These watehwords were probably adopted, because the three above mentioned genuine naJB.es 

 were too well known by the Tart ar government, to be openly adopted. Concealed ur, 

 these watehwords, they might be confounded with the numerous //friendly societies" for mutual 

 help, existing in all parts of China and the islands of the Indian Archipelago. At Talemban ./, 

 only, on the westcoast ofSumatra, there exists seven of these societies, which have neither secret 

 signs nor are bound by oath. (*) 



The criminal prosecutions directed against the Hungleague, brought to light some of its sym- 

 bols and usages. It was found, that the members of this league callecl each other brethern, 

 that they wore distinctive badges, etc. etc. 



The Tartar government immediately perceived the resemblance between the sectarians of 

 the Hungleague and the Christians. 



The missionaries of the order of Loyola, at that time in great number in China and mnch 

 honoured at court for their sciences, assumed to worship the Suprème God, Shangti, though 

 they called Him ,/Thian-chü", The lord of heaven, in order to save the susceptibility of the 

 monarch; as he reserves himself alone the right to worship Shang-ti. The Hung-leagne also 

 worships the One-God, a crime of high-treason , therefore, in the eyes of the Government. 



The Hungleague makes lists of the men it has enrolled and it was known, too, that the mis- 

 sionaries made lists of the persons they had converted, which lists were sent to Europe. The 

 Government considered these people as enlisted in the service of the Europeans, to aid them 

 in any plan of re volt. ( 2 ) The example set by Japan fortitied the Tartar government in this idea, 

 for as long as the Catholics remained in Japan, nothing but intrigue, schism and civil war 

 was heard of, which calamities might, sooner or later, befall China too, if the criminal eager- 

 ness of the missionaries in enlisting people of all classes, was not checked. ( 3 ) 



The emperor Yung-ching feit more and more aversion to both doctrines, which he confoun- 

 ded together. In an audience given to three missionaries in the year 1724, he said: //The i'alse 

 laws are those, which, under pretext of teaching virtue, incite the people to rebellion, like the 

 law of the White-lily-seet." ( 4 ) 



Not only the Government thought both doctrines to be similar; but the persons belonging f « 

 the Hungleague did so too: ( 5 ) showing plainly enough the fraternal and spiritual eoimeetion 

 existing between the doctrines of the Hungleague and of Christ. 



The league, however, degenerated into a band of rebels and robbers, that seemed to have lost 

 every notion of the proper spirit of its association. 



In 1S49, however, a kind of revival took place through the exertions of a certain Hune- 



( a ) Notice on the fraternal societies existing at Palembang. (Governm. Archiv.) 



( 2 ) Histoire générale de la Chine, T. XI, 526. 



( 3 ) W. Williams, Middle Kingdora. II, 306. 



( 4 ) Hist. Gen. de la Chine, T. XI, p. 400. 



( 5 ) W. Williams, Middle Kingdom. II. 320. 



