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62-616: The Tiandihui , the Heaven and Earth Society , also called Hongmen (the Vast Family), is a Chinese fraternal organization and historically a secretive folk religious sect in the vein of the Ming loyalist White Lotus Sect , the Tiandihui's ancestral organization. As the Tiandihui spread through different counties and provinces, it branched off into many groups and became known by many names, including

124-640: A century later, the Kapiteins of the kongsi republics in Borneo led their people in the so-called Kongsi Wars against Dutch colonial incursions from the late nineteenth until the early twentieth century. With the consolidation of colonial rule, the Kapitans became part of the civil bureaucracy in Portuguese, Dutch and British colonies. They exercised both executive and judicial powers over local Chinese communities under

186-428: A former national. These national associations were developed, in part, to prevent this practice. The vast majority of US collegiate institutions recognize fraternities, ranging from a benign tolerance to active support. In Canada, fraternities are only rarely given official recognition, but rather, exist in the campus orbit as independent organizations. A few US campuses have historically banned fraternity participation,

248-727: A fraternity and any other form of social organizations is the implication that the members are freely associated as equals for a mutually beneficial purpose rather than because of a religious, governmental, commercial, or familial bond – although there are fraternities dedicated to each of these fields of association. On college campuses , fraternities may be divided into four different groups: social, service, professional, and honorary. Fraternities can be organized for many purposes, including university education, work skills, ethics, ethnicity, religion, politics, charity, chivalry, other standards of personal conduct, asceticism, service, performing arts, family command of territory, and even crime. There

310-427: A full-time staff, but in other cases the members will cook their own meals. Maintenance is typically performed by members, although on some campuses the host institution handles capital improvements. Sorority chapters tend to be larger, with a business model that includes more formal maintenance and support. Properties may be independently owned by housing corporations, and in the case of some schools these will provide

372-522: A group of followers in Huizhou . In 1761, he returned to Fujian and organized his followers from both provinces to form the Tiandihui. A century earlier, the Qing dynasty made membership in such societies illegal, driving them into the arms of the anti-Qing resistance, for whom they now served as an organizational model. The 18th century saw a proliferation of such societies, some of which were devoted to overthrowing

434-547: A handful of active groups, while the largest will manage in excess of 300 active chapters. Alternatively, some fraternities remain as local units, often retaining a literary society model that was more prevalent in the 19th century. Fraternities offer a wide variety of services: National chapters and locals may or may not have buildings, and while many are residential, some have properties that are meeting halls only. Fraternities which provide residential space exhibit an array of services and sizes. Meals may be catered, or served by

496-465: A major subsection of the whole range of fraternities. In Europe, students were organized in nations and corporations since the beginnings of the modern university in the late medieval period, but the situation can differ greatly by country. In the United States, fraternities in colleges date to the 1770s but did not fully assume an established pattern until the 1820s. Many were strongly influenced by

558-398: A matter that was met with separate lawsuits in federal and Massachusetts courts. Often, Greek chapters that are suspended or banned will continue as sub rosa organizations. Since at least the 1940s, fraternities have received increased scrutiny in the United States from incidents of hazing or racism that have received national attention, and on some campuses, such as Florida State ,

620-618: A political party that participates in the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference . Jiang Zuojun , chairman of the Zhi Gong Party, is currently the only non- Communist Party minister in the Chinese government. The Canadian branch was established in 1863 in Barkerville, British Columbia. In 1971, Chinese Freemasons National Headquarters of Canada ( 加拿大洪門民治黨 ) was incorporated under

682-562: A position from which several have backtracked in the face of alumni criticism or ongoing student demand. For example, sororities (only) were banned at Stanford University in 1944 due to "extreme competition", but brought back in response to Title IX in 1977. Colby College , Amherst College , and a few others are the outliers, where these bans persist. The College of Wooster adopted a Greek ban 100 years ago, but fraternities and sororities there have continued as local organizations. In 2017 Harvard University attempted to ban single-sex clubs,

