature Triad lore than the eschatological dimensions. Most Triad groups were not involved in consciously rebellious activities, but this does not mean that the Triad ideal of restoring the Ming and overthrowing the Qing was of no significance to them. On the contrary, as I suggested in Chapter Eight, this ideal implied a privileged access to Heaven for all Triad members. The relationship between Heaven and man is the cornerstone of Chinese socio-religious structure, and always carries strong political overtones. The notion of a privileged access to Heaven derives directly from the demonological messianic paradigm, discussed in Chapters Six and Seven. Therefore, without the influence of this paradigm Triad lore would not have acquired the extreme political tone that it now has. Thanks to the notion of privileged access, the Triad foundation account could set up a particularly strong distinction between insiders and outsiders. Unlike these other traditions, they deduced from their betrayal by the Qing court that they had the right to support another claimant to the Mandate of Heaven. When we consider that the Triads operated in a social environ-

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ment that was full of different social and ethnic groups, we can recognize that such an extreme distinction might fulfil an important integrative function.P' Because of this , the political ideals of the Triads retained a high degree of meaningfulness after they had become divorced from their former demonological messianic context and even after the disappearance of their former enemies with the fall of the Manchu-Qing dynasty in 1911. Furthermore, the Triad political aims linked each Triad group to China as a whole, whatever its actual local connections. Like the other foundation accounts sharing the "fall from grace" plot, the Triad foundation story could be seen as proto-nationalist in the sense of transcending-at least ideologically speaking-local particularistic ties. The Triad account also gave a strongly ethnic interpretation to the age-old Mandate of Heaven ideology. Although this interpretation was not yet fully developed, proposing a HanManchu distinction in which the Manchus were on the negative side foreboded later nineteenth century developments, of which the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace and the nationalist movement are important instances. Benedict Anderson has pointed out that deracinated officials in colonial empires were the first to develop nationalist ideas. 65 In the same way, marginal groups with a weak tie to one specific locality developed the notion of a link to a larger and hierarchically higher whole. Except for the foundation accounts with the "fall from grace" plot, we find the same mechanism in the origin accounts (myths) of the Hakka, the Yao and other southern Chinese groups (both ethnic and kinship groups). These stories would claim that their protagonists had once migrated from the north (the historical center of what is perceived of as Chinese civilisation) and/ or descended from meritorious servants of former, HanChinese dynasties. Therefore I would propose as a working hypothesis that nineteenth century Chinese nationalism originated at least partly in the supra-local ties that were defined as a group's migration in a distant past from a Han-Chinese north or as a fallfrom-grace of groups once loyal to the Han-Chinese (i.e. rarely to the Mongol or Manchu) imperial center. The remarkable role of 64 To my knowledge, only Wakeman (1972) 34-36 has noted this important dimension of Triad political ideals . 65 Anderson (1983, 1991) passim.

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southern Chinese, especially (self-proclaimed) Triad members and people from a Hakka background, in the rise of Chinese nationalism may well have been supported by the prior belief in such quasihistorical supra-local links. 66 Jean DeBernardi has observed that it is "not surprising that some of the most creative uses of language and the symbolic code of the folk religious system are made by socially marginal Chinese, who most need a created identity to replace the negative identity and fate that has been their lot." Her conclusions concern spirit medium cults among marginal Chinese (Hokkien) groups in Malaysia, but they can certainly be extended to the Triad case .67 I basically agree with her observation, except that in, my opinion, all social groups make extensive use oflanguage and symbolic codes to create identities. The identity of marginal groups only appears to be more "created" (artificial) and more "folk" or "popular" (here usually intended as consisting of an apparent mish-mash of different elements), because we as highly literate intellectuals always look at their identities from the outside, from the perspective of the dominating culture(s) who is (are) in control of the written, visual and spoken records. This dominating culture always sees itself as natural and views others as artificial and eclectic, whereas in reality all groups are contingent.

Appendix: New theories on the Shaolin Monastery In the Triad foundation account, the Shaolin Monastery is sometimes associated with martial arts techniques. The 1810 version mentions a "general military official ," but the monks win their battle without the assistance of a regular army. In the 1828 version, this organizer has become a "tough guy" (haohan)," who practices the martial arts (wuyi) in the monastery, and knows military strategies 66 Faure (1989) 8-14 sees such legends as stories about the legitimation of rights to land. On the remarkable Hakka role in the nationalist and revolutionary enterprises of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, see Erbaugh (1992) 937-968. On the Yao myths of origin, see ter Haar (1998) . On such partial continuity, both real and constructed by the later nationalists, see Duara (1995). 67 DeBernardi (1987) 321. Also see her fascinating doctoral dissertation, De Bernardi (1986) . Throughout her work she frequently refers to Triad materials.

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to perfection. The Shaolin monks defeat the barbarians under his leadership, without the assistance of an army. In Schlegel's version of the foundation account from 1843, the abbot of the monastery notes that the monks are all proficient in martial arts and magical techniques, but only the latter are used to defeat the barbarians. Several other manuals also mention the proficiency of the monks in martial arts, but their use in battle is not made explicit. The drawings in the British Museum manuals depict the Shaolin monks, and especially Wan Yunlong, in martial arts postures.l" As I have pointed out above, the locations in the various versions of the foundation account are primarily symbolic in nature and, therefore, do not have any bearing on the actual place of origin of the Triads. Nonetheless, the identification of an original Shaolin Monastery has been the basis for many old and new hypotheses about the origin of the Triads. Here I will review some new evidence that is forwarded to support two such hypotheses, namely (a.) the location of the Shaolin monastery in Quanzhou city and its subsequent burning down because of its anti-Qing activities, and (b .) the location of the Shaolin monastery in Zhaoan county and the role of its abbot Daozong in founding the Triads and creating its ritual lore. Because I basically disagree with both hypotheses, I have placed this discussion in a separate appendix. In the West, most people will know of a martial arts tradition associated with the Shaolin Monastery in the northern Chinese province of Henan. Although Chinese scholars have spilled much ink on the origins and subsequent history of this martial arts tradition, much remains speculative, due to the fragmentary nature of the evidence and often uncritical historical analysis. This problem cannot be remedied in the present investigation, except to note that by the late Ming the Henan monastery was indeed already firmly associated with this tradition.v? Nevertheless, the 68 TDH I: 4 lines 9, 11-12; Guangxi huidang ziliao huibian (Guangxi renmin, Nanning, 1989) 482; Schlegel (1866) 8-11, also see 65 QA 33-36 (same version foundation story in Ward and Stirling [1925] 30-33); Xiao (1935) 4: 4a ("Hong boxing"; Or. 8207 Gl), 4: 16a ("martial arts" ; Or. 2339) ; Stanton (1900) 29-30; Morgan (1960) 32-33; Tiandihui wenxian lu, Guixian xiuzhiju , 20 and Shouxian 'ge, 43. Pictures in the original British Museum manuals Or. 2339 and Or. 8207D. Compare also Morgan (1960) opposite 218. 69 Sources on the northern monastery are contained in Shaolin si ziliaoji. One of the few survey histories of Chinese martial arts is Xi (1985). However, both works lack a critical apparatus and are not very reliable.

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Shaolin Monastery in Henan is extremely unlikely as a source of inspiration for the Triad foundation account, since this account and the history of the monastery do not fit at all. By the late Ming a southern Shaolin tradition of martial arts also existed.I" and given the southern location of the Triads it has been proposed that this tradition (or its parental temple) was their real place of origin. Chinese scholars search ing for this parental temple have uncovered a wealth of fascinating new evidence in order to support the various claims for the original location of this temple. The different theories are mutually exclusive and rely heavily on relatively late foundation accounts from the 1840s and after. Their argumentation is often weak and teleological. Nowadays, Fuqing, Putian and Quanzhou all claim to be have been the location of the parental temple of the southern Shaolin tradition, and, recently, yet another temple in Zhaoan county has been proposed as being the original Shaolin Monastery of southern China."! All such identifications overlook the essential fact that the name Shaolin was not only the name of specific monasteries all across China, but stood as a kind of parspro toto for the Chan tradition and for Buddhist martial arts traditions in general. The reason that it symbolized the Chan tradition was its mythical association with Bodhidharma, who was considered to be the first Chinese patriarch of the Chan tradition, and whose hagiography was intimately associated with the Shaolin monastery in Henan province.F The name "sou th e rn Shaolin" should, therefore, be interpreted as the "southern equivalent of the northern Shaolin," rather than being a single spot or tradition. In other words, the name "sou th ern Shaolin" stakes out a claim to legitimate authority and is not a hard statement of fact. Any monastery could make this claim. Furthermore,

70 This much can be accep ted from the studies in Quanzhou nanshaolin (1993) , even if they are rather parochial in their approach. 71 Luo (1994-1995) nr. 45. He does not clearly address the relationship between the martial arts tradition and the Triads. A critical evaluation of th e Putian hypothesis from a Quanzhou perspective is given by Lin (1993) 48-51. 72 The fact that n one of this is really borne out by historical sources does not invalidat e its importance as a historical myth . McRae (1986) 15-19 treats what little we know. Bodhidharma as a mythical figure pops up all over traditional Chinese culture.

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the martial arts tradition which presented itself as the "southern Shaolin" tradition may well have started independent of a specific monastery. Even if certain monasteries were eventually associated with this martial arts tradition, this does not necessarily prove that the tradition also originated there. Of all the claims, the Quanzhou one is especially interesting, because of the discovery of a remarkable historical document. The claim is underpinned with elaborate archaeological and textual evidence, suggesting that a Shaolin Monastery was once located next to the much better documented Eastern Marchmount Temple (largely destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, but still active as a ritual center), just outside the old Quanzhou city gates. The archaeological evidence, supported by place names known only to the local elderly, merely confirms the former existence of a large Buddhist monastery at this location.P The main documentary source is a recently discovered local manuscript, called the "Mixed Records from the Western Mountain" (xishan zazhi) , by Cai Yongjian (1776-1835). The book is a treasure trove of notices on the local history of Quanzhou. Several of these notices document the history of a local Shaolin Monastery with a centuries old martial arts tradition, including the burning of the monastery on imperial command in 1763 and the growth of anti-Qing and pro-Ming feelings among the surviving monks. Furthermore, the account of the history of the Shaolin Monastery emphatically stresses the importance of the Cai family in the transmission of the monastery's martial arts tradition.P' Other evidence confirms that during the 73 Lin (1993) 42 . 1 have checked this information during a short stay in Quanzhou in March 1993 . A two hour survey revealed that grave stones and inscriptions had been incorporated in the walls of houses, sheds and local roads, confirming the existence of a large religious building complex. None of this material has been studied as yet by Chinese scholars. Much of the original hilly landscape has now been removed for land development and a local prison has been built on part or all of the graveyard (of which some urns still remain) . No explicit archaeological confirmation has come forward as yet that this was indeed the Shaolin Monastery. 74 Lin (1993) 36-52 (including the relevant quotations) . Photographs 11-13 show the manuscript, including the cover with the date 1810. Discussions by this and other authors in the same book that includes Lin (1993) to celebrate the southern Shaolin tradition are misleading, because the quasi-independent evidence that they cite all stems from this one Qing manuscript or from later Triad transmissions. According to Lin Shaochuan, the whole manuscript was written by the same person, in the same handwriting. He also noted in a conversation

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late Qing, this family was indeed the heart of an important martial arts tradition.P Potentially, the Shaolin history in the "Mixed Records" could be an invaluable historical source, not just for Quanzhou local history, but especially for our efforts in tracking down the history of the Triad foundation account. However, a closer analysis shows that the crucial account of the burning of the monastery is virtually identical in contents and structure with the plot of the corresponding account in the late Qing novel Wannianqing qicai xinzhuan. The only exception is the leading role of the Cai family in the "Mixed Records." This raises suspicions about the trustworthiness of the account in the "Mixed Records" as a whole. The duplication is such that it can hardly be explained by a common oral source, leaving as the only explanation that one text has copied the other or that both texts go back to the same written original. A comparison with twentieth century local folklore, about martial arts traditions, indicates that the main monks mentioned by Cai Yongjian, in the account of the burning, are, in fact, the mythical founders of actually existing martial arts traditions. Other evidence also confirms that whoever authored the passages concerning the Shaolin Monastery in the "Mixed Records" certainly knew martial arts from the inside.I" Thus, the account probably originated from a martial arts environment. One hypothesis could be that the Cai family incorporated stories circulating among martial arts practitioners in southern China into their family account, in order to demonstrate to their pupils the legitimacy and superiority of their line."? The story might then have ended up with the author(s) of with me that he felt that the present owner did not possess sufficient cultural knowledge to fake (parts of) the text. According to him the paper was old. However, this does not preclude a falsification by someone during the late Qing or Republican periods. The credibility of the manuscript can be enhanced by investigating other parts, as in Lin Shaochuan, "Boni 'You song quanzhou panyuan pugong zhi mu' xinkao", Haijiaoshi yanjiu (1991 :2) 57-64 and Chen Guoqiang, "' Xishan zazhi' ji taixi moyai shike de jige wenti", Fujian huian xianzitan moyai shike yanjiu (Zhongyang minzuxueyuan, date and place unclear [offprint given to me by Lin Shaochuan]) 91-102. 75 Lu Yirong, "Wuzu quan yuanliu chutan", in Quanzhou nanshaolin (1993) 245-256 devotes substantial attention to Cai Yuming (1857-1910), a famous representative of this tradition. 76 In assessing the martial arts aspects of the account, I have profited much from the assistance of martial arts teacher Roel Jansen. Local folklore is discussed in various essays in Quanzhou nanshaolin (1993). 77 None of the authors in Quanzhou nanshaolin (1993) consider this possibility .

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the novel through a copy belonging to a pupil. However, it is equally possible that later copyists of the "Mixed Records" inserted a summary from the novel (or its unknown predecessor) into their own account, or even that we are dealing with a more recent falsification. Without further research on the "Mixed Records" (including the original manuscript) and more external sources becoming available, these questions must be considered unsolved. Future research should also include an exhaustive investigation of the folklore traditions, which tell of the burning of the Shaolin Monastery. They tell us that the southern Shaolin school of martial arts was spread through Guangdong and Fujian by the Five Ancestors, i.e. the five monks who survived the burning of the monastery. One of these schools was formed by the Cai family, but the names are not the same as in the burning of the monastery account (as included either in the "Mixed Records" or the late Qing novel).78 At the present stage of our knowledge, it seems likely that a local tradition existed of the burning of a Shaolin Monastery somewhere in southern China, maybe to provide an explanation for the spread of the martial arts tradition of this name. Sadly we cannot confirm this as an historical event, but whether as a folkloric tradition or historical event, the account was then incorporated into the Triad foundation story. At any rate, even if we assume that the "Mixed Records" account is historically reliable, this does not make the local Shaolin monastery into the ancestral temple of the Triads. The Triad version of the Shaolin burning is too different to assume a direct connection with the "Mixed Records" account. Instead, I would suggest that stories on the burning of a real or mythological Shaolin monastery were circulating in southern China towards the end of the eighteenth century, which were then taken up in different ways by martial arts specialists and by the Triads. A very daring hypothesis is the proposal that the Changlin monastery in modern Zhaoan county, founded by the abbot DaolOng (or Dazong), could have been the ancestral monastery of the Triads. This suggestion was first made by the Taiwan scholar Weng Tongwen on the basis of poems and local historical materials, and 78 Xi (1985) 285-289 (the reference to serving the Qing probably stems from the Triad foundation account), 292-293. Sadly, the lack of critical apparatus in this book does not allow any further historical analysis.

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has recently been taken up, with a wealth of new evidence, by the mainland scholars Zeng Wuyue and Luo Zhao. These three scholars have together tracked down several poems, an historical novel and a series of relevant inscriptions. Their basic argument is quite simple. In 1654, the monastery was founded when the region was still in the hands of the nominally Ming-loyalist forces of Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga). Its founding abbot had belonged to a group of pro-Ming fighters with the adopted family name Wan. The abbot was called Daozong according to contemporary epigraphical material, and one inscription refers to him as Patriarch Wan . A poem by the Ming-loyalist Lu Ruoteng calls one abbot of the Changlin monastery by the name of Dazong and it is assumed by our modem researchers that this was Daozong.I? As we will see , this last detail is the crux of the overall argument concerning a link between the abbot and the Triads. Whether he was called Daozong and Dazong, they are the abbot's life time appellations. The proposed link with the Triads was inspired by the grave inscription for Monk Wan which is given in many Triad manuals (from 1810 onwards) and in a poem that refers to the Changlin Monastery. The inscription is written in sixteen characters, all preceded by the three drops of the water radical with which esoteric Triad characters are written. The text is never explained and very often copied incorrectly in the manuals. This surely indicates that people did not know what the grave inscription was supposed to mean. The proper interpretation of the inscription is as follows: "Grave Pagoda of Monk Dazong, who received office at the Changlin Monastery and was the first branch who opened up the Mountain.Y" On this basis, Monk Wan has been identified as the historical Daozong (alias Lu Ruoteng's Dazong) of the Changlin Monastery and hence the latter is seen as the founder of the Triads. This would make the Triads descendants of the Ming loyalists and followers of Zheng Chenggong, continuing an old hypothesis on their origins, but now based on seemingly much stronger evidence.

He (1996) 116-124. Why Luo would have used the wrong name is unclear. TDH I: 7 lines 10-11 (poem) and 12 lines 22-24 (grave inscription) . Without He (1996) 116, I could not have figured out its meaning. He does not comment on the frequency ofwriting errors. Part of these errors may stem from modem printers unable to interpret the original esoteric characters correctly. The Changlin poem is quite uninteresting. 79

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A critical look at the evidence, however, places the whole argument in a different light. Here I will discuss only those elements of the argument that directly relate to' the supposed origins of the Triads. First of all, the grave inscription's way of referring to Monk Wan as Monk Dazong is entirely unrepresentative of Triad lore as a whole. All early materials refer to him solely as Monk Wan or Wan Tixi (Tiqi), eventually becoming Wan Yunlong. He is never connected to the Shaolin monastery, but resides in the mountains as a hermit, before he encounters the five remaining Shaolin monks and founds the first Triad group. He is only called Dazong of the Changlin monastery in the grave inscription, sometimes with Shaolin instead of Changlin and in a huge variety of written variants. In other words, Dazong is Monk Wan's posthumous title, meaning "attained ancestor." This kind of title could have invented for Monk Wan by anyone with some experience in ancestor worship, and is an obvious title to give to someone to whom, like Monk Wan, such religious and historical accomplishments were ascribed during his lifetime. If the Triads had indeed been founded by the historical Daozong or by his followers, it is unclear why they consistently refer to him as Monk Wan (a name which is only attested for Daozong in one inscription) and why his personal name becomes a posthumous title in the Triad inscription. In addition, one wonders why the Triads would have used the wrong name Dazong (attested only in a poem donated to him by Lu Ruoteng) instead of Daozong. A second incongruity is that the Changlin Monastery stayed active long into the twentieth century, without being burned and without possessing anti-Qing and Ming restorationist associations.f! The fact that its founders had once engaged in the Ming loyalist struggle does not prove that they continued to do so later on. Furthermore, in the foundation account the actual monastery of the Triad patriarchs is always called the Shaolin Monastery and was originally located in Gansu province. There is no evidence of an ongoing institutional link between the Triads and the Changlin monastic 81 This is borne out by a series of temple and grave inscriptions. Luo (19941995) nr. 51 interprets the "sun and moon precious mirror" in the bushel on the altar of the Incense Flower practitioner (witnessed during an eye-opening ritual) as a hidden reference to the Ming . However, references to the sun and moon in a ritual context are usually part of the ritual representation of the cosmos .

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tradition. This is the more relevant because the monastery remained active throughout the period that the Triads were also active and in the same region. Thus, the monastery and its monks are very unlikely to be the direct ancestors or precursors of the Triads. Much more convincing evidence, at least upon first sight, comes from a liturgical manuscript from the Incense Flower tradition in southern Fujian. This is a vernacular Buddhist ritual tradition, much looked down upon by the classical Buddhist ritual traditions associated with the large monasteries. Like the parallel vernacular Daoist traditions, its followers use local vernacular languages and singing styles, have a much more open relationship to local deities, and practise a more theatrical type of rituals. They also practise martial arts. A central ritual implement is the rice bushel with contents. The ritual specialists of the Incense Flower tradition practise rituals for the deceased, including the destruction of the city of hell ("beating the city of fire" [da huocheng]), and also carry out "opening the eyes" (kaiguang) rituals to make divine statues come alive. They do not need to be vegetarian, but originally they did not marry. Their liturgy and costumes all differ from the classical traditions. Their name itself derives from a speech by the Buddha prescribing incense and flowers as the main sacriflces.F The liturgical manuscript was discovered in Zhaoan county by Luo Zhao.83 It contains a number of poems with very clear Triad lore, some of which can be found in extant Triad manuals. Luo Zhao attempts to trace the manual back to the aforementioned abbot of the Changlin monastery, Daozong, but this is not confirmed by any explicit evidence.f" He mentions that the ritual manual which he reproduces has no title, but actually, the title "Collection of Hymns from the Gulai Monastery" follows imme-

Luo (1994-1995) nrs . 46, 51, 58, 71, 78. Luo (1994-1995) nrs , 53-55 reproduces a substantial part of the manuscript. He (1996) 127-129 includes those sections that are directly relevant for the investigation of Triad history (as he sees it) . His version also includes two Triad esoteric characters, for "heaven" and "gathering" (but falsely used for "earth") . 84 Luo (1994-199 5) nr. 57 claims a reference in the ritual manuscript to the patriarch as a reference to Daozong as the author. Despite repeated claims to th e contrary, see Luo (1994-1995) nr. 67 and 75 (in favour of Daozong) , there is no direct evidence on the actual author(s) of the liturgical texts . He (1996) 129133 observes that only Daozong's pupils could have referred to him as a patriarch. He suggests that pupils of Daozong's authored the material and points out that part of it may be much newer. 82 83

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diately after a brief history of this monastery.P This indicates that this particular manual was not directly associated with the Changlin monastery of Daozong. According to its colophon, it was "recopied" in 1818 in memory of the death of an important monk from the copy of an older manuscript belonging to the monk's pupils. This particular monk had died in 1769. 86 Whether this proves that the original already contained all materials of the later version is unclear. In the process of changing and recopying the manuscript, the old colophons might have been preserved because they validated the text's origin. Generally speaking, however, I would accept the date 1818 as possible, were it not for a number of inconsistencies in the transmitted text. Luo Zhao has seen two other manuscripts of the Incense Flower tradition, one from 1729 and another from the Republican period. He does not report on any possible variations in their liturgical contents, except for a list of 36 person names to be written on a gambling card game. The lists in the 1729 and Republican period manuscripts are the same. The 1818 manuscript contains two lists, of which the second and completely different list contains a whole range of names from Zheng Chenggong's circle, three Ming loyalist philosophers, and a large number of figures from the Triad foundation account.s? The composition of this second list raises serious doubts about its date of compilation and the degree of inside Triad knowledge of its author. Crucial Triad figures such as Wan Yunlong or Chen Jinnan are not included. The names of six leaders of the Former and Later Five Houses are mentioned: namely Wu Tiancheng, Fang Dahong, Li Shichi and Yao Bida of the Later Five Houses, as well as Fang Dahong and Li Shikai of the Former Five Houses. Others are Lin Dajiang, Fang Huicheng, and Yang Zhangyou (probably a mistake for Yang Wenzuo) of the Five Tiger generals. None of these three groups of five figures is complete. Other names in the list are those of some of the supporters of the monks in the foundation account, such as Wu Tinggui, Zheng Junda, his son Zheng Daode and his sister Zheng Yulan (which should be Yulian) . This list of

Luo Luo rized with 87 Luo 85 86

(1994-1995) nr. 53. (1994-1995) nrs . 74-75 on the basis of epigraphical materials, summasome changes in He (1996) 130-132. (1994-1995) nrs . 53, 58-64. Briefly discussed in He (1996) 128-129.

