S. William Wells

Wells, S. William. 1849. “Oath Taken by Members of the Triad Society, and Notices of its Origins” The Chinese Repository XVIII. 6:281-295 .....................................

1849 Williams/Hoffman - Triad Foundation Legend

          In the year 1674, Kánghí, having met many disasters in his wars in the Sí-lú country, and his general Koh Tinghwui having sent for succor, held a cabinet council, and resolved to issue a proclamation, inviting any and all of his subjects to come forward and assist him in obtaining the victory, promising them high honors and rewards if they succeeded. The priests of the Sháulin monastery on Kiú-lien hills in the department of Fuhchau in Fuhkien, 128 in number, seeing the proclamation, took it down and informed the magistrates, that without employing any of the national squadrons, they would make peace with the Sí-lú country. their troops was accepted, and they were taken to the capital with the troops, where they had an audience with his majesty, who conferred the title of major-general on their abbot, giving him a sword, and a seal, bearing the inscription of Kiá hau jíh shán, or Enlarger of the Country. They immediately started with the troops, having an imperial order to draw for supplies on the army commisioner Ching Kiuntáh; on the very day they left with troops they had an engagement, and in course of three months subjugated the Sí-lú country. They were received with great éclat on their return, honored with an audience."

          Subsequent to this, the priests were persecuted by these rulers of the province, and seem to have determined to assert their rights. They opposed them, and the account says their advice was, "Let us, brethren, first act, for he is not a match for us;" they then killed Kien Tsiú. Instantly, the flames burst out on every side of the monastery, late in the night while the priests were asleep, and when no helping hand could reach them, by which most of the brethren perished, only 18 men being scarcely saved. These, taking the seal and the sword, repaired to a back pavilion, and knelt before the altar of Budha, begging him to rescue them. He straight away ordered Chú-kái to descend and transform himself himself himself into two roads, whereby he could save these men. They thus went out of the monastery, and saw one Má Urhfuh standing amongst the troops, and said, "This is the man who served as a guide to the troops to come and set fire to our monastery. He has this day revenged his hatred by acting as a guide." They then struck him dead, on which the troops became furious; but the priests being few, they were no match, though they fought till dawn; they however escaped to Chángshá mart in Húkwáng, where thirteen of them afterwards died by reason of hunger and the hardships of the season. The other five named Tsai, Fáng, Má, Hú and Lí, were happily saved by two men Sié and Wú in a vessal, in which they abode many days. They heard that Chin Hiung had come to Hú-kwáng with a body of soldiers, and that Ching Kiuntáh had gone to meet him with an escort. They met in the way, and Chin Hiung opening his majesty's decree, read that 'Kiuntáh is very intimate with the priests of the Sháulin monastery, and has been plotting sedition; he has permission to strangle himself.' Chin Hiung took his corpse and threw it into a stream in Húkwáng, and then returned to Peking, while the troop went and informed his family, which on hearing of his death went to seek and bury it; his son Táuteh and his nephew Táufáng were of the number.

          The five priests took leave of their hosts Sié and Wú, and went to Káu-kí temple (高溪廟) to seek a lodging, where they were received; and told all their wrongs to Hwáng and his wife Chung living there. They tarried a fortnight, when they heard the troops had learned their retreat, and fled to the Lingwáng temple. One day while here, they rambled along the river, and saw a white silver tripod censer on the bank, and afterwards a green gem; on the bottom they read this sentence, 'Overthrow the Tsing, restore the Ming;' they also found two porcelain vessels used to cast lots by, and threw them to the ground thrice without breaking, whereupon they said, 'The day of our revenge will come.' A troop of horse pursued them here, but though unarmed they escaped with their lives, and fled to a hill, where they met the family of Kiuntáh, and saw a peach-wood sword coming out of the ground, on which were two dragons fighting for a pearl, and the same four characters above engraved on its hilt. The troop still pursuing them they reached the tomb, when the two women taking this sword went out against them, and compelled the soldiers to retreat. The women then told the fugitives that they were of the family of Ching Kiuntáh, whose corpse had been buried in that place and invited them to repair to their dwelling to lodge for the night, which they did, and the next morning went back to the monastery of Lingwáng.