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744-1067: A powerful social, economic and political influence on colonial life in Indonesia beyond the local Chinese community. The descendants of Chinese officers are entitled by colonial Indonesian custom to the hereditary title of ' Sia '. In the early twentieth century, in keeping with their so-called ' Ethical Policy ', the Dutch colonial authorities made concerted efforts to appoint Chinese officers and other government officials based on merit. Some of these candidates came from outside traditional Cabang Atas families, including totok appointees, such as Tjong A Fie, Majoor der Chinezen (1860–1921) in Medan , Lie Hin Liam, Luitenant der Chinezen in Tangerang , and Khoe A Fan, Luitenant der Chinezen in Batavia. Despite Dutch attempts at reforming

806-562: A time when there was no welfare state , trade unions or universal health care . Various secret signs and handshakes were created to serve as proof of their membership allowing them to visit guilds in distant places that are associated with the guild they belong. In London and other major cities, some Guilds (like the Freemasons and the Odd Fellows) survived by adapting their roles to a social support function. Eventually, these groups evolved in

868-455: Is almost always an explicit goal of mutual support, and while there have been fraternal orders for the well-off there have also been many fraternities for those in the lower ranks of society, especially for national or religious minorities. Trade unions also grew out of fraternities such as the Knights of Labor . The ability to organize freely, apart from the institutions of government and religion,

930-471: Is expressly sanctioned in law. There have been hundreds of fraternal organizations in the United States, and at the beginning of the 20th century the number of memberships equaled the number of adult males. (Due to multiple memberships, probably only 50% of adult males belonged to any organizations.) This led to the period being referred to as "the Golden age of fraternalism ." In 1944 Arthur M. Schlesinger coined

992-406: Is overwhelmingly ethnically Chinese but there are also Japanese members and a few white American members. The Hongmen are divided into branches, of which there are believed to be approximately 180. The largest of the branches, Wu Sheng Shan, consists of perhaps 180,000 members. Membership is said to be primarily working class, and is also said to include a considerable membership in the armed forces of

1054-674: The Sanhehui . 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. Branches of the Hongmen were also formed by Chinese communities overseas , some of which became known as Chinese Freemasons . Its current iteration is purely secular . Under British rule in Hong Kong , all Chinese secret societies were collectively seen as criminal threats and were bundled together and defined as "Triads" , although

1116-614: The Dutch East India Company in the early seventeenth century. Similarly, the court title of Chao Praya Chodeuk Rajasrethi in Thailand under the early Chakri dynasty combined the roles of Chinese headman and head of the Department of Eastern Affairs and Commerce. In the late nineteenth century, Kapitan Cina Yap Ah Loy , arguably the founding father of modern Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia, served as Chinese headman while holding

1178-599: The Malay States , to eventually settle in Penang as its first Kapitan China before dying in 1826. During the late 19th century, branches of the Hongmen were formed by Chinese communities overseas, notably the United States, Canada, and Australia, where they are nowadays known as "Chinese Freemasons." Following the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty of China in 1911, the Hongmen suddenly found themselves without purpose. From then on,

1240-708: The Mithraic Mysteries of ancient Rome . The background of the modern world of fraternities can be traced back to the confraternities in the Middle Ages , which were formed as lay organisations affiliated with the Catholic Church . Some were groups of men and women who were endeavoring to ally themselves more closely with the prayer and activity of the church; others were groups of tradesmen, which are more commonly referred to as guilds . These later confraternities evolved into purely secular fraternal societies, while

1302-565: The Second World War and the end of colonialism . The institution of Kapitan Cina was most fully developed in colonial Indonesia, where an intricate hierarchy of Chinese officieren , or Chinese officers, was put in place by the Dutch authorities. The officers acted as Hoofden der Chinezen ('Heads of the Chinese'), that is as the legal and political administrators of the local Chinese community. There were three separate ranks of Majoor , Kapitein and Luitenant der Chinezen depending on

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1364-483: The Wijkmeesters or ward masters in charge of constituent districts within each officer's territory. In addition, the officers also had recourse to their own basic police force to enforce their executive and judicial decisions. These officerial titles were also given by the Dutch colonial government on an honorary basis to retired officers or meritorious community leaders. Thus, a retired Luitenant might be granted

