MASONIC BIOGRAPHIES FAMOUS FREEMASONS CHINESE FREEMASONS

Dr. Sun Yat-sen November 12, 1866 - March 12, 1925 Chinese revolutionary and political leader, Sun Deming, often referred to as Guofu or "Father of the Nation", played a prominent role in the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty in 1911 under the pseudonym Sun Zhongshan. The history of that overthrow, and the myth-making accompanying it, has lead to some confusion as to Sun's relationship with Freemasonry. While never a member of regular Craft Freemasonry, Sun appears to have been active in at least one society commonly referred to as Chinese Freemasonry. Through his writings Sun attempted to depict the earlier Tiandihui Society as anti-Manchu, a perspective without historical merit but with great political value in mobilizing support for his revolution. Sun is believed to have joined the Zhigongtang (Chee Kung Tong) in Honolulu. It is also said that he "was a Triad official of long standing and is reported to have been a 426 "Fighter" official of the "Kwok On Wui, as it was called in Cantonese, in Honolulu and Chicago; this society came under the general supervision of the Cantonese-named Chi Kung Tong, a mainly overseas section of the Triad Hung Mun." The terms Tong and Triad, generally used in reference to criminal gangs, also incorporates a grouping of mutual aid societies under the name Tiandihui or Hangmen Society. Non-freemason Source: Teng Ssu-yu "Dr. Sun Yat-sen and Chinese secret Societies." In Robert Sakai, Studies on Asia. Lincoln: Univ. of Nebraska Press, 1963, pp. 81-99 ; W. P. Morgan, Triad societies in Hong Kong, Hong Kong Government Press, 1960, p. 25. Image : cover. Cosmorama Illustré, August 1971

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