Brother Pao’s organizational development

There are different opinions on the name "Brother Pao": scholars say that it is based on the meaning of "No clothes, and the same robe as the son" in the "Book of Songs". This is the ancient wisdom of scholars. This is not enough evidence; the robe brother himself said that it was based on "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms": After Guan Erye was forced to surrender to Cao Cao, Cao Cao rewarded him with a lot of gold, silver and silk, but he refused to accept any of them, only a brocade robe, which he rarely received. Wear, when you have something to wear, you have to put on the old robe. Cao Cao asked him why. Guan Erye said: "The old robe was given to me by my eldest brother Xuande. I received the new robe from the prime minister. I dare not forget my elder brother's old robe." ". Therefore, the old name of this Pao Ge organization is also called "Hanliu", which means the spiritual integrity left over from the Han Dynasty, which has been passed down to the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Gu Yanwu, Wang Chuanshan, Zeng Yaozu and other literary figures in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties , secretly united like-minded Han people to form secret private organizations, using the slogan of resisting the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty. This kind of private organization has been deeply embedded in the lower classes of society and contains potential power. Therefore, there is a saying in the world: "You wear red and I wear red. We all wear the same color. You wear black and I wear black. We are all the same color." 'This is the meaning" (Page 36 of "The Complete History of Han Liu").

It seems that the Pao Ge organization started in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, developed in the late Qing Dynasty, and spread throughout the Republic of China. It is a relatively Practical and reliable. On the eve of the Revolution of 1911, the "Road Protection Movement" broke out in Sichuan under the planning of Sun Yat-sen's "Tongmenghui". Road protection "Comrade Associations" were organized all over the province, and then developed into an anti-Qing armed force - the "Comrade Army". "In essence, they used Pao Ge organizations from various places as the backbone to guide farmers to overthrow the Qing regime. "Chinese Modern History Materials Series" stated that on the eve of the Revolution of 1911, the Tongmenhui had increasingly close ties with the party across the country. Sun Yat-sen had already recruited Xiong Kewu in Japan. , but Maoxin, Yu Ying, Zhang Shixiang and others met with the authorization. Xiong and others also believed that Sichuan Paoge was powerful and spread over a wide area. The alliance would lead the Paoge forces in various places to carry out the revolutionary work of overthrowing the Qing Dynasty. It was very beneficial for Yu Ying and Sun Yat-sen to take over. After the talks, he was highly regarded, and the prosecutor appointed him as the "Grand Governor of the Southwest" and sent Xiong Kewu, Xie Fengqi and others back to Sichuan to implement the policy.

After a large number of lower-class people flocked to join Pao Ge's organization, they gradually joined the Pao Ge organization. Influenced the gentry and wealthy households to emulate each other and protect their families. In this way, by 1911, Sichuan's Paoge organization went deeper into the cities and villages of various states and counties, and was "building mountains and establishing churches" everywhere. It was popular among the people at that time Two colloquial sentences: "There were no Baidings in the late Ming Dynasty, and there were no Tuzizi in the late Qing Dynasty." (Those who did not join Pao Ge's organization were called Tuzizi)

The Alliance would incite road protection movements throughout Sichuan and launch large-scale uprisings. , which is mainly based on farmers and using the Paoge organization as the leader. Among the counties near Chongqing and Chengdu, the most outstanding ones are Hou Juyuan and Hou Guozhi in Guanghan, Hou Baozhai in Xinjin, Wu Qingzhao (Wu Erdawang) in Wenjiang District, and Chongqing. Sun Zepei, Zhang Jiexian of Guanxian County, and others, as leaders of the Comrade Army, led troops to besiege Chengdu with a massive force of more than 100,000. The war spread to all counties in Sichuan, accelerating the complete collapse of the Qing regime. After the liberation of Chengdu, because the governor Pu Dianjun lacked the ability to start a business and govern, Zhao Erfeng took the opportunity to create a "mutiny" in an attempt to restore the city. Yin Changheng was elected as the governor. It is wrongly believed that the power of Pao Ge permeates the whole society, and the government can be stabilized by grasping the power of Pao Ge. Therefore, many jokes have been made about the Pao Ge organization in Chongqing and Chengdu. Its form is similar to that of other counties and cities in the province. It is a rampant organization. The so-called "brotherly way" takes the five ethics (monarch and minister, father and son, brothers, husband and wife, friends) and the eight virtues (filial piety, brotherhood, loyalty, trustworthiness, etiquette, righteousness, integrity, shame) as the initial gathering point of communication. It was called "Shantou" and "Xiangtang". As the number of people participating in the congregation increased, it was changed from "Shantou" and "Xiangtang" to "Wharf" (also called "Gongkou" and "She"). The wharf is divided into five halls: " Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust” (also known as prestige, virtue, blessing, wisdom, and propaganda). The five halls are attended by five types of people: renzi refers to people with dignity and status in the old society, yiziqi refers to wealthy gentleman merchants, and liziqi refers to proletarians working in small handicrafts. There are several colloquial sayings that summarize the characteristics: "The word benevolence refers to the top, the word righteousness refers to the silver, and the word rite refers to the knife." There are similar colloquial sayings in other areas: "The flag with the word Ren refers to the common people, gentry and merchants, the flag with the word righteousness sells goods to merchants, and the flag with the word rite plays with guns." As for the people in Zhi and Xin Tang, they were all the "lowest" manual workers in the old society, but there were some inexplicable regulations in their organizational methods.

