The terrible Taiping rebellion broke out in 1854. Its leaders were at first affiliated with the Hung League, but their chief, Hung-sin-tsien, having obtained a veneer of Christianity, before long assumed the title of King of the Heavenly Kingdom of Universal Peace,' and arrogated to himself the function of worshipping in person Shangti,' Creator of all things. In China the adoration of the Supreme Ruler' is a function reserved to the Emperor alone, who annually offers in the Temple of Heaven adoration and sacrifice on behalf of his people and empire. To usurp this function is tantamount to high treason; and the Taiping leader and his followers were consequently proclaimed traitors and rebels by the government.

'The King of the Heavenly Kingdom of Universal Peace,' unfortunately for China and for himself, aimed at making his kingdom of this world.' Before long the Taiping dogmas merged into excesses and extravagances, which separated their adherents more and more from Christianity, and from the views of the Heaven and Earth Society. The latter seems to have realised that the Taipings would prove rivals rather than allies, and an open rupture took place when it was discovered that their funds, which the 'Heavenly King' had persuaded them to place for safety in his military chest, had been embezzled by one of the Taiping religious teachers. The fact that the 'Long-haired Rebels' (as the Taipings were designated) had made Nanking— the old seat of government of the Ming dynasty—their headquarters, may have led the Triads to imagine that the Taipings' aims were identical with theirs; but in spite of the execution of the thief who had taken their treasure, the Heaven and Earth Association not only withdrew from the cause of the Taipings, but actually allied themselves for the time being with the Imperialists, whereupon the Heavenly King' denounced his former allies, and declared that anyone joining his standard must sever all connexion with the Hung League.

To trace the history of the League through its political windings would be impossible within restricted limits, but it may be of some interest to glance at the aims and aspirations of the association, as far as they can be gathered from its ritual, symbols, and

statutes.

The aims professed by the League are in most respects laudable, as is generally the case with similar societies. Unfortunately, however, in practice it has degenerated into a dangerous association, identifying itself with pirates, robbers, and murderers. When the great Confucian axiom The doctrine of the mean' is forgotten, and aspirations aim at the impossible, the enthusiast who so aspires too often becomes a fanatic; when a society is actively animated by anxiety to attain the impos

sible, however lofty and alluring its ideals, the result of attempting to carry them into practice is apt to produce confusion and disaster. The Taipings preached the advent of a 'Heavenly Kingdom of Universal Peace,' and produced an earthly pandemonium. The Hung League aimed at a universal brotherhood, and degenerated into an association of robbers and pirates.

Many designations have been attached to the Hung League, most of which arose from watchwords in use by it; the only three names accurately applying to it are the Incense-Burners, the Heaven and Earth League, and the Three United League, from the latter of which comes the name, usually employed by Europeans, of the Triad Society. The Incense-Burners was probably a name in popular use, and is employed in an Imperial edict referring to the Society; the Hung or Heaven and Earth League was what they called themselves, and the name of the Three United League is based on the bonds existing between heaven, earth, and man.

The date when the Hung League assumed a political complexion may be fairly accurately settled, but the society lays claim to a far higher antiquity, and states in its catechism (thirtysecond answer), 'Since the time of the foundation of the world was laid we all use the name of Hung.' It seems not improbable that at its first inception the Society was a mystical or esoteric sect, and may in this form claim high antiquity. Besides the meaning already given, the Chinese character denoting Hung' is composed of signs signifying water and money, which, when combined in the character for 'Hung,' mean inundation, implying that the League desires to inundate the world with the blessings flowing from the exercise of the primary virtues, and that all who desire to liberate their fellows from tyranny and immorality are in reality members of a league whose influence consequently is boundless as is an inundation.

'Obey heaven and act righteously' is a fundamental adage of the Society, and is inscribed on the walls of their Lodge. Rigid morality is inculcated in their writings and rituals.

Make righteous profits and gains, and fulfil your duties;

Do not act wrongly, and confuse right and wrong.

Drink pure and clear water, but do not touch the wine of brothels, Commune with virtuous friends and renounce heartless companions. If people insult you, abuse you-how ought you to take it? You ought to bear it, suffer it,. endure it, and forgive it. Don't ask immoral people to drink wine with you. Don't believe those who are righteous with their mouths and unrighteous in their hearts. Do not frequent people who turn you a cold shoulder and are without heart or faith.

Do not despise people whose fortune has turned; for you will only be for a few years a lamb and an inferior. Always remember in your actions the fundamental principles of Heaven, Earth, and of yourself. Let your

name be Hung. The statutes and concerns of the Hung League are handed down from man to man, and in the red flower pavilion you have bound yourself by an oath.