          At this time, five persons, Wú, Hung, Lí, Táu, and Lin, who traded in horses for a livelihood, came to Lingwáng monastery in the course of their journeying, and there made an engagement with these five priests, the parties taking a mutual oath to hold fast in good faith with each other in life or death. There was also one Chin Kinnán of the White Stork hill, who used to go up and down though the country pretending to speak upon reason, but really in the search of honest men, who was talking upon a variety of matters with Túlung, Túfáng, Hokái, and Chinpiáu, and repaired with them to the monastery. The five priests, pursued again by the soldiers, fled to the Lungfú hill, where they were rescued by five robbers, who cried out to them to come up the hill. After learning history, the robbers told them they had better stay there privately two or three months, and then go to the Red Flower pavilion to raise troops and purchase horses. Soon after this Chin Kinnán came there, and informed the priests that he had been an officer in the Board of War and a member of the Hánlin, but having been driven from his post by the mechinations of his enemies, he had retired to the White Stork hill, but had now come to join their company and avenge his wrongs. They were all much pleased to hear this exclaiming, 'Happy are we in getting your aid; now we shall succeed." They accordingly divined a lucky time, viz., high noon of the 25th day of the 7th month, when they drank their blood and took an oath of brotherhood promising also to draw out their forces on the 15th day of the next month. Suddenly there was a shaking in the southern sky, and these four characters appeared, Tien ting kwoh shih, i.e. 'Heaven's court is the pattern for the state,' which they took as the inscription on their banner; They had 170 men in their service at this time.

          Chú Hungchuh, a descendant of the house of ming, also came to the at this juncture, unarmed, saying that he was the grandson of Tsungching and his empress Li; he was immediately acknowledges as their head, Kinnán as their general, and the other members of the company were appointed to various posts as ministers, generals, &c., all taking the bloody oath of brotherhood. A man named Hwáng Ching-ngan, 黃成恩 also joined himself to them at this time, whom Kinnán, seeing his bravery, appointed Head Lance of the Van. The brotherhood took the surname Hung at this time (from Hung-wú, founder of the Ming?), and i 義 patriotism as their watchword; Hwáng also changed his name to Tien Yúhung 天祐洪 i.e. Heaven protects the Hung. They then concentrated their standards, raised troops, and went to Chekkiáng. On their journey they passed a monastery, from whence a priest named Wán Yunlung came out to inquire what priests they were who carried banners, and asked them to enter his dwelling. This man had formerly unluckily killed a man, and fled to a monastery; he was ten cubits high, his head as large as a peck-measure, his hair red, and his arms like two beams. They told him, 'The officers of this dynasty are unreasonable, and we are going to revenge the burning of the Sháulin monastery, and murder of our brethren.' He was filled with anger at their recital, and they to induce him to join them, saluted him as their tá ko, or great elder-briother, and masde him genralissimo, whereupon he took the oath. The troop had several skirmishes at the five phoenix hill, in which this Yunjlung lost his life on the 9th of the 9th month by his horse falling upon a rocky ledge; on this kinnán said, 'It was not yet the will of heaven that he died, his number was not yet fulfilled.' His corpse was burned, and the ashes buried near the Tingshán hill, in the luckiest spot possible, and a tombstone erected there. Kinnán also told the brehtren they had better distribute themselves over all the provinces, concealing their names as members of the Association, until heavengave them the signal when they ought to act. 'Let us establish the Heaven and earth Association, adopting a five-colored banner as the evidence, whose meaning we are on no account to divulge, but which will serve as a recognition for ourselves when we meet.' They were accordingly arrabged into divisions according to the provinces; the five priests from the Sháulin monastery, Tsai, Fáng, Má, Hú and Lí, were made heads of the five senior lodges, and respectively sent to Fuhkien, Kwángtung, Kwángsí, Húkwáng, and Chehkiáng, to raise troops. The five dealers in horses, Wú, Hung, Táu, Lí, and Lin, were made heads of the five junior lodges, and sent to Sz'chuen, Kweichau, Kiángnán, Yunnán, and Honán, provinces, to carry out the same designs. Kinnán returned into privacy to the White Stork hill, where he made a purse, a toga, and a tunic of which he gage a suit to each division.

