136 



Art. 3. 



After having entered the Hung-league, you must consider all the members of the league, 

 the four higher classes, as earls, marquises, generals and ministers, as well as the four 

 middling classes, as scholars, husbandmen, artisans and merchants, and the lower classes, as 

 vagabonds and mendiants, of which rank or station they may be, as brothers. 



You shall not, trusting to your riches, insult the poor, or,, relying upon your power, op- 

 press the good and honest. 



He who does not keep this command , is a false swearer and a perjurer. May he die in 

 a foreign country! May serpents bite him, and tigers devonr him! 



Art. 4. 



After having entered the Hung-league, you shall not insult any more the Budhist or Taoist 

 priests; for the five founders, originally, were priests, and we venerate them as the foun- 

 ders: are we not, then, disciples of priests? 



He who does not keep this command — may he die a wretched death ! This crime is not easily 

 to be forgiven, and, therefore, the offender will be punished, according to the law, with 

 72 blows. 



Art. 5. 



After having entered the Hung-league, you ought to be faithful and loyal. You must 

 consider the father of a brother as your own father; his mother as your mother; his sister 

 as your sister; and his wife as your sister-in-law. 



Do not lie or speak evilly! 



When you marry the daughter of a brother you ought to employ go-betweens , and marry 

 her with the prescribed ceremonies; and it shall not be allowed to you to come together un- 

 lawfully; neither shall you seduce the wife or concubine of a brother. 



He who does not keep this command — may he perish in a river or a lake, may his bones 

 sink to the bottom, and his flesh float on the surface! Besides, if the brethern discover it, 

 oue of his ears will be eut off,, and he will be punished with 108 blows. 



Art. 6. 



After having entered the Hung-league, you ought to persevere till the end: let not your 

 mouth say yes, and your heart no. 



Do not, on account of a small gain, cause discord between brethern; or, on account of a 

 private promise, cause father and son to be at variance. 



Do not speak slanderously, and disturb the harmony between husband and wife. 



He who does not keep these commands is an infamous villain; most surely he will die 

 in an unknown land, and be buried in the stomachs of swine or fishes! Besides, he will 

 be punished by the law, according to circumstances. 



Art. 7. 



After having entered the Hung-league, you ought to consider the affairs of the brethern 