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supporters is not complete either. That the young prince Zhu Hongying becomes Zhou Hongying is understandable, given the political implications of the Zhu family name, but otherwise these lacunae suggest that whoever selected the names to be written on the cards did not have much understanding of the Triad foundation account. Finally, these Triad figures can only be found together in versions from the 1840s that belong to the B. tradition.f" In other words, the nature of this list points to a much later date for the manuscript than 1818 and indicates a none-too-knowledgeable author. This judgement is confirmed by several other indications. For instance, the references to the "three massacres of ]iading" and the "ten days ofYangzhou" refer to the most bloody events of the Qing conquest of Ming China. 89 However, these references reflect typically late nineteenth century and early twentieth century educated nationalist elite concerns about the nature of the Qing conquest, rather than an oral tradition.P? The three brief quotations from Huang Zongxi, Gu Yanwu and Wang Fuzhi are highly unusual for a liturgical manual. The ritual master Daoyu, Luo Zhao's main source on the Incense Flower tradition, had been taught that these were three extremely important lines. Wang Fuzhi only achieved real fame by the late nineteenth century, although his works had already been published before.P! These quotations again reflect elite concerns, rather than the interests of local monks. A final indication that the author of the ritual manual did not really know much about Triad lore and that he was working from late manuals comes from the nature of his borrowing. I have summarized the relevant information in the following table.

88 They can all be found in Xiao (1935) 2: 3-7b (8207D), but the version Yao Bida is only in Schlegel (1866) 22 and Xiao (1935) 5: la-b (Or. 2339) . 89 Luo (1994-1995) nr. 53. 90 This also answers a rethorical question made many decades ago by Xiao Yishan (Xiao [1935] 2: lOb), namely why the Triads did not refer to these events . Interestingly, Republican nationalist historiography has exerted considerable influence on the foundation account recorded by Morgan (1960) 32-48. 91 Luo (1994-1995) nr. 68-70 discusses these three quotations. He feels that Wang .Fuzhi and Daozong, the putative author of the liturgical manual for Luo Zhao, must have known each other, because Daozong had died before the first printing of Wang Fuzhi's writings.

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413

Table 8. Incense Flower borrounngfrom Triad lore92 a. 53: 2: 9-14 The first two poems copy the first two "foundations" (ben) poems, with one crucial error (the Triad esoteric character for gatherin~ is used for earth and the correct earth character is not used at all). 3 The third "foundation" poem has been replaced by a new one. Luo Zhao sees the fact that it rhymes in the Mandarin standard language as evidence that it is more original than the Triad version that has been dropped.P! I would argue the other way around precisely for this reason. b. 53: 3: 8-9 The poem for wrapping the head with a white cloth. 95 c. 53: 3: 10-11 Two lines on the exorcist aim of a spell, sounding much like Triad lore, but no identification possible. d. 54: 2: 2-3 Two lines referring to (Zhu) Hongying and (Wan) Yunlong, but no identification possible. e 54: 2: 3-4 The poem for the High Creek Temple.P'' d. 54: 2: 8-9 and 9-10 The poem for the Five Ancestors, including the title, but with an unrelated liturgical sentence between the first and second couplet. 97 e . 54: 2: 21-29 The poem for the Nightly Killing at the Yellow Springs (a summary of the fate of the Shaolin Monastery in the Triad version). One significant change is of "Xilu" into xichuang ("dashing from the West").98 All Triad versions of the poem give Xilu. In the Incense Flower manual, xichuang is no doubt intended as an improvement, possibly referring to Li Zicheng's occupation of Beijing coming from the West. This event toppled the Ming and he called himself the chuangwang ("the dashing king").99 Since Xilu refers to the moment that the Shaolin monks first garnered glory during the Qing, this "correction" is inconsistent with the poem and the plot of the Triad foundation account. 92 All possible instances with references to Triad lore have been included, referring to the issue of Luo Zhao's articles, the precise column and the lines. My list is slightly longer than Luo's list as implied in Luo (1994-1995) nrs. 57, 64-65, and the explicit list in He (1996) 127-128. He's list gives the same lines, but arranges them according to different subtitles. Without the original liturgical manual I cannot judge who is correct, but this does not affect my overallanalysis. My annotations critically develop the suggestions by Luo Zhao. I indicate the oldest possible Triad source. He (1996) 128 claims that all poems can be found in Triad lore, which is incorrect. All correspondences include substantial textual variations, sometimes improvements over extant Triad versions, sometimes clear corruptions. 93 TDH I: 3 and 9 lines 3-6, 20-26. 94 Luo (1994-1995) nr. 45. 95

Guixian xiuzhiju

96

TDH I: 6: line 9. TDH I: 4: lines 28-29. Xiao (1935) 5: 26b (8207D). Parsons (1970) 8, 44, but also see 261.

97

98 99

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Table 8. Cont. f. 54: 3: 1-11 Summary of the description of the City of Willows in the Triad initiation journey, but no identification possible. g. 55: 1: 15-17 Part of the above mentioned grave inscription. Curiously, this is the most correct version of the inscription which I have ever seen, although it lacks the sentence stating "the grave of Monk Dazong. "100 Maybe, the monk-eopyist of this line from Triad lore did not understand this reference, since his patriarch was Daozong! h. 55: 2: 1-4 Various Triad references, but no identification possible.

The references to Triad lore occupy a small part of the overall ritual manual and remain superficial citations. Only the poem "The Nightly Killing at the Yellow Springs" (e.) is a substantial borrowing and fits the Incense Flower tradition's claim that they were connected to the southern Shaolin tradition. Since Incense Flower monks were looked at askance by ordinary Chan monks, they had every need to legitimate themselves in this way. The other long poem containing Triad lore (f.) describes the bushel with contents. The other borrowings are all minor poems and the incomplete grave inscription. The liturgical manual does not integrate the structure of the Triad ritual, nor its major narrative elements. There are no references to the central political claim of Triad lore, except for the poem "The Nightly Killing at the Yellow Springs." Various inconsistencies (especially the mix up of esoteric characters [a.] and the quasi-eorrection of Xilu into xichuang [e.]) are evidence of borrowing from the Triads, rather than the other way around. Since several poems can only be attested in later Triad manuals, the 1818 date of this Incense Flower manuscript is once more put in doubt. The transmission history of the manuscript and its status in the overall liturgy of the Incense Flower tradition remain confused. The text from which Luo Zhao and He Zhiqing quoted is not the one used by Luo's informant, the ritual master Daoyu, nor the "reproduction" to which he frequently refers. Instead, the text quoted was photographed from a manuscript in the possession of a descendant of an Incense Flower ritual master.l''! Luo has also Compare TDH I: 12 lines 22-24. Luo (1994-1995) nrs. 46 (on Daoyu's copy, which Daoyu did not want to have copied), 52 (Daoyu's teacher was the holder of the original manuscript from which Daoyu's version had on ce been copied. Because he had just died, his copy could not be used for reasons of piety . Luo [1994-1995] nr. 96 discusses the discovery of the old original which has been used by him for these articles) . 100

lOl

DEFINING THE TRIAD MISSION

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seen two ritual manuals from other lines of transmission, one going back to 1729 and the other from the Republican period,102 but he does not explicitly compare their contents with the text quoted by him. The crucial question whether (and then what) Triad material is also contained in the 1729 manual, therefore, remains unanswered. Disappointingly, despite the fact that Daoyu and other monks from the Incense Flower tradition continue to practise their liturgical tradition, no attempt has been made to observe and record actual rituals in which these various texts are used. The closest that we get is an incomplete description of an altar that was still standing the day after the performance of an "opening the eyes" ritual. One informant describes the core event (namely smearing the blood of a white cockerel on the eyes of the status) ,103 which is no different from "eye-opening" rituals by Daoist ritual specialists or carpenters. All the "fieldwork" is limited to uncovering texts, which are then validated with interviews. Whether, and how, the specific liturgical manual in question was used in a ritual context remains totally unclear. All in all , there can be little doubt that this ritual tradition has borrowed from Triad lore, most likely during the Republican period. Ritual masters of the Incense Flower tradition probably came across Triad lore in reprinted form (such as the source publication by Xiao Yishan from 1935) and then incorporated some of this lore in their own ritual tradition. They also adopted information on the anti-Qing struggle of the Triads as part of an oral transmission, but this was not systematically incorporated in their written liturgical materials. At present, this transmission can only be attested for Daoyu and his teacher. Further fieldwork is necessary to establish whether or not the incorporation of Triad lore and this more elaborate oral transmission was a general feature of the Incense Flower tradition or a purely individual development. Despite the great interest of the recently discovered sources for the study of local Fujianese history, they do not throw new light on the real "historical" origins of the Triads. The historical arguments into which they are fitted remain highly eclectic and speculative, and base themselves on late versions of the Triad founda102 103

Luo (1994-1995) nr. 69. Luo (1994-1995) nr. 51.

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tion account. They continue an age-old tradition of interpreting mythical names of places and persons as real life facts. The uncovering of the Buddhist vernacular Incense Flower tradition, which closely parallels the existence of similar and much better known Daoist traditions, deserves extensive fieldwork in its own right. However, it took its inspiration from Triad lore, rather than the other way around.

PART IV CONCLUDING ANALYSIS

INTRODUCTION In the preceding eight chapters (making up Parts II. and 111.) , I have provided detailed descriptions and analyses of different dimensions of Triad lore, from the perspectives of the ritual performance (in which the present lives of participants are enacted in a powerful context, so that they can be reshaped) and the mythical narrative (in which stories of past and future are told with the express purpose of being relevant to the present). In order to carry through my analysis, I have constructed various layers of meaning and meaningfulness of which I felt that they were present in Triad lore. This analysis has been an act of appropriation and destruction, reorganizing Chinese materials in order to reach a more Western type of understanding. Certainly, my analysis has been based on insights provided by Triad writings and drawings, on confessions in various edited versions, and on a variety of writings concerning the Triads by Chinese or Western authors who have had direct or indirect contact with them. These materials, in a sense, acted as my informants and determined the parameters within which I have carried out my analysis. In addition, I have attempted to construct a larger context from a variety of written sources and ethnographic reports for the various religious aspects of Triad lore. On this basis I was able to interpret Triad ritual and narratives in some depth, and to establish the surprising degree to which it stemmed from existing traditions which were given a specific Triad form and interpretation. All the same, my constructions of more and less hidden meanings and functions of Triad lore do not reflect the reception of Triad lore by the (candidate) members themselves. In Chapter Ten, I therefore look at the limited evidence that we have on explicit attitudes of Triad members towards their lore, from the perspectives of the sale of knowledge and the apparent lack of interest in verbalized interaction with the possible meanings and functions of Triad lore. We shall see that the point of Triad lore is not in understanding, but in performing and knowing the initiation ritual. I therefore conclude this chapter with a brief analysis of the performative use of Triad lore to build a community, introducing some material on the use ofjargon and signals that has not been discussed before. In Chapter Eleven, I will round my investigation of Triad lore off with a summary of the principal results and some more general observations.

CHAPTER TEN

KNOWLEDGE AS AN OBJECT Joining the Triads meantjoining a socio-religious group, and, unlike joining a specifically religious group ("sect"), this did not involve a fundamental change of lifestyle. This was why Triad members had a much looser attitude towards their lore than we are accustomed to, an attitude which might easily confuse us into thinking that the contents of Triad lore did not matter at all. In this chapter I therefore wish to investigate the attitude of Triad members towards their ritual and narrative lore in more detail. First, I will analyze rather briefly the nature of the obligatory financial contribution upon acquiring Triad lore, arguing that besides being a way of earning money for the teachers this was also, and more importantly, a way of creating connections between people. Then, I analyze in more detail the evidence that we do have on members' understanding of Triad lore. Although most Triad members were unable to discuss the meanings and functions of their lore in explicit ways, this should not be taken to mean that these were irrelevant.

10.1. Paying for Triad lore It was Triad practice to charge a certain sum of money for the

transfer of lore, which makes it very easy to misinterpret these payments as being solely a form of entrepreneurship.' However, in Chinese culture, one always pays for rituals, whether the aim is to invoke Buddhist blessings or Daoist good fortune, to expedite the passage of a relative into a better world after death or exorcise some evil demon. These "payments" are conceived of as voluntary gifts, rather than instrumental payments. A ritual specialists is not hired, but invited.f Someone who was invested as a ritual 1 Murray (1993) 182-184. She sees the payments as a membership fee, instead of payments for the transfer of knowledge. 2 These remarks have been informed by my own fieldwork, but can be confirmed by anybody who has taken part in religious activities in China.

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specialist in the classical Daoist tradition was expected to present a wide range of gifts (including money or its equivalents) to his teacher (and transmitter of texts). Such teachers might become very rich as a result." The value of the objects, or the amount of money, that was transferred indicated the (perceived) strength of the knowledge involved and the degree of gratitude on the part of the recipient. Someone who was able to finance a ritual with more than one ritual specialist and lasting longer not only acquired more respect from his community, but also obtained a much stronger and more effective ritual. The fact that knowledge can be sold to generate income was never felt to invalidate the religious beliefs involved. Qing officials saw the transfer of money for religious services by members of new religious groups as one big swindle," but I would suggest that their views are not representative of general Chinese socio-religious belief in this respect.' Susan Naquin has described in some detail, the custom, prevalent among the new religious groups of late imperial China, of donating money to one's teacher. As she points out, most groups expected an initial contribution from new members, and some groups also expected regular donations later on. Such contributions were not necessarily linked to the preparation of a rebellion, but could be used for the maintenance of the group, paying for such things as vegetarian feasts and religious worship (for instance incense or sacrifices) . In exchange for money, promises could be made of titles or land in the distant future, after the advent of the millennium. Since some of the money received by a teacher had to go to teachers higher up the hierarchy of transmission, higher ranking teachers acquired considerable wealth. Apart from demanding contributions, the teacher also received payment for funerary rituals and sold passports to expedite souls to the world of the dead. The same activities were normally also performed by Buddhist and Daoist priests. Naquin stresses that these funds were used for the good of the group and to pay for group activities. She also points out that the act of making a donation reinforced vertical solidarity between pupils and teachers (and their groupsj .f However, the Strickmann (1990) 93, 104. Naquin (1985) 270-271. 5 See for instance the recent contribution by Van (1996). 6 Naquin (1976) 49-53, 280; Naquin (1985) 270-271, 282-285. I can confirm from my own fieldwork and that of Alexei Maslov (personal communication) that it is still common today on Taiwan as well as on the Chinese mainland. 3

4

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teachers lived well from the donations that they received. In 1771, 12.400 silver taels were found buried at the home of the Liu family, who were at the pinnacle of a pyramid of teachers. Lin Qing, the famous Eight Trigrams Teachings teacher who led a rebellion in 1813, used a significant part of his income to improve his personallot. He did so in a highly visible way, enjoying the luxury of wine and fresh fruit every day. There is, however, no evidence that his followers begrudged him these and other luxuries." On the contrary, my own casual observations of the lifestyle of the rich and powerful in Chinese culture, and popular re~ponses to this way of living, lead me to conclude that such a lifestyle was actually expected of important teachers. New Triad members always had to pay substantial sums of money upon receiving Triad lore. In the Northern Jiangxi-Northern Fujian region it was possible, during the first decades of the nineteenth century, to pay less money in a ceremony that did not involve the blood covenant and consequently receive a limited amount of lore. However, this was a regional exception, as elsewhere the transfer of Triad lore was always accompanied by a money payment and an initiation ritual (including the blood covenant). Part of the money was used to buy incense and sacrificial gifts, the remainder was kept by the teachers. A typical case was that of the teacher Lu San from Yongding county. In 1797 he had met his acquaintance and fellow "countyman" Huang Huazeng, who told him that he had become a pupil of Lu Shenghai. Lu San was persuaded to become a pupil as well, so that "one could avoid being cheated by others. If one received the membership certificate on red cloth, one could take pupils and swindle some money out of them." Lu San paid 500 coins, from which Huang Huazeng bought incense and candles. He probably kept the remainder. Lu San went through the initiation ceremony and received the red membership certificate. He was instructed to plait his queue from left to right, as a recognition sign, to enable fellow members to recognize and help him in times of need.f Similar signs were widespread at the time among members fromJiangxi, Northern Fujian and Guangdong, suggesting that it may have functioned successfully," Since Triad members were being 7 8 9

Naquin (1976) 80-83 (Lin Qing) ; Naquin (1985) 283 (on the Liu's). TDH VI: 345. TDH VI: 188, 202, 225, 232, 332; TDH VII: 446, 507.

KNOWLEDGE AS AN OBJECT

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persecuted at the time, Lu San fled and only returned home in 1805. He was then involved in the failed robbery of a rice shop and fled the area once again. In 1811 he reached Longquan county, and was so poor that he decided to teach Triad lore to make a living. In the course of his teaching, he built up an extensive local network. 10 Lu San believed that possessing the membership certificate on red cloth gave him the right to take pupils and earn some money from them. Exactly the same expectations are expressed in almost literally the same words by the majority of the Triad members from Northern Fujian and Jiangxi from the early nineteenth century. Qing officials described this form of earning money as a swindle, but there is no evidence that Triad members or other local people ever agreed with them.!! On the contrary, the very fact that poor people were prepared to spend what was to them a substantial sum of money to obtain a little Triad lore should be sufficient to demonstrate that such negative value judgements are overly simplistic. The money was used to defray the costs of the ritual that accompanied the transfer of lore or the initiation, and served to confirm the teacher-pupil tie. It also was a type of income, but should not be reduced to this latter function. Ideally, at least one part of the contribution consisted of a symbolic amount, as is documented for a group in Guangxi in 1815 . The teacher Liang Laojiu made his pupil Li Yonghuai pay an additional 108 coins above in addition to the normal 6,000 coins. This amount undoubtedly refers to the 108 members of the first Triad group, although the members of this network did not explicitly make this link in their confessions.V In the 1828 manual, 108 coins are used to make a drawing that represents the City of Willows. 13 Morgan mentions a total of 600 coins, of which 597 are to be handed over to the Triad group at various points during the initiation ritual. Three are retained by the candidate, who receives three special coins in exchange for them with a total weight of 10.8 mace.l" The evidence does not allow us to establish whether TDH VI: 345-346. TDH VI: 345 and passim. 12 TDH VII: 370; background 108, see TDH I: 4 line 18. 13 Guangxi huidang, 521. 14 Morgan (1960) 144-145. Compare Stanton (1900) 90 with quite different weights, howeve r. The membership certificate in Ward and Stirling (1925) opposite 138 includes the three cash coins. 10

II

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such symbolic fees were always paid. That some kind of contribution was always paid seems certain.P The existence of such symbolic amounts further confirms the non-monetary component of these contributions. Apart from serving as a payment for the transfer of knowledge, the payment of a fee should also be seen as a gift that served to create a connection between the donor and the recipient. Such gifts were and still are part and parcel of Chinese social life and should be seen as such. In fact, it was fundamentally impossible to establish social relationships in traditional China (as is still the case today) without exchanging gifts to express "human feelings" (renqing). This was as true of teacher-pupil relationships (whether involving religious or other types of knowledge) , as it was of marriage, friendship, business and other types of relationships. One can find excellent illustrations of this in vernacular Chinese novels, such as the Plum in the Golden Vase.16 Van Yunxiang has drawn attention to the importance of giving in a hierarchical context, from inferior to superior, without the need on the latter's part to reciprocate. Van stresses that giving does not necessarily increase the power of the donor over those who receive in the form of future obligations on the part of the latter, but serves to express the higher status of the recipient, here the teacher and ritual master, with respect to the donor, here the pupil and candidate member. By giving one expresses one's loyalty and gratitude (certainly in this case, since one receives teachings in return), and acquires status (in the form of "face") through association with a higher-up person.l? The benefits of receiving are self-evident, namely the confirmation of one's power and "face."

10.2. The priority of knowing over analyzing Thus, in Triad practice religious lore could be obtained through participation in a ritual to change one's status and the transfer of a gift to establish an interhuman tie. The final blood covenant finalized the ties that were thus created. In the following sections, 15 For the early evidence, see TDH VI-VII passim. Stanton (1900) 79 (no. 4: one tael), 81 (no. 5: one tael) , 83 (no. 6: twelve tael), 86 (no . 9: five tael). 16 Roy (1993) passim. 17 Van (1996) esp . 160-175,219-222.