1426-560: The triads . In Taiwan , by contrast, the Hongmen is not only legal, but politically influential; this is not surprising, since Sun Yat-sen , founding father of the Republic of China , was a senior figure within the Hongmen, as was nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek . Moreover, the Kuomintang , or Chinese Nationalist Party, was formed from the Xingzhonghui and Guangfuhui , groups not unlike

1488-565: The 16th century. These organizations are open to all students who wish to join. Parallel to the nations, both Uppsala and Lund play host to a large number of university-related secret societies, for both students and older academics. There are thriving collegiate fraternity systems in Puerto Rico and in the Philippines . Kapitan China Kapitan Cina , also spelled Kapitan China or Capitan China or Capitan Chino (English: Captain of

1550-471: The Canadian Corporations Act on 31 May 1971, and registered on 22 July 1971. The Barkerville headquarter was donated to British Columbia government. The Hongmen continues to exist within numerous overseas Chinese communities, albeit with rapidly aging memberships; its main purposes today are to act as fraternities among overseas Chinese, and to participate in charitable activities. On 28 July 1992

1612-591: The Chinese ; Chinese : 華人甲必丹 ; pinyin : Huárén Jiǎbìdān ; Dutch : Kapitein der Chinezen ; Spanish : Capitán Chino ), was a high-ranking government position in the civil administration of colonial Indonesia , Malaysia , Singapore , Borneo , and the Philippines . Office holders exercised varying degrees of power and influence: from near-sovereign political and legal jurisdiction over local Chinese communities, to ceremonial precedence for community leaders. Corresponding posts existed for other ethnic groups, such as Kapitan Arab and Kapitan Keling for

1674-500: The Chinese officership, the institution and the Cabang Atas as a traditional elite both came under attack from modernizing voices in the late colonial era. Their loss of prestige and respect within the local Chinese community led the Dutch colonial government to phase out the officership gradually all through the early twentieth century. Officerships were often left vacant when incumbents retired or died. The only exception, as noted by

1736-464: The Chinese, under their own headmen. Often, these headmen also had responsibilities beyond their local communities, in particular in relation to foreign trade or tax collection. For example, Souw Beng Kong and Lim Lak Ko , the first two Kapiteins der Chinezen of Batavia , present-day Jakarta , started off as high-ranking courtiers and functionaries to the Sultans of Banten prior to their defection to

1798-660: The Freemasons and Odd Fellows. These organisations were segregated and Black organisations were founded that were based on the white ones such as Prince Hall Freemasonry , Grand United Order of Odd Fellows in America , Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World , as well as original fraternal organisations such as the Independent Order of St. Luke . Fraternities have a history in American colleges and universities and form

1860-639: The Hongmen attempted to remain somewhat secretive, but in recent years the organization's activities have been more transparent. The organization also has numerous business interests, and is reportedly trying to open a martial arts school in Taiwan. On 1 January 2004, Nan Hua Shan Tang was registered with Taiwan's Ministry of the Interior. In Mainland China , the Hongmen is known as the Zhi Gong Party ( simplified Chinese : 致公党 ; traditional Chinese : 致公黨 ),

1922-499: The Hongmen diverged into various groups. When some Hongmen groups based within China could no longer rely on donations from sympathetic locals; being unable to resume normal civilian lives after years of hiding, they turned to illegal activities – thus giving birth to the modern Triads . The Hongmen is believed to consist of about 300,000 members worldwide, members found in mainland China, Taiwan , and Chinese overseas communities. Membership

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1984-537: The Hongmen held their 3rd Worldwide Hongmen Conference in the United States. Over 100 worldwide representatives attended for two days of discussion and adopted organizational rules, proclaimed the founding of a worldwide Hongmen association. First session President Li Zhipeng announced the construction of the Hongmen headquarters in Honolulu . Fraternity Today, connotations of fraternities vary according to context including companionships and brotherhoods dedicated to

