Gelaohui
Encyclopedia
The Gelaohui also called Futaubang, or Hatchet Gang(Chinese:斧头帮) , as every member allegedly carried a small hatchet inside the sleeve, was a secret society
Secret society
A secret society is a club or organization whose activities and inner functioning are concealed from non-members. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their...

 and underground resistance
Underground resistance
Underground resistance may refer to*Underground Resistance , a musical collective from Detroit, Michigan*Underground resistance during World War II, the inhabitants of various locales resisting the rule of the Nazis, the Empire of Japan, and Mussolini...

 movement
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...

 associated with the revolutionary Tongmenghui
Tongmenghui
The Tongmenghui, also known as the Chinese United League, United League, Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, Chinese Alliance and United Allegiance Society, was a secret society and underground resistance movement formed when merging many Chinese revolutionary groups together by Sun Yat-sen, Song...

 led by Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese doctor, revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Nationalist China, Sun is frequently referred to as the "Father of the Nation" , a view agreed upon by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...

 and Song Jiaoren
Song Jiaoren
Song Jiaoren was a Chinese republican revolutionary, political leader and a founder of the Kuomintang . He was assassinated in 1913 after leading his Kuomintang party to victory in China's first democratic elections...

.

Originating in western china, likely in Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...

 or Guizhou
Guizhou
' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.- History :...

, the society engaged in several uprisings across China, notably in Hunan province during 1870 and 1871. Numerous individuals notable in late-19th and early-20th Chinese history (including Zhu De
Zhu De
Zhu De was a Chinese militarist, politician, revolutionary, and one of the pioneers of the Chinese Communist Party. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in 1955 Zhu became one of the Ten Marshals of the People's Liberation Army, of which he is regarded as the founder.-Early...

, Wu Yuzhang
Wu Yuzhang
Wu Yuzhang was a Chinese politician and educationist, President of Renmin University of China from 1950 to 1966.-Biography:...

, Liu Zhidan and Helong
Helong
Helong is a city of southeastern Jilin province, Northeast China. It is under the administration of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture.-Administrative Divisions:Helong has 3 subdistricts and 8 towns.Subdistricts:...

) were Gelaohui members.

Strongly xenophobic and anti-Qing, the Gelaohui were active in the Xinhai Revolution
Xinhai Revolution
The Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, also known as Revolution of 1911 or the Chinese Revolution, was a revolution that overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing , and established the Republic of China...

 of 1911, as well as taking part in attacks on Catholic missions and converts in 1912.

Originally quite willing to take on other "oppressed" Chinese minorities, several Chinese Muslim
Hui
-China:* Hui people, a Chinese ethnic group* Huizhou Chinese, a subdivision of spoken Chinese* Hui , a Chinese term referring to a secret brotherhood* Hui County, Gansu, China...

 Gelaohui members participated in the Ningxia Revolution, and there was a substantial number of Muslim Gelaohui in Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...

.

Origins

According to some accounts, the Gelaohui clique emerged as part of the wider group of Ming secret societies, such as the Tiandihui
Tiandihui
The Tiandihui is a fraternal organization that originated in China. The Hongmen grouping is today more or less synonymous with the whole Tiandihui concept, although the title "Hongmen" is also claimed by some criminal groups.As the Tiandihui spread through different counties and provinces, it...

 (Heaven and Earth Society) and Bailianjiao (White Lotus Sect), that railed against the Manchu Qing dynasty. However, it is more likely it began as an offshoot or alternative name of the so-called "Brotherhood Clique" within the Xiang Army
Xiang Army
The Xiang Army was a standing army organized by Zeng Guofan from existing regional and village militia forces tuanlian to contain the Taiping rebellion in China . The name is taken from the Hunan region where the Army was raised. The Army was financed through local nobles and gentry, as opposed...

 It is believed that some 30% of the Xiang Army
Xiang Army
The Xiang Army was a standing army organized by Zeng Guofan from existing regional and village militia forces tuanlian to contain the Taiping rebellion in China . The name is taken from the Hunan region where the Army was raised. The Army was financed through local nobles and gentry, as opposed...

 may have been Gelaohui members, and after the disbandment of the army in the aftermath of the Taiping Rebellion
Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion was a widespread civil war in southern China from 1850 to 1864, led by heterodox Christian convert Hong Xiuquan, who, having received visions, maintained that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, against the ruling Manchu-led Qing Dynasty...

 it spread along the Yangtze to become a Triad
Triad
Triad is a term used to describe many branches of Chinese criminal organizations based in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Macau, Taiwan, China, and also in countries with significant Chinese populations, such as Malaysia, Singapore, the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom...

 order. The Geolaohui became increasingly associated with the revolutionaries of Dr. Sun Yatsen's Tongmenhui during the 1880s, participating in the Xinhai Revolution
Xinhai Revolution
The Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, also known as Revolution of 1911 or the Chinese Revolution, was a revolution that overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing , and established the Republic of China...

 against the Qing, and infiltrating the army and education system.