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I will argue in more detail that Triad lore was not and did not need to be internalized or understood (which would have justified terms such as "belief," "adherent" etc.). For this very reason, I have used terms in the preceding chapters such as "practice," "member(ship)," "participant(s) ." Knowledge was something that one possessed, but that did not require analytical understanding. It functioned as a ritual object, having a primarily exterior and behavioral aspect. However, the fact that internalization was not required does not mean that Triad lore was a meaningless and unstructured body of knowledge and practices, or that no Triad members ever understood it. I8 I will conclude the following discussion of Triad lore as a ritual object by pointing out some indications of a more explicit awareness of these meanings among Triad members. The crucial point is not a prohibition on analytical understanding as the way to true insight (as for instance in Chan Buddhism), but rather the absence of such a requirement. This is a crucial difference with the religious life that most people in western Europe and northern America live, especially those who also write about religion. Although by now well-established, this difference still causes many misunderstandings of non-Western religious culture. 10.2.1. The early evidence

The fact that Triad lore did not involve interiorized beliefs will have become clear from the evidence of people's awareness of its political ("rebellious") connotations, discussed in section 8.3.1. In a number of cases members destroyed or hid the manuals, but they frequently practised the initiation ritual while simply ignoring its political aspect. This would have been much more difficult if the interiorisation of these political aspects had been mandatory. The same point also becomes clear from the manner in which Triad lore was transmitted. Sometimes, arrested members were asked by their interrogators to explain their lore and its provenance, usually in connection with confiscated texts. Several answers were possible. The most common reply was that the texts had simply 18 See also my discussion at the end of Chapter Three. I have been greatly helped in formulating my thoughts by Tooker (1992) 799-819 and Watson (1993) 80-103.

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been copied from existing older texts, without anything having been added.l? Other members replied that they had asked their teachers who the names in the texts referred to and had been told that these were traditional figures, but that it was unclear who precisely.P' Thus, there was no lack of curiosity, but as long as Triad lore was transmitted and the ritual could be carried out, "meaning" and "provenance" were apparently unimportant. This is put quite explicitly in the following dialogue, as it has been summarized by Qing officials. A certain Lin Jingyan was a Student (a low rank in the examination system) from Shixing in Northern Guangdong. In 1807 he had come to Xiangwu in Western Guangxi, where he made his living as a geomantician. In an inn he met You De, from Shanghang in Tingzhou, in Western Fujian. They began to talk about their poverty and You De promised to teach him the way of concluding a Triad covenant (he still used the early name Heaven and Earth Gathering). Lin Jingyan went through a simple ritual and received a certificate as evidence of his membership. Around its margins were written 28 characters, but "in inverted sequence and chaotically." They concealed a four-line poem.I' Thereupon, he punctuated with his fingers and recited out loud. When Lin Jingyan saw that the phrases were rebellious, he asked for what purpose they had been composed. You De then explained that in the poem there is a line 'Of the brothers in the [Five] Banners, nobody knows (biaozhong xiongdi wurenzhi) ,' which means that it is not convenient that the brothers in the Gathering divulge. Basically, little else is done than to make use of this to delude people and swindle money out of them. There definitely are no further intentions. The rest such as the characters 'Following [the Mandate] of Heaven and Carrying out the Way' are all phrases within the Heaven and Earth Gathering; you must write them on the certificate according to the proper format. He otherwise did not know what explanation to give to them. LinJingyan thereupon hid the membership certificate away.

19 Apart from the cases discussed in the main text, see : TDH VI: 200, 204, 225, 302, 351, 384; VII: 422-423. 20 Apart from the cases discussed in the main text, see : TDH VI: 232; 336 and 348 (same network) ; VII: 485-488, 507. 21 TDH VII: 247-248 and 254-255 treats Lin's activities. TDH VII: 248 and 254 describe the certificate, including the fact that it listed the five names of Triad patriarchs. From the description and the one line that is quoted in full , it seems that this certificate looked like the one depicted in Xiao (1935) 1: 26a.

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The derogatory terminology in You De's explanations is the result of editing by the Qing official who wrote the memorial.V Important for us is that that even though literate people like Lin Jingyan and his teacher might be well-aware of the specific connotations of the text, they could choose to ignore them and use the text nevertheless. Incidentally, when read in the context of the 1810 foundation story (see section 9.1.1.), there can be little doubt that You De 's explanation of the line "Of the brothers in the [Five] Banners, nobody knows" as a prescription to Triad members to remain silent on the meanings of their lore was incorrect. In the foundation story, this sentence very clearly refers to the fact that the Triad members do not know the whereabouts of the young Ming prince. Despite his lack of understanding of the text that he had received, Lin Jingyan still went on to found new Triad groups. Since no exegesis was transmitted apart from Triad lore itself, there was much room for individual interpretations. Two members arrested in 1809 in Guangxi described their worship of two Triad patriarchs as "the way of the deities in the [Heaven and Earth] Gathering" (huizhong shendao). They noted that the other four patriarchs were "all deities worshipped within the Gathering, called Former Sages. Nowadays there is a written manual in which this can be counterchecked." Furthermore, the two members explained the expression "at the foot of Nail Mountain" as a slogan, noting that it was used in the initiation dialogues, and that it was not a real place.P Apart from confirming the early practice of a more elaborate initiation ritual with dialogues, they were clearly aware of the religious nature of the ritual and that it had to be carried out according to certain rules. Strictly speaking, however, their understanding of the patriarchs as deities is incorrect, since these figures were clearly conceived as ancestors. The two members had no apparent interest in exploring the symbolism of the ritual in any further detail. 22 The explanations by You De are introduced in the memorial by the word shuo. In Classical Chinese this means "to explain." Furthermore, the second time that the word appears, it is glossed as jieshuo, which is even more explicitly "to explain." In Classical Chinese yue would be the standard term introducing direct speech, although yun can also be used. Thus, it is not the in ten tion of the memorialist to introduce direct speech . This is further confirmed by the use of Classical Chinese to summarize You De 's explanations. 23 TDH VII: 261-262.

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Another group in Guangxi carried out a fairly elaborate initiation ritual in 1815. The members received a certificate from their teacher, which contained a poem and four magical characters. Li Yonghuai asked his teacher for the meaning of the texts. He received the reply that "it was nothing more than the wish that the brothers would be in harmony, [and that] he had composed it ad lib, quite without further intentions." This was manifestly untrue, since the poem under discussion referred to a well-established piece of Triad lore, namely the notion that the hair of a new member was not yet dry, because he had just been born. The four magical characters could be translated as "the Triad will enjoy long life and harmony" and are traditionally associated with the Five Houses. Both the poem and the four characters are therefore very meaningful in Triad lore. The teacher let Li Yonghuai pay 108 cash in addition to the regular payment of 6000 cash (as pointed out in the preceding section, this was a typical Triad symbolic amount). Li interpreted this as just one more requisite payment and did not bother to ask for a specific meaning.v' Evidently, Li Yonghuai's teacher had been less than forthcoming about the contents of the initiation ritual and the concomitant lore. He may or may not have known the meanings of the relevant pieces of lore, but it is impossible "[... that] he had composed it ad lib, without any further intentions," as he claimed. Wang from Gaoyao County in Guangdong also taught Triad lore without explaining its meaning. When his adopted son Lin Runcai left for Guangxi in 1796, Mr. Wang gave him a sheet of cloth with four magical characters in the center, surrounded by a series of fourteen other magical characters. This sheet of cloth was to serve as a recognition sign, together with the well-known slogan (explained in section 9.1.1.) and the three finger signal. In 1811, Lin Runcai came across another Triad member, a fortune teller from Jiaying Prefecture in Guangdong, who recognized the text on the sheet of cloth. Together they decided to found a Triad group and used the sheet as a model for membership certificates. After Lin Runcai had been arrested, he was interrogated about the meaning of these characters. He replied that "the characters on the signal cloth let people of the same [Heaven and Earth] Gathering know that one is a fellow group member, so that one is not cheated. Basically, it serves

24

TDH VII: 370; for a very similar reply, see another case in TDH VII: 480.

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as as means of recognition. As to how the characters should be explained, at the time Mr. Wang from Gaoyao really never explained to me in any detail."25 This case shows clearly that Triad lore functioned to facilitate recognition and to constitute groups, whether it was understood or not. 26 Lin Runcai succeeded in hiding one crucial fact from his interrogators, namely that he possessed a manual which he had copied from Mr. Wang before leaving. We learn this from the confession made by his follower, Zhang Xiaoyuan, who was arrested and interrogated somewhat later. Since Lin Runcai had already been executed by then, the authorities were unable to confront him with this information. What concerns us here is Lin's reported attitude towards the contents of this manual. First of all, Lin considered that the possession of this book legitimized his role as a teacher. Zhang told his interrogators that he did not fully understand the text's meaning, but had copied it in order to be able to found a Triad group. When he had asked Lin Runcai about the Five Ancestors and the Old Mount Wan, which were mentioned in the manual, Lin had answered that the Five Ancestors were overseas persons who had been born on Old Mount Wan. 27 Here Lin was making things up, since the foundation account from the Guangxi manual of 1828 which mentions this mountain is quite clear that the Five Ancestors had founded the Triads on this particular mountain and that they originally came from the Shaolin Monastery in Gansu. Another pupil of Mr. Wang from Gaoyao, apprehended in circa 1815-1816 and with the telling nickname Yang the Dumbhead, was well-aware that the Five Ancestors were the founding fathers of the Triad. He added that they were now all dead, although he had a full manual and the foundation story always specifies that 25 TDH VII: 427-428; the same four characters appear in the 1808 case of Van Chao and Van Yagui, see TDH VII: 209. They also occur on some membership certificates: no. 3 in the British Museum material, see Xiao (1935) 1: 26a; nrs. 1-3 in Stanton (1900) 71-79 with a good explanation; Ward and Stirling (1925) opposite 138. Interestingly, on the British Museum certificate the other fourteen characters mentioned by Mr. Wang also appear. 26 Compare also Zeng Darning who told his pupil that the ritual was merely a means of luring people into the Triads and had no further meaning. At the same time, he practised the most detailed early initiation ritual that is still extant. See TDH VII: 516-517. 27 TDH VII: 433-434 and comments on manual on 436.

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the Five Ancestors did not die, but are still around somewhere. 28 Thus, Yang was also making things up. Both he and Lin Runcai interpreted the foundation account differently, suggesting that their teacher Mr. Wang had not imposed his own exegesis. A very clear case is that ofYang Zhengcai from Meitan in Guizhou. He was a former local teacher, who had been thrown out of the village because of his ongoing abusive behavior. Seeking a means of revenge he decided to obtain Triad lore. At first, his contact Fu Tiancai, a local merchant, did not wish to let him copy his manual. But, Yang was able to perform a service for him by buying back a pair of trousers which Fu had lost with gambling. They went to a local inn to rest, where Yang again pressed Fu to let him borrow the manual. Obviously, Fu was now quite grateful. "He replied that he had not brought the Triad texts with him, [but] he had formerly read it thoroughly and he could still recall it. Fu Tiancai recited it by heart, Yang Zhengcai copied it accordingly. But since Fu Tiancai could not recall much, he could not copy it completely." Yang was pressed by Fu not to reveal the existence of the manual to anybody and not to involve him, should he be arrested.P In typical Chinese fashion, Fu Tiancai's command of the text was only reproductive, and he felt no necessity to explain what Triad lore was really about. Yang's primary interest was in having a Triad text, and not in fully understanding its symbolic meaning(s) . We have already learned through the Lin Runcai case that Triad lore could function as a signal, rather than a message. This is also apparent in the widespread use of three fingers as a recognition signal. No Triad text or confession ever explains its meaning, even if it seems likely that it referred to the water radical of the

28 See TDH VII: 446-447. For similar cases, see TDH VII: 449-451 and 485488. Here, two groups performed an extensive initiation ritual and had a clear ide a about the functions of the different stages of the ritual. They also posses sed written manuals, but when they were caught and interrogated , they did not utter themselves as to the historicity of the foundation story. 29 TDH VII: 465-468. A similar case is that of Xi Shenghe, see TDH VI: 515517. In 1820, he confessed that he had possessed a written manual in 1813. He had burned it, bec ause it was forbidden. In 1816 he had written one poem from the manual down again from memory. The poem was a long pie ce of verse (12 lines) , which is sometimes depicted on membership certificates (see Stanton [1900] 72-73 no . 1,75-76 and 78 no. 2, 79 no . 3) . Xi Shenghe's faithful recovery of the text from memory demonstrates the same type of reproductive command as Fu Tiancai's .

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character for the Triad family name Hong.3o Other examples that we have encountered before in this investigation are "tree, to stand, bushel, era, to rule the world" (muli doushi zhi tianxia), which I explained as "the Zhus will rule the world" (see section 8.2.2 .), and the equally mysterious phrase "uniting the ten thousand/Wan" (jiewan), which I am unable to explain, although the auspicious reference "tenthousand" is clear enough. Both phrases are virtually never explained in Triad texts or confessions, despite their extremely common occurrence. Even substantial written texts performed this recognition function, in which the intrinsic meaning or origin of the signal did not matter. As a result, there are numerous cases in which a network owned substantial texts (such as written covenants, manuals, fragments of the foundation story, poems, slogans and so forth) or shorter writing(s) on flags and seals, where nobody seems to have had a clear idea what these texts meant. The function of writing as a signal becomes especially clear in the case of teachers who were unable to read or write, without their authority being affected at all. Chen Jichuan, who was active around 1811, was illiterate, but he possessed a written summary of the Triad foundation account, which someone else from his network had copied for him. This person had also written the names of the various participants in their covenant under the summary and signed their names for them. Furthermore, he had written letters on behalf of Chen Jichuan seeking support from fellow members, when the group became involved in a local dispute .V Zhong Jiaxu from another network received a membership certificate from his teacher in 1809, which he transmitted to those pupils who paid him sufficient money. Since he could not actually write, he had someone else copy it for him on red paper. It contained mythical information and political legitimation terminology. When questioned about its contents, he answered that the information had been copied and was simply traditional Triad knowledge.V Such cases indicate that possessing written texts was perceived 30 Compare the use of a piece of white cloth with three holes burned into it, TDH VI: 188. 31 TDH VI: 340-341, 344 and 348. For a similar case from yet another, earlier branch of this network, see TDH VI: 302 and TDH VI: photographs, page 4, bottom. 32 TDH VI: 171-172.

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as useful, but that it was not necessary to be able to write them oneself. Conversely, being able (and being permitted) to copy Triad texts did not provide one with the status of teacher. As indicated by the incompleteness of most extant manuals and their differences in matters of detail, the manuals served as a memory aid and never acquired an independent status.F' Very few extant manuals have been signed or provided with a personal colophon.P" With one poorly substantiated exception, no Triad groups were ever founded because someone had simply "found" a manual somewhere. 35 Oral transmission from a teacher remained absolutely essential to validate the power of Triad lore, with the written text providing additional prestige and functioning as a performative sign. Triad members did not refer to written manuals to prove the correctness of their ritual practices and there was no requirement of accuracy in transmission, except-one suspects-by implicit oral consensus among the participating members in a given Triad network. This is fundamentally different from the transmission of Daoist ritual traditions, in which the pupil has to copy all the texts himself and with great accuracy. In these traditions, texts that have not been copied by oneself have no value. 36 Therefore, Daoist ritual texts are transmitted surprisingly faithfully over time, resulting in many identical versions. In a number of early 19th century confessions, teachers, specifically in the Jiangxi and Guangxi regions, stressed the importance of written texts as an object providing legitimacy. One teacher told his pupil in 1822 about certain "rules within the Triads" concerning the relative significance of certain rituals. If one transmitted the "agreement" (hetong) , let the pupils pass under the bridge and concluded a blood covenant, then one was permitted to recruit pupils who became one's own. The "agreement" referred to the "ordination certificate" (huatie) . If one left out the "agreement," 33 The only complete manuals that I have seen are those from 1810 and 1828, and Oriental 2339. All other extant manuals are incomplete. The manuals that were used by Western authors were also often incomplete. 34 Only one of the Schlegel manuals (see the Berlin ms.) and the Guixian xiuzhiju manual carry signed colophons. 35 In 1815, people in Jiangxi were inspired by rumours about the Triads and the acquisition of a Ma Chaozhu manual; they founded a group worshipping Ma Chaozhu as their patriarch. They possessed no Triad lore. See section 6.2. 36 Schipper (1982) 84-85, 94-95.

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one could recruit, but the recruits became one's teacher's pupils. If one also omitted the covenant, one only acquired the right of mutual support. Finally, if one also left out the passage under the bridge, one only acquired the right of avoiding being cheated. Indeed, the actual practice of these teachers indicates that the amount of knowledge transmitted depended entirely on the amount of money people were prepared to pay.37 Just how important a certificate was considered to be is shown by the case of someone in the Jiangxi region who had undergone only a simple ritual and did not possess a written certificate. He decided to start recruiting pupils to make some money. He therefore bought two pieces of red cloth and a booklet with blank sheets of paper, on which he improvised a certificate based on what he still remembered from his teacher's version of it. 38 Nobody in such cases ever mentioned the contents of the written texts involved. The fact that understanding and believing were not relevant to the use and transmission of Triad lore, is not at odds with the fact that some of the teachers at least must have understood the meaning of their ritual and mythological lore, since they developed it further in a meaningful way (as I was able to reconstruct in the preceding chapters) at various points in time. Thus, one member remarked to an illiterate pupil that those who were able to explain the manuals could become teachers.f" However, in the final analysis the crucial point evidently remained the possession of knowledge, rather than understanding its meaning. 10.2 .2. Non-Chinese reports As I have noted above, the discrepancy between the detailed na-

ture of Triad lore and the evident richness of its meanings, and the lack of (documented) interest on the part of the members into these meanings is first and foremost a Western concern. Not surprisingly, therefore, some of the most detailed comments on this discrepancy are to be found in the Western descriptions of Triad ritual. One such example is that of the remarkable W.A. Picker37 TDH VI: 386. Similar statements always use huatie: TDH VI: 302, 310-311, 314,319,329,345 (all from the same network); 350, 370, 373, 379, 389, 396-397, 400-401, 410. 38 TDH VI: 407-408 39 TDH VII: 258.

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ing, who is the only Westerner to have described an initiation ceremony on the basis of personal experiences. In 1878 and 1879 he published two articles on a ceremony that he had witnessed in Singapore. In the first of these, he makes the following comment about the knowledge of Triad teachers: ... I have had many opportunities of gaining an acquaintance, by conversation with the Sin-sengs (=xiansheng) or Masters of Lodges, and by perusal of the numerous manuals or catechisms which have passed through my hands, and of which I possess one or two ancient copies. It is, however, my opinion that any European who will take the trouble to thoroughly digest M. Schlegel's invaluable work on the subject, will know more of the origin, ceremonies and ostensible objects of the Thien-Ti-Hui, than nine out of ten of the Masters of Lodges in the Straits Settlements.j?

From the early nineteenth century onwards the Sin-sengs or xiansheng were the principal Triad ritual officials and remained so later on as well. The term means "teacher." The comments of Wilfred Blythe on the Triads in Malaysia and Singapore are worth quoting in full. Essentially, he repeats the impression by Pickering that most ritual masters did not know what their lore meant. Like his distant predecessor Pickering, he was associated from 1921 onwards with the Department of Chinese Affairs (Chinese Protectorate) in Malaysia . In a short appendix to his 1969 book, he first discusses in a general way the sources for the study of Triad history and ritual, including the large number of documents which had been seized (especially after 1946) by the police. He then proceeds to make a number of extremely important comments, which I wish to quote in full . Scores of participants in initiation ceremonies were interrogated, by police officers and by the author. Some were in police custody, others were brought to light through underground channels. In general, the evidence of initiates was rather disappointing. During the ceremony the 'New Horses (i.e. the new members. TH)' are so bewildered and terrified that they are frequently unable to remember clearly the sequence of events or the meaning of what they do. And as the ceremony is usually performed at night in the dim light of a few candles with the initiate, for most of the time, in a bowed position with head bent low, he has little opportunity for close scrutiny. In a different category are the old members who have attended sev40Pickering (1878) 64.

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eral ceremonies, and especially the sinsehs (=xiansheng) who conduct them. Many of these were questioned and some were extremely cooperative for a variety of reasons.... There were others, too, who though reluctant at first, became quite enthusiastic in talking of these matters with someone who had some knowledge of their craft, and one man was so angry when it was suggested that he was bogus that he proceeded to prove that he was genuine. Others, on the contrary, were not to be moved from their secrecy and silence.t!

These two passages indicate that there was a big difference in the amount of knowledge posessed by new members (as well as probably most of the rank-and-file) on the one hand and old members, especially the ritual masters, on the other. It confirms the impression given by Abdullah that the initiation ritual had a minddumbening effect on the candidate members who took part in it. Full members, of course, also participated in these rituals, most of them as part of the audience, and thus gradually acquired more knowledge. But what was the nature of this knowledge, according to Blythe? He summarizes his experiences as follows: A most striking feature was the very low standard of knowledge of most of the sinsehs questioned. What they knew had been learned by rote and was limited by the deficiencies of their instructors. Whenever obvious errors in the ritual verses were pointed out, the sinseh's reply was invariably that he only knew what he had learnt. Enquiry as to any esoteric meaning behind the ritual met with a completely blank response. To any particular question the answer invariably was: ' th ere is a verse about that' which they recited at once. That was their authority and they probed no further. It was readily admitted that many so-called sinsehs had only a very shaky knowledge of the ritual. They are, one and all, very alive to the financial potentialities attached to the exercise of their craft, and it is possible to meet a sinseh who will quietly declare that the whole business is a lot of mumbo-jumbo through which they extract a livelihood from a credulous public.V

Quite apart from the cynicism of some of these teachers, which can be found amongst practitioners of most religious traditions, it is clear that Triad lore functioned predominantly as an exteriorized ritual activity. Mastery was achieved through reproductive performance, and not by means of interiorisation or any form of intellectual investigation. Elsewhere, Blythe makes another impor41 42

Blythe (1969) 535-536. Bold face has been added by me . Blythe (1969) 537.

