White Lotus Branch of the Heaven & Earth Society

Zhi Tung tong bao - Tai Ping related rebel coin that is found in the book "Coins of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom" by Ma & Ma (H# 55). HARTILL# 23.45. A very Rare type. The following is a Google translation of page# 211, Ma Dingxiang & Ma Fude: "Coins of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom", Shanghai 1994
Appendix 1: Coins of Tiandihui
(4) The coin of the No. 1 Army, Sitong Tongbao
"Sitong Tongbao" Qian Duo was mainly found in the area of Guizhou Province, but it may be from elsewhere.
There have always been different opinions. Some people think it is money from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, while others think it is unexamined. In fact, it has been tested, and it is a coin belonging to the No. 1 army of the White Lotus Sect system of the Tiandihui.
The Haojun Army was a peasant uprising army that fought against the Qing Dynasty in Guizhou Province during the Xianfeng and Tongzhi years. Its leader Liu Yishun was the leader of the "Denghua Sect", a branch of the White Lotus Sect in Guizhou. In December of the seventh year of Xianfeng (AD 1857), Liu Yishun and others revolted in Sinan County and established Yuanjiang Han. Zhu Mingyue (born in Zunyi, Guizhou, formerly known as Zhang Baoshan) was conferred the title of King of Qin, commonly known as King Zhu. According to "Liu Yishun's Confessions": All the troops from all walks of life "all heard the wind and responded, and they all recognized me as the ancestor, and they all listened to my orders. I established Zhu Mingyue as the heir to the Allah, cast seals, cast coins, and published yellow cards to call There were hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, and they disturbed dozens of prefectures and counties in Guizhou." [1] In the third year of Tongzhi (AD 1864), Zhu Mingyue proclaimed himself emperor, and established the name Sitong, instead of using the Jianghan year name. [2] The Seventh Year of Tongzhi (AD 1868)
The army uprising failed. Volume 2 of Li Shuchang's "Humble Zun Garden Series" also mentioned: Zhu Mingyue Jianyuan "Si Tong", "casting Si Tong Qian Xingzhi".
"Cultural Relics" magazine also mentioned in a special article: ""Guizhou Tongzhi", "Zunyi Fuzhi" and "Suiyang County Chronicles" and other books record that Zhang (Baoshan) lived between Xianfeng Gengshen, Xinyou and Tongzhi Renxu and Guihai. (A.D. 1860-1863), according to the uprisings in Zunyi, Wuchuan, and Sinan, he claimed to be a descendant of the Ming Dynasty, named King Qin, and once cast heir Tongqian.”[3]
According to the "Concise Chronology of Chinese History", the reign title of Liu Yishun (note: that is Liu Yishun) was recorded in Sitong (Qing Dynasty), which we believe is inconsistent with historical facts. [4]
(1) Quoted from "Records of the Peasant Uprising Army in Guizhou during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Period" compiled and interpreted by Gu Longgang, Guizhou People's Publishing House, 1986 edition, p. 41. (2) Ibid., p. 26. [Translation ends]
The Tiandihui, the Heaven and Earth Society, also called Hongmen (the Vast Family), is a Chinese fraternal organization and historically a secretive folk religious sect in the vein of the Ming loyalist White Lotus Sect, the Tiandihui's ancestral organization. As the Tiandihui spread through different counties and provinces, it branched off into many groups and became known by many names, including the Sanhehui. The Hongmen grouping is today more or less synonymous with the whole Tiandihui concept, although the title "Hongmen" is also claimed by some criminal groups. Its current iteration is purely secular.
Under British rule in Hong Kong, all Chinese secret societies were collectively seen as criminal threats and were bundled together and defined as "Triads", although the Hongmen might be said to have differed in its nature from others. The name of the "Three Harmonies Society" (the "Sanhehui" grouping of the Tiandihui) is in fact the source of the term "Triad" that has become synonymous with Chinese organized crime. Because of that heritage, the Tiandihui (more commonly known there as "Triads') is both controversial and prohibited in Hong Kong. [Wikipedia]

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THE TWO Most Worthy Articles on the coins of the Tai P'ing Rebellion:
Money of the Kingdom of Heavenly Peace - Sandrock: [ link ]
Chinese Secret Society Coins & Tokens - Wang: [ link ]