6 



tsiuen (*) who, as his name already indicates, was a member of the Hungleague. This man 

 obtained some knowledge of Christianity from tracts given to him in 1833 by the native 

 evangelist Liang-Afali, and increased it by studying a few months in 1846 with Rev. I. J. Ro- 

 berts, an American missionary in Canton. The result of this study was, that he changed the 

 name of the Hungleague in that of Shangti-hwui, ( 2 ) //The league of God" or //The Associa- 

 tion of the Suprème Ruler." He himself took the name of Thai-phing-thian-kwoh-wang ( 3 ) or 

 z/Kingof the heavenly kingdom of universal peace." Government, however, did not leave him 

 in j)eaee, and was the first to attack the association, because it dared to worship Shangti. Trea- 

 ted as rebels guilty of high-treason , they were obliged to defend themselves, and they did so 

 more forcibly than ever before, bringing, within a few years, the old Chinese empire to the 

 brink of destruction. ( 4 ) But by this war the league lost also its purity again. 



One of the grandmasters , Yang , called the Eastern king, named himself the younger brother 

 of Jesus and pretended that the holy Ghost made known the Divine will through his medium. 



Not all the horrors, however, committed in name of the Heaven & Earth-league, ought to 

 be considered as its acts. Therearelots of pirates, who assume the name because it is feared; 

 but who do, in fact, not at all belong to the Hungleague. So the robbers, who desolated 

 Amoy in 1853, took the name of smatt hnife. They did not, however, belong at all to this 

 branch, but were only scavengers and coolies from the village of Peh-shwui-ying, ( 5 ) under 

 the command of a certain Hwang-wei ( 6 ) or, according to the local pronunciation, Ooe-Ooe , a sel- 

 ler of co windes. This band was dispersed as soon as it sprang up, and most of its members 

 fled to Singapore and the Islands of the Indian Archipelago. 



What distinguishes the genuine Hungleague is its indestructibility. Defeated at times, it springs 

 up again with renewed force, whilst the bands of robbers that desolate, sometimes, the 'country, 

 are extirpated generally in a very short time. We cite, willingly, the words of Williams" in 

 his preface to his work //The middle Kingdom": //The cohesion of the main body of the insur- 

 gents for so many years, indicates a vitality and energy of principle among them , which shows 

 that their leaders have a following they can depend on to some degree." The present work 

 may serve to throw some more light on this folloioing and show that, whatever may be noio 

 the condition of the Hungleague, it had once and lias still, sure and trusty bases — fraternity and 

 morality. We do not doubt that, when peace will be restored in China, either by the over- 

 throw of the Manchoo-dynasty or by the peoxile gradually submittnig peaceably to its rule, 

 the Hungleague will be able to purify itself from all political and criminal elements and be- 

 come again what it most surely was formerly, a bond of brethern following the great precept 

 taught by Christ and Confucius: „As ye would that man should do to you, do ye also to them 

 likewise." 



(i) y±h ^k ^ He who accomplishes the glory of the Hungleague. 



( 2 ) ± é # ( 3 ) it ¥ % H 3E 



(-) W. Williams, Middle Kingdom. Preface, pp. 5 & ff. 4th. Ed. 



i 5 ) Ó * © e> n fê 



