Neither
“Freemason” nor “secret society” is an accurate term. The many
organizations that have sprung from China’s historical Tiandihui 天地会 or Hung League/ Hongmen 洪门,
and that have spread throughout the world with the Chinese Diaspora,
are not connected with the Masonic movement in Europe nor, outside China
at least, are they particularly secret. They were and are important,
however. During the 19th and early 20th centuries they often dominated
Chinese communities in Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Australia, the Pacific
Islands, and the Americas. They still play a major role in some of
those places.