Chinese "Freemasons"

[Tamrin]

Chinese "Freemasons"

Hung Society or the Society of Heaven and Earth, by J.S.M. Ward & W.G. Stirling.

See also Wikipedia's Tiandihui entry and this article from the Australian Centre for Fraternal Studies.

My experience with one of these groups has been peculiar in so far as it is both mixed and separate. Men and women are present, (of the members observing, the women are in the "North" and the men in the "South"), but most of the ceremonies are repeated (by the same Officers) for each sex. This tends to make for long sessions. They are delightful people but, while I cannot be too specific, I can say there is a LOT of kowtowing involved, much too much for my Western frame and, not knowing Cantonese, I miss a lot, although key points are translated for the benefit of the few Westerners present.

My "Chop" with details of sponsors, etc., erased from image for their privacy

[devoutfreemason]

I am very excited to learn more. I would love to attend their ritual work. Some day I will see if this is possible.

[Tamrin]

Bearing in mind that the term "Freemasons" in this case was one "Foreign Devils" applied to these Chinese societies and only subsequently adopted by some them when seeking to describe themselves to Westerners, we should not suppose that they consider themselves our fraternal brothers nor we theirs (except in the sense that both institutions are modelled on the supposition that all wo/men are "brothers").

Even so, some similarities are intriguing. we should also consider:

The use of masonic symbols in early Chinese literature
Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon

(Excerpt)

Much has been made about the metaphorical and symbolic use of the square, compasses, level and plumb rule in early Chinese writings. Although noteworthy, this usage does not demonstrate any early form of Freemasonry or link to the Tiandihui or Hongmen, now self-styled as Chinese Freemasons.

"We cannot say that the occurrence of the same phenomenon is always due to the same causes, and that thus it is proved that the human mind obeys the same laws everywhere. We must demand that the causes from which it developed be investigated and that comparisons be restricted to those phenomena which have been proved to be effects of the same causes."
Franz Boas (1858-1942) Race, Language and Culture (New York : The Macmillan company, 1940 [1896]) p. 275.

The following texts comprise the major references to the compasses, square, plumb and level in Chinese literature.

[Tamrin]

Half seriously, half mischievously and half because I'm not good at fractions, I'm throwing another theory of origins into the mix. Bearing in mind the similarity of many Chinese fraternal customs with ours and widespread correspondences around the globe. Also considering Gavin Menzies description of the huge 1421 Chinese expedition marking both the high point and virtual end of early Chinese global trade and cultural exchange, could China be the point of origin from which these fraternal customs spread, via these early exchanges?

Against this theory (albeit, only novel in relation to its connection to the 1421 theory), is what the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon has to say about Chinese Freemasons (excerpt):

The sodality of Freemasonry that evolved out of the European Enlightenment bears no resemblance, other than the name, to another society—one that finds its origins in Southern China. Styling itself in English as The Chinese Freemasons, this body might be better termed the Vast Family (Hongmen) or Fine Public Court (Chee Kong Tong).

THE STUDY OF the early history of Chinese secular and religious societies—once obscured by conflicting legends and politically motivated myth-making—has been greatly aided by the opening of the National Palace Museum Archives in Taipei and the First Historical Archives in Beijing in 1978. The resulting wealth of information has clearly demonstrated that at least two previously-held beliefs about these societies are entirely wrong.

Personally, I am not ready to absolutely discount the many points of correspondence. See also (same site):

1850 - 1950: Colonial and Freemason Concerns
Dian H. Murray, in collaboration with Qin Biaoqi
The Origins of the Tiandihui: The Chinese Triads in Legend and History
Stanford, CA : Stanford University Press, 1994. pp. 90-92

[maximus]

I listened to a radio interview with Gavin Menzies on that very book on Coast to Coast AM with George Noory. Interesting piece of the historical puzzle we hear nothing about.

[Tamrin]

Aug 14, 2008 13:41:08 GMT 10 @maximus said:

I listened to a radio interview with Gavin Menzies on that very book on Coast to Coast AM with George Noory. Interesting piece of the historical puzzle we hear nothing about.

The change of name for the U.S. Market from, 1421: The Year China Discovered the World, to, 1421: The Year China Discovered America, is curious.

[maximus]

Aug 14, 2008 14:18:48 GMT 10 Tamrin said:

The change of name for the U.S. Market from, 1421: The Year China Discovered the World, to, 1421: The Year China Discovered America, is curious.

It's a common marketing ploy. The US market is huge, so the publishers often change a book title to appeal (they believe) to the target market. I've noticed the same with other books, Such as Graham Hancock and Robert Buval's The Keeper of Genisis, which was changed here to The Message of the Sphinx.

[Tamrin]

Revolution and respectability:
Chinese Masons in Australian history

by John Fitzgerald

The Chinese now are all Freemasons, and form one brotherhood.
The old Emperor and his son are Chinese Tartars,
and the new emperor intends to carry out all one brotherhood.

Howqua, Chinese interpreter, Melbourne 1855

[Introduction - Excerpt - Linked Above]

In 1911 a lodge of the international Hung League opened an impressive building in Mary Street, Sydney, looking west along Campbell Street towards Paddy’s Markets where many of its members earned their livelihood. The Hung League – or Triads as they are often known in English – had grown over the five decades since setting foot in colonial Australia from a loose affiliation of rural clubs into an organised social network with a prominent urban profile. With the opening of its new headquarters in Sydney, the New South Wales Hung League put on a respectable public face under the English title impressed on the building’s façade: Chinese Masonic Society.

Mounting a respectable public face was a considerable achievement for an organisation that all ‘decent’ people were inclined to deride as thieves, thugs, and opium addicts. Not long before the Sydney Masonic Hall was opened, members of the more respectable See Yup native-place association in Victoria took objection to the criminal behaviour and stand-over tactics of the Hung League in Melbourne and established a rival league to do battle with the triad fraternity. Gangs took to fighting one another in the streets. Sydney also had its share of Tong Wars but these were well behind it when the Hung League announced it was emerging in public as a Masonic Society. The Chinese Masonic Society of NSW was working to become the kind of organisation that respectable men would consider joining.

[Tamrin]

Aug 13, 2008 12:03:38 GMT 10 Tamrin said:

The use of masonic symbols in early Chinese literature
Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon

(Excerpt)

Much has been made about the metaphorical and symbolic use of the square, compasses, level and plumb rule in early Chinese writings. Although noteworthy, this usage does not demonstrate any early form of Freemasonry or link to the Tiandihui or Hongmen, now self-styled as Chinese Freemasons.

"We cannot say that the occurrence of the same phenomenon is always due to the same causes, and that thus it is proved that the human mind obeys the same laws everywhere. We must demand that the causes from which it developed be investigated and that comparisons be restricted to those phenomena which have been proved to be effects of the same causes."
Franz Boas (1858-1942) Race, Language and Culture (New York : The Macmillan company, 1940 [1896]) p. 275.

The following texts comprise the major references to the compasses, square, plumb and level in Chinese literature.

Nüwa and Fuxi in Chinese Mythology:
Compass & Square

[LDS Article - Linked Above (thanks generatics)]



An ancient painting of Nüwa and Fuxi
unearthed in Xinjiang,
holding the tools of creation -
compass and square.

[Tamrin]

Compare the previous illustration (left) with this Western version (right) of the Zakar or Rebis
(note the reversal of the emblems' gender associations)