In 1996, the Hong Kong gangster movie “ Young and Dangerous “, adapted from the comic of the same name, was officially released.
The vivid images of Chen Haonan , Pheasant, Xiaojieba, Dafei , Shisanmei, etc. appeared on the screen. I believe this is the childhood memory of many people.
Although the Hongxing Society where Chen Haonan and others belonged is fabricated, it also has a prototype. It is based on the New Ngee Ann Society of the Triads , a well-known gang organization in Hong Kong, and this New Ngee Ann has been established for more than a hundred years so far.
What the whole “Young and Dangerous” comic is about is the story of this organization called the Triad.
Today’s Chinese gang history, let’s start talking about the triads and see what stories this Hong Kong underworld organization has.
Friends who have watched the Tiandihui earlier in this series should have the impression that the triad society is usually considered another name for the Tiandihui.
The name Triad Society first appeared in historical materials during the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty . In the local county annals and governor’s memorials at that time, it was mentioned that such a non-governmental organization appeared in Guangdong.
The first time someone associated the Triad Society with the Tiandihui (Tiandihui) was during the Daoguang period. As mentioned in the God Worship Society we just talked about, the Daoguang period was the most active period for the Tiandi Society in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions.
However, the triads in Hong Kong today have little to do with the triads that are commonly known as Tiandihui in this common concept.
After the First Opium War , Hong Kong became a British colony.
It was also because of the British occupation that the Qing Dynasty could not control Hong Kong, so many triad societies (Tiandihui) active in Guangzhou, Huizhou , and Chaozhou would indeed go to Hong Kong and Macau to establish nests and halls. At that time, there were many churches active in Hong Kong and Macao, but they were not affiliated with each other.
(“ Huizhou Prefecture and the Kowloon Division adjacent to Hong Kong are the most… Guang, Hui, and Chao bandits use Hong Kong and Macau as their nests.” — “Investigating the Bandits Township Book” Zhang Zhidong (11th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty)
“The majority of bandits in Hong Kong and Macau are triads, and they have hall names, such as…Lianyi Hall…Longyi Hall…Liansheng Hall…Yisheng Hall and so on.” — Zhang Zhidong (15th year of Guangxu))
It’s just that after the British occupation of Hong Kong, the legislation against non-government associations in Hong Kong was introduced soon, defining them as illegal organizations. Perhaps because it is defined as illegal, all associations in Hong Kong want to keep a low profile, and everyone has never called themselves Tiandihui or Triad Society, and generally call themselves XX Church, such as “Lianyitang” , “Longyitang”, “Lianshengtang”, “Yishengtang” and other names.
Later, the British occupation of Hong Kong wanted to give these organizations a name. The English name they took was triad. This word translates to the meaning of the Trinity, and it translates into Chinese as the Triad Society.
In other words, only for the (time) British occupation of Hong Kong, the name triads can be regarded as synonymous with criminal organizations, and you can just call them triads regardless of whether they are called triads. Although the triad organizations called XX Hall established in the late Qing Dynasty can be regarded as branches of the Tiandihui, some cultural attributes have been inherited until today, such as organizational structure and membership ceremony. But for the British-occupied Hong Kong government, it just gave all the underworld organizations in the territory a common name called triads.
In Hong Kong’s police system, there is a department called O Records. Friends who like to watch Hong Kong dramas should be familiar with this name. This name will appear in many Hong Kong dramas involved in the case. O’s full name is “Organized Crime and Triad Bureau” (Organized Crime and Triad Bureau) , he is composed of “Organized and Serious Crime Bureau” (OSCB) and “Anti-Triad Action Team” (DATS ) two departments were merged, and this “anti-triad action group” has a common name called “anti-triad group”.
Therefore, the “triad society” in Hong Kong is synonymous with “underworld”, not some mysterious association with the ideal of anti-Qing and Ming Dynasty. Today, many gangs named after triads, such as “Xin Ngee Ann”, “ Wo Sheng Wo “, “ 14K “, “Lian Le Tang”, etc., are also like the predecessors who entered Hong Kong in the late Qing Dynasty, doing their own things. Not subordinate to each other.
At present, there are probably several branches of triad organizations in Hong Kong:
14K, an organization founded by former KMT Army Lieutenant General Ge Zhaohuang. Ge Zhaohuang was born in the old Cantonese family, and later joined the military . After the Anti-Japanese War , he established the “Loyalty Society” in Guangzhou. In June 1949, he accepted the appointment of Yan Xishan , the then Premier of the National Government, to expand the organization. Among them, the branch in the Yangtze River area in northern Hunan was also adapted to local conditions. The organizational structure of the “ Gelaohui “ ( Paoge ) was used instead of the “Tiandihui”. In October, Ge Zhaohuang moved to Hong Kong before the liberation of Guangzhou. In 1951, the “Loyalty Association” was rebuilt in the Kowloon area, calling itself “№14” and officially changing its name to “14K” the following year. The source of the name may be the original establishment place of the Loyalty Society, №14 Baohua Road, Xiguan, Guangzhou. One of the English names of Guangzhou starts with K (Kwangchow).
Also because of this background, their behavior is more violent than other organizations, controlling the black gun trade in Hong Kong, and is related to many serious gun crimes.