The ritual contains many Buddhist and Taoist symbols and allusions. On the diplomas of the brethren is depicted the mysterious Yang and Yin,' representing 'Heaven and Earth'; 'Darkness and Light'; 'Sun and Moon'; 'Heat and Cold '; Motion and Rest'; 'Positive and Negative'; 'Male and Female.' This symbol is common all over China, and, strange to say, is found depicted in early Celtic art. The Yang and Yin,' united, denote harmony,' and produce Man, the only visible creature, according to old Chinese philosophy, 'endowed with intellect, and who is able to do actions worthy of praise or blame, of reward or punishment, according as he is virtuous or depraved.' The intimate union between Heaven, earth, and man is symbolised by the triangle, described as 'three united in one.' A jade triangular seal, it may be remembered, was one of the gifts bestowed by the Emperor on the monks who came to his assistance, and was used by them on official documents. The symbol is of Taoist origin. The Tao,' wrote Laotze, the old philosopher and founder of the sect, ‘produced one; one produced two; two produced three; three produced all things.' 'The great Tao,' explains the same sage, 'is very even, but the people like the paths. The Tao may be looked upon as the mother of the Universe. I don't know its name; I call it the Tao or the Road.' Confucius denominated the Tao the right medium.' This seems synonymous with the great First Cause or Shang-ti, the Being we denominate the Heavenly Father, whom, as has been stated, the Emperor alone might worship in person. In ancient times this worship was performed on the tops of five high mountains, to whose summit the Emperor ascended alone, while the people remained standing at the foot of the peak. Later on, the inconvenience and loss of time occasioned by journeys to these heights are said to have been the cause of the creation of a temple for the celebration of the worship. It was called 'the temple erected by the dynasty of Hia, in honour of Him who made the ages and generations.' In 1122 B.C. this temple was named ' Ming-thang,' i.e. temple erected in honour of Him who is the source of all light,' or simply 'The Temple of Light.' In Chinese the character for ming, light, is composed of two parts, which denote Sun and Moon.' Later on the temple was divided into two, the Temple of the Sun, and the Temple of the Moon, or, more literally, the altar of the sun and that of the moon. It is considered possible that the expression often used in the Hung ritual, 'Ming-thang,' 'Hall of the Ming or Bright Dynasty,' otherwise Temple of Light, may refer to this ancient Light or Sun Temple,

and that the aim of the Society is not only the restoration of the Ming dynasty, but that deeper down in an esoteric sense is the idea of diffusing light throughout the Middle Kingdom. Just as in Christianity, we see the teachings of its Founder degraded and twisted by Socialists and syndicalists into authorisations for robbery, lawlessness, and outrages, so in the Hung League the creed inculcating temperance, purity, honesty, morality, and other virtues, has been used to sanction their very opposites.

The ceremonies and ritual of initiation into the Hung League are long and elaborate, and, if carried out in full, a Triad Lodge would almost present the appearance of a regular camp, but a proscribed society has to adapt its ceremonial to circumstances, and the rites are usually carried out in a modified form, paper representations being substituted for the actual objects necessary, and many persons, especially women, are privately initiated, without actually entering a lodge. When constructed in due form, the Triad Lodge should be square (the world in China being represented by a square), and ought to be surrounded by a wall with a gate at each of the cardinal points. Over each gate is hoisted the flag of the General who guards the gate. Each flag has its motto, such as Covenant of the golden orchid,' which means the 'swearing of fraternal friendship'; 'To the East and West it is difficult to go'; Sun, moon, mountains, and streams come from the Eastern Sea'; and so forth.

On the walls of the lodge are depicted squares, a square being the old emblem of the State, and the mystical triangle, symbol of union, the two combined denoting a State enjoying universal peace.' Over the principal entrance gate is written The City of Willows,' and the pavilion at the top is surmounted by the famous gourd or calabash, with a twig inserted at each side.

The interior of the lodge is divided into three apartments, in the last of which, the Hall of Fidelity and Loyalty, are kept the tablets of the Founders, and in the centre of the room stands the precious nine-storied pagoda,' containing images of the same Founders. A correctly constructed lodge ought to have this hall surrounded by a moat with water in it, and a stone bridge spanning the moat. Occasionally Triad lodges are concealed in the recesses of forests and constructed of bamboo or tree trunks. In towns, the dwelling of the President of the local league is often fitted up as far as practicable so as to conduct the ceremonies in it. In Hong-Kong, in quarries and out-of-the-way places, stages, some fifty feet square, are sometimes erected to serve as lodges, and are partitioned into three parts to represent the outer, inner, and centre walls of a city. When initiations take place, a bamboo hoop, representing a gateway, is held by two men at the entrance

to each division. They are armed with swords, and candidates have to go through the hoops on their knees. As many as fifty candidates are sometimes received at a meeting. Initiations usually take place at night, and, when the entire ritual is gone through, are lengthy proceedings lasting several hours. When a novice is privately received, the principal officers of the lodge go to the appointed place (generally a private house), and, after explaining the objects of the League to the candidate, administer the oath to the man or woman, as the case may be-then and there, calling later on to give the novice instruction in the signs, passwords, and phrases used for recognition amongst the members.

An ancient Triad poem, entitled 'Binding the Righteous Brethren,' invites the rich, the honourable, the honest vagrants, soldiers, officials of State, lawyers, scholars, thieves, mendicants, merchants, farmers, and all others who are loyal and patriotic, to join the Hung Brethren in bringing back the Mings,' from which it would seem that very few people are ineligible for membership in the Society; nevertheless, each candidate must be proposed by an officer of the association, who guarantees his fitness for affiliation, and who instructs the candidate beforehand how to act, and what to say, during the initiation ceremony. On the appointed night, the lodge officers arrange their hair in Ming fashion, wearing red turbans, and, if possible, Ming official robes, and open the proceedings by lifting the peck or bushel (indispensable on such occasions), and placing it on a table in front of the principal shrine, meantime reciting an appropriate verse. The bushel contains fire-coloured cloth, fire-coloured silk thread, incense, fasting vegetables, red wood, plums, long cash, a metal mirror, an abacus, steelyard, a foot measure, all of which have a symbolic meaning, which it would be tedious to go into here. At either side of the bushel are placed a fir and a cedar (symbols of never-dying and ever-regenerating life), ink, and pencil; the yellow silk State canopy, red rice, the Hung Lamp, and many other objects too numerous to mention, all emblematic, and with ritual allusions, pointing to the original source whence the League sprung.

The usual verse accompanies the arranging of these articles:

Within the lodge the granaries are filled with provisions;

The precious swords, both flashing, stand in the bushel.

Like two Phoenixes looking towards the sun, the brethren stand around it. On the golden steps they are assembled to establish the bonds and virtues.

After a club and other symbolic articles have been laid on the table, or more properly the altar, the incense-burner is placed there with much ceremony, and five large incense sticks are