#15: The Tiandihui and the Triads
The Tiandihui, or Heaven and Earth Society, emerged in Qing-era China as a secret brotherhood with rituals, oaths, and mutual-aid structures. Later traditions often portrayed such groups as committed to overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming, though their motives differed enormously by region and period. Over generations, some secret-society traditions intersected with criminal networks that became known as triads. Calling every modern triad the direct continuation of one revolutionary society oversimplifies centuries of complicated evolution from fraternity to underworld organization.
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