Abstract
The relationship between secret societies and the 1911 Revolution is often discussed in historical depictions of the Revolution. This article considers the activities of secret societies in the late Qing period, indicating that they had little participation in the 1911 Revolution. The article also critically discusses various discourses about the relationship between secret societies and revolutionaries. While previous literature has argued that revolutionaries transformed secret societies' goal of Fan Qing Fu Ming (overthrowing Qing and restoring Ming) into an anti-Manchu revolution, this article illustrates that revolutionaries rather exploited secret societies' blood-brother system. Finally, this article describes secret societies as both secret and political, and puts forth the claim that, depending on their characteristics and form, secret societies should be understood in the context of their personal networks within Chinese communities.
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