In the third part of the movie “Young and Dangerous”, Chen Huimin , who plays the role of the boss of the East Star Club nicknamed Camel, is a member of the 14K club. It is not uncommon in the film and television industry to let members of the real underworld play the main body of the underworld. For example, in the movie “ The Godfather “, which tells about the main body of the American mafia , the actor Lenny Montana who plays the killer of the Canon family, Luca Brasi, is a real member of the mafia organization.
Hezihao, which is a gang organization developed in Hong Kong, can be traced back to 1846, the Opium WarNot a few years after it ended. By 1929, Hezihao had developed 36 branches in Hong Kong, but by 1950, the headquarters could no longer control the branches below, and everyone began to develop independently. At present, there are 13 gangs with the word “Hedu”, the most famous of which is Jiaohe Shenghe, which is the top triad criminal society in Hong Kong at the same level as 14K and Xin Ngee Ann.
Pornography, gambling and drugs, collecting usury, collecting protection fees, everything.
In 1908, Hezihao branch “Hehetu” was established. In 1930, some members of “Hehetu” left due to conflicts of ideas and set up another hill, named “Heshenghe”. Controlling Tsim Sha Tsui, Yau Ma Tei , Mong Kok, Yuen Long and other areas that we always hear names in Hong Kong dramas.
Tongzihao, in 1910, a group of coolies in the western district of Hong Kong established a mutual aid organization named “Tongletang” in order to avoid being persecuted by Hezihao.
Later, many branches were developed. The most powerful one is called “Lianletang”, which was formed in 1936 by members of “Tongletang” and another society called “Longfeitang” (1907). .
Today they are mainly active in the Wan Chai district of Hong Kong, engaging in criminal activities such as pornography and gambling.
Quanzihao, the earliest association with the name of Quanzihao was “Quanyiguo” established in 1900.
In 1938, members of “Quan Yi Guo” and “Quan Yi Xing” joined together to form a new society, “Quan Yi Zhi”. This is also the only existing full-size society. What is different from other triad societies is that at first they were just a recreational and welfare organization composed of a group of vulnerable groups such as workers, hawkers, laborers, and students, but in 1939 they were transformed into underworld organizations, also known as triad societies. Engaged in casinos, opium, brothels and other businesses in Mong Kok and other places. During the Japanese occupation period, some members of “All One Will” also defected to the Japanese. In fact, most of the triads in Hong Kong had defected to the Japanese during the Japanese occupation period. After all, pointing at the hooligans to resist the Japanese is also a very mysterious thing. After the end of the Anti-Japanese War (1950), Hong Kong canceled its association registration qualifications, and later almost lost all of them in the large-scale encirclement and suppression of triads by the Hong Kong government. But despite this, the “All One Will” still exists today, but there is no climate, and there is no degree of organization. There are only a small group of activities under the name of this association.
The Chaozhou gang is not only Chaozhou people. As we said earlier, after the Opium War, members of the Tiandihui who were active in Guangzhou, Huizhou, Chaozhou and other places moved their headquarters to Hong Kong, which was out of Daqing’s control. They established a new society in Hong Kong, and many later immigrants joined in. Therefore, there are not only Chaozhou people in the clubs of the Chaozhou Gang, but also many Huizhou people and Shanwei people (Hai Lu Feng).
There are still many associations established by the Chaozhou gang, the most famous of which is “Xin Yi’an”, the prototype of “Hong Xing” in “Young and Dangerous”.
Before 1886, there were at least two Teochew gang associations in Hong Kong, namely Wan’an and Hailu. In 1915, an organization called the Taipingshan Sports Association merged into Wan’an, but it was separated a few years later. In 1919, members of the former Taipingshan Sports Association left Wan’an to form a new organization named Ming’an. Mainly engaged in collecting protection fees, opening casinos and extorting businesses. Of course, as the Chaozhou Gang, it will also provide some help to Chaozhou immigrants who come to Hong Kong.
After the end of the Anti-Japanese War, the re-registered Ngee Ann Society was deregistered for engaging in illegal activities. A few years later (1953), the leader of the organization was deported and sent to a certain island. After that, Ngee Ann was called New Ngee Ann and continued to engage in illegal and criminal activities.
Their scope of activities includes Causeway Bay , where Chen Haonan is in charge, and Tuen Mun in the New Territories, where Pheasant conducts elections.
In the 1980s, the Hong Kong government launched a new round of crackdown on triads, and Xin Ngee Ann was the key target. Sin Ngee Ann judged the situation and began to develop into other fields, such as real estate and entertainment. The story of “Young and Dangerous” happened in the 1990s, and the fifth part of the movie “Enter the Dragon” involved investing in real estate and cruise ships. In the first film, People Are in the Rivers and Lakes, Wu Zhenyu ‘s Liang Kun is engaged in the film industry, and of course it is not a serious film.
Many triad organizations still exist today, some of them continue to engage in illegal and criminal activities, and some of them are beginning to want to go ashore for nothing. With the development of business, their influence is not limited to Hong Kong Island, and will also develop overseas.
At the same time, there are not only triads in Hong Kong. The underworld organization “Bamboo Union Gang” in Taiwan Island also has business in Hong Kong. The prototype is likely to be the “Bamboo Union Gang”.
In the next issue, let’s talk about the Bamboo Union Gang and the gangs on the island across the sea.
references:
“The Origin, Evolution and Criminal Policy of Triads in Hong Kong” Shen Zhongping
“The Development Trend of Triad Society in Hong Kong” Zhu Yiu-kwong