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tant comment, namely that "[i]nstruction of new members in secret signs and language does not normally take place at a ceremony, but is taken individually (for a fee) by those holding the White Fan rank in any society." Otherwise, no instruction in Triad lore took place.P Blythe's point jhat mastery was achieved through rote learning is supported by other observations made by Western colonial officials. During the ritual only two persons were actually required to know the various dialogues and poems, the "Teacher" (xiansheng) and the "Vanguard" (xianfeng). The Vanguard would lead the candidate members on their ritual journey and answer the questions on their behalf. He also instructed them beforehand on the general outline of the ceremony.v' Other members perform various smaller roles in the ritual, such as acting as guards, forming a bridge of swords, representing the fruitseller, and other roles in the various small skits that formed part of the ritual. No overall knowledge was required of them. No doubt, they would become increasingly familiar with the ritual, but not in a structured way. The candidate members themselves only needed to kowtow at the appropriate moment, to carry out the ritual journey and to memorize some simple dialogues. Once the candidate had become a full member, he would, ideally, receive a written version of Triad lore. As one informant of the Malayan sociologist Mak Lau Fong stated, he had copied the required poems from his society's master copy when he was initiated in the 1950s. According to him, all members were asked to memorize as many of the poems as possible. He himself knew as many as 60 poems, which although a substantial number, still falls far short of the almost 300 different poems in the 1842 manual translated by Schlegel in his 1866 study.45 At all times, mastery consisted of learning things by heart. Pickering expresses his inBlythe (1969) 530 . Schlegel (1866) 58-59 ; Pickering (1879) 13-16; Stanton (1900) 42 (the gu arantor is the Vanguard) ; Ward and Stirling (1925) 53; Morgan (1960) 190, 244 and passim. 45 Mak Lau Fong (1981) 150. Sadly, Mak takes a ra th er dim view on the relevance of Triad lore to understanding the overall phenomenon. As a result, he has not investigated the use of ritual and narratives by the members whom he questioned. My count of the number of poems in Schlegel (1866) is approximate and covers several manuals. Even then, a mid nineteenth century manual easil y contained over 200 po ems. 43 44

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tense admiration at for clever Vanguard whom he actually saw perform the entire exchange of poems and dialogues from memory-an exchange which took about an hour.t" Morgan also stresses the importance placed on reproductive mastery by his informants in Hong Kong during the late 1950s. While the general procedure remains fairly constant in those societies which still try to maintain some of the old ceremonial features, the actual texts employed vary widely and have become increasingly dependant upon memories and inventions of those officiating.V

Like most Western descriptions of the Triad initiation ritual, Morgan's detailed expose consists largely of translations and paraphrases, rather than real analysis. This may seem strange, since one of his informants was an Incense Master (xiangzhu, the equivalent of the xiansheng or Teacher) . However, in the light of the preceding discussion it will be clear that one reason why even his book contains so little discursive analysis is the fact that this was simply not the customary mode of thought of Triad members, and not because the meaning of Triad lore should be kept hidden for outsiders. 10.2.3. Understanding Triad lore It would be a fallacy to deduce that because Triad members did not interiorize their lore and its meanings, they, therefore, had no perception of the structures and meanings of their ritual and narratives at all. There are clear indications in the internal sources that at least the creators and some of the transmitters of this lore had a participants' model of its structure, meanings and functions. 48 As DeBernardi has already pointed out in a comment on Blythe's observations, ritual specialists and participants in religious culture may not always want to share their knowledge with outsiders (she uses the term "foreigners," but the more general term 46 Pickering (1879) 15. He assumes that the entire catechism as translated by Schlegel was performed, but there is no indication that Pickering compared the actual ritual that he witnessed with the contents of Schlegel's book (which contains the original texts of the poems, but not of the dialogues) . We can only be certain that the Vanguard performed a substantial part by heart, not about the precise quantity. 47 Morgan (1960) 190-191. 48 Ward (1965) 113-137 and (1966) 201-215 on the participants' model.

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outsiders seems more appropriate) or may not want to share this knowledge in a secular context. This is a valid point, although Blythe specifies that his informants were eager to share their knowledge. The point is not, however, whether Triad members wished to share their knowledge or not, but that asking them to present its meanings in an abstract way was simply impossible in their religious world. The very fact that Triad lore possesses an internal structure already indicates that at least some Triad members must have had more abstract notions on the function(s) that this lore should be made to fulfill. Very clear evidence of analytical understanding also comes from the Triad use of poems and dialogues to explicate the different ritual objects and the stages of the initiation journey. The common division of the initiation ritual into the acts of an opera should also be considered a form of analysis, and there are at least two documents extant which analyze the initiation ritual into twelve different stages.P The pictures which Triad members drew to accompany their ritual texts also demonstrate a form of analytic understanding. The oldest example is contained in the 1828 manual, but numerous later manuals and the many maps of the City of Willows also contained illustrations of the different stages of the initiation ritual. 50 The City of Willows provides a good example of the way in which the Triad presentation of its lore has contributed to my analytical understanding. The City is, of course, mentioned in the written manuals as one of the places through which the candidate passes on his road to the Red Flower Pavilion and the blood covenant ceremony. In terms of poems and dialogues it is given a certain weight during the initiation ritual, but not more than for instance the passages across the Triad River by boat and by bridge. In the different maps of the City of Willows, however, the City is always drawn with great care in the center of the picture and receives

49 Xiao (1935) 4: 12a (Or. 8207E2 [E3 is incorrectj), Basically the same analysis in Or. 8207B (not in Xiao [1935]). 50 Pictures: 1828 manual in : Guangxi huidang, 490 as well as Or. 8207D and Or. 2339. Maps : Or. 8207K; one map is reproduced in Ward and Stirling (1925) opposite 32. I have seen and photographed a second map during a brief visit in July 1993 to the Stirling collection, which then was in the possession ofa German collector and publisher of esoterics, south of Miinchen. A further map is depicted on Cowan's wall sheet (Blythe [1969] front photograph and again between 530531 ; this wall sheet is now included in the Stirling collection).

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the most elaborate treatment of all ritual passages. I have, consequently, also assigned the City a central place in my own analysis . The changing stress on different aspects of Triad lore during its transmission over time is yet another indication that at least some members actively interacted with this lore and sometimes changed it to fit their own needs and expectations. This is shown especially clearly by the declining number of references to messianic elements in Triad lore as a whole and the substantial changes in the foundation account. The fact that Triad ritual and narrative lore can be read quite meaningfully against the background of surrounding southern Chinese religious culture is yet another indication of its meaningfulness and increases the likelihood that Triad members would have understood more of their lore than comes out in their confessions. Only careful fieldwork, without the kind of preconceptions that Chinese officials of the Qing period or Western colonial officials had, will be able to reveal just how Triad members developed an understanding of their extensive lore. The principal mode of comprehension of Triad lore was through physical participation (for those members who performed a role in the ritual and the candidate members) and by watching and listening much in the same way as a theatre audience (for the remaining members). As I have pointed out in Chapter Three, the initiation ritual was actually perceived by the members as a dramatic performance. Participation was a prerequisite and not the interiorisation of some hidden dogma through interpretation and formalized belief. Participation was a learning experience. The candidate members themselves were probably too awestruck by the whole atmosphere to think very clearly about the contents of the initiation ritual. However, the ritual was also attended by established members, who would have learned a bit more each time they attended and started to recognize things and develop individual frameworks of meaning. This learning experience is behind the observation by Wilfred Blythe that "[i].n a different category are the old members who have attended several ceremonies, and especially the sinsehs (=xiansheng) who conduct them." The availability of written texts probably contributed little towards the understanding of Triad lore, since these served only to assist the memorization and oral practice of Triad ritual.

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10.3. Building a community Triad lore in its mature form served to construct a community and then to legitimate its existence. Like all social groups, the existence of a Triad group was intrinsically contingent and it is this contingency that had to be disguised by means of ritual and narrative. Family and local community are easily perceived as completely natural communities, even by modern scholars, overlooking the crucial significance of the rituals, stories, banquets etc. which help first to construct and then to bind these "natural" groups together. It is only in this way that these quasi-natural groups become moral communities, in which all members have certain obligations and rights. However, the step taken in joining a Triad group was much more self-conscious than that ofjoining a family or the local community, since it involved leaving another group of which one was a member. Therefore the sense of contingency will have been much stronger in the perception of Triad members, than when they were still part of their "natural" groups. Thanks to the elaborate initiation ritual and the foundation narrative, which served to disguise this contingency, a Triad network could be perceived as a legitimate group and its artificial nature was no longer significant. Within a group of people interacting on a regular basis, language and symbolic systems are always at their most coherent. When a community is artificially created, it needs very strong rituals (as was definitely the case for the Triads) and a language of its own . The use of internal jargon and signs can be documented for the earliest Triad networks apprehended in 1787. Members were taught that the thumb signified Heaven and the little finger Earth. They also learned to handle objects with three fingers and to press three fingers to their breast by way of recognition signs. 51 This was formally expressed in the slogan "when you raise your hand, do not leave three; when you open your mouth, do not leave the foundation (ben)." The first part of this instruction is clear enough, as it refers to the consistent use of three fingers in manipulating objects and greeting people. The second part refers to the Foundation Poems, which are short poems (five or seven in total)

51

TDH I: 69-71, 87, HI , 121.

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that belong to specific hand postures (or mudras) .52 In the early period, Triad members had already developed a variety of other recognition signals, including ways of dress and hairsryle.P'' The Triads developed an extensive repertoire of special words, signals and specific forms of behavior. This repertoire concerned travelling, meeting unknown persons (including pirates and robbers) and identifying oneself as a Triad member. It prescribed the correct way of drinking tea, smoking tobacco or opium, chewing betelnuts, and dining together. The signals are based on the placement of teacups, chopsticks, a pipe, a fan and similar objects, typically those objects that are used in relaxed social interaction at home or in an inn.54 The same was true of the special vocabulary, many of which did not concern things about which one has to be secretive. Out of a total of 66 expressions on the list compiled by Schlegel, only 35 expressions concern the activities and internal organization of a Triad group.55 The other 31 expressions largely concern eating, drinking, smoking tobacco or chewing betel. In other words, from the perspective of southern Chinese society they

52 The oldest version of the "foundation" poems is in the 1810 manual TDH I: 9 lines 1-19 (seven "foundations," split in five and two). Xiao (1935) 14b-15a (Or. 8207D) records five "fou ndations," of which the first four are the same as the first four in the 1810 manual. The Or. 8207D in the British Museum contains pictures of the mudras with their poems at the beginning of the manual, which are not included in Xiao (1935). 53 TDH VI: 186-7, 202, 212, 225, 232, 332; VII: 187, 195,446,450,487,507. 54 Berlin ms., 62-63. Schlegel (1866) 230-233 contains virtually the same list, but he has systematized it and made a few additions (mainly organizational terminology) . Leaving these additions out would only strengthen my argument. For the reader's convenience, I have based my count on Schlegel's list (230-233) . From "the white dragon" to "river" (231-232), the terms seem to be concerned with daily life . Terms that clearly have to do with Triad activities are "enemy" until "wind around" and "melon seeds" (230-231), and "one cash" until "to plant peaches" (232) , whereas the remainder (231 and all of 233) seems more closely related to internal organization (including terms for dealing with traitors) . Other lists give similar results. 55 Berlin ms., p. 62; Schlegel (1866) 230. The Yongning xianzhi (1937) 34: 106-109 quoted in Taiping tianguo geming shiqi, 95 notes that many ordinary expressions had special Triad equivalents, which one needed to know or else ... Even when one is not a member, knowing these words allowed one to leave and enter a Triad group safely. The Guangzhou fuzhi (compiled in circa 1870, 1879 preface) 81: 42a (also in Xiangshan xianzhi [1873] 22: 49b) observes that those who did not know the jargon and signals were plundered. Deqing zhouzhi (1899) 15: 31a notes that the Triads had all kinds of obscure j argon (the source gives a few examples), which "the members of the bands took to be signals (kouhao)."

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concern typical communal and quite uncontroversial activities. 56 One can, therefore, conclude that Triad jargon was not a language that was meant to be secret, but one that meant to be communal. It was not directed towards the outer world (=> secrecy), but rather towards the inner group (=> community). The same general point is made by Michael Halliday, as summarized by Kingsley Bolton and Christopher Hutton, who has called such languages anti-languages (viz. the languages of anti-social subgroups). Halliday has noted that such languages are not primarily secret codes for the pursuit of conspiracies, but vehicles for social transformation or resocialization.P? The same analysis could be applied mutatis mutandis to Triad signals and behavioral patterns. In fact, this cohesive role is the primary function of all the Triads' ritual and narrative lore, namely not to communicate some kind of message, but to tie the members of concrete networks together in closely-knit groups by the very fact of sharing this lore. 58 In the final analysis, meanings were contingent and the only thing that counted was the collective act of sharing in a ritual, a quasi-historical narrative and a common language.

56 Good sUIVeys of recognition signs, dialogues and special vocabulary are in Schlegel (1866) 167-234; Stanton (1900) 91-117; Ward and Stirling (1925) 108131. The Triad manuals always contain such sections, such as for instance TDH I: 13-17,23-29 and Xiao (1935) 6: 22a-23b (Or. 2339 and Or 8207 B, D). 57 Bolton and Hutton (1995) 159-160. The vocabulary that Bolton and Hutton (1995) 171-174 analyze as "Triad slang" is, however, much closer to the professional activities ofTriad (or simply criminal) groups. The theoretical proposals by Halliday are also used by DeBernardi (1987) 314-315. 58 By using Triad signals during Triad rebellions one could, of course, pretend to belong to the Triad community as well . For examples see Ball (1892) 361 and Shanghai during the 1853-1855 Triad occupation (see section 8.3.3.) .

CHAPTER ELEVEN

TRIAD LORE REVISITED Its ritual and narrative lore provided a Triad group with a longterm identity and a supra-local frame of reference, thereby masking its essentially contingent nature. This lore distinguished the Triad groups from most other marginal groups, which did not have such lore and usually survived only as long as their core network stayed together. This lore, therefore, enabled Triad groups to form lasting and influential local institutions, even though it was never sufficient to serve as the basis for uniting all local Triad groups into a single organization. From a contemporary ("modern") perspective, this may seem like big weakness, but it is hardly unique to the Triads. Much the same was true of guilds (hang), "Kaufmannschaften" (huiguan) and Confucian academies (shuyuan) , to mention but three types of groups that might have had developed supra-local interests and nationwide connections, but failed to do so. Ultimately, Triad groups remained local groups enmeshed in local webs of interests and conflicts.' In this concluding chapter I wish to build upon the empirical results of the preceding investigation in order to analyze some broader issues. First, I provide a brief summary of the context and functions of Triad lore, focusing on the most important new insights that we have reached in this study. Then, I address the oral nature of Triad lore. As we may recall, it is often asserted that Triad lore was primarily inspired by (or even derived from) the vernacular traditions of the Three Kingdoms and the Water Margin. In the preceding chapters, I have argued that Triad lore was derived from the living religious culture(s) that surrounded it and cannot be reduced to these two vernacular traditions (leave alone their written versions). Despite the use of writing for certain purposes, Triad lore was essentially an oral phenomenon. A further issue that needs to be addressed in a more comprehensive way is why Triad lore lost its demonological messianic connotations and what this implied for the nature of the Triads as a religious phenome1

See Hs ieh (1972) 145-164 and Marks (1984) 128-139 .

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non. Finally, I wish to investigate the issue of categorizing the Triads as a social phenomenon, from the viewpoint of Triad lore. Were they secret societies, brotherhoods or entrepreneurs?

11.1. Context and functions of Triad lore

One of my main objectives in the investigation of Triad lore has been, from the very beginning of this research project, to demonstrate that Triad lore originated in the religious culture of southern China (part of which was shared by the Chinese cultural sphere as a whole) and was not at all esoteric or exceptional. As a result, this book has become both a general introduction to certain aspects of traditional Chinese religious culture and an in-depth study of Triad lore. Especially when we look at Triad ritual in terms of its actual performance, we find that much of it must have been quite recognizable in the eyes of the candidates. It is only when we include the Triad explanations (what Michael Szony has termed the local rules) that the ritual attains its Triadness. It is also this layer that will have been difficult to grasp for many Triad members and may have been only partly understood by most of them. Triad lore was gradually put together by anonymous ritual specialists during the last decades of the eighteenth century from the age old tradition of the blood covenant, rituals enacting the landscape of life and death, ancestor worship, the demonological messianic paradigm and closely related legitimation lore, and finally the "fall from grace" plot. Only the otherwise so important temple cults do not playa significant role in this lore. Guan Yu and his sworn brothers Liu Bei and Zhang Fei appear as symbols of loyalty and righteousness, rather than as central objects of worship. We find references to minor territorial deities (such as the Lord of the Earth) and the deities of the former Shaolin Monastery in the initiation journey and the blood covenant memorial, but they are not the object of substantial Triad worship either. When we consider that temple cults alwayscreated territorial units, and Triad groups normally did not have a fixed territory (except on a mythological level) as a result of their geographically dispersion, it is only natural that Triad lore refers very little to territorial cults. Triad lore can be divided into two main parts, namely the initiation ritual and the foundation account, with a substantial jargon

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and an intricate sign language for internal communication. Whereas the initiation journey ritually enacts the mythical landscape of life and death, enabling the candidate member to shed his former status and be freshly born as part of the Hong family, the foundation account claims to be a historical narrative on the origins of the Triads. Both have their own internal logic and their own cast of characters, with the ritual serving to create the group and the foundation account intended to legitimate the group in time and space. Thus, the story of Tian Youhong-while essential to a proper appreciation of his role in the initiation journey-plays no role whatsoever in the foundation account. The City of Willows occurs only in a few versions of the account, even though it is the most crucial location in the initiation ritual. Many more examples of such differences could be adduced, whether elements from the ritual which are absent from the foundation account, such as the passage through the three gates and the crossing of the Mountain of Fire, or elements from the narrative which do not (or only rarely) appear in the ritual, such as the young Ming prince, the jiayin date and the burning of the Shaolin Monastery. The foundation account could be drawn upon to underline specific Triad interpretations of the initiation ritual, and it contained etiologies for the typical Triad way of burning incense and the performance of the blood covenant. Otherwise ritual and narrative were two fundamentally different things and did not originate in each other. Like all religious groups, the Triads paid much attention to the initial devotional act of burning incense. Kristofer Schipper has pointed out the central place of burning incense and the incense burner in local cult organizations and religious ritual, much more so than statues or buildings. Many local cults, Buddhist and DaDist monasteries, as well as new religious groups ("sects") developed their own way of burning incense, in order to express their unique identity.f In Triad ritual, this crucial devotional act was duplicated, by burning grass in imitation of the founding ritual of the first Triad group, followed by burning real incense in the conventional way. The first Triad group had been constituted around a burner 2 The initiation rituals of the Unity Teachings (yiguan dao) (fieldwork by myself during the summer of 1992) and the monks of the Shaolin Monastery (Alexei Maslov, personal communication based on his own initiation as a monk) , for instance , both involve elaborate burning incense ceremonies and the transmission of special hand positions (mudras).

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sent by Heaven, which carried four characters expressing their political mission of restoring the Ming and overthrowing the Qing. Through the collective act of burning incense in imitation of the first Triad group, a ritual community of participants (called "incense," according to some sources) was established. The initiation ritual took place around the Triad altar, which was actually quite conventional in its components. Triad explanations of the altar and its ritual objects built upon existing interpretations to create specific Triad meanings. Thus, the rice bushel on the altar symbolized territory, in this case the City of Willows or even the thirteen provinces, which once made up Ming China and were to be reconquered by the Triads. The bushel contained a series of exorcist implements, including five colored flags symbolizing the five divine armies (= the mythical five Triad divisions) with the task of expelling all demons (= the Qing rulers and their military forces) . The notion of the bushel as territory was extended to the altar as a whole, which was interpreted as the City of Willows with walls, gates, ponds and so forth. This city was a safe haven, to which all Triad members would eventually retire in order to await the advent of the young Ming prince and the overthrow of the Qing dynasty. We find similar interpretations in Daoist and messianic rituals, where the altar is perceived as a grottoheaven or city where the elected will find refuge during the imminent apocalyptic disasters. By means of worship at the Triad altar, and passing under it (in ritual terms, this was seen as a passage "through" the City of Willows), a secure territorial community was formed. The core of the Triad initiation ritual consisted of a journey of death and subsequent rebirth, which built upon an age-old repertoire of notions about the landscape of life and death. By enacting specific passages within this landscape, such as the crossing of a bridge or the passage through a gate, one could influence the course of one's life (s). The Triad initiation journey changed someone's status from an outsider into an insider, by simulating his death from majority society and subsequent rebirth as a member of the Hong family. Most likely, local vernacular ritual traditions (on which more below) in order to influence the fate of a recently deceased upon his or herjourney through the underworld formed the direct source of inspiration for the Triad initiation journey. This is suggested by some specific resemblances, such as the sim-

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ilarity in ritual function and overall iconography between the Vanguard official Tian Youhong and the heavenly messenger in vernacular rituals. Both the Triad initiation journey and vernacular rituals may contain the crossing of the Mountain of Fire guarded by the Hong (= Red) Child, which bears the family name Hong (homophonous with hong [red]) in the Triad case. This last episode was also popular as a separate puppet performance, usually performed in an exorcist and luck-bringing context. Furthermore, the overall structure of the Triad initiation journey closely resembles the structure of the underworld journey, as it is for instance recorded in a ritual manual of the vernacular Daoist Mount Lii tradition on Taiwan. Here we find a similarly structured list of places which the ritual specialist passes before reaching the city of the underworld where King Yama resides. The standard dialogue which takes place with the guardians of the Fortress of Hell, when the ritual specialists and his company (namely the leading male descendantjs] of the deceased with the latter's spirit tablet in their hands) want to enter it, closely resembles the kind of exchange that takes place in the Triad initiation journey.P In the light of my interpretation of the initiation journey as a journey of death and rebirth, these similarities make eminent sense. The initiation ritual as a whole was concluded by the blood covenant. This is one of the oldest fully documented rituals in Chinese culture, already attested many centuries before the Christian era. It consisted of the consumption ofliquor mixed with blood (of the participants and/or a sacrificial victim, most frequently a white cockerel). Thereupon, an oral oath was pronounced, accompanied by very strong self-imprecations. Heaven and Earth, or another divine force, were invoked as witnesses and as the agents of supernatural punishments, should the covenant parties fail to keep their vows. The consumption (rather than smearing, as is traditionally assumed) of blood was not intended as a sharing of blood in order to establish a kinship bond (as for instance in Western culture), but rather as the empowerment of the mouth as a potent vessel in order to pronounce a strong vow. Writing was not at all essential to the proper functioning of this ritual. The educated elites had probably stopped practising the ritual during or shortly after the Han dynasty, but were still regularly confront3

See Lii (1990) for a full description of such a ritual.