2046-539: The Hongmen might be said to have differed in its nature from others. The name of the "Three Harmonies Society" (the "Sanhehui" grouping of the Tiandihui) is in fact the source of the term "Triad" that has become synonymous with Chinese organized crime . Because of that heritage, the Tiandihui (more commonly known there as "Triads') is both controversial and prohibited in Hong Kong. Republican-era scholars generally thought that

2108-463: The Hongmen. Because of the Hongmen's revolutionary character and mysterious quality, their future was unclear after the Republic of China central government moved to Taiwan. For a long time, the Republic of China on Taiwan did not openly allow the Hongmen to operate. After martial law ended in 1989, Ge Shan Tang formed and started exchange with the outside world. Under the influence of Chiang Kai-shek,

2170-755: The Malay court position of Sri Indra Perkasa Wijaya Bakti . When Europeans established colonial rule in Southeast Asia, this system of indirect rule was adopted: first by the Portuguese when they took over Malacca in 1511, then in subsequent centuries by the Dutch in the Dutch East Indies , as well as the British in British Malaya and Borneo . Use of the title 'Kapitan' in the civil administration has parallels in

2232-667: The Qing forged at the Honghua Ting ("Vast or Red Flower Pavilion"), where they swore to devote themselves to the mission of "Fan Qing Fu Ming" ( Chinese : 反淸復明 ; lit. 'Oppose Qing and restore Ming'). In 1768 anti-Qing Tiandihui rebel Zhao Liangming claimed to be a descendant of the imperial house of the Song dynasty . The merchant Koh Lay Huan , who had been involved in these subversive activities, had to flee China, arriving in Siam and

2294-615: The Qing, such as the Tiandihui, which had established itself in the Zhangpu and Pinghe counties of Zhangzhou in 1766. By 1767, Lu Mao had organized within the Tiandihui a campaign of robberies to fund their revolutionary activities. The Tiandihui began to claim that their society was born of an alliance between Ming dynasty loyalists and five survivors of the destruction of Shaolin Monastery —Cai Dezhong ( 蔡德忠 ), Fang Dahong ( 方大洪 ), Ma Chaoxing ( 馬超興 ), Hu Dedi ( 胡德帝 ), and Li Shikai ( 李式開 )—by

2356-475: The Republic of China (Taiwan). Hongmen members worldwide continue to observe certain common traditions: they all stress their patriotic origin; they all revere Lord Guan , a deified historic Chinese figure who embodies righteousness, patriotism, and loyalty; and they all share certain rituals and traditions such as the concept of brotherhood and a secret handshake . Today, the Hongmen is an illegal society in Hong Kong because of its traditional association with

2418-663: The Tiandihui was founded by Ming loyalists in the early Qing dynasty to resist the Manchu invasion of China. In 1964, scholar Cai Shaoqing published the article On the Origins of the Tiandihui ( 關於天地會的起源問題 ) based on his research of Qing archives (now known as the First Historical Archives ) in Beijing. He concluded that the Tiandihui was founded in 1761 and its roots lay in mutual aid rather than national politics. His interpretation

2480-472: The brothers Soero Pernollo and Kapitein Han Bwee Kong in early eighteenth-century East Java . In British territories, important Chinese allies and collaborators include Koh Lay Huan , first Kapitan Cina of Penang in the late eighteenth century; Choa Chong Long and Tan Tock Seng , the founding Kapitans of Singapore in the early nineteenth century; and Yap Ah Loy , Kapitan Cina of Kuala Lumpur in

2542-477: The bulk of residential options for undergraduates; these properties may be on leased or privately held land. Other chapters, often new chapters, are housed in dorms and meet in rented halls. US fraternities formed in roughly three waves. The "old-line" fraternities are considered those that formed prior to, and during the American Civil War, all of which were Eastern or Southern. The next wave coincided with

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2604-401: The colonial authorities. In British territories, the position lost its importance over time, gradually becoming an honorary rank for community leaders before its final abolition in the late nineteenth or the start of the twentieth century. In contrast, the position was consolidated and further elaborated in Dutch territories, and remained an important part of the Dutch colonial government until

