Formation | Qianlong period (one theory)[1] | ||||||||
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Founded at | Sichuan | ||||||||
Dissolved | after 1949 | ||||||||
Type | Secret society | ||||||||
Chinese name | |||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 哥老會 | ||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 哥老会 | ||||||||
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The Gelaohui, usually translated as the Elder Brothers Society,[2] was a secret society and underground resistance movement against the Qing Dynasty. Although it was not associated with Sun Yat-sen's Tongmenghui, they both participated in the Xinhai Revolution. It was also known as Futaubang, or Hatchet Gang,[3] as every member allegedly carried a small hatchet inside the sleeve.
Li Hanzhang (李瀚章), the governor of Hunan in the Qing Dynasty, stated in the memorial that the Gelaohui "originated in Sichuan and Guizhou for a long time",[4] the society engaged in several uprisings across China, notably in Hunan province during 1870 and 1871. Numerous individuals notable in late-19th and early-20th Chinese history (including Zhu De, Wu Yuzhang, Liu Zhidan and He Long) were Gelaohui members.[5]
Strongly xenophobic and anti-Manchu Qing, the Gelaohui were active in the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, as well as taking part in attacks on Catholic missions and converts in 1912.[6][7][8]
Originally quite willing to take on other "oppressed" Chinese minorities, several Chinese Muslim Gelaohui members participated in the Ningxia Revolution,[9] and there was a substantial number of Muslim Gelaohui in Shaanxi.[10]
During the Xinhai Revolution of Xinjiang, there were fightings related to the Elder Brothers Society.[11]
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