Protestant Missionary Accounts of Chinese Secret Societies in the Beginning of the 19th Century

Abstract

The paper examines the earliest information by Europeans concerning activities of the secret societies–traditional public organizations that have played a significant role in history of China and continues to be a phenomenon of public life in China and abroad. By analogy with the “colonial school” of the studies of secret societies in China, it is proposed to single out the earliest period of the Protestant historiography of secret societies, tentatively designating it as a “missionary school” of William Milne and Robert Morrison. Amendments are done to the available bio-bibliographic data on Milne’s publications in The Indo-Chinese Gleaner. The authorship and time of the reports on secret societies in China delivered by R. Morrison at the Royal Asiatic Society are clarified. Milne’s reports indicated that the secret societies were anti-government, and some of them were anti-Qing. However, he did not notice the slogans for the restoration of the late Chinese Ming dynasty. The purpose of the destruction of the Qing dynasty is directly expressed in the materials of R. Morrison, which also talked about the hope for help from the spirits of the Ming emperors. It is noted that the ‘Mason paradigm’ of the study of secret societies proposed by W. Milne was based on the similarity of some formal aspects in their activities with the practice of the Freemason Society in Great Britain. At the same time, W. Milne pointed out the differences in the social status and social role of such societies in Europe and in China.