2666-507: The colonial government's Bestuur over de Vreemde Oosterlingen or the Department of 'Foreign Orientals'. As part of the Dutch policy of Indirect Rule , all the three racial castes in the Indies - Europeans, 'Foreign Orientals' and natives - had political and legal self-governance under the oversight of the Dutch government. The native counterpart of the officers was the Pamong Pradja , or

2728-652: The early 18th century into more philosophical organizations focused on brotherly love and ethical living, with some elements inspired by organisations such as chivalric orders . Among guilds that became prosperous are the Freemasons , Odd Fellows and Foresters . Throughout the latter part of the 19th century and into the 20th century, many American fraternal orders such as the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks , Loyal Order of Moose , and Fraternal Order of Eagles implemented practices and rituals inspired from orders such as

2790-448: The formation of national structures of governance where previously each nascent fraternity had been under the control of its first, often "Alpha" chapter. As fraternities grew larger they outpaced the capacity of volunteer management and began to employ staff, eventually requiring an administrative office. Today, hundreds of national fraternities account for roughly 15,000 active chapters. Some national groups remain quite small, with only

2852-481: The historian Mona Lohanda , was the Chinese officership of Batavia, which was retained by the Dutch authorities thanks to its antiquity, pre-eminent position in the Chinese bureaucratic hierarchy and symbolic value to Dutch colonial authority. The institution came to an abrupt end with the Japanese invasion during the Second World War , and the death in 1945 of Khouw Kim An , the last Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia and

2914-479: The honorary rank of Luitenant-titulair der Chinezen ; or in very rare cases, a retired officer might be given an honorary promotion, such as the famously wealthy Luitenant Oei Tiong Ham , who became an honorary Majoor upon retirement from the colonial administration. Titular lieutenancies or captaincies were also sometimes granted to meritorious community leaders outside the bureaucracy. Sitting Chinese officers, together with Arab and Indian officers, formed part of

2976-672: The incumbent's seniority in the administrative structure, the importance of their territory or their own personal merit. Thus, the post of Majoor only existed in the colony's principal cities: Batavia , Bandoeng , Semarang and Surabaya in Java, and Medan in Sumatra. The Majoor in each of these jurisdictions presided over lower-ranking officers, who sat in council together as the Kong Koan (Dutch: 'Chinese Raad'; English: 'Chinese Council') of their local territory. In jurisdictions deemed less important,

3038-554: The late nineteenth century. Yet due to their power and influence, many Kapitans were also focal points of resistance against European colonial rule. For instance, in the aftermath of Batavia's Chinese Massacre of 1740 , the city's Chinese headman, Kapitein Nie Hoe Kong , became an important player in the so-called Chinese War , or 'Perang Cina', between the Dutch East India Company and a Chinese-Javanese alliance. Over

3100-684: The local Arab and Indian communities respectively. The origin of the office, under various different native titles, goes back to court positions in the precolonial states of Southeast Asia , such as the Sultanates of Malacca in the Malay Peninsula , the Sultanate of Banten in Java , and the Kingdom of Siam in mainland Southeast Asia . Many rulers assigned self-governance to local foreign communities, including

3162-425: The native civil service, with its equally elaborate hierarchy of Regents , Wedanas , Asistent-Wedanas and Camats . The Chinese officership came to be dominated on a near-hereditary basis by a small, oligarchic group of interrelated, landowning families. They formed the so-called Cabang Atas , or the traditional Chinese establishment or gentry of colonial Indonesia. As a social class , they exerted

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3224-539: The ones with religious goals continue to be the format of the modern Third Orders affiliated with the mendicant orders . Other yet took the shape as military orders during the Crusades , which later provided inspiration for elements of quite a few modern fraternal orders. The development of modern fraternal orders was especially dynamic in the United States , where the freedom to associate outside governmental regulation