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ed with it in vernacular rituals and other local customs (such as the swearing of an oath in the City God temple or during a court case in the magistrate's offices). The available evidence clearly shows that non-elite individuals and groups continued to practice this or similar rituals in a variety of contexts throughout the late imperial period. The principal contents of the Triad blood covenant was the conclusion of a brotherhood with all ensuing rights and duties, but the same ritual format might also be used for a variety of other contents (such as an oath to speak the truth). The consumption of liquor served to create a social bond between all participants, a ritual act which can be found throughout Chinese culture in social as well as ritual contexts (such as toasting during banquets and sacrificing liquor to ancestors or deities). The blood covenant ritually confirmed the results of the preceding initiation and served to lay down the whole set of rights and mutual obligations of Triad members. The initiation ritual as a whole took several hours and was then crowned by a festive banquet. It is easy to overlook the significance of the banquet, since it is not extensively treated in the ritual manuals. However, the explicit Triad division of the initiation ritual into the five acts of an opera commonly mentions the banquet as the concluding act (or epilogue). Such a banquet always was and still is an essential part of religious and social celebrations in Chinese culture, serving the function of integrating the participants into a (temporary) community and expressing (as well as [re]shaping) a particular social order. Given the importance of personal networks, rather than formal institutions, in Chinese culture, frequent personal contact was and is essential to the maintenance of one's place in society. Triad lore contained strong narrative dimensions, both in a more fragmentary form in the remains of the demonological messianic paradigm and associated legitimation lore, and in a more systematic form in the foundation account. One of the most surprising discoveries of my researches has been that early Triad lore originates in the demonological messianic paradigm, a little-known messianic tradition which I have attempted to reconstruct for the eighteenth century. Crucial elements of Triad lore (such as the identification of a barbarian threat to the nation defined in demonological terms, the mythological date jiayin, the division into

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five divine armies, the flower and long life symbolism in the names of the mythical founders, the youthful age of the Ming prince [=savior], the safe haven in the form of a city, and finally the violent rescue of the nation under the leadership of a Luminous King [=Ming prince]) all derived from the demonological messianic paradigm. Only the normal range of apocalyptic disasters was absent. The messianic dimension soon faded away when the Triads as social groups consolidated themselves, but its political components remained. The primary religious-political message of Triad lore was the claim that the Mandate of Heaven should be returned to the Zhu family of the former Ming dynasty, since the ruling Manchu-Qing dynasty did not deserve it and did not have the proper Han ethnic background. This claim was part of the foundation account, but it was also expressed in a range of other direct and indirect references. Already the earliest Triad groups possessed a political dimension. This was quite clear to many Triad members, whether they choose to undertake rebellious action or not. The foundation account staged the founding fathers of the Triads as the victims of betrayal by the ruling Qing dynasty and as loyal warriors for a just cause. A similar plot structure can be found in the foundation accounts of other marginal groups during the late imperial period. I have called this type of structure the "fall from grace" plot, because it is organized around the protagonists' loyal military service to the ruling dynasty and their subsequent undeserved betrayal. The "fall from grace" plot was especially appropriate for marginal groups, because it provided them with a meritorious history and a sense of mission for the future . It helped to compensate for their otherwise rather weak social position. Triad religious lore was created not as an exercise in dealing with or even obtaining secular power, as proposed by Emily Ahem, but as an actual expression of power. This power was much more than merely political-that is managing the All-under-Heavenin nature and certainly not secular. The essentially religious concept of the Mandate of Heaven is fundamental to the Chinese way of looking at relationships between man (as an agent) and Heaven (as the final source of rights to all forms of power) . By making their own claim to the Mandate of Heaven (indirectly through supporting a descendant of the Zhu family of the former Ming dynasty), the Triads obtained a high degree of political and social

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legitimacy, and hence full autonomy from the socio-political elites who controlled Chinese society during the late imperial period. The use of legitimation lore and the rejection of Qing legitimacy could and did lead to rebellious activities, but this was only a byproduct and not its primary purpose. Here we also find the key to the question, raised .by Ahem and others, why a traditional Chinese religious culture supposedly modelled on the imperial bureaucratic system continued to function after the system itself collapsed in 1911. 4 The simple answer is that traditional religious culture was not modelled on the imperial bureaucratic system, but that the two subscribed to the same metasystem of relationships between man and Heaven. There had long been differences between the way in which different groups accessed this metasystem, such as the moralistic interpretation of the Mandate of Heaven in which Heaven was only a distant source of power (especially dominant among the educated elite) and the ritualistic interpretation in which Heaven remained very close and showed its will constantly with special signs (shared by the largest part of the population, including many members of the social and educated elites). This resulted in different subsystems homological to each other and therefore certainly mutually reinforcing, but by no means essential to each other's survival. The disappearance of one subsystem (namely the one carried by the imperial bureaucratic system) did not necessarily have repercussions for the viability of other subsystems. Even the belief in an emperor did not disappear all at once after the fall of the Qing dynasty, and was partly projected on new types of powerholders (a fact which was full y realized and exploited both by Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong) . Precisely because traditional Chinese religious cultureincluding Triad lore-was political in and of itself, rather than as the mirror image of the imperial bureaucratic system, it remained relevant both abroad and in China itself under quite different political systems. 4 For instance Ahern (1981), Feuchtwang (1992) , and Shahar and Weller in: Shahar and Weller (1996) "Introduction" 31-32 (note 9). Another objection is raised by DeBernardi (1986) 60-63, who points out that h er informants described the relationship man : god as a child: parent relationship, rather than modelled upon the bureaucratic system . I should add that in traditional Ch ina, the relationship people : officials was also seen in this way. DeBernardi concludes th at Ahern 's model can only de scribe part of the etiquette governing rel at ion ships between gods and men.

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11.2. Triad lore and its oral origins

One less obvious fact that should be noted about Triad lore is the degree to which it originated and continued to function in an oral culture. Writing served to preserve Triad lore and to facilitate its transmission, and it was used to make membership certificates and to spread certain slogans. Otherwise, Triad ritual was an oral performance, with writing serving as a sign in and by itself, rather than as a communicative act. The possession of written texts might provide legitimacy, but without oral ritual context writing had little value. The oral origins of Triad lore also are the main reason why its debt to southern Chinese religious culture has remained unrecognized for such a long time. Oral traditions naturally do not leave much of a record, and the scattered information that one does find is often hard to integrate into one model or description. Paradoxically, the only reason that we are still so well informed on Triad lore is the increasing availability of literacy in southern China in the course of the Qing period (resulting in a wealth of internal Triad records) and the relatively thorough persecution apparatus which the Qing was able to keep in place until the first decades of the nineteenth century (ultimately resulting in the written archival record from which we have culled so much information for this investigation) . The oral nature of Triad lore can be seen in its origins in the demonological messianic paradigm and in the influence of vernacular ritual traditions. Early Triad lore directly derived from the demonological messianic paradigm as it can be reconstructed for the eighteenth century. Unlike most Chinese messianic traditions, the demonological messianic paradigm was transmitted orally and possessed virtually no scriptures of its own. This type of transmission has also contributed to our ignorance about its existence, despite the considerable number of incidents that the paradigm inspired in the course of the eighteenth century alone. The only scripture that clearly belongs to this paradigm is the prohibited, and nowadays extremely rare, Classic of the Five Lords. In many ways, the paradigm is the messianic equivalent of the vernacular ritual traditions to be touched upon below. A very likely influence on early Triad lore may well have been the Ma Chaozhu incident of 1747-1752. The similarities are sub-

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stantial and include the names of several divine generals, the name of the Ming prince and his appellation Luminous Ruler, the importance of Sichuan, the jiayin date, the performance of a blood covenant, and so forth . Concrete evidence of a possible genealogical relationship are the appearance of the monk Majiulong (with the same surname as Ma Chaozhu and the personal name jiulong, which was the name of the first grotto from which Ma Chaozhu obtained several crucial legitimating treasures) in the earliest, oral version of the Triad foundation account (from 1786-1787), and the mention of the mysterious Ma Chaozhi on the Hong-wood cargo ship in the oldest written version of the account (from the 1810 manualj.P On the other hand, Ma Chaozhu's teachings lacked the use of a common family name Hong, the number three symbolism and an extensive initiation journey. Furthermore, Ma's teachings were acutely messianic, which Triad lore was only in some of its earliest manifestations. Triad lore also lacked the specific structure in which Ma Chaozhu presented his revelations, especially the role of grottoes as the interface between different worlds of being and the significance of mountain fortresses as places of final resort. Therefore, the Ma Chaozhu incident should not be reduced to the status of a Triad precursor or even a proto-Triad group, but ought to be understood as a major incident in its own right in the demonological messianic paradigm. I suspect that survivors of the Ma Chaozhu incident continued to transmit certain messianic prophecies orally and in a changed form , incorporating a faint echo of their teacher's activities in the Ma jiulong figure. These teachings subsequently (probably only shortly before the Lin Shuangwen uprising of 1786-1787) reached the northwestern Guangdong and southwestern Fujian region. Inspired by these prophecies and their promise of demonological protection against various disasters, the first Triad networks came into being. At first, they largely continued the demonological messianic paradigm and only gradually its message was transformed into mature Triad lore as we know it. The Triad initiation ritual belongs to the larger group of vernacular rituals, characterized by dialogues in the spoken language and short verses in a simple classical language, and the theatrical 5

Discussed in section 7.5.

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enactment of the mythical landscape of life and death. Many vernacular rituals involve a demonological framework similar in structure and contents to the demonological messianic paradigm, in which an external threat is identified in demonic terms and has to be expelled by means of violence. Enactment stays close to local opera and even uses some of its techniques (such as singing and certain stage props) . Both the ritual master and the customers (in the Triad case the candidate members) play an active part. Most extant vernacular rituals betray a strong Daoist influence, but-as has been argued recently by Paul Katz-this may well be a later (Song or even Yuan) development." There also exist vernacular Buddhist traditions (such as the Incense Flower tradition in southern Fujian and a lay ritual tradition observed by myself on Taiwan). In the vernacular tradition, written manuals serve only to support the memorization of the ritual, but are not a direct source of power. Being memory aids for an oral performance, each manual is unique in its form and contents (certainly in the Triad case). They are also very frequently incomplete. It is the theatrical enactment alone which provides the transformative power of the ritual and not the ritual actualization of a higher power inscribed in texts bestowed by divine beings (as is the case in classical ri tual) . Not surprisingly, therefore, the classical Daoist and Buddhist ritual traditions-for which writing is of central importance-had little influence on the Triad initiation ritual. Their divinities are invoked in the blood covenant ceremony, and the covenant memorial contains additional Daoist elements, but otherwise their influence remains surprisingly limited. Even the memorial is not transferred to the supernatural world through burning (an act of divine transformation from one world into another one, rather than a technique of destruction) , as is the case in Daoist classical and vernacular ritual traditions. Instead, the Triad written covenant was read during the ritual and then preserved or consumed. Triad lore ran counter to the conventions of classical Buddhist and Daoist ritual by being non-vegetarian (including the consumption ofliquor, meat and blood) and violent (which may be acceptable in some Buddhist traditions elsewhere, but not in the Pure Land and Chan traditions current in late imperial China). 6

Katz (1995) 32-38.

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My stress on the oral background of Triad lore should not be mis-read as degrading the richness of Triad ritual and narrative lore. Moreover, the anonymous creators of this lore must have had a fair knowledge of elite as well as written Chinese culture, whatever their precise socio-economic position and despite the basically oral nature of Triad lore. Their depiction of the incense burner as "white Ding ware" testifies to an awareness of "high" elite culture, since such a burner was one of the most prized "antiques" among the wealthy elite of the late Ming. Whoever introduced this element into the foundation account must have been in contact with high elite culture. The creators of Triad lore were sufficiently literate to compose large numbers of poems in a simple classical language, to create a variety of written puns and special symbolic characters, and to write down oral dialogues and a foundation account. In the course of time, the dialogues and foundation account improved slightly as written compositions. The language of Triad lore shows Mandarin (in the sense of guanhua, the spoken vernacular of the government bureaucracy) and local language influences." although classical Chinese is also used (mainly in memorials and poems). This suggests people at the interface between the educated elite who manned the higher levels of the bureaucracy and the local population in general. Clearly, the creators and recorders of Triad lore will not have been highly literate officials, but they were not simple farmers either. They could have been failed examination candidates, actors, yamen clerks, Daoist priests and 7 Several Chinese scholars have pronounced themselves on the nature of these local languages ("dialects") . The Hakka scholar Luo Xianglin has noted that th e language of a manual in his private posess ion, stemming from the Hakka region ofXingning in Guangdong, showed clear Hakka influences (Luo [1933] 166 and 185 note 3, without concrete examples) . In 1942 Luo Ergang, who was well-acquainted with the Cantonese local language groups from his work on the Heavenly Kingdom, made the following observations concerning the manuscripts in the British Museum: a. a mixture of Mandarin (guoyu) and Cantonese: Or. 2339, Or. 8207 Bl , 8207 El, Or. 8207 Gl ; b. pure Cantonese: Or. 8207 B2, Or. 8207 C, Or. 8207 E2; c. a mixture of Mandarin and a Xunzhou (Guangxi) variant of Cantonese: Or. 8207 D (Luo [1942] 93-94). Only Or. 8207 B2, Or. 8207 C, Or. 8207 E2 are in "pure" Cantonese. In 1991, the Zhangzhou scholar Zeng Wuyue (Zeng [1991] 80-85) argued that the language of the 1810 manual (confiscated from a Cantonese person in Guangxi) contains elements of the Minnanese spoken in the Zhangzhou region. He also notes the same about texts from the Or. 2339 manual (classified as a mixture of Cantonese and Mandarin by Luo Ergang) . His article ignores previous scholarship on this question and his argument remains rather haphazard.

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Buddhist monks, and the like . In Chapter Ten, we have encountered several Triad members, who were aspiring members of the educated elite and possessed lower examination degrees. The repetitiveness of the ritual's symbolism, both in its acts and in its imagery, is characteristic of oral performances and will have assisted participants and audience alike in developing some kind of visual, aural and corporeal understanding of the ritual activities. Our evidence is not very informative on precisely what kind of understanding people had, except that very often the participants "understood" very little, at least when understanding is defined as the ability to restate the meanings and functions of something in one's own words. In a more intuitive way, by relating the initiation ritual to their personal experiences of other rituals, as well as to visual representations in nearby temples or on local festivals, and finally to their knowledge of miracles with similar constructions, Triad members may have grasped quite well what their initiation ritual was about.

11.3 . A different history of the Triads The results of this investigation enable us to look in a new way at early Triad history. As already stated before, the histories of Triad groups as social groups and of Triad lore are not the same. It is quite possible that the nucleus of a network already existed before Triad lore was introduced to make the network into a group. The amount of lore that is present in a Triad group also varied considerably, both between groups and between the different members. Groups that were similar to the Triads in terms of social behavior, whether mutual aid brotherhoods, smugglers, predatory bandits, and so forth, have existed before and existed in other parts of China as well, but usually without such extensive ritual and narrative lore (or at least without such lore being extant). It is this lore that defines the Triads and not their social behavior. It is possible to date the earliest bits of characteristic Triad lore (mainly the use of the family name Hong and the number three symbolism) back to the Lin Shuangwen uprising of 1786-1787, but this does not necessarily mean that Triad lore as a fully independent cultural and religious phenomenon also came into being around that time. The incorporation of elements from the demo-

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nological messianic paradigm in early Triad lore was pervasive, with the exception of the apocalyptic dimension of the paradigm. Thus, early Triad lore might be seen with some justification as a weak example of the demonological messianic paradigm, rather than an independent socio-religious phenomenon. Apparently, the urgency of the apocalyptic disasters was generalized into a feeling of social insecurity, for which possessing the semi-messianic Triad lore then provided a sufficient solution. Only after 1800 did Triad lore gradually come into its own. After this date, the messianic dimension of Triad lore rapidly disappeared and its constituent elements were reformatted as part of a new ritual structure and a much more elaborate foundation account. The initiation journey was now added to the Triad ritual, derived from general southern Chinese ritual practices and then given a specific Triad form. The blood covenant ritual now became the concluding part of this initiation journey, instead of remaining the central ritual event. With the addition of the initiation journey and the diminished importance of the messianic paradigm, the nature of the Triads changed. Protection and influence were now primarily derived from being part of a Triad network, rather than from possessing Triad lore. Therefore, I would like to propose that only from the early nineteenth century we can speak of Triad lore and Triad groups in their mature form, namely in the form that they were to retain during the subsequent one and a half centuries, at least until the 1960s. The question remains why the earliest Triad networks did not adopt the entire demonological messianic paradigm and why this semi-messianic dimension subsequently evaporated. I think that we have to search for the explanation in the particular history of these networks. The Lin Shuangwen uprising of 178~1787 seems to have occurred at a time that the paradigm in this particular form (a form that can be traced back to the Ma Chaozhu incident of 1747-1752) had only recently been introduced into the border areas of southern Fujian and northwestern Guangdong. Only a few people possessed all relevant information, a phenomenon that we also know from other incidents in this paradigm. Even the relatively knowledgeable Van Van had incomplete access to all early Triad lore and until the early nineteenth century the number of networks in possession of Triad lore appears to have been quite small. This much is suggested by the small number of arrests of

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recognizably Triad groups up to 1800 despite their intensive persecution by the Qing state. This ongoing persecution undoubtedly hindered continued access to the demonological messianic paradigm as it was transmitted elsewhere, because it drove potential teachers underground and forced surviving Triad groups to develop their lore in isolation. The first substantial find of Triad lore after 1787 is with the Chen Lanji uprising in northeastern Guangdong of 1801-1802, but in this case we have virtually no information on the uprising's Triad background. From the early nineteenth century on, people possessing substantial amounts of Triad lore were regularly apprehended all over southeastern China. Given the particular way in which Triad lore spread and its specific timing, I suspect that Triad lore had started to spread from the founding network(s) only shortly before 1800, but this is impossible to prove explicitly. The few groups that had survived the persecutions after the Lin Shuangwen uprising most likely stayed in contact with each other, as indicated by the fact that almost all Triad groups share the same basic lore. Since later Triad groups no longer maintained close contact with each other, such similarities must go back to a common origin at a relatively early point in time. Only Triad jargon is not shared by all Triad groups, but limited to those regions where Cantonese and Hakka are the dominant locallanguage[s], namely in Guangdong, Guangxi and in Southeast Asia . In Hunan and ]iangxi (home to the Xiang and Gan local languages respectively), or in southern Fujian and Taiwan (where the Minnan language dominates), no substantial Triad jargon can be documented.f Interestingly, some Triad jargon can be traced back to an older bandit tradition from northeastern Guangdong during the late Ming and early Qing. This is also the only predatory tradition that I have found to date for which an elaborate body of ritual lore and internal jargon can be documented.? Apparently, Triad lore incorpo8

For southern Fujian , see the case of Dai Chaochun in 1861, Daian jilue, 1-

2. 9 On this bandit tradition, see especially the memorials in Qingdai nongmin I (xia) 364-375 and the essay by Qu Dajun in his Guangdong xinyu, 7: 246-247. Compare the jargon of this tradition with the Triad vocabulary given in Maoming xianzhi (1888) 8: 84b; Xiangshan xianzhi (1873) 22: 49a, 53b ; Schlegel (1866) 230234; Stanton (1900) 93-96.

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rated this local jargon after it had first spread into northeastern Guangdong. Once Triad lore had been adopted by certain types of marginal groups in southeastern China as a suitable ritual and narrative format for providing cohesion and legitimacy, it developed as an independent tradition and there was no longer a need for any (semi-) messianic interpretations of the original lore. In this region, the early nineteenth century provided excellent opportunities for marginal groups to establish themselves on a more permanent basis, thanks to the smuggling of salt and increasingly also opium, as well as the overall expansion of trade with the outside world. Official Canton trade was booming, but the smuggling trade with the Western nations may have been even more important, as was the export of labor to southeast Asia. These trading activities were highly problematic for the traditional Chinese state, allowing marginal groups to find themselves an economic niche from which they could then expand further into more traditional activities. Triad ritual provided a very strong means for creating and maintaining ingroups, whereas the Triad narrative structures allowed the members to see themselves as engaged in more or less legitimate activities while dealing with an illegal and disloyal state. Even after the demise of the Manchu-Qing imperial state, the foundation account continued to provide a quasi-historical legitimation for the Triads' existence. Its stress on loyalty also remained as significant as before.

11.4. Creating natural groups At the end of this lengthy investigation, one may wonder what all of this means for the different analytical classifications that have been proposed over the years for the Triads. Since the 1866 book by Gustave Schlegel, the Triads have been subsumed in the West in the category of "secret societies" (himitsu shakai / mimi shehui) , a label which was introduced into Chinese and Japanese scholarship through Hirayama Shu's 1911 plagiarized version ofW. Stanton's study on the Hong Kong Triads (who had himself adopted the label from Schlegel). More recently, scholars such as Dian Murray and David Ownby have proposed that we should view the Triads as entrepreneurs and mutual support brotherhoods.l! 11

See Murray (1993), (1994) and Ownby (1993) , (1996) .

TRIAD LORE REVISITED

459

These analytical terms all catch important aspects of the Triad phenomenon, such as the secrecy that followed from the closed nature of the Triad covenant group (=> "secret society"), the brotherhood that was formed by creating an artificial Hong family and the aim of obtaining mutual support from fellow members (=> mutual support brotherhood) , or the opportunity of Triad teachers to earn a little money from selling their lore (=> entrepreneurs) . However, none of these aspects is uniquely typical of Triad groups. The Triad covenant was no more secretive than, for instance, a Daoist teacher-pupil relationship, which was also concluded by a solemn covenant (in its turn historically derived from the blood covenantj.!! Furthermore, we should beware of overly stressing the significance of secrecy to the Triads, since a certain degree of local public knowledge (or suspicion), on who was a member, was quite important for a Triad group 's effectiveness as a pressure group. The sworn brotherhood has been quite common throughout Chinese history, practised by people from all social and educational backgrounds, and of both sexes. Unlike the blood covenant, it could be concluded by simple mutual fiat without a religious ritual to accompany it. The brotherhood did not necessarily involve mutual support, but was more often the confirmation of a bond offriendship, love or loyalty. Mutual support was a central aim of all social groups, whether they were cemented by means of a blood covenant and/or sworn brotherhood, or some other ritual practice. This was as true of local communities centered on a temple cult, as it was of new religious groups such as the Eight Trigrams Teachings and the Luo Teachings.V Interestingly, though, the literati practice of the sworn brotherhood is never termed a sworn brotherhood, and a local cult is never called a mutual support group.

