Description
Book SynopsisThis study examines the emergence and evolution in China of a tradition of popular organization generally known under the rubric of "secret society." The author suggests that the secret society is properly understood as one variety of the "brotherhood association," a category that encompasses a range of popular fraternal organizations that flourished in the early and mid-Qing period.
Table of ContentsA note on conventions Introduction: Chinese brotherhoods and secret societies through the opium war 1. Brotherhood associations in Southeast China through the Lin Shuangwen rebellion 2. Brotherhood associations, secret societies, and rebellion: the background to the Lin Suangwen uprising 3. Rebellions with and without secret societies: Zhu Yigui and Lin Shuangwen compared 4. Secret societies and popular religion: the Tianhihui in the Western Fujian-Eastern Jiangxi region in the Jiaqing-Daoguang period 5. Marginality and ideology: Qing representations of brotherhood associations and secret societies 6. Chinese brotherhood associations and late imperial China Appendix A: Participation in the Lin Shuangwen uprising Appendix B: Chronology of the Lin Shuangwen uprising Notes Bibliography Glossary Index.
