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Tiandihui
The Tiandihui, the Heaven and Earth Society, also called Hongmen (the Vast Family), is a Chinese fraternal organization and historically a secretive folk religious sect in the vein of the Ming loyalist White Lotus Sect, the Tiandihui's ancestral organization. As the Tiandihui spread through different counties and provinces, it branched off into many groups and became known by many names, including the ''Sanhehui''. The ''Hongmen'' grouping is today more or less synonymous with the whole ''Tiandihui'' concept, although the title "Hongmen" is also claimed by some criminal groups. Its current iteration is purely secular. Under British rule in Hong Kong, all Chinese secret societies were collectively seen as criminal threats and were bundled together and defined as "Triads", although the Hongmen might be said to have differed in its nature from others. The name of the "Three Harmonies Society" (the "Sanhehui" grouping of the Tiandihui) is in fact the source of the term "T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cai Shaoqing
Cai Shaoqing (; 14 August 1933 – 30 November 2019) was a Chinese historian and professor at Nanjing University, considered a leading authority on the history of Chinese secret societies. He pioneered the research of Tiandihui and other secret societies using Qing dynasty archives and overturned the findings of earlier Republican-era scholars. He also studied the links between the Warlord Era and banditry during the late Qing dynasty and early Republic of China. He received the Frederic Milton Thrasher Award for his research on Chinese secret societies. Biography Cai was born on 14 August 1933 in Hexing Township, Changshu (now part of Zhangjiagang) in Jiangsu province of the Republic of China. After graduating from Danan High School of Changshu, be was hired by the school as a teacher. He entered the Department of History of Peking University in 1956, and upon graduation in 1960, he became a teaching assistant to historian Shao Xunzheng () while continuing his graduate stu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Triad (underground Society)
A triad ( zh , t=三合會 , s=三合会 , cy=sāam hahp wúi , j=saam1 hap6 wui6‑2 , hp=sān hé huì , first=t,j ) is a Chinese transnational organized crime syndicate based in Greater China and has outposts in various countries with significant overseas Chinese diaspora populations. The Hong Kong triad is distinct from mainland Chinese criminal organizations. In ancient China, the triad was one of three major secret societies.Wang, Peng (2017). ''The Chinese Mafia: Organized Crime, Corruption, and Extra-Legal Protection''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. It established branches in Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Chinese communities overseas.Chu, Y. K. (2002). ''The triads as business''. Routledge. Known as "mainland Chinese criminal organizations", they are of two major types: “dark forces” (loosely-organized groups) (）and “Black Societies" () (more-mature criminal organizations). Two features which distinguish a black society from ordinary "dark forces" or low leve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Lotus Sect
The White Lotus () is a syncretic religious and political movement which forecasts the imminent advent of the "King of Light" (), i.e., the future Buddha Maitreya. As White Lotus sects developed, they appealed to many Han Chinese who found solace in the worship of Wusheng Laomu (). History Background The religious background of the White Lotus Sect goes back to the founding of the first White Lotus Society (白蓮社) in the Donglin Temple at Mount Lu by the Huiyuan (334–416 CE). During the Northern Song period (960–1126), White Lotus Societies were founded throughout southern China, spreading Pure Land teachings and meditation methods with them. Between 9th and 14th centuries, Chinese Manichaeans increasingly involved themselves with the Pure Land school. Through this close interaction Manichaeism had profound influence on Chinese Maitreyan Buddhist sects within the Pure Land tradition, practicing together so closely alongside the Buddhists that the two traditi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Of Zhao
The House of Zhao () was the imperial clan of the Song dynasty (960–1279) of China. Family history Origin The Zhao family originated from Zhuo Commandery (), located near present-day Zhuozhou, Hebei Province in China, and traced its roots back to the Spring and Autumn period (roughly 771–476 BCE). The founder of the Song Empire, Zhao Kuangyin, was born to a military family. His father, Zhao Hongyin was a general in Zhuo Commandery who later moved to Luoyang with his family. Zhao Kuangyin also had an elder brother Zhao Guangji, two younger brothers Zhao Kuangyi and Zhao Guangmei, and two younger sisters. Rise of the Zhao family Zhao Kuangyin initially served in the Later Han military but he subsequently defected to serve under Chai Rong, emperor of Later Zhou, an enemy of the Later Han. He also persuaded his father, a Later Han general, to serve Chai Rong, thus contributing to the decline and collapse of the Later Han. Having gained Chai Rong's trust, Zhao Kuangyin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Triad (organized Crime)
A triad ( zh , t=三合會 , s=三合会 , cy=sāam hahp wúi , j=saam1 hap6 wui6‑2 , hp=sān hé huì , first=t,j ) is a Chinese transnational organized crime syndicate based in Greater China and has outposts in various countries with significant overseas Chinese diaspora populations. The Hong Kong triad is distinct from mainland Chinese criminal organizations. In ancient China, the triad was one of three major secret societies.Wang, Peng (2017). ''The Chinese Mafia: Organized Crime, Corruption, and Extra-Legal Protection''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. It established branches in Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Chinese communities overseas.Chu, Y. K. (2002). ''The triads as business''. Routledge. Known as "mainland Chinese criminal organizations", they are of two major types: “dark forces” (loosely-organized groups) (）and “Black Societies" () (more-mature criminal organizations). Two features which distinguish a black society from ordinary "dark forces" or low lev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Koh Lay Huan
