The story of the Liu clan saving the Liao clan is a story of Triad loyalty that has often been talked about in our family.
By
Linda Christanty
·5 minutes read
The commander of the Taykong kongsi (organization), Liao Ngie Liong (the Second Dragon Liao) was smuggled in a coffin to Sarawak by the head of the Lan Fong kongsi, Liu A Sin. The incident happened after the Taykong troops were defeated by the Dutch East Indies colonial forces in the Kapitan Monterado War in Sambas, West Kalimantan, in 1855.
The rescue operation had to be carried out by Liu A Sin because Liao Ngie Liong was one of the leaders of Tiandihui, popularly called the Triad, a secret network of Chinese people spread all over the world. Liu A Sin's connection to the secret network demanded his loyalty.
Uniquely, the Lan Fong kongsi in West Kalimantan was an armed trade alliance of Hakka people who sided with the Dutch East Indies colonial government, while the Taykong kongsi took the opposite stance, namely against colonialism and Western imperialism.
The story of the Liu clan saving the Liao clan is a story of Triad loyalty that has often been talked about in our family.
On a trip to China several years ago, my younger brother, Tubagus Budi Tikal, made a trip to the coastal city of Qinzhou in Guangxi Province to burn incense at the residence of General Liu Yungfo, a Hakka person and a Triad leader. Yungfo died in 1917. He is known as the founder and commander of the Black Flag, a military organization that was persistent in fighting French colonialism and imperialism in Indochina.
The Black Flag consisted of the Hakka, the Zhuang and a number of white people who sided with the colonized people. The Black Flag also worked hand in hand with the Vietnamese against French colonialism. In 1895, Yungfo led the Black Flag troops to help the Taiwanese drive away the occupying Japanese forces.
The White Lotus appeared in northern China during the Yuan Dynasty – the Mongol dynasty that colonized China.
The oldest secret guild recorded in Chinese history is the White Lotus, which certain circles have associated with the Triad, but in fact the two have no historical connection at all. The White Lotus appeared in northern China during the Yuan Dynasty – the Mongol dynasty that colonized China.
Even though the White Lotus failed to liberate China from the Mongols, its splinter guild known as the Red Turban succeeded in organizing and mobilizing the Chinese people's resistance to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty to form the Ming Dynasty. The leader of the Red Turban comprised various religious adherents, including Muslims.
Sun Yat Sen, who was considered the father of the republic and the father of nationalism in China, relied heavily on the help of the Triads when he led the struggle to overthrow the Ching Dynasty, the dynasty of the Manchus that colonized China. Triad troops started a series of all-out rebellions in the name of Chinese nationalism against the invaders under the command of Sun Yat Sen in Huizhou city in 1900.
Consequently, the formation of the modern Chinese state (1912-1949) was sponsored by the Triads.
The peak of the rebellion led to the fall of the Ching Dynasty in December 1911. Sun Yat Sen's activities in Southeast Asia, his education in Hawaii and his life in Japan relied on the full support of the Triads. Consequently, the formation of the modern Chinese state (1912-1949) was sponsored by the Triads.
Koxinga, who fought the Manchu Dynasty earlier than Sun Yat Sen, was also a Triad figure and an ally of Sultan Agung Tirtayasa of Banten against Western imperialism and the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC). Thousands of Koxinga followers who fled to Southeast Asia from the pressure of the Manchu Dynasty and finally arrived in Banten were accommodated and protected by Sultan Agung Tirtayasa. There are probably Benteng Chinese people in Tangerang who are descendants of Koxinga followers.
Even though my father was of Banten-Goa-Minang blood, one of his ancestors was a Hakka and a Triad leader. Therefore, the tradition of honoring the ancestors of this secret network still continues in our family. In my parents' house on Bangka Island there is a statue of General Guan Yu. This statue is a sign of an unbreakable oath of allegiance to the Triads, even though no member of our immediate family has renewed that oath. The statue of Guan Yu is now only a marker of family history.
The rebellion of tin miners on Bangka Island that took place from 1899 to 1900 involved the Triads. Based on colonial documents, this rebellion was allegedly motivated by two secret guilds, namely the Sam Tiam Foei (Guild of Three Fingers) and the Black Flag. One of the captured rebel leaders held the title of Liu Ngie (Second Liu). Based on his name, Liu Ngie was related to the Black Flag – the first Liu was the founder and commander-in-chief of the Black Flag, General Liu Yungfo.
During Indonesia's independence, the Nine Dragons kongsi formed by the Triads was dissolved and buried in the ground, with the Hakka people later becoming citizens of the Republic of Indonesia, like my mother.
Not only involved in the coolie rebellion on Bangka Island, the Guild of Three Fingers also launched a rebellion guild against the Dutch colonial government in West Kalimantan (1884-1889). This union secretly formed a new kongsi to break the colonial government's tracking of the Taykong kongsi people. The name of the new kongsi was Kiu Liong (Nine Dragons). During Indonesia's independence, the Nine Dragons kongsi formed by the Triads was dissolved and buried in the ground, with the Hakka people later becoming citizens of the Republic of Indonesia, like my mother.
The Three Fingers Sign Guild also played a role in supporting the formation of Singapore as a separate country after being expelled from the federation of Malaysia.
Triads are still strong today, playing in two worlds, a dark world that is synonymous with black business and a light world that makes it seem as if they are patriots or nationalists by supporting the ruling regime.
ARSIP PRIBADI
Linda Christanty
LINDA CHRISTANTY, Woman of Letters and Cultural activist