11 As pointed out in ter Haar (1993a), the term derives from a nineteenth century European perspective, where the term was used as part of a pejorative discourse on Masonic and Jewish groups. 12 The most remarkable case of a new religious group as a mutual suport group is that of the Luo Teachings among the Grand Canal labourers of the eighteenth century, see Kelley (1982). On the mutual support role of local religious org anizations, see also Duara (1988a) and ter Haar (1995).

460

CHAPTER ELEVEN

In a similar way, while the label "entrepreneur" fits certain members of Triad networks, it fits the activities of many other individuals in traditional and modem China equally well. By applying it to the exchange of religious knowledge for money and goods, we misconstrue the nature of the transactions that went on. The exchange of gifts (whether monetary or in the form of goods) was, and is, part and parcel of the maintenance of social relationships in Chinese society, combining entrepreneurial and social aspects in one and the same act. In this respect Triad teachers were no more (or less) entrepreneurial than Confucian literati and officials, Daoist priests and shopkeepers, or the teachers of new religious groups. Thus, the exclusive application of such terms as "mutual support brotherhoods" or "entrepreneur" to Triad members seems to me misleading and resulting from a common prejudice which prescribes that only non-elite social groups and individuals be labelled this way. Somehow, it is much harder to ascribe mercenary and utilitarian purposes to Confucian scholars and the like. The Triads as "secret societies" or "brotherhoods" are commonly contrasted with "sects" (which I prefer to call "new religious groups") .14 Both are usually seen as voluntary groups, with the first type striving primarily for social or socio-political aims, and the second type having more narrowly religious purposes.P However, as we have seen in the preceding chapters, Triad lore clearly had messianic origins and the Luo Teachings as practised by the Grand Canal labourers served very important mutual support functions. Hence, the distinction is not as sharp as one might wish for. Many other examples of the degree of overlap between Triad lore and surrounding southern Chinese culture have been given in the course of this investigation. Given the similarities between Triad lore and southern religious culture, there is little purpose in exerting oneself to find yet an-

14 The distinction probably goes back to Tao (1957) 99-111, on which please see the translation in Teng (1981) 81-102. In this essay, Tao Chengzhang took up the old Qing conceptual pair "gathering bands" (huidang) and "networks of teachings" (jiaomen), and developed it further in a more systematic manner. Contrary to his translator Teng Siyu's opinion, however, there is very little in this essay that is based on intimate contact with either "sects" or "secret societies" (these terms are first in troduced in Teng's translation) . 15 For a more elaborate statement, see Overmyer (1976) 54-62.

TRIAD LORE REVISITED

461

other, "better" analytical term to categorize the Triads, at least not on the basis of Triad lore. Instead, the present investigation has analyzed the specific ways in which Triad lore utilized the available repertoire of ritual and narrative means whereby a group could create itself on a meta-level and then guarantee its long term sociocultural reproduction. The basic predicament which a Triad group faced was the same problem of contingency that faces all social groups, and Triad lore provided solutions by adopting and adapting some of the most prevalent ritual and narrative means from southern Chinese culture to create a strong social group. Some kinds of groups have membership criteria at their disposal that are easily perceived as natural (even when they are not!) . Descent groups have recourse to the claim of biological descent, even though this criterium is always operated according to cultural rules and cannot be equalled to the biological acts of procreation plus giving birth. In the case of the local village and the urban neighborhood, the frequency of face-to-face interactions between local inhabitants ensures that such entities are also easily perceived as natural. As a matter of fact, most territorial units exclude people who have recently (which can be defined in years or even generations, as in the Chinese countryside) moved in . In descent groups and smaller territorial units, people (supposedly) "belong" by virtue of their birth into the group. Once the territorial unit becomes larger or the members of a group are dispersed over a larger area, face-to-face contacts become increasingly infrequent, and more elaborate constructions become necessary. The Triads are a case in point. They were not natural groups in any sense of the word and their members were very much aware of this . Triad members had first encountered each other as adults and therefore strong mechanisms for integrating them into a group were necessary, which were provided by Triad ritual and narratives. First of all , the Triad group was constructed as a kinship unit, namely a sworn brotherhood in which all members shared the same surname. This unit was structured hierarchically as was any traditional Chinese family, with all rights and obligations being derived from this quasi-kinship relationship. The initiationjourney enacted the structure of the landscape of life and death, in the same way as other rituals that influenced someone's status in a family (such as rituals of birth, illness and decease) . The resulting Triad kinship group practised collective ancestor worship rituals.

462

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Secondly, Triad lore constructed the Triad group as a sociopolitical unit, namely of all (Han-) Chinese supporting the past Ming dynasty and its imperial family. This provided power and legitimacy, because a Triad group hereby obtained its own privileged channel with Heaven (and the jade Emperor), independent of the ruling emperor or the latter's representatives. The foundation account created historical depth to the Triads, something of great value in a culture that values age and proper antecedents. Thirdly, Triad groups had their own way of making themselves understood amongst each other, thanks to an elaborate jargon, recognition dialogues, and an intricate sign language (which was based on the use of hands and fingers , or the placement of teacups, chopsticks, and other utensils). All of this was more important for strengthening internal ties, than it was for keeping things secret. A substantial amount of the jargon and the set signs concerned typical communal activities, rather than potential Triad business. The resulting strength of individual Triad groups (more specifically of single covenant networks, rather than of all groups sharing in Triad lore) is well-attested. Precisely because Triad lore shared so much with the religious culture of southern China as a whole, it can be treated as a particular example of this same culture. This greatly enhances its analytical significance, because unlike most non-elite religious culturewith the exception of the new religious groups ("sects") that have arisen since the late Ming period-, Triad lore and Triad interpretations can be studied in considerable depth on the basis of written internal and external sources, as well as a wealth of pictorial material. This book will hopefully ease the way for other students of Chinese religious culture to incorporate the Triad case into their own theoretical and empirical considerations.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Primary sources

*All works are quoted by title. 1 have tried to indicate a rough date of compilation or else the author's years of birth and death. *Local gazetteers are quoted by title and year of publication. *The Veritable Records of the Ming and Qing dynasties are quoted in the widely available Taiwan editions. *1 have only indicated the edition in which 1 have consulted a specific work . Abbreviations

CSJC Congshu jicheng • • • Iit (Shanghai: Shanghai yinshuguan, 1935-1939) DZ Daozang • (Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin: Wenwu, Shanghai shudian and Guji , 1988) HY number of a Daoist text in the Harvard-Yenching index MM Mimi shehui congkan ~\!iiI:*.flJ (Taibei: Guting shuwu, 1975) TDH Tiandihui ;R}t!!* (Beijing: Zhongguo renmin daxue, 1981-1989) Full titles: Bamin tongzhi Huang Zhongzhao .+!'1lB , Bamin tongzhi J\lMIj1,t; (1491) Baopuzi Ge Hong :I~ (283-343) , Baopuzi ~tlT (Zhuzi jicheng JH-.Iit ) Beijing shike tuoben Beijing tushuguan zang zhongguo lidai shike tuoben huibian ~1:Jj(1I._.plllllflftE~*•• (Zhengzhou: Zhongzhou guji, 1989) Beimeng suoyan Sun Guangxian If.:Yf:iI, Beimeng suoyan ~t.JflB (circa 965 ; Shanghai : Shanghai guji, 1981) Caomuzi Ye Ziqi .T~ Caomuzi ~*T (1378; Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1959) Cao Shun qiyi Qiao Zhiqiang iliJ!;ii comp., Cao Shun qiyi shiliao huibian lfIUllllle*+*1i (Taiyuan: Shanxi renmin, 1957) Chang'an kehua Jiang Yikui M-~, Chang'an kehua.*'1i:~ili (circa 1600; Beijing: Beijing guji, 1980) Daian jilue Cai Qingyun ~Wi!i, Daian jilue .lt~lI& (Taiwan wenxian congkan aiJllxlt.fIJ, 206) Daofa huiyuan miHt5C (DZ; HY 1210) Daoyi zhengzong Liu Zhenyuan JJlft5C , Daoyi zhengzong mAiE* (1940 ; MM) Deqing zhouzhi l!.fIIJ!; (1899) Dili xinshu Wang Zhu::Ei* comp., Bi Liidao • .lIm ed ., (Chongjiaozheng) Dili xinshu 1Ii:t!liE}t!!lIfJi. (1192 edition with 1899 colophon by Weng Tongsu _IilJM, now in the National Central Library in Taibei). Ding qinghui gong yiji Ding Bin Ding qinghui gong yiji (1638) Enping xianzhi ! ,ljiat; (1825) Ertan leizeng Wang Tonggui ::E1ilJi\, Ertan leizeng IF~I(li (1603) Fujian tongzhi (Chongcuan) Fujian tongzhi 1Ii:.j\@jI,t; (1829) Fusheng liuji Shen Fu itfl, Fusheng liuji ~I£~ae (author 1763- post 1808;Jianchang: Jiangxi renmin, 1980) Gengshen waishi Quan Heng IIJi, Gengshen waishi ~$~~ (Baoyan tang miji

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.aeNlt*ll)

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atliJll'"

Qingchu nongmin qiyi shiliao jilu Xie Guozhen Qingchu nongmin qiyi shiliao jilu ~%u.ti!;{gA~~• • (Shanghai: 1956) Qingdai dang'an shiliao congbian ~1\:tI.~~H 1lI (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1979) Qingdai dang'an shiliao congbian VII (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1981) Qingdai nongmin I (xia) Qingdai nongmin zhanzheng shi ziliao xuanbian lPf1\:.ti!;.~1 ~.~lI., 1 (xia) (Beijing: Zhongguo renmin daxue, 1984) Qingdai nongmin III Qingdai nongmin zhanzheng shi ziliao xuanbian 1lI (Beijing: Zhongguo renmin daxue, 1991) Qingdai nongmin VI Qingdai nongmin zhanxheng shi ziliao xuanbian VI (Beijing: Zhongguo renmin daxue, 1990) Qingpu jiyao fillil.~ (1932 ; MM) Qingmen kauyuan Chen Guoping ~IiJIIJn, Qingmen kauyuan fillr,~. (1940; MM) Qingshi gao Zhao Erxun ifl.~, Qingshi gao m~M (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1977) Qingzhongqi wusheng, Qingzhongqi wusheng bailian jiao qiyi ziliao IIIfIf>JUI1L~srt:1t tg• • ~(n.p. : Jiangsu renmin, 1981) San 'an quanji Liu Bonian IHa:¥, San 'an quanji =.~. 1931; (MM) Sanguo zhi pinghua =1I,t;~ii, in: Songyuan pinghua j i *JC~iili. (Shanghai: Shanghai guji, 1990) Sant ian neijiejing =~rllWIf (DZ; HY 1196) Sanzu xingjiao yinyou baojuan =ilfilt~m.lf in : Baojuan .If, vol. 4 (1682; Taiyuan: Shanxi renmin, 1994) Shanghai xiaodao hu i Shanghai xiaodao hui qiyi shiliao huibian 1:i/j/J\}] *i:!:.~~ (Shanghai: Shanghai renmin, 1980 revised edition) Shaolin si ziliao ji Wu Gu 1Jii:t and Liu Zhixue comp., Shaolin si ziliao ji ~#~.~. (Beijing: Shumu wenxian chubanshe, 1982) . Shengwu ji Wei Yuan • • , Shengwu ji ~~ilE (1842; jindai zhongguo shiliao congkan ~f\:If>IiJII~~.flJ [Taibei: Wenhai chubanshe)) Shiji Sima Qian a'J!i., Shiji leilE (circa 100 BC; Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1959) Shiliao xunkan le~iUflj (Beijing: Senwumen fashoushi, 1930-1931) Shimen zhengtong Zongjian *E, Shimen zhengtong"mUIt (1237 ; Dainippon zokuz6ky6 xa;;fi:Millf,1912) Shuanghuai suichao Huang Yu • •, Shuanghuai suichao !!llllilaP (CSJC) Shuyuan zaji Lu Rong l!f!tl , Shuyuan zaji .II'tae (1494 ; Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1985) Shuihu zhuan Jin Shengtan ~~. ed ., Luo Guanzhong • • If> and Shi Naian !itt., Diwu caizishu shuihu zhuan lIl1L::t'fa*IlM' (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1975) Songchaoshishi leiyuanJiang Shaoyu n:~", Songchaoshishi leiyuan Il~ (circa 1145; Shanghai: Shanghai guji, '1981) Songjiang [uzhi (1631) Soushen ji Gan Bao Soushen ji ji"ilE 1(Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1985 3 ) Sushui jiwen Sima Guang RJ!iJ'f; , Sushui jiwen it*~1111 (CSJC) Taiping guangji Li Fang 'filii , Taiping guangji :t~MUe (978; Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1957) Taiping tianguo geming shiqi Taiping tianguo geming shiqi guangxi nongmin qiyi ziliao :t~~IiJII~$II;¥JUI.i!!i.ti!;tg • • ~ (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1978) Taiping tianguo wenxian shiliao ji :t~~IiJII3tlltle~. (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue, 1982) Taishang dongyuan shenzhou jing :tJ::~jf;"'Je1f (DZ; HY 335) Taishang lingbao tiandi yundu ziran miaojing :t1:• • ~Ultl1l~tplf (DZ; HY 322) Tiandihui wenxianlu Luo Ergang • •"', Tiandihui wenxianlu ~Jt!!*3tIlt. (Hong Kong: Shiyong shuju, 1942 preface)

••

JJ;e;.

T.,

*n:1f-f;e;

*fJl••

466

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Tuibeitu IlWIl , see: Bauer (1973) Wanli wugong lu QuJiusi _:tt.m, Wanli wugong lu .Jli't~. (preface 1612; Taibei: Yiwen yinshuguan, 1980) Wannianqing qicai xinzhuan (Xiuxiang) Wannianqing qicai xinzhuan • • • ~Jf~::tH (oldest extant edition from 1893; reprinted in Guben xiaoshuo jicheng 1!;"*/J,~.Jil(; in 2 vols.) Weizhe congtan Li Tiaoyuan $illljf; (1734-1803), Wei:the congtan ~lUt~ (CSJC) WenxianjiSongLian (1310-1381), Wenxianji (Wenyuangesikuquanshu 3tilHAIll!lUJi£. [Taibei: Taiwan shangwu yinshuguan, 1983-1988» Wubu liuce Luo Qing illW, Wubu liuce 1i.iillAM (Original edition 1509, commentary 1596; reprinted Taizhong, Mindetang, 1980) Xiangshan xianzhi ~t1lg,~ (1873) Xin Tangshu Ouyang Xiu 1:1Ii., Xin Tangshu llil!. (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1975) Xinzeng cheng'an suojian ji IliliJil(;:lm~. (1793 edition) Xushi haiou ji Xu Xuemo (;?cl'f Zhao Yunliang :tfi~l'f Zhao ZHong :tfi:yftg zhetian san (the Cover Heaven Umbrella) ifl::R* zhenming tianzi (Son of Heaven of the True Ming) !A~:RT zhenzhu (True Ruler) D!t3: zheng [unknown character] Iill Zheng Chenggong $Rlt::9J Zheng Daode $31H~ Zheng Junda $tt~ Zheng Tian $ m Zheng Yulan $3i:Ni Zheng Yulian $3i:tI zhengyi mengwei jiao (Teachings of the Correct One Founded upon the Authority of the Covenant) IE-MiU:Ic zhi (to order) fa zhang (middle) ~ Zhong Jiaxu j'jiiOI!l. zhonghua (Hua of the Middle) ~~ zhonghua dawang (Great King of the Hua of the Middle) l:f:l~*:E

504

CHARACTER LIST

zhonghua minguo (Republic of the Hua of the Middle, Republic of China) If:t.~m zhonghua mingjun jianhan busha (Luminous Prince of the Hua of the Middle, when he sees Han [-people] he does not kill them) !=p.M;gj!il~~

:1:.

zhongshi (a heavy oath) Zhou Cang]i!i]~ Zhou Dabin ]i!i] jitr Zhou Hongying ]i!i]iJl;~ Zhou Lichun ]i!i] rrlf< Zhou Wenyun ]i!i]x)I Zhu* zhu (pearl) ~ zhu (bamboo) ¥r Zhu Dahong (Zhu Great Vastness) **iJl; Zhu Dingyuan *lftI.5[; Zhu Hongde (Zhu Vast Virtue) *iJl;~ Zhu Hongguang *iJl;1l Zhu Hongjin *~. Zhu Hongsheng (Zhu Vast Life) *iJl;1:, Zhu Hongtao (Zhu Red Peach) *nM Zhu Hongying *iJl;~ Zhu Hongzhu (Zhu Red Bamboo) *n¥r Zhu Hongzhuo *n~ Zhu Hongzong *n* Zhu Jiutao (Zhu Nine Peaches) *nMI (homonym) Zhu Niuba *IFA Zhu Qigui (Zhu Seven Cassias) *-ttt Zhu Tianlong *:Rm1. Zhu Tianshun *:.R1l Zhu Yigui *-Jl: Zhu Yuancheng *5[;nX; Zhu Yuanzhang *5[;,* zhuhong zhu (Zhu Hong Bamboos) *iJl;¥r zhumeng (to lead a covenant) .:EM zi (child, cyclical character) T zijincheng ([Purple] Forbidden City) ~~1lt zou (to memorialize) ~ zu (malediction, curse) IDl [zuo] shi (to perform ritual) ~. zushi (Patriarchs) jfiflffi zuoxi (to perform theater) d

n.

INDEX 3 see: three 5 see : five 7 64, 186,371,386 (see also : betrayal) 9 see: nine 36 128 72 85-86, 128 108 85-86, 372, 423, 428 Abdullah Bin Abdul Kadir 12,38,103106, 135, 435 altar (xiang'an) 6-7, 12,29,34,40,5356,77,80-88,109,113,121,129-131, 134-135, 152, 161-162,201,285,323, 336,446 amulet (fu) 22,42, 154-155, 157, 176, 200, 202-203, 224-226, 228-232, 235, 237, 239, 247, 249, 259, 261, 284, 286, 294, 296-300, 319, 340, 357 ancestor(s) 55, 57, 60, 116, 157, 189, 194-195,203-210,213,215-216,276, 294,346-347,361,365,373-378,399, 409, 427, 444, 448, 462 apocalypse 81,83,94-96,224-226,229, 231,233-234,243,250,256-257,259260,278-281,283-284,290,298,303, 312, 318, 324, 446, 449, 456 autonym 15-17 bai see: white Baiding see : incense burner baihua see: vernacular language baishan see: White Mountain banquet (yan) 6,7,117,120,135-137, 140, 148,161, 174, 218, 396, 398, 440, 448 Baoshu Ya see: Guan Zhong barbarian (hu, man) 18, 78, 94, 222, 278-281,283-285,290,303,308,314, 324 , 328 , 334-335, 337, 362, 371, 380-381,385,390,392,403,448 (see also: Xilu) beidou (Northern Bushel) see : bushel Beijing 95 ben see : foundation betrayal (treason, traitor) 105, 186, 189,285,297,372,380-381,383-387, 389·390, 396-397, 399, 449

biao(wen) see: memorial biaozhang see: memorial birth (rebirth) 12,82,90-92,94-97,99, 112 , 116-117, 119, 121, 125, 128131 , 133, 135, 139-140, 147, 217 , 271,273,276-277,282-283,319,373, 445-447, 460-461 blood 25, 67, 105, 111, 116, 133, 152161, 166-171, 177-178, 181-184, 187188 , 194, 196, 200, 202, 212, 242, 249, 256, 297, 415, 447, 453 (see also : blood covenant) blood covenant 7-8,10-11,13,16-17, 25,37,52-54,59-60, 74, 76, 99, 103, 105, 107-108, 112-114, 125, 133-135, 137-139, 147-148, 151-218,238,246, 249 , 271 , 283 , 292, 298 , 304, 322, 325-326, 329 , 336, 339 , 341 , 343, 353 , 369 , 380, 382-383 , 386 , 388, 422,424,431,438,444-445,447~8,

452-453, 456, 459 Blythe, Wilfred 40, 434-439 boat 84,96-98, 102, 119-120, 126-127, 271, 277-279, 281, 289, 293, 438 Bodhidharma 118, 131, 382, 404 Bodhisatva 194, 383, 393 Boxe~ 142, 148, 286 bridge (qiao) 77, 83-84, 90-91, 93-94, 96-97,99-100, 102-104, 107-109, 114, 119-120,126-129,138-140,147,185, 194, 236 , 252-253 , 260, 277 , 279, 289, 380 , 382 , 388, 432-433, 436, 438,446 British Museum 31-35 brothers (brotherhoods) 5, 13,53-54, 59,74,77-79, 151, 158, 162, 166-167, 169-175,195-196,198-199,203-218, 229, 249 , 265, 283, 304, 329, 372375, 390 , 400 , 426, 428, 444, 448, 455, 458-460 Bu Yexian 230 Buddha (-patriarch) 169 , 194, 208, 382-383, 392-393 Buddhist/m 10, 14, 55, 80, 86, 91-92, 94,106,163-164,177,180,193,208, 212 , 214, 223, 232, 237 , 261 , 304, 306, 329-330 , 378, 391 , 393 , 404, 410,416,420-421,425,445,453,455 (see also : classical Buddhist ritual)

