In 1802 the second major Tiandihui （Heaven and Earth Society） uprising erupted in the mountains of Huizhou prefecture near Canton. Before it was suppressed over a year later, the disturbances came to involve several...In 1802 the second major Tiandihui （Heaven and Earth Society） uprising erupted in the mountains of Huizhou prefecture near Canton. Before it was suppressed over a year later, the disturbances came to involve several tens of thousands of people and nearly a quarter of Guangdong province. This study, which is based on extant historical sources and fieldwork, takes an interdisciplinary approach, combining the methodologies of history, anthropology, and folklore. The areas where the uprising occurred were predominantly Hakka, an ethnic Chinese minority who came into conflict with the earlier settlers, known as the Punti. As violence escalated, both sides organized their own paramilitary units： Hakka formed Tiandihui groups and Punti formed Ox Head Societies. Significantly too, the Tiandihui groups in Huizhou belonged to a much wider network of secret society and sectarian organizations that spread across the Hakka heartland on the Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong border. This article addresses key issues concerning the social, political, and religious contexts and motivations of this Hakka-led uprising.展开更多
This essay examines two sets of reports in the Qing-dynasty Jiaqing and Daoguang periods （respectively 1796-1820 and 1821-45） in order to understand better the perceived reality of the Tiandihui. The first set, foun...This essay examines two sets of reports in the Qing-dynasty Jiaqing and Daoguang periods （respectively 1796-1820 and 1821-45） in order to understand better the perceived reality of the Tiandihui. The first set, found anaong the papers of Jiangxi governor Xianfu （1809-14）, allows a comparison of a criminal gang that invoked the Tiandihui ceremony with one that did not. The second set includes the diary of Taihe county magistrate Xu Dihui （in office from 1824） that recorded various events which came to be reported to the senior officialdom as having been conducted by secret societies. By collating the incidents as reported in the diary and memorials to the emperor, the authors argue that the pressure of the administrative process was responsible for the ultimate acquiescence by the Hunan governor Han Wenqi （in office 1825-29） in the perception of an indisputable connection of the incidents with secret societies. Moreover, both sets of reports show that participants in secret-society ceremonies and officials who suppressed them knew that the acclaimed networking of the Tiandihui as implied in its folklore was very far from the reality.展开更多
文摘In 1802 the second major Tiandihui （Heaven and Earth Society） uprising erupted in the mountains of Huizhou prefecture near Canton. Before it was suppressed over a year later, the disturbances came to involve several tens of thousands of people and nearly a quarter of Guangdong province. This study, which is based on extant historical sources and fieldwork, takes an interdisciplinary approach, combining the methodologies of history, anthropology, and folklore. The areas where the uprising occurred were predominantly Hakka, an ethnic Chinese minority who came into conflict with the earlier settlers, known as the Punti. As violence escalated, both sides organized their own paramilitary units： Hakka formed Tiandihui groups and Punti formed Ox Head Societies. Significantly too, the Tiandihui groups in Huizhou belonged to a much wider network of secret society and sectarian organizations that spread across the Hakka heartland on the Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong border. This article addresses key issues concerning the social, political, and religious contexts and motivations of this Hakka-led uprising.
文摘This essay examines two sets of reports in the Qing-dynasty Jiaqing and Daoguang periods （respectively 1796-1820 and 1821-45） in order to understand better the perceived reality of the Tiandihui. The first set, found anaong the papers of Jiangxi governor Xianfu （1809-14）, allows a comparison of a criminal gang that invoked the Tiandihui ceremony with one that did not. The second set includes the diary of Taihe county magistrate Xu Dihui （in office from 1824） that recorded various events which came to be reported to the senior officialdom as having been conducted by secret societies. By collating the incidents as reported in the diary and memorials to the emperor, the authors argue that the pressure of the administrative process was responsible for the ultimate acquiescence by the Hunan governor Han Wenqi （in office 1825-29） in the perception of an indisputable connection of the incidents with secret societies. Moreover, both sets of reports show that participants in secret-society ceremonies and officials who suppressed them knew that the acclaimed networking of the Tiandihui as implied in its folklore was very far from the reality.