The story of Hwáng Ching-ngan, taken from the triad ritual

          The warden then returns and reports, upon which the Head Lance says, "I am no other than Hwáng Ching-ngan, once in the service of his majesty Tsungching. By means of the revolt of a traitorous crew which wished to deprive him of his fair and fertile fields, my master and his minister were driven out of the imperial city, and in a battle with whom they were defeated; his majesty fled to the Plum hill, where seeing retreat and escape from his pursuers alike impossible, he strangled himself; I also came to the same spot, and seeing the corpse of my lord, and that his dominions were irrecoverably seized by the barbarians, I hung myself with my own girdle, and died at his feet, and my loyal spirit followed my master to the great national temple, hoping and seeking a place of rest. Who would have supposed my master there would say, 'Hwáng Ching-ngan is a recreant minister; he hung himself at his master's corpse. and it is right to punish him.' When the ministers heard this, they drove Hwáng out of the temple and his loyal spirit has never been at rest, but ever wandering up and down in mid-heaven. One day, a red vapor appeared in the sky, and the sage Táhmo stood on top of a cloud, holding a pair of ashy sandals; Hwáng went up and besought him for aid; he inquired into all the particulars of his history, and took his loyal spirit, and carefully put it in a gourd jar. He then counted his fingers, and said, 'I know the revenge to be taken for the burning of the Sháulin monastery; you must act in accordance with the will of heaven in overturning the Tsing and restoring the Ming.'

          Now on the 25th day of the 7th month in the years kiáhyun at noon, the two brothers Táutí and Táufáng (son and nephew of Ching Kiuntáh), also called Kieh and Wán, had a consultation in the Káuki temple. The loyal spirit of Hwáng Ching-ngan entered into the body of Sú Hungkwáng in the Lingwáng temple, giving him an iron-soled pair of grass sandals; he went to Káukí temple, where the two brothers Kieh and Wán conferred upon him the title of Tsien pú Sien-fung 前部先鋒 or Head Lance of the Van."

Edict from the Grand Master of this province

Fáng, the second in degree of the Great Ancestors, in the province of Kwángtung. hereby issues a poclamation respecting upholding the Ming and rooting out the Tsing. Whereas, seeing that the year 1674, the company of priests of the Sháulin monastery obtained great honor by the maner in which they entered the Sí lú country and exerted their prowess, and conquered a peace, yet did the emperor Kánghí, a monarch of the Tsing without any honor, disregarding his word and violating his faith, reward kindness with revenge; and suddenly on the festival of the 15th of the 1st month, falsley calling it conferring a reward, secretly plan to attack the monastery with fire, by which the whole establishment suffered damage, though, supported by divine power the Five Ancestors found a way to be saved; this injury is not yet revenged. Having now received the orders of our Incense Lord, Chin Kinnán, to go into every province and set up the Great family, 'raising the bridge and opening the market' every 3rd, 8th, 18th, 23rd and 28th day of the month, calling worthy and learned brethren together to salute each other and make a covenant like that in the Peach garden: let there be therefore by this means, a mutual response when called upon, and mutual assistance in difficulty: Let us wait until the patriot banner be raised, when we will assist in restoring the Ming dynasty, and revenge the bitter wrongs of the Five Ancestors.

Return to Sources for the Legend of the Burning of the Southern Shaolin Monastery