506

INDEX

bushel (dou) 10, 12, 53, 63-80, 83-86, 107, 110, 113, 131, 162, 180, 189, 271, 277, 285-286, 288, 290, 303, 308, 330-331, 334, 358, 410 , 414 , 431,446, Bushel Lamp (doudeng) see: bushel, lamp Cai Dezhong 194 Cai Yin 227 Cantonese 3, 5, 22, 37, 47, 91, 149, 154, 186, 359, 454, 457 Cao Fucheng 349 Cao Fuyi 349 Cao Shun 97, 126, 278 caoxie see : Straw Sandals [to] carry out the Way/transformations on behalf of Heaven (daitian xingdao/hua) 252, 317-318, 322 , 333, 340 Chan 404, 414, 425, 453 Chang Yuchun 245 Changlin Monastery 44, 407-410 changming deng (Long Life Lamp) see: Lamp changsha see : Long Sand changsheng zhai see : Long Life Vegetarians Chaozhou see: Teochiu Chen, mr. 427 Chen Biao 21 Chen Jichuan 377-378, 431 ChenJinnan 19,384,387,411 Chen Kaishun 347, 349 Chen Lanji 377-379, 457 Chen Ling 349 Chen ~ingzhen 350 Chen Xin 20, 181-182 Chen Zong 227 cheng see : city chenghuang see : City God chicken see: cockerell chicken feathers 298-299 Chongzhen 118, 268, 293, 332, 336, 371,373 city (cheng) 81-87, 90, 93-95, 97, 102, 118, 131, 24~ 26~ 275, 41~ 44~ 447,449 City God (chenghuang) 162-165, 171, 175,178-179,187-188, 192,448 City of Transformations (huacheng) 94,225

City of Willows (muyang cheng) 29,3233,55,63,73-80,82-87,94, 102-103, 109-110,113,119-120,129-131 ,134, 139, 147, 222, 225, 263, 265-266, 271, 275-278, 283, 285, 290, 293, 295, 302, 305, 352 , 356 , 37~377, 380,382,413,423,438-439,445-446 City of Willows (liucheng) 94, 225 Classic of the Five Lords (wugong fu, wugong jing) 95, 225-226, 229-230, 232, 261, 283, 291, 311, 451 classical Buddhist ritual 410,453 (see also : Incense Flower Tradition) classical Daoist ritual 80-83, 100-101, 145-146,153,187-188,195,423,453 (see also: Daoism /t, vernacular) Cloud City (yuncheng) 83,95,123,275 cockerell (chicken) ([gong]ji) 134, 152,155-157,164-165,168, 171, 177, 179, 182-184, 18~187, 189-191,201, 216, 249, 297, 386, 415 Comber, L.F. 40 criminal 3-5, 15, 26, 40, 150, 305 Cui Junlie 243 Dazong 407-409, 413 Dai Chaochun 22, 62, 362 daitian xingdao see : [to] carry out the Way/ transformations on behalf of Heaven daitian xinghua see : [to 1 carry out the Way/transformations on behalf of Heaven dang (gang, party) see : huidang dao see : sword Daozong 403, 407-410, 412 Daoism/t 10,42,55,64,68,71-73,8082, 92, 94, 106, 116, 152-158, 163, 173-178, 187-188, 195, 198-199,203204, 208, 214, 225, 229 , 232, 237238, 240, 243, 246, 297, 299, 306, 311-313,316,318-323,335,341,363, 395,410,415-416,420-421 ,432,445447, 453-454, 460 (see also classical Daoist ritual, vernacular) Dark Dragon Hill (wulong gang) 120, 124, 127 death (to die , dead, deceased) 12, 53, 77, 81-82, 89-90, 93, 9~97 , 99-100, 102, 105, 114-122, 124-125, 127,129-132,139-140,144, 147,209210 , 215, 217, 236, 260, 273 , 277,

INDEX

285, 289, 304, 345, 371-373, 387, 410, 420-421, 444-447, 453, 461 demonology (demonic, demon) 13,56, 61,67,72,77-78,90,95,97-113,116, 123-125, 145, 148, 154, 190, 202 , 206, 222-226, 228-229, 232, 234, 236, 238,241-242,245-246,248,250-253, 255-264, 267-268, 270-271, 274-275, 279-281,284-290,295,297-299,301303,305,311-312,314, 31l).318, 320321, 324 , 327-329, 335, 361, 364 , 376,388,400-401,443-444,446,448449, 451-453, 455-457 Deng Desheng 384 Deng Sheng 381 di see: earth dingshan see: Nail Mountain Divine Armies 75, 77, 100, 148, 206, 224-225,235,245-247,250,255-256, 259-261,284-290,294,300,302-305, 364, 446, 449 Divine Generals (shenjiang) 71-72, 100101, 124, 148, 154, 190, 230-231 , 234,238,244, 24l).247, 256, 284-290, 300,318 Divine Soldiers (shenbing) 65, 72, 100, 148 , 190, 230, 238 , 244, 24l).247, 256, 259, 284-290, 300 , 305, 318 , 375,382 dong see : grotto dou see: bushel doudeng (Bushel Lamp) see : bushel, lamp dragon (long) 123-124, 227, 232, 253, 258, 272, 285, 335-336, 357 , 395 Du Qi 227,259 Du Shiming 46,205-206,290-296,301, 303, 377-379 dynastic treasures see: treasure(s) Earth (di) 16, 67, 79, 114, 128-130 , 153,155,157-158,160-164,169, 175, 177-179,181,188-190,192-193,200, 211,297-298,311-312,322,334,336, 365, 370, 410, 440, 447 (see also: Heaven, Lord of the Earth) East 117, 120, 131 Eight Immortals 120-121, 140, 271 Eight Trigrams 67, 69, 81, 101, 247, 258,298 Eight Trigrams Teachings 14,325,391 , 394-398, 422, 459

507

Eight Trigrams uprising 95, 142,264, 317 Elder Brother Wan 62, 107, 141,200, 292, 295 , 372-373 (see also : Wan wan) Enfeofment of the Gods (jengshen yanyi) 245 entrance journey/ritual (see: initiation journey/ritual) entrepreneurship 420, 444, 459-460 eschatology 94, 222, 235, 259, 278-280, 289, 291, 295 , 298, 303-304, 315 , 324,400 exorcism 12, 6l).68, 70, 72-73, 75, 77-79, 83, 113, 123-124, 128, 131-132, 134, 140 (expelling), 143-144, 148, 154, 156, 158, 170, 187-188, 190, 202, 224-225, 238-240, 24l).249, 256, 258, 263, 277, 284-286, 290, 294 , 296, 299-300 , 303, 318, 320, 324 , 328 , 336, 341, 426, 44l).447 face 424 famil y see: Hong family, lineage fan see: barbarians fan (shan) 71, 78, 115, 240, 243, 342, 441 Fan Qi 265, 299-301 Fang Dahong 194, 270, 273, 411 Fang Huicheng 411 Fang Zhen 237 fenghua ting (Phoenix Flower Pavilion) see : Red /Hong Flower Pavillion fengshen yanyi see: Enfeofment of the Gods fengtian see : Receiving (the Mandate of) Heaven five 85-86, 214, 372 Five Ancestors (wuzu) 87,107,111, 128, 141, 188, 207-210, 215, 270, 273 , 275, 288, 331, 353, 374 , 380, 407, 413, 429-430 Five Encampments (wuying) 72, 77, 100,148,238,246,263,284,287-288 Five Fierce Ones (wuchang) 238, 246, 263, 284, 287 Five Houses (wufang) 77, 208, 263, 270, 287-290, 293-294, 303, 305, 343, 352, 373, 377, 387-388, 411, 428 flags 7, 72-73, 75, 77, 84-85, 110-111, 155,227,229-232,240, 24l).247, 259, 261 , 284, 288 , 294, 321, 352 , 354 , 356 , 361, 372, 431

508

INDEX

floods (hong 'floodlike ' ) 81, 257, 268, 271,274,278-280,283,302-303,330 flower 90-92,95,97,121-124,130,254, 269-271, 274-275, 303, 410 , 449 Following (the Mandate of) He aven (shuntian) 84, 199, 232, 255 , 294, 309, 317 , 323, 325 , 333 , 338-341 , 354 , 361, 426 Forbidden City (zijin cheng) 83-84, 93, 95, 118, 261, 265, 277 foundation (ben ) 34, 300, 370 , 440441 , 445 foundation account 3,5,7, II , 14, 1819, 21, 52, 130, 186-187, 189, 191, 194,222-223,273,290,292-295,301, 329-330,334,336-337,343-344,362, 364-391,400-402,427,429-431 ,440, 444-445, 448-449, 454, 456, 462 Fourth Prince Zhu (zhu sitaizi) 227 Free Masonry 6, 38-39, 62 friendship 167,172,174-175,198,424 fruit 92, 107, 122, 128, 139, 141,302303 fu see: amulet Fu Tiancai 430 funerary ritual 61, 65, 81-82, 93, 97 , 113,115,118,132-133,135,161,421 Gansu 194, 281, 329 , 371, 378 , 380 , 382, 388, 393-394, 397-398, 409, 429 garden 90-92, 94-94, 99-100, 122, 255 gaoqi see : High Creek gate 81,84,87,90-91,98-100, 102, 109112 , 129-130, 147, 277 , 341 , 352, 356 , 381, 445-446 gate of swords (jianmen ) 76, 99, 107112, 114 , 167-170 , 181, 185, 205, 249, 269, 301 Gathering of Brothers and Elders 24, 36,393 gelao hui see: Gathering of Brothers and Elders gifts 420-422 , 424, 460 (also see: sacrificial gifts /sacrifices) Golden Lotus, The (jinpingmei) 171-175, 198-199, 210 Gong Hai 228,231-232,247,256,260, 314,317 (gong)j i see: cockerell gongsi see : Kongsi Gordon, Charles G. 35 grass 61,63,76,87,107,186,445 (see also : Straw Sandals)

Great Peace (taiping) 84, 120, 126, 138, 194,225-226,242,257,281-283, 302 , 311, 316, 378, 382, 384, 388 Green Gangs 14,24,391,393-394,397398 grotto (dong) 81, 90-92 , 98-99 , 110, 112,118,236,239-241,243-244,246247,250,260,271 ,282,446,452 (see also : White Crane Grotto) guan see: gate Guan Yu 39, 109, 123, 126, 137, 162, 169, 175, 191-193, 198, 210 , 215, 250, 285 , 308, 341, 444 Guan Zhong 173-175,196,198 guanhua see: Mandarin Guanyin 97, 126, 132, 194, 205, 208, 278 , 382-383 Guixian xiuzhi ju 35-36 Guo Tinghui 384 Guo Tou 348 Guo Xiuying 381 hair (queue) 30, 115-116, 130, 135, 147,154,248-249,328,356,422,428 Hakka 3, 22, 25, 36-37, 47, 149, 347, 401-402, 454 , 457 Han (non-Han) 90, 93, 156, 167-169, 227 , 235, 254 , 279-280, 294, 339, 361-362, 401, 449, 462 Han Fu 84 Han Lin 'er 256 Han Peng 84 Han Shamong 256 Han Wangyi 347 Han Xingyi 347 Hao (Yun1ong) 395-396 , 398 He Yasi 230 Heaven (tian) 8, 16,53,58-60,63,67, 70,79,81,84-85,96,98-99,109-110, 114,117-120,125,127-131,141,153, 155, 157-158, 161-165, 168-170, 174179,181-182,188-193,196,200,211, 223,230-232,235,237,239-241,243247, 249, 252 , 255, 261 , 265, 278, 280-281, 297-298, 307-308, 311-312, 315-324,329,333-334,336,338-339, 363-365,367,370-373,380,382-383, 392, 400, 410, 440, 447 , 450 , 462 (see also : Earth, Lord of Heaven) Heaven and Earth Gathering (tiandi hui) 3, 15-16, 19,45,84,200,266, 292, 298, 370, 426-428 Heavenly Generals (tianjiang) see: Divine Generals

INDEX

Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace (taiping tianguo) 4, 23-24, 33, 35, 95, 261, 279-280, 351, 358, 401 Heavenly Masters (tianshi) 153, 232, 304, 313-314, 316, 320 Heavenly Soldiers (t ianbing) see: Divine Soldiers Heaven's Revolution (tianyun) 84, 101, 176, 199, 244, 298, 300-301, 309, 31~318, 326, 333, 338, 354 High Creek (gaoqi) 98, 111, 125, 127, 196, 265-266, 271, 273, 325, 329,. 365,371-272,374,376,378,382,413 Hirayama Shu 36-37 hong (floodlike) see also: floods hong (red) see also: red Hong/ hong (floodlike; red) 16-17, 5961,74,76,79,84,86,120,126,128131, 200, 206, 252, 254, 257, 263, 266-271,273,274-279,282,287,289290, 292-293, 297-298, 302-303, 325, 326, 330, 335 , 340, 372, 447, 452, 455 Hong Dasui 270, 373 Hongfamily 59-60,74,77,82,90,113114,119,126,129-131,151,180-181, 196,203-208,212-213,215,217,276277, 372, 445-446 Hong Gate 108, 120, 129 Hong Qisheng 110, 194, 207, 379 Hong's Revolution (hongyun) 31,199, 333 Hong Rukun 347-348 Hong She chang 269, 295 Hong Taisui see : Hong Dasui Hong Xiuquan 358 Hong Ying (Hongying) see: Zhu Hongying hong zush i (Patriarch Hong) see under: patriarch hongdeng (Hong Lamp) see: lamp hongdeng dou (Hong Lamp bushel) see: bushel, lamp honger see : Red /Hong Child honghaier see : Red /Hong Child hong/honghua ting see : Red /Hong Flower Pavilion Hongyun/ hongyun see: Hong's Revolution hu see: barbarians Hu Dahai 2.45 Hu Nanshan 238, 240-242, 244-245, 247-250

509

Hua of the Middle see : zhong hua huacheng see : City of Transformations huang see : yellow

Huang Cheng'en 118, 122-123, 131, 137 (see also: Tian Youhong) Huang Feihu 245 Huang Fengchao 377-378 Huang Huazeng 422 Huang Jiaojing 344, 377 Huang San 227, 230, 252, 259 Huang Siquan 384 Huang Tianrui 227 Huang Tingchen 294 Huang Zhongquan 384 Huang Zushou 377-378 huidang (gathering bands) 26, 362, 460 human feelings (renqing) 424 huoshan see: Mountain of Fire huoyan shan see : Mountain of Fire immortal 81, 91-92, 97-99, 118, 228, 232-234,236,241 ,243,256,259-260, 266, 282, 392 Imperial Seal of the Qin 241,310-311, 321 (see also: seal) incense (xiang) 12, 53, 55-63, 65, 67, 76,87,107,110,112,130,155,160, 173, 180, 189, 196, 202-203, 239, 278, 323, 336, 357, 392, 410, 421422, 445-446 incense burner (xianglu) 19,55,57-63, 73,98,125,279,311,323,334,336337, 372-373, 380, 382, 387, 389, 445,454 Incense Flower tradition 44-45, 409416, 453 Incense Master (xiangzhu) 62, 83, 8687,114-115,143,192,196,214,437 initiation (entrance) journey/ritual 3, 5-7, 11-12, 17, 21-22, 41, 52-53, 55, 89,94, 101-150 (the Triad initiation journey), 217, 221-222, 253, 266, 273,275-277,281-283,292-293,300301 , 305, 330, 336, 340, 353, 361, 369, 388-389, 392, 422-423, 425, 427430,434438,440,444-448,452,455456, 461 (see also: blood covenant, rite de passage) Inscription of Liu Bowen (liu bowen ji) 314-315, 332, 371 interrogations 20-21, 46-48, 102, 113, 233, 235, 291, 425, 429-430

510

INDEX

Jade Emperor 55,70,76,87,162,173, 175, 231, 287, 316, 323, 382, 462 (see also: Lord of Heaven) jiayin 253, 283, 302-303, 372, 374, 378, 445, 448, 452 jiaz i 283, 291 ji see : cockerell jian see : sword Jian Meisheng 349 jianmen see: Gate of Swords Jiang Wuyi 377-378 jiewan (to unite the Wan /the ten thousand) 272-274, 331, 431 jinpingmei see: [The] Golden Lotus jiu see: liquor jiu see : nine Journey to the West/The Journey to the West (xiyouji) 91,113,132-133,231 , 256 Kongsi (gongsi) 209, 347-350, 352 Koxinga see : Zheng Chenggong Kwan Tee Hoey 39 lamp (Bushel Lamp, Seven Stars Lamp, Long Life Lamp, Hong Lamp) 64, 66-67, 70-72, 75-76, 79, 84,87, 134 language 5, 36-37, 42, 47, 100-101, 125, 149, 300, 347 , 366-367, 402, 440-442, 445, 454, 462 lao wanshan see: Mount Wan left 183-184 legitimation 5,9,15,23,25,27,51-52, 57-58, 78, 116, 147, 190, 196, 205, 216,222-223,240,250,254,306-308, 310,312-313,315-318,320,322-325, 333-336,357-358,361 ,363-364,388389, 404, 406, 429, 431-432, 440, 444, 448-452, 458, 462 Li (family name) 252, 254, 264, 266, 268-270,273-275,289-291,295,302303, 313-315, 340, 388 (see also : Third Prince Li) li see : peach Li Awan 227 Li Changguo 84 Li Dexian 227,230-321,247,252,257, 259-260, 271, 291, 302, 321 Li Faguang 340 Li Hong 257, 313 Li Jiukui 227, 229 Li Jiutao 227-228

Li Kaihua 227-228, 230, 243-244, 255, 259-260, 269, 295 Li Laowu 290, 296-299, 301, 303 Li Letian 394-395 Li Lingkui 290-296,301,303,377-379 Li Mei 227, 229, 252, 255, 259, 317 Li Quanr 234 Li Rongjue 243 Li Sanxiazi 233 Li Sedi 270, 373 Li Sekai 194, 270 Li Sezhi 270 Li Shichi 411 Li Shikai 411 Li Taohong/ Li Tao Hong 268, 270, 273-274, 278, 325-326 Li Tianbao 230 Li Tingyu 396 Li Wandou (?) 230, 258 Li Wanxian 230, 258 Li Wanyun 230, 258 Li Xianchi 355 Li Xiantian 395-396 Li Yining 348 LiYonghuai 423,428 Li Yongjue 243 Li Zicheng 254, 329, 371, 413 Liang Laojiu 423 Liang Qiyuan 348 liangsan (parasol) see: umbrella Lin Chongsan 142, 299-304 Lin Dajiang 411 Lin Jingyan 341-342, 377, 426-427 Lin Qing 95, 422 Lin Runcai 377-378, 428-431 Lin Shuangwen 19-21,29,46,180-182, 196,323-333,337-339,361-362,456457 Lin Tianshen 326, 341 Lin Xiaowen 338 Lin Yatai 348 Lin Yingwei 339 Lin Yongzhao 373 lineage 18,77,208,213,217,265,287, 292, 298, 325-326, 329, 389 lingwang miao see: Temple of the Numinous King liquor (jiu) 13, 53, 59, 61, 80, 86-87, 104-105, 133, 154-156, 158-162, 165, 168,171,174,176-178,180-184,187, 193-194,200-202,209,212,249,292, 297,301,352,384-386,389,396-398, 447-448, 453

INDEX

literacy (illiteracy) 9-10, 34-35, 170171, 176-178, 195, 237, 239, 244, 251, 296, 307, 341, 354, 402, 431, 433, 451, 454 (see also: oral, writing) Little Western Heaven 229, 260 (see also: West) Liu (family name) 254, 313 Liu Bang 314 Liu Bowen 308,314-315,332-334,336, 371 liu bowen beiji see : Inscription of Liu Bowen Liu Fengtian 395-396 Liu Ji see: Liu Bowen Liujing 384 Liu Lichuan 351-354, 357-360 Liu Ruhan 313 Liu Song 233 Liu Xigour 233-234, 256 Liu Zhaokui 325 Liu Zhixie 228, 233-234 Liu Zuochen 395 liucheng see : City of Willows long see : dragon Long Life Lamp see: lamp Long Life Vegetarians (changsheng zhai) 24 Long Sand (changsha) 127, 294, 372, 378 Lord Lao on High (taishang laojun) 297, 299, 320 Lord of Heaven 55,76,160,162,231, 316 (see also: Heaven) Lord of the Earth 56-58,65,109,128, 141, 193, 195-197, 205, 209, 346, 348-350, 444 (see also: Earth) lotus 91, 392-393 loyalty 105,184-185 ,191,193,196-197, 341,388-390,398-400,424,444,449, 458-459 Lu Mao 21, 160, 180 Lu Ruoteng 408-409 Lu San 204, 422-423 Lu Shenghai 22, 199, 204, 334, 377378, 422 Luminous King (mingwang) 78,83-84, 95, 225-226, 229, 253, 263-265, 267, 274-277, 283, 285, 449 Luminous Prince (mingjun) 227, 254, 264-265

511

Luminous Ruler (mingzhu) 196-197 , 225, 228, 243, 264-265, 267, 274, 325-329, 376, 452 Lii Shian 239-241 Luo Dagang 23-24, 358 Luo Ping 226-227, 229 Luo Qing / Patriarch Luo 14,391-394, 397-398 Luo Teachings 391,393-394,397-399, 459-460 Ma Ma Ma Ma

(traitor monk)384-385 Chaolie 252 Chaozhi 303, 452 Chaozhu 95, 98, 142, 224, 227, 230, 236-262, 264, 267, 271, 283, 286, 289, 302-303, 317, 319, 321, 376, 432, 451-452, 456 Ma Chaozuo 242 Ma Jiulong 287, 302, 352, 375-376 Ma Shaotang 106, 110-113, 129 Maitreya 94, 97, 225, 228, 232-234, 255, 275, 295, 300, 391 (see also: messianism) maledictions 76,99,108-109,114,152, 163-164, 168-169, 178, 181, 183-190, 197-199, 249, 336 man see : barbarians Manchus (anti-Manchuism) 3, 25, 7778,169,221,235,254,267,280-281, 303, 310, 324, 344, 350, 355-356, 358,361-362,364,394,396,401 ,458 Mandarin (guanhua) 47,101 ,413,454 (see also: language, vernacular) Mandate of Heaven (tianming) 13,8485,98,125,229,235,241,248,255, 263, 278, 281, 294, 307-309, 311, 313,316-319,321-324,333-334,354355,362-363,389,395-396,400-401 , 426, 449-450 maps (of the Triad altar) 29,33-34,82, 102-103, 121, 352, 356, 438 marginal group(s) 23, 178, 213, 304, 367, 388, 39~402, 443, 449, 458 marriage/to marry 67,70-71,132,161163, 213, 410, 424 martial arts (wuyi) 43, 120, 245, 247, 256, 296, 380-381, 402-407, 410 Meat Pie Ballad (shaobing ge) 314-315 membership certificate 34, 37, 71, Ill, 273, 335-336, 342, 352, 422-423, 426, 428,431