3286-819: The organizations have been temporarily banned while administrators and national fraternities adjust to resolve these shared challenges. In Germany the German Student Corps are the oldest academic fraternities. Twenty-eight were founded in the 18th century and two of them still exist. Most of their traditions have not changed much for the past two centuries. These traditions include academic fencing duels with sharp blades while wearing only eye and neck protection, or regular hunting events, as can be seen in examples such as Corps Hubertia Freiburg , Corps Palatia Munich , Corps Rhenania Heidelberg or Corps Bavaria Munich . At Swedish universities, especially those of Uppsala and Lund , students have organized in nations since

3348-544: The patterns set by Freemasonry. The main difference between the older European organizations and the American organizations is that the American student societies virtually always include initiations, the formal use of symbolism, and a lodge-based organizational structure (chapters). The oldest active social American college fraternity is the Kappa Alpha Society founded in 1825 at Union College . Sigma Phi Society (1827) and Delta Phi Fraternity (1827) were founded at

3410-525: The period immediately after the Civil War until 1920, organizations normally modeled after the old-line fraternities. After WWII, the most recent wave of formation has largely been on ethnic or multi-cultural lines, which continues today. Prior to the formation of the NIC , NPC and other associations, whole chapters or schismatic groups of members would occasionally break away to form new fraternities as an offshoot of

3472-612: The phrase "a nation of joiners" to refer to the phenomenon. Alexis de Tocqueville also referred to the American reliance on private organization in the 1830s in Democracy in America . There are many attributes that fraternities may or may not have, depending on their structure and purpose. Fraternities can have differing degrees of secrecy , some form of initiation or ceremony marking admission, formal codes of behavior, dress codes disciplinary procedures, very differing amounts of real property and assets. The only true distinction between

3534-457: The presiding officer bore the rank of Kapitein or Luitenant. The officers-in-council acted as an executive governmental body, implementing the directives of the colonial government, as well as a court of law on family and customary law and petty crimes. They were seen as the colonial equivalent of a Yamen , or governmental magistracy, in Imperial China . Below the Chinese officers were

3596-759: The religious, intellectual, academic, physical, or social pursuits of its members. In modern times, it sometimes connotes a secret society especially regarding Freemasonry, Odd Fellows, various academic, and student societies . Although membership in fraternities was and mostly still is limited to men, this is not always the case. There are mixed male and female orders, as well as wholly female religious orders and societies, some of which are known as sororities in North America . Notable modern fraternities or fraternal orders include some grand lodges operating among freemasons and odd fellows. There are known fraternal organizations which existed as far back as ancient clan hero and goddess cults of Greek religions and in

3658-414: The same school and comprise the Union Triad . The women's fraternities, now more commonly referred to as sororities, formed beginning in 1851 with the establishment of Alpha Delta Pi as the first women's fraternity. Expansion to other schools by way of approved chapters operating under a charter or warrant has been the model whereby US fraternities have grown nationally and into Canada. This resulted in

3720-573: The sixteenth-century, colonial Portuguese Captaincies of Brazil . Since then, a long succession of Kapitans formed an intrinsic part of colonial history in Southeast Asia. Kapitans were pivotal in consolidating European colonial rule, and in facilitating large-scale Chinese migration to Southeast Asia, or 'Nanyang' as the region is known in Chinese history. Instrumental to the establishment of Dutch colonialism in Indonesia were Chinese allies, such as Kapitein Souw Beng Kong and Kapitein Lim Lak Ko in early seventeenth-century Batavia and Banten; and

3782-493: Was a fundamental part of the establishment of the modern world. In Living the Enlightenment , Margaret C. Jacobs showed that the development of Jurgen Habermas's "public space" in 17th-century Netherlands was closely related to the establishment of lodges of Freemasons . The development of fraternities in England may have originated with guilds that were the forerunners of trade unions and friendly societies . These guilds were set up to provide insurance for their members at

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3844-427: Was further developed by his student Qin Baoqi and confirmed by independent research by the Taiwanese scholar Zhuang Jifa. The founders of the Tiandihui—Ti Xi, Li Amin, Zhu Dingyuan, and Tao Yuan—were all from Zhangpu , Zhangzhou , Fujian , on the border with Guangdong . They left Zhangpu for Sichuan , where they joined a local cult and left disenchanted. Of the four, Ti Xi soon left for Guangdong, where he organized

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