While on the set of transformers 4 in Hong Kong,
a small group of gangsters attempted to extort money from director Michael Bay.
When he refused to pay,
one member tried to hit him in the head with an air conditioner.
The media were quick to say this was the work of Hong Kong triads,
but these were merely street level thugs.
The real triads are a series of independent crime syndicates
that have become some of the most powerful
and feared criminal empires in the modern world.
Conflicting sources and a lack of historical documentation
have meant that the Triads true origin
are a widely debated subject,
but most agree
that they began with the Qing Dynasty’s Tiandi Hui,
the Heaven and Earth Society.
There are two accounts of where they came from,
one mythological
and one pieced together from what information is available.
Today let’s look at the origins of the Triads!
The mythological origins of the Tiandi hui
comes from a fictional tale called the Xi Lu legend.
The story begins during the Kangxi Period of the Qing Dynasty
when the country was being invaded by Xi Lu barbarians
a group of 128 Shaolin Monks
come to the aid of the emperor.
The small number of Monks
easily defeated the barbarian army with their Kung-Fu skills
the Emperor wished to reward the monks for their victory
but they refused returned to their temple.
A rumour was spread by an evil official
that the monks themselves were planning a rebellion
and as such the Qing Dynasty Emperor
ordered that the monks be killed
and their monastery be burned to the ground.
From the destruction only 18 monks managed to escape
and while fleeing many more died until only 6 remained.
When the monks finally reached the ocean
they discovered a white incense burner in the sea
and on it were the words Restore the Ming and Cut of the Qing.
The monks saw this as a sign from heaven
and began recruiting others to join their revenge mission.
They managed to recruit 108 members
and together they formed the Heaven and Earth Society
or the Tiandihui.
The group immediately decided to begin their attack
but were quickly defeated by the Qing army
The surviving members now without a leader,
went their separate ways
waiting for the time when they could rise again.
This anticlimactic version of the Xi Lu legend
is the oldest of at least 7 versions,
with each version becoming more and more fantastical
as the years go on.
One version has the fleeing monks
being rescued by Buddha
who built a bridge for them to cross mountains.
A large inspiration for the Xu Lu legend
comes for the classic novels
Romance of the Three kingdoms and Thieves of the Marsh.
It might seem a little strange
how this story led to creation
of some of the world’s most powerful criminal organisations,
but when you study the true history of the Tiandihui
it becomes much clearer….
So.... yeah, let’s do that then ..........
The real Tiandihui are believed to have originated
from the Fujian Province in around 1761.
The Fujian province at the time
was becoming a powerful economic zone
thanks to its mineral deposits and rich agriculture.
Land prices were inflating to the point where locals
were unable to sustain themselves,
thus being forced to migrate out to other provinces
in order to look for work or trade.
Faced with extreme financial insecurity,
the migrant workers began forming mutual aid groups
in order to help each other cover the burdens
of living so far away from home.
At the same time,
many of these groups began turning to crime
and piracy as a way to make some fast money.
Historians believe a travelling martial artist and exorcist
name TiXi returned to his home in Fujian in 1761
he and a few others created a sworn brotherhood
called the Tiandihui
as a way to over through the corrupt officials
who were controlling Fujian.
They devised hand signals, secret codes
as well as a complex initiation ceremony
to legitimise the group.
6 years later
the men made enough money from robberies,
extortion and gambling houses to fund their rebellion.
They then decided to launch their attack,
but were quickly defeated by the Qing army.
The Group became was mostly disbanded,
but the one thing that remained
was their traditions and ability to recruit new members.
Many took the Tiandihui organisational model,
symbols and rituals and began creating their own groups,
kind of like the McDonalds franchise of gangs.
So even though each group was completely independent,
they all shared the same identity.
Many members joined for protection
but others joined to gain money and power.
While the Tiandihui group famously assisted Hong Xiuquan
in the Holy Taiping Rebellion,
were the main force of the Lin Shuangwen rebellion in Taiwan
and grandfather of modern China San Yatsen
is also said to have joined their ranks
in order to generate monetary support
to overthrow the Qing government,
but for the most part
the sentiment of overthrowing the government
which is a main feature of the origin myth
was almost never the motivation of the smaller franchises.
To avoid prosecution from the government,
the Tiandihui groups
have taken on a number of different names,
such as The Hongmen, Double Knife Society
and the Sanhehui,
but the term Triads
was first coined in 1821, by Dr. William Milne
referring to their superstitious use of the number three
and it’s prominence in their organisation.
Over the course of the next two hundred years
individual groups following the rituals and traditions
grew within the criminal underworld
to the point they started controlling all aspects of illegal activity.
Their expansion and rise to becoming an international criminal super power
is ....... something we look at further in the next episode!
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Once again thank you so much watching,
I’m WooKong and good bye.