512

INDEX

memorial (Daoist and Triads) 101, 118,159,170-171,173-177,195,198203 , 217, 261, 318-320 , 358, 453454 memorial (of Qing officials) 20-21,4546, 287, 376,427 meng 151-153, 160, 167, 169, 176, 338 (see also: blood covenant) mengbiao see: memorial mengci see : memorial mengdan see : memorial mengshu see : memorial messianism 13, 68, 70, 83, 91, 93-95, 97, 99, 125-126, 159, 171, 180, 186, 221-226,228,232,234,236-238,241243, 245-246, 250-254, 256, 259-264, 267-268, 270-271, 273-284, 288-290, 295-297,299,301-305,309,313-317, 320-321,324,326-329,331,333,361, 364, 374, 376, 388, 391, 393, 400401 ,443-444 ,446 ,44~49,451-453 ,

456-458, 460 millenarianism 91,228,235,280,283, 303, 317-318, 321, 324 mimi shehui see: secret society Ming (restoring the Ming) 19,21,23, 59, 78-79, 84-85, 98, 110-111, 115, 118-119, 131, 185, 190, 193, 197, 221-222,228,230,233-235,238,241, 244,248-249,251,253-254,263-266, 268, 271, 274, 277, 281, 292 , 294, 300-301,309,314,319-320,324-330, 332,334,336,339,343-344, 347-350, 352, 354 , 356-358 , 361, 372 , 380, 383 , 385 , 388, 400 , 40~09, 411, 446, 449, 462 (see also: Ming loyalism , Ming Prince) Ming loyalism 18-19, 222, 263, 314315, 366, 369, 40~09 , 411 Ming Prince 79,98, Ill, 122, 124-126, 208,222, 293-294, 305, 333, 373-374, 377,381,388,427,445-446,449,452 mingjun see: Luminous Prince mingwang see: Luminous King mingzhu see: Luminous Ruler Minnan 3, 37, 47, 123, 149, 154, 347, 359, 366, 454, 457 mirror 65, 59-70, 72, 75, 78, 96, 240, 298 Mongols (anti-Mongolism) 169, 310311, 314, 393, 401 Monk Hong 206, 267, 269, 274, 287288, 297-298

Monk Wan 20, 269, 272, 282, 342, 365, 376, 40~09 moral 178,197-198,203,208,210-212, 21~ 217, 22~ 26~ 284, 307, 312313, 315 , 321-324 , 339, 341, 354, 362, 364, 390, 440, 450, (see also: loyalty, righteousness, rules) Morgan, W. 12, 41, 437 Mount Wan (wanshan , lao wanshan [Old Mount Wan]) 125, 239, 241, 243, 247, 250, 258 , 272-275 , 378, 380, 388,429 Mountain of Fire (huoshan, huoyan shan) 84, 103, 112-113, 120, 131-133, 145, 277, 445, 447 mountains 81, 84, 90-93, 96, 98, 102, 195,225,239,241-243,247,260,271274,282,297,372-374,380,452 (see also: Mount Wan, Mountain of Fire, Nail Mountain, White Mountain) muli doushi 330, 333, 431 muyang cheng see: City of Willows mudra (handposture) see : foundation mutual support 5, 175, 204, 210, 213214,304 ,326 ,433,455,45~60 (see also: moral) Nail Mountain (dingshan) 120, 124125, 195, 272-273, 275, 282, 342, 378, 380, 427 nan shaolin si see: Shaolin Nanjing 95, 242-244, 261, 309, 358 nationalism 26, 36, 344-345 (antiFrench) nationalists and the Triads 4, 25-26, 360, 362-363, 401-402, 412 Newbold, T J. 38-39 Nian 24 nine (jiu ) 133, 255, 257-258 Nine Tripods 58, 310-311 Niu Ba see: Zhu Niuba Northern Bushel (beidou) see : bushel Number Seven see : betrayal oath 110,112,114,151-155, 158, 161164, 166-170, 172-175, 181-184, 187, 189-191,193-197,200-201,204,207, 210-211,217,304,323,326-327,341 , 343,353-354,390,447-448 (see also: blood covenant, maledictions) offerings see: sacrificial gifts opera see: theater

INDEX

oral 7, 100, 1l0, 153-154, 163, 170, 172, 175, 178, 182, 185, 195, 199, 203, 214, 216-217, 261 , 268, 293-294 , 308, 351, 375, 390, 400, 406, 415, 432, 443, 447, 451-455 orthopraxis 147, 149-150, 357

166, 194250, 366, 439,

Pan, Man of the Way 228-229 parasol see : umbrella pass see : gate patriarch (zushi) 205 (Hong), 207208 (Hong), 228 (Zhang), 231-232 (Zhang), 394 (Li Letian) , 395 (Liu Zuochen e.a.), 432 (Ma Chaozhu), 426-427 (Five Patriarchs) (see also: Luo Qing) peach (tao, ti) 78,91-92,128,140,255258,264,266-271,274-275,278,286, 302, 329-330, 336 peachwood 78,123,126,249,285-286, 290, 303, 335-336, 385 Peng Longtian 384 Phoenix Flower Pavillion (jenghua ting) see : Red /Hong Flower Pavillion Pickering, W.A. 12, 39, 348, 434 , 436437 political 13-14, 79, 84, 95 , 222-223 , 226 , 232, 235 , 238, 245 , 248 , 250, 252,254,263-264,268,277,280-281, 290,294,301,306-364,395,400-401, 414, 425, 431, 449-450, 460 Prince Moonlight (yueguang tongzi) 94, 225, 256, 275 qixing see : seven stars qixing deng (Seven Stars Lamp) see: lamp, seven stars qixing jian (Seven Stars Sword) see: seven stars, sword qiao (bridge) Qing (overthrowing the) 3, 19,23,25, 59,77-79,85,98, 116, 185, 197,221222, 235, 248, 254, 268, 27~ 279, 280-281, 294, 300 , 303, 314, 324, 327-328, 334, 337, 339, 343-346, 350, 354, 358, 372, 380, 383, 385, 388, 400, 403, 405 , 409, 415 , 446 , 449, 458 (see also : Manchus) Queen Mother of the West 81,91, 117, 255, 260 (see also : West) queue see : hair

513

rebirth see: birth Receiving (the Mandate of) Heaven (jengtian) 255 , 309, 317 , 354355 red (hong) (see also : blood, Red Pavillion, Hong/ hong) 77, 90-91, 100, 1l0, 115-116, 134, 160,237-238,244, 257,266,267-268,271,279,292-293, 302, 311, 335, 353 , 357 , 370, 422423, 431, 433 Red /Hong Child 131-133, 447 Red /Hong Flower Pavillion (honghua ting) 87, 120, 133-134, 138, 196 (Phoenix Flower Pavillion), 265 (Phoenix Flower Pavillion), 271, 325,376 (Phoenix Flower Pavillion), 378,438 renqing see : human feelings Responding to (the Mandate of) Heaven (yingtian) 309, 322 revolution (yun) 233, 235, 244, 309, 317-318, 333, 354-355 (see also : Heaven's Revolution, Hong's Revolution) revolutionaries 13-14,24-25,288,362363 rice bushel see: bushel righteousness 172-173 , 184-185, 193, 196-197,323,338,341,343,347-350, 352, 355, 372, 444 rite(s) de/of passage 89,102,1l7,128, 147-148 ritual (selective) (see also: blood covenant, classical ritual, initiation journey/ritual, orthopraxis, vernacular ritual) rituals at night 104-106, 434 ritual, Chinese terms for 142 ritual, overall remarks on 51-54, 114, 147-151, 425 ritual playlets/preludes 118, 121, 132133, 140, 144-145 ritual repetitiveness 90, 114-115, 148 ritual, sources on Triad 11-12,101-103 ritual space 106-107, 135, 138-139 ritual and theater 136-146 ritual versus narrative 11-15, 51-52, 221-222 ritual washing 135,173,147 rules (Triad) 7,25, 184, 187-188, 198, 208, 210-216, 354

514

INDEX

sacrificial gifts (offerings) 53, 56, 5859, 80, 86, 107, 134, 144, 151-153, 156-160,162,169,173-174,177,193194, 196-197, 209, 218, 297, 312, 410, 421-422 san see: umbrella sandian see : Three Dots Sanguo zhi yanyi see: Three Kingdoms {Romance of the] sanhe" see: Three Rivers sanU see : Three Unions savior 91, 94, 171, 225-226, 229, 233, 235,242,245,251-257,259-261,271, 274, 278, 283-284, 289, 303, 328-329 Schlegel, G. 31-32, 41-42 seal 17-18,155, 171, 176,230-231,241, 248,261,279,299,310-312,320-321, 323, 334-337, 341, 370, 431 (see also: Imperial Seal of the Qin) secrecy 7, 103, 105-106, 153, 161, 163, 190,192,196-198,213-214,217,342, 358, 435-436, 442, 459 secret society (mimi shehui) 31,37,4243, 208, 362-363, 444, 458-460 seven stars (qixing) 64, 70, 76, 78-79, 134, 285-286, 290, 303, 335 Seven Stars Lamp see: lamp, seven stars shaxue ("to smear blood") 151-152, 157-159, 168-169, 177, 181-182, 196 shan see: fan shaobing ge see: Meat Pie Ballad Shaolin (Monastery/monks) 18-19,4344, 59, 63, 98, 105, 108, 118, 120, 123-125, 127, 130, 140, 148, 186, 193, 208, 212, 223, 268-269, 272, 276, 279, 281-283, 285, 287, 294, 329, 334, 336, 342, 366, 371-372, 374,378,380-389,398,400,402-416, 429, 445 shenbing see: Divine Soldiers shenjiang see: Divine Generals shenwei see: spirit tablets shi see : oath Shi Lan 165-166 Shouxian 'ge 35-36 shu see: memorial shuihu zhuan see: [The] Water Margin shuntian see: Following [the Mandate of] Heaven Sichuan (as a mythical spot) 230, 242243,260, 265,-268, 274-275, 294-295, 300-304, 374, 376, 452 Small Luminous King 256

Small Swords Gathering (xiaodao hui) 323, 350-351, 353, 357, 359-360 Son of Heaven 228,231 ,235-236,266267, 291, 295, Southern Shaolin Monastery see : Shaolin Spirit Army see: Divine Army Spirit Generals (yinjiang) see : Divine General Spirit Soldiers (yinbing) see : Divine Soldier spirit tablets (shenwei) 65, 77, 80, 87, 110-111, 113, 129, 132, 203, 208-210, 215,346-347,350,353,360,365,447 Stanton, William 36, 41, 362 Stirling, W.G. 29, 39-40 Straw Sandals (caoxie) 115, 119, 147 Su Hongguang 118-119, 122-123, 131 (see also : Tian Youhong) Su Yuanguo 348-349 Su Zhisong 299-303 Sun Dayou 227, 254, 260, 264, 280 Sun Yatsen 24-25, 36-37, 362 sword (dao, jian) 64, 66, 69-71, 75-76, 78, 84, 104, 107-110, 114, 123-124, 155, 176, 185-186,239-240,246,249, 285-286,290,296-297,303,311,320321,323,334-338,380-381,386,389, 436 taibai shan (Great White Mountain) see: White Mountain taiping see: Great Peace taiping tianguo see: Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace taishang laojun see: Lord Lao on High Taisui (Great Year) 176,199,270,318 tao see: peach Tao Bida 373 (see also: Yao Bida) teacher 23,74, 110-111, 181-183,200, 204-205,207,229-230,232-234,236238,240-241 ,253,266,273,291-292, 296,298-299,313,327,339,341-343, 348,366-367,375-376,394,420-424, 426-435, 437, 452, 457, 459-460 Temple of the Numinous King (lingwang miao) 118, 122-123, 136 Teochiu (Chaozhou) 3,22, 149,347, 359 theater (opera) 99-100,103-104,107, 121, 136-146, 215, 221, 248, 257, 300, 357, 390, 410, 438-439, 448, 452-453 (see also : ritual playlets)

INDEX

Third Prince Zhu (zhu santaizi) 227 , 229, 255-256 three 16-17, 60-61, 85-86, 111, 128, 135, 182, 186, 20~ 20~ 21~ 258, 271, 300, 335-336, 339, 341, 370, 375, 423, 428, 430, 440, 452, 455 Three Dots (sandian) 16 Three Kingdoms/Three Kingdoms [Romance of the] (sanguo zhi yanyi) 5, 9, 39, 137, 151, 162, 178, 183, 210, 216,245,296,308,374,399-400,443 (see also: vernacular traditions) Three Rivers (sanhe') 16 Three Steppingstones 84 Three Unions (sanhe') 16 thunder 154-156, 164, 187-188, 211, 247,322 Tixi see: Wan Tixi tian see: heaven Tian Youhong 118-120 , 122-123, 130131, 137, 141, 147, 445-447 (see also: Vanguard) tiandi hui see: Heaven and Earth Gathering tianbing (Heavenly Soldiers) see: Divine Soldiers tianjiang (Heavenly Generals) see : Divine Generals tianming see : Mandate of Heaven tianshi see : Heavenly Masters tianyun see : Heaven's Revolution traitor see: betrayal treason see: betrayal treasure (dynastic treasures) 58, 63, 230,241,251-253,259,261 ,306-307, 310-312,317,320-321,325,332,334337, 361, 364, 389 Triad River 104, 109, 120, 125-126, 129, 277, 279, 281, 293, 378 True Ruler (zhenzhu) 193, 225, 228, 234, 243, 265, 267, 274, 303, 374 Tuxi see : Wan Tuxi tuibei tu 226, 311, 331 umbrella (san) 68-71,78,141 ,240,243, 334 (liangsan or parasol) underworld 81-82, 89, 92-93, 95-97, 100,118-119,128,131,275-276,446447 underworld journey 61,82, 128, 132, 446-447 Unity Teachings (yiguan dao) 87, 291, 295, 396

515

Vanguard (xianfeng) 114, 116-119, 122, 130, 141, 143, 192-193, 282, 349 , 371, 436-437, 447 (see also : Tian Youhong) vegetarian 80, 86, 101, 180, 224, 291292, 294-295, 297, 410, 421, 453 vendetta 213 vernacular language (baihua) 9-10, 101, 370, 375, 392 (see also : Mandarin) vernacular traditions (literary) 5,9-10, 101, 132, 151, 162, 171, 178, 183, 195, 210, 216, 231, 245, 256, 308 , 318, 390, 400, 443 (see also: Enfeof ment of the Gods, [Romance ofthe] Three Kingdoms, [The] Journey to the West, [The] Water Margin) vernacular traditions (religious) 81-82, 100-101,107,145-146,203,297,410, 416, 446-448 , 451-454 (also see : exorcism) Wan /wan 20-21, 125, 255, 258-259, 264, 272-272, 274, 281, 292, 302, 326, 331, 388, 408, 431 (see also : Elder Brother Wan, Monk Wan , Mount Wan, Wan Tiqi, Wan Tixi, Wan Tuxi, Wan Yunlong) Wan Tiqi 59, 141,272, 372, 381, 409 Wan Tixi 21,205,264,272,281 ,380381,409 Wan Tuxi 20-21, 269, 272, 287, 375 Wan Yunlong (Cloud Dragon) 59, 107, 117, 124-125, 141, 215, 272-274, 282,329,372,374,378-381,383-384, 387-388, 398, 403, 409, 411, 413 Wang, mr. 428-430 Wang Chaorui 237, 243, 319 Wang Sen 313 washing see : ritual washing water (the water radical) 8, 16-17,6061, 81, 92-93, 96-99, 102, 111-113, 127, 129, 139, 202, 233, 247, 249, 257, 271, 277, 289, 294, 297, 308, 311, 332, 334-335, 371, 430 (see also: bridge, three, washing) Water Margin/The Water Margin (shuihuzhuan) 5,9, 151, 158-159, 178, 183,216,308,317,399-400,443 well 93, 96-97 West 91, 117, 120, 131, 227, 242, 260 (see also : Little Western Heaven, Queen Mother of the West, Western Ocean Fortress, Western Paradise)

516

INDEX

Western Ocean Fortress 230,240,242243, 250, 256, 260, 293 Western Paradise 82, 91-92, 97, 117, 260 white (bai) 77, 87, 90, 115-119, 122, 126, 128, 130, 135, 153, 157, 179, 183, 186, 216, 235, 237, 244, 282, 288,413 White Crane Grotto/Grove 282, 378379, 381, 384, 387 White Lotus (Teachings) 229, 232, 235,254 White Mountain (baishan) 335, 371, 380,386 wine see : liquor winnowing basket 66, 68-69, 71, 73 writing/written 11,102,105,152-154, 157,159, 161', 170-178, 181-185, 187, 192,194-203,205-206,210,214,216217, 237, 250, 261, 294, 311-312, 320-321,326-327,341,343,370,390, 402,419,427,431-433,436,438-439, 443,447,451-454 (also see : literacy, memorial, oral) Wu Chenggui 373 Wu Chengyun 243-244,254,267,289290 Wu Dedi 194 Wu Laoer 110-111 Wu Sangui 243, 252, 254, 267, 289, 317, 396-398 Wu Tiancheng 194, 289, 373, 411 Wu Tinggui 411 Wu Wenchun 46, 292-294, 296 Wu Zixiang 291, 295-296 wuchang see: Five Fierce Ones wufang see: Five Houses wugong fu (Amulets of the Five Lords) see : Classic of the Five Lords wugongjing see: Classicofthe Five Lords wulong gang see: Dark Dragon Hill wuyi see: martial arts wuying see : Five Encampments wuzu see: Five Ancestors Wylie, A. 34 Xi Shenghe 377-378, 430 Xilu fan (Western Lu [barbarians]) 279,290,371,380-381,384-386,389, 413-314 xifan 371 xiyouji see: {The] Journey to the West Xia Ruchun 319-320

xian see: immortals xianfeng see : Vanguard xiang see : incense xiang'an see : altar xianglu see : incense burner xiangzhu see: Incense Master xiao xitian see: Little Western Heaven xiaodao hui see : Small Swords Gathering Xie Peicheng 377-378 Xie Zhi 181-182 Xie Zhonglao 342 Xiong Mao 295-296 Xu Chu 245 Xu Lanfang 349 yan see : banquet Van Chao 342-343, 377-379, 429 Van Qingzhen 377-378 Van Yagui ' 342-343, 377-379, 429 Van Van 20-21,46,181,269,272,287, 302, 375-376, 456 Yang 133; 214, 258 (also see: Yin and Yang) Yang the Dumbheaded 429 Yang Qi 166 Yang Wenzuo 411 Yang Zhengcai 430 Yangzhou 94, 225, 275-276 (also see : City of Willows) Yao 65, 94, 160, 168, 401-402 Yao Bida 411 (see also : Tao Bida) Yao Dagao 30, 368-370, 377-379 yellow (huang) 116,200-201,228,239 yiguan dao see: Unity Teachings Yin/yin 67,72, 101, 106,215,258 (see also : Spirit Soldiers and Spirit General) Yin and Yang 67, 101, 117, 247 Yin Zhiping 340-341, 377-378 yinbing (Spirit Soldiers) see : Divine Soldiers yinjiang (Spirit Generals) see: Divine Generals yingtian see: Responding to (the Mandate of) Heaven You De 426-427 Yu Biting 348 yueguang tongzi see : Prince Moonlight yun see : revolution yuncheng see: Cloud City Yunlong see: Wan Yunlong

INDEX

Zeng Darning 429 Zhai Binru 227-229 Zhang (famil y name) 314 Zhang Baotai 97, 227, 232, 257 Zhang Daoling 313, 320 Zhang Jianqiu 384 Zhang Jindou 228-229 Zhang Lianqiu 384 zhang tianshi see: Heavenly Master Zhang Zhang Xiyu 243-245, 289 Zhang Xianzong 231 Zhang Xiaoyuan 429 Zhang Yuantong 289-290 Zhang Zuchang 347, 349 Zhang Zuxian 230 Zhao (family name) 254-255,313,315 Zhao Guyuan 321-322 Zhao Qixian 374 Zhao Wenbing 349 Zhao Wenliang 373-374 Zhao Yunliang 374 Zhao Zilong 374 zhenzhu see: True Ruler Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) 18-19, 45, 222, 263, 266, 366, 408, 411 Zheng Daode 411 ZhengJi 21 Zheng Junda 381, 384-6, 411 Zheng Kai 21 Zheng Tian 84 Zheng Yulan 411 Zhengxiu 237-239, 241, 250 Zhong Axi 348 Zhong Jiaxu 431 zhonghua (Hua of the Middle) 227, 254, 300, 355, 362-363 Zhou Dabin 199, 377 Zhou Lichun 352-353, 360 Zhou Wenyun 377-379

517

Zhu (family name) 123,126,190,226, 233 , 238, 252, 254, 266, 268-270, 273-275,292,295,302-303,313-315, 319,330-332,340,358,388,431 ,449 (see also: Fourth Prince Zhu , Third Prince Zhu ) Zhu Prince (Young Zhu Prince) 124, 264-265,268,272,277,288,294-295, 302,328-329,336,370-371 ,377,389 Zhu Dahong 266, 343-344, 377 Zhu Dingyuan 329 Zhu Hongde 266, 329 Zhu Hongguang 268, 298 Zhu Hongjin 227,230,243,245,248, 253,257 Zhu Hongsheng 227, 257 Zhu Hongtao 228, 233-234, 257 Zhu Hongying 110, 126,207,234,265, 267 , 290, 330, 344, 353, 372, 375, 377, 412-413 Zhu Hongzhu 126, 227, 230, 234, 257, 266-267,276,287,290,292-295,330, 353,377 Zhu Hongzhuo 227, 257 Zhu Hongzong 227, 230-231, 257 ZhuJiutao 228,234,266,273,287,290 Zhu Niuba 227-228, 233-234 Zhu Qigui 266-267, 269, 295 zhu santaizi see : Third Prince Zhu zhu sitaizi see: Fourth Prince Zhu Zhu Tianlong 228, 231-232 Zhu Tianshun 228, 231-232 Zhu Yigui 362 Zhu Yuancheng 243, 245 Zhu Yuanzhang 157, 162, 166, 245, 308-309, 314, 324, 330-331 zhuhong zhu (Zhu Hong Bamboos) 126,293 zijin cheng see: Forbidden City zu see: malediction zushi see: patriarch

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