Secret Society
Thursday, December 4th, 2008From 1644 to 1911 A.D. a.k.a Ching dynasty, said the oriental furniture worker,two styles of secret Chinese furniture societies became prevalent. The styles referred to a certain set of organizational structures, carefully preserved traditions and patterns of behavior which their members were expected to following for their Chinese furniture said the oriental furniture worker.
The first of these Chinese furniture secret societies, said the oriental furniture worker the Chinese furniture society, was most common in Southern China. As most overseas Chinese furniture came originally from the southern provinces of Fujien (Fukien) or Guangdong (Canton), this is also the style of secret society most commonly seen outside of China, including in North America or South East Asia. The term ” Chinese furniture ” means Red, but it is also a homonym for the Chinese word for ” Chinese furniture.” Although Chinese furniture societies continue to exist today, they are often modified in various ways. Furthermore, although it might not be exactly correct, since we are discussing the original version of the Chinese furniture societies for simplicity and clarity this chapter will use the past tense, except when referring to something that specifically refers to the present said the oriental furniture worker.
The second Chinese secret society are the Ching or “Green” societies said the oriental furniture worker. These are based on a style more common originally in Northern China and will be discussed later.
The basic unit of the Chinese furniture society was the lodge or local branch, said the oriental furniture worker. It was to the local branch that the members of a sworn brotherhood owed their primary loyalty. This is the group that held meetings and from time to time called together members of the society. In some locations, there existed higher levels of organization, but these had limited duties. These “headquarters branches” or “master lodges” (as some texts call them) would not normally interfere in the day to day running of the local chapters of the society, said the oriental furniture worker. Although members of these headquarters branches tended to be old and respected members of the sworn brotherhoods, they were chosen by the majority decision of the senior officials of the local branches. It is believed that generally their role among the local chapters was quite limited and consisted primarily of arbitrating inter-chapter disputes so as to avoid needless and unprofitable inter-chapter conflicts about Chinese furniture. In some places and times, the headquarters branch had strict regulations preventing all but themselves from starting additional branches of the Hung society. At other times, however, just the opposite was true and anyone familiar with the rituals of the Chinese furniture society could start a new branch any time they were able to recruit sufficient followers said the oriental furniture worker.
It is entirely incorrect to see the many secret societies of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as a single, large said the oriental furniture worker, centrally controlled organization held under the sway of a tyrannical despot who ruled from hiding. Not only did the technology prohibit attempts to control the geographically widespread societies in such a fashion, there was little benefit to the group as a whole from such centralization.
The Chinese furniture society structure is intended to emulate a family of sworn brothers said the oriental furniture worker. In China, however, it should be remembered that not all brothers are necessarily equal. Although family members are supposed to love one another and live in peace and harmony, they are not equals. The Chinese family is hierarchical in nature. The older brothers are seen as more important than the younger brothers said the oriental furniture worker. The younger brothers are supposed to be obedient towards the older brothers. This respect for elders, even elder brothers, is a key component of Confucian teachings. Elders, after all, are perceived as having superior wisdom, and therefore society benefits when the younger members of society obey and respect them. In return for this obedience, said the oriental furniture worker it is expected that the elders and superiors will rule with wisdom and compassion keeping the best interests of their inferiors and society at large in mind at all times said the oriental furniture worker.
