The Hung League Underground Societies Thian Ti Hwui

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• published: 22 Nov 2009
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Gustave Schlegel Thian Ti Hwui The Hung-League Heaven-earth League Gustave Schlegel Interpreter for the Chinese Language to the government of Nethrelands India Member of the Batavian Society of Arts and societies and of the Royal Insittue for the philology, geography and ethnology of Netherlands - India It is a known fact that secret societies not only exist in China itself, but also with the Chinese in the colonies, where they hlead very often to a tacit resistance against the laws of the land, or even to revolt. In the spring of the year 1863, a lot of books were , very accidentally, found by the police in the house of a chinamans suspected of theft at padan which proved the existence of a secrt society at that place numbering about 200 members. These books, containing the laws, statues oath, mysteries of initiatin, catechism description of flags, symbols and secret signs etc, were placed officially into my hands for translation. Most of these books were at the time, quite unintelligible to me, and as As I hoped to be enabled, in that way, to find out the secrets of those societies. Every person who has read anything of the secret societies in China, must have been struck with the resemblnance between them and the society of Freemasons We believe that it was Dr Milne who first noted this resemblance in his paper on the Triadsociety. Suggests link between Freemasons and Triads In antiquity, Chinese vases found in Egyptian tombs Freemasonary has, likewise, formerly been used as a cover for political conjurations in England; and there are surely perverted and bad people amongst masons too. We have, however, not to discuss at present what the Chinese Hungleague has done or does; but what it ought to do according to its own tents and teachings: that war and revolt is not its proper object the brother hood itself acknowledges Oaths: The so oft repeated obey heaven and act righteously accords well with the saying of the consititutoin book of the lodge Archimedes in Altenburg Act as a man who is penetrated with the purest estemem fir equity and duty for god and man should act. From this it results clearly, that masonry is , and ought to be, cosmopolitic; and this is also recognised by masons. The intimate union between eaven Earth and Man, was expressed by the symbol (triangle). According to the Shwoh-wan this symbol means three united in one. It is composed of the character ru to enter, penetrate and yi one so that the symbol signifies three united, penetrated, blended into one. With the Egyptians the equilateral triangle was explained so that one side expressed the male deity, the other side the female deity, and the base the created Lots of siginigficance of the number 3. Also 5 and 7. 9 has significance as the highest p.xxix We now come to the most important part of our introduction, viz, the comparison of the symbols of Masonry and of the Ung-league, which will give us many points of striking resemblance The lodges of the freemasons and of the Hung-league are both square and perfectly oriented. With the principal gate or entrance towards the East. Now we will compare for a moment the old English apprecitce catechism and the Catechism of the Ung-league. The 89th question in the former runs ow broad rother? (is the lodge) ow high brother From earth to Heaven The 230 question of the Catechism of the ung-league runs: Ow high is the lodge? As high as ones eyes can reach And how broad As broad as the two capitals and 13 prvices The Chinese lodge is situated, like the Masonic lodge, towards the East. In the old Chinese light worship, the Est, as the source of all light, is sacred. One of the greatest symbols is the lighting of lamps We find back also in the ung-league the steel-yard, scales and foot-meausre as instruments to weigh and measure in a natural and symbolical sense, just as it is in masonry So we mention, also the resemblance between the abbreviations of words in both societies. The masons following the Egyptian hierogliyphical system, which consists in abbreviatin the word with 3 points In conclusiosn we do not think it improbable that the hung-league is the depositary of the old religion of the Chinese; consisting in the belief in a single and undivided god worshipped