Evolution of Secret Societies in the Late Qing and Early Republican Era

Author: Qin Baoqi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: What is history? It is Qin Emperors and Han Emperors, it is Tang Emperors and Song Emperors, and also the revered masters and devoted followers, the "big brothers" followed by a retinue, and the blood-brothers of sworn alliances mentioned in Mr. Qin Baoqi's book. What does history write? It writes of the moon over the Qin times and the pass over the Han times. Mr. Qin Baoqi, with his academic passion, has also written about the confusion of popular beliefs in the late Qing and early Republican era, the rise of "heretics" and "rebellions," the inner workings of sects and secret societies, and the hidden history of secret societies and transformations.
Browsing through the vast historical records and traveling through the faint and distant historical times, we see that there was also such a group of people in history: some were born in chaotic times, their lives as fragile as grass, believing in the myths of "enlighteners," practicing vegetarianism and reciting scriptures, hoping to enter a happy and prosperous paradise; some were born into humble backgrounds, pretending to be gods, using all means to deceive and manipulate the ignorant, collecting money and indulging in lust, dreaming of an unattainable imperial dream; some faced many hardships, driven by livelihood, burning incense and making oaths to form sworn brotherhoods and secret societies, seeking self-protection and hoping for a peaceful life under the shelter of secret societies; some relied on violence, gathering at night and dispersing during the day, severely oppressing the good, raiding homes and collecting wealth, living a reckless life of bandits; some, unable to bear the burden, rebelled, hoping to establish a "heaven on earth" in this world, whether they succeeded or failed, leaving behind songs of bloodshed; some, facing crises, resisted foreign humiliation, pretending to be invulnerable and possessed by gods, leaving both merits and faults, warning and sighing for later generations.
This group of people at the bottom of society, for their own purposes, adhered to ideas that deviated from the mainstream society, forming secret societies and secret sects, collectively known as secret societies or secret associations.