Kapitan China Koh Lay Huan (; died 1826) was a wealthy and educated man, who had earlier rebelled against the Manchu-led Chinese Qing Dynasty and fled to Siam and the Malay States, to eventually settle in Penang as its first Kapitan China. He was a merchant, planter, tax farmer, Chinese secret society headman, and one of a handful of pioneering leaders of Penang.Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society By Malaysian Branch, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland Malaysian Branch, Singapore Published by , 1996; p. 119 Earlier life Koh Lay Huan was from T'ung-an county,Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Malaysia: Collected, Annotated, and Edited by Wolfgang Franke and Chen Tieh Fan By Wolfgang Franke, Tiefan Chen Published by University of Malaysia Press, 1982; Item notes: v.1-2; p. 717 Zhang Zhou Prefecture in the Fujian Province, on the southeast coast of China. At the time, Fujian was at the focus of the activities of Tiandihui (Heaven and Earth S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secret Society
A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla warfare insurgencies, that hide their activities and memberships but maintain a public presence. Definitions The exact qualifications for labeling a group a secret society are disputed, but definitions generally rely on the degree to which the organization insists on secrecy, and might involve the retention and transmission of secret knowledge, the denial of membership or knowledge of the group, the creation of personal bonds between members of the organization, and the use of secret rites or rituals which solidify members of the group. Anthropologically and historically, secret societies have been deeply interlinked with the concept of the Männerbund, the all-male "warrior-band" or "warrior-society" of pre-modern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Salvationist Religions
Chinese salvationist religions or Chinese folk religious sects are a Chinese religious tradition characterised by a concern for salvation (moral fulfillment) of the person and the society.; ''passim'' They are distinguished by egalitarianism, a founding charismatic person often informed by a divine revelation, a specific theology written in holy texts, a millenarian eschatology and a voluntary path of salvation, an embodied experience of the numinous through healing and self-cultivation, and an expansive orientation through evangelism and philanthropy. Some scholars consider these religions a single phenomenon, and others consider them the fourth great Chinese religious category alongside the well-established Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Generally these religions focus on the worship of the universal God ( Shangdi), represented as either male, female, or genderless, and regard their holy patriarchs as embodiments of God. Terminology and definition "Chinese salvati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shaolin Monastery
Shaolin Monastery (少林寺 ''Shàolínsì''), also known as Shaolin Temple, is a renowned monastic institution recognized as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and the cradle of Shaolin Kung Fu. It is located at the foot of Wuru Peak of the Songshan mountain range in Dengfeng County, Henan Province, China. The name reflects its location in the ancient grove (林 lín) of Mount Shaoshi, in the hinterland of the Songshan mountains. Mount Song occupied a prominent position among Chinese sacred mountains as early as the 1st century BC, when it was proclaimed one of the Five Holy Peaks (五岳 wǔyuè). It is located some thirty miles (about forty-eight kilometers) southeast of Luoyang, the former capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386–534), and forty-five miles (about seventy-two kilometers) southwest of Zhengzhou, the modern capital of Henan Province.Shahar 2008 As the first Shaolin abbot, Batuo devoted himself to translating Buddhist scriptures and to preaching doctrines to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Penang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. They are connected by Malaysia's two longest road bridges, the Penang Bridge and the Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge; the latter is also the second longest oversea bridge in Southeast Asia. The second smallest Malaysian state by land mass, Penang is bordered by Kedah to the north and the east, and Perak to the south. Penang is the 8th most populated state in Malaysia. Its population stood at nearly 1.767 million , while its population density was as high as . It has among the nation's highest population densities and is one of the country's most urbanised states. Seberang Perai is Malaysia's second-largest city by population. Its heterogeneous population is highly diverse in ethnicity, culture, language and r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malay States
The monarchies of Malaysia refer to the constitutional monarchy system as practised in Malaysia. The political system of Malaysia is based on the Westminster parliamentary system in combination with features of a federation. Nine of the states of Malaysia are constitutionally headed by traditional Malay rulers, collectively referred to as the Malay states. State constitutions limit eligibility for the thrones to male Malay Muslims of royal descent. Seven are hereditary monarchies based on agnatic primogeniture: Kedah, Kelantan, Johor, Perlis, Pahang, Selangor and Terengganu. In Perak, the throne rotates among three branches of the royal family loosely based on agnatic seniority. One state, Negeri Sembilan, is an elective monarchy; the ruler is elected from male members of the royal family by hereditary chiefs. All rulers, except those of Perlis and of Negeri Sembilan, use the title of ''Sultan''. The ruler of Perlis is styled the ''Raja'', whereas the ruler of Negeri Sembilan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siam
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bordered to the north by Myanmar and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the extremity of Myanmar. Thailand also shares maritime borders with Vietnam to the southeast, and Indonesia and India to the southwest. Bangkok is the nation's capital and largest city. Tai peoples migrated from southwestern China to mainland Southeast Asia from the 11th century. Indianised kingdoms such as the Mon, Khmer Empire and Malay states ruled the region, competing with Thai states such as the Kingdoms of Ngoenyang, Sukhothai, Lan Na and Ayutthaya, which also rivalled each other. European contact began in 1511 with a Portuguese diplomatic mission to Ayutthaya ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