Xenophobia, Anti-Christianity, and Islamophobia

Beginning as an anti-Manchu organization, by 1891 the Gelaohui had grown to encompass a wide variety of revolutionary aims. They were blamed for anti-foreign riots around the Yangtze delta, apparently in hope of provoking foreigners and damaging the Manchu government's international standing, and accused of infiltrating schools to foster anti-Western sentiment
Anti-Western sentiment
Anti-Western sentiment refers to broad opposition or hostility to the people, policies, or governments in the western world. In many cases the United States, Israël and the United Kingdom are the subject of discussion or hostility...

. Their anti-western, anti-Yuan Shikai and pro-Sun Yatsen stance led to a rift between Muslim and non-Muslim membership in the 1910s and 1920s.

During and after the Xinhai Revolution
Xinhai Revolution
The Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, also known as Revolution of 1911 or the Chinese Revolution, was a revolution that overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing , and established the Republic of China...

 of 1911, Chinese Muslim troops under the command of Ma Anliang
Ma Anliang
Ma Anliang , a Hui, was born in 1855, in Linxia, Gansu, China. He became a general in the Qing dynasty army, and of the Republic of China. His father was Ma Zhanao, and his younger brother was Ma Guoliang...

 sided with Yuan Shikai's government, with the Gelaohui in the Muslim provinces crushed as a society. Captured members were publicly beheaded. The pro-Yuan Shikai stance of the Muslim governors caused increasing bad blood between them and the Gelaohui, and during the Bai Lang Rebellion
Bai Lang Rebellion
The Bai Lang Rebellion, was a Chinese "bandit" rebellion that lasted from mid-1913 to late-1914. Launched against the Republican government of Yuan Shikai, the rebellion was led by Bai Lang...

 Gelaohui from Henan sided with revolutionary forces, leading to a series of massacres.

Among the "tenets" of the Gelaohui, was "hatred of the foreigner", from which "hatred of the Manchu" was dervied, and it encouraged the killing of foreigners.

The Gelaohui hated foreigners and Christians. During the Xinhai Revolution
Xinhai Revolution
The Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, also known as Revolution of 1911 or the Chinese Revolution, was a revolution that overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing , and established the Republic of China...

 in 1912, allied with the original federalist Guangdong revolutionaries, they attacked Catholic missions in Sandaohe, Ningxia, but the Chinese muslim forces under Muslim General Ma Fuxiang
Ma Fuxiang
Ma Fuxiang . Ma, a Dongxiang muslim leader, had a military and political career which spanned the Qing dynasty through the early Republic of China and illustrated the power of family, the role of religious affiliations, and the interaction of Inner Asian China and the national government of...

 defeated them and protected the Catholics.

1930s: Years of Decline

The Gelaohui continued to exist as a broad and loosely affiliated group of hundreds of thousands well into the 1930s, though its influence was severely curtailed by the end of the Warlord Era
Warlord era
The Chinese Warlord Era was the period in the history of the Republic of China, from 1916 to 1928, when the country was divided among military cliques, a division that continued until the fall of the Nationalist government in the mainland China regions of Sichuan, Shanxi, Qinghai, Ningxia,...

, Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

's rise to power and the ravagement of the country during the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...

 and the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...

. Nevertheless, the society's influence remained substantial until the Communists seized power in 1949; in 1936, for example, Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...

 wrote an open letter to the Gelaohui declaring them legal under the Chinese Soviet regime and asking for their assistance. Starting in 1949, however, the society was repressed and is believed to be defunct.

See also

  • Tongmenghui
    Tongmenghui
    The Tongmenghui, also known as the Chinese United League, United League, Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, Chinese Alliance and United Allegiance Society, was a secret society and underground resistance movement formed when merging many Chinese revolutionary groups together by Sun Yat-sen, Song...

  • Revive China Society
    Revive China Society
    The Hsing Chung Hui or Xingzhonghui translated as the Revive China Society, Society for Regenerating China, Proper China Society was founded by Sun Yat-sen on 24 November 1894 to forward the goal of establishing prosperity for China and as a platform for future revolutionary activities...

  • Kuomintang
    Kuomintang
    The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

  • History of the Republic of China
    History of the Republic of China
    The History of the Republic of China begins after the Qing Dynasty in 1912, when the formation of the Republic of China put an end to over two thousand years of Imperial rule. The Qing Dynasty, also known as the Manchu Dynasty, ruled from 1644 to 1912...

  • Huaxinghui
    Huaxinghui
    The Huaxinghui , translated as the China Revival Society or China Arise Society, was founded by Huang Xing and Zhang Shizhao on February 15, 1904, in Hunan for the explicit goal of overthrowing the Manchu dynasty. Many of its members later became key figures of the Tongmenghui. The Huaxinghui was...

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