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Article FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.* ← Page 5 of 8 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry In China.*
tutus a highly respectable body of men , whose principles and conduct are friendly to social order , regular government , and the peace of society . The points of resemblance , then , between the two societies , appear to the writer to be the following : — 1 . In their pretensions to great antiquity , the San ho hwuy profess to carry their origin back to the remotest antiquity . Tsse yeu ehung Kwo , i . e . " from the first settlement of China ; " and their former nameviz .
, , " Ca _ lcHo-terrestrial Society ' , ' may indicate that the body took its rise from the creation of heaven ancl earth ; and it is known that some Freemasons affirm that their society " hacl a being ever since symmetry and harmony began , " though others arc more moderate in their pretensions to antiquity . 2 In making benevolence and mutual assistance their professed object , and in affording mutual assistance to each other , in whatever
country , token the signs are once given . Notwithstanding the dangerous nature of the San ho hwuy , the members swear , at their initiation , to be filial and fraternal and benevolent , which corresponds to the engagement of the Freemasons , to philanthropy and the social virtues .
3 . In the ceremonies of initiation , e . g . the oath , ancl the solemnity of its administration , in the arch of steel and bridge of swords . These are so singularly striking , that they merit the attention of those especiall y who think Freemasonry a beneficial institution , or who deem its history worthy of investigation . . 4 . May not the three ruling brethren of the San ho hwuy be considered as having a resemblance to the three Masonic Orders of ApprenticeFellowcraftand Master ?
, , 5 . The signs , particularly " the motions with the fingers , " in as far as they are known or conjectured , seem to have some resemblance . 6 . Some have affirmed that the grand secret of Freemasonry consists in the words "Liberty and Equality ; " and if so , certainly the term Heung Te , ( i . e . " brethren " ) of the San ho hwuy may , without the least force , be explained as implying exactly the same ideas . Whether there exist any thing in the shape of " Lodges " in the San
ho hwuy , or not , the writer has no means of ascertaining ; but he believes the Chinese laiv is so rigorous against this body as to admit of none . ' - ' ' ' Nor does there appear to be a partiality among the members for the masonic employment . Building does not appear to be an object with them , at least not in as far as can be discovered . " ) -
Since writing the preceding digest , we have received a copy of The Friend of China and Hongkong Gazette , containing some important Although the tenets of the " Triad Society " have nothing in common with Freemasonry , which embraces universal benevolence , it is , nevertheless , a curious circumstance that there should exist so near an approach in some of its points . Is it not probable that , in the earliest ages , the " Flood Famil y " was , in its pristine state , a pure order , but that it has gradually degenerated into its present abomination ? —The Chinese are a subtle people .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Freemasonry In China.*
tutus a highly respectable body of men , whose principles and conduct are friendly to social order , regular government , and the peace of society . The points of resemblance , then , between the two societies , appear to the writer to be the following : — 1 . In their pretensions to great antiquity , the San ho hwuy profess to carry their origin back to the remotest antiquity . Tsse yeu ehung Kwo , i . e . " from the first settlement of China ; " and their former nameviz .
, , " Ca _ lcHo-terrestrial Society ' , ' may indicate that the body took its rise from the creation of heaven ancl earth ; and it is known that some Freemasons affirm that their society " hacl a being ever since symmetry and harmony began , " though others arc more moderate in their pretensions to antiquity . 2 In making benevolence and mutual assistance their professed object , and in affording mutual assistance to each other , in whatever
country , token the signs are once given . Notwithstanding the dangerous nature of the San ho hwuy , the members swear , at their initiation , to be filial and fraternal and benevolent , which corresponds to the engagement of the Freemasons , to philanthropy and the social virtues .
3 . In the ceremonies of initiation , e . g . the oath , ancl the solemnity of its administration , in the arch of steel and bridge of swords . These are so singularly striking , that they merit the attention of those especiall y who think Freemasonry a beneficial institution , or who deem its history worthy of investigation . . 4 . May not the three ruling brethren of the San ho hwuy be considered as having a resemblance to the three Masonic Orders of ApprenticeFellowcraftand Master ?
, , 5 . The signs , particularly " the motions with the fingers , " in as far as they are known or conjectured , seem to have some resemblance . 6 . Some have affirmed that the grand secret of Freemasonry consists in the words "Liberty and Equality ; " and if so , certainly the term Heung Te , ( i . e . " brethren " ) of the San ho hwuy may , without the least force , be explained as implying exactly the same ideas . Whether there exist any thing in the shape of " Lodges " in the San
ho hwuy , or not , the writer has no means of ascertaining ; but he believes the Chinese laiv is so rigorous against this body as to admit of none . ' - ' ' ' Nor does there appear to be a partiality among the members for the masonic employment . Building does not appear to be an object with them , at least not in as far as can be discovered . " ) -
Since writing the preceding digest , we have received a copy of The Friend of China and Hongkong Gazette , containing some important Although the tenets of the " Triad Society " have nothing in common with Freemasonry , which embraces universal benevolence , it is , nevertheless , a curious circumstance that there should exist so near an approach in some of its points . Is it not probable that , in the earliest ages , the " Flood Famil y " was , in its pristine state , a pure order , but that it has gradually degenerated into its present abomination ? —The Chinese are a subtle people .