For example, in the old society, people who were considered to have low-level occupations such as prostitutes, hookah smokers, pedicure workers, back painters, hairdressers, male artists playing female roles, etc. were all stipulated not to participate in paoge. Even those whose mothers remarried were despised and could not join Pao Ge. However, bandits and gangsters who robbed property were allowed to participate (they justified themselves by saying that "the objects of robbery were corrupt officials, and those were done by Brother Muddy Waters Pao").

Each public hall (tangkou) consists of ten rows: the leader of the front row is called "Uncle" (also called "rudder", like the person who steers a ship). In addition to the "leading uncle" or "sitting uncle" among the uncles, there are also "law enforcement uncles" who specialize in rewards and punishments, and there are also some "idle uncles" who do nothing. There is a person in the second row, called "Second Master Sage". This person is recommended by everyone as an upright, righteous and trustworthy person. He is implicitly known as the "Guan Sage" who is sworn in Taoyuan. However, this person generally has no effect on the dock. A good old man ("sage" and "leftover" are homophonic). There is a "third master" in the third row, who is responsible for internal personnel and financial revenue and expenditure. Especially when opening the incense hall, he is responsible for arranging and planning various affairs. This is a central figure in the whole dock. The fifth platoon is called the "Fifth Steward", which is divided into "Internal Steward", "Red Flag Steward", "Assistant Steward" and "Excess Steward". The "internal steward", that is, the "black flag steward", must be familiar with the formal etiquette and jargon in Pao Ge. When holding meetings, he will be in charge of etiquette, roll call and seating arrangement, and convey the instructions of the tiller. The "Red Flag Manager" specializes in diplomacy and is responsible for receiving brothers from the mountains and the south. During the liaison and exchanges, they have to pick up people when they come and see them off when they go. The task is quite complicated. There are two popular sayings in Brother Pao: "If you don't know the internal affairs, ask the boss; if you don't know the foreign affairs, ask the manager." Below the fifth platoon, there are six platoons of "Sixth Patrolling Master". During meetings or when the "Xiangtang" is opened, he is responsible for patrolling, detecting government movements, and is responsible for reporting news. Eight platoons and nine platoons People who usually run errands and do chores for the worshipers on the dock. When it comes to the opening of the incense hall, they are the busiest. They follow the instructions of the third master. The whole dock relies on these people to run up and down. The ten rows are also called " "The youngest", the youngest is also divided into "big youngest" and "little youngest" (sons of the eldest and third masters, also known as "Fengwei youngest") from one row to ten rows, collectively called "one line" dragon". In Chengdu, docks are generally called "public" and "she", and companies are also divided into "head office" and "branch".

There are no "four rows" and "seven rows" in Paoge everywhere. It is said that there is a story. During the Kangxi period, when Zheng Chenggong sent his general Chen Jinnan to establish a temple in Yazhou, Sichuan, Fang Liangbin of the fourth row betrayed his alliance. He betrayed the contract and secretly reported to Jianchang Town. The town's Ma Gengeng led his troops to round him up, but Chen Jinnan changed his clothes and escaped. Later, Hu Si and Li Qi betrayed their covenant, reported to the government, and betrayed their brothers. They were secretly executed by people from Benshantou. Their treasonous behavior has always been tolerated by Brother Pao. From then on, no one fucked the fourth and seventh platoons. Although the Ge Lao Hui adheres to the slogan of "telling heroes, emphasizing loyalty, liberating food, and being anxious for people's needs" and takes the "Five Ethics and Eight Virtues" of the old ethics as its creed, due to the vicious expansion of feudal consciousness, some people gradually Deterioration results in the formation of two different types of water, the so-called "clear water" and "muddy water".

Among Qingshui Pao brothers, they can be divided into "gold belt skin" and "lower nine-rate". The meaning of Jindaipi is: gold represents wealth, and skin represents face, that is, a rich person with face is called Jindaipipaoge. He used his power to "become a great man in one step." As for those who work in calligraphy, fortune telling, waiters, Taoist priests, soldiers, etc., which are considered to be despicable professions, they can only be listed in the two categories of "wisdom" and "faith". The organization of Muddy Water Pao Brother is the same as that of Qing Shui Pao Brother, but the titles are slightly different. The leader of Qing Shui Pao Brother is called "rudder handle" or "president", while Muddy Water Pao Brother is used to calling the leader "Lao Yao" (the one who steers the rudder). The people one level below are always called "side shed boss" or "steward". Brother Muddy Waters Pao is generally called the "beach jumper". Brother Liupao has several meetings every year, and the most solemn one is the "Single Sword Meeting" on the 13th day of the fifth lunar month. According to legend, it was the day when Guan Yunchang went to the meeting alone during the Three Kingdoms period. On this day, grand gatherings were held grandly at various docks and public entrances, with lanterns and decorations. , a large incense table, a banquet, and a wide range of guests and friends. Those who attend Pao Ge for the first time must meet the two conditions of "clear wealth and clear affairs" before being introduced to the venue by the introduction of brother worship. See the four brothers of Enbai (brother Enbei, (Accepting brother, recommending, introducing), accept "cultivation", determine "ranking", and only then can you call yourself brother and brother and become an official brother. The original Brother Pao will also be rewarded for his merits and "promoted" at this meeting.

There are other gatherings, such as the "Chuntai Wine" held in the first month, the "Team Annual Meeting" held in the twelfth lunar month, and irregular "Welcome Party". During the meeting, in addition to visiting each other, eating and drinking, gambling and smoking (opium), they also took the opportunity to resolve grudges and disputes, and the leading figures stood up to "take advantage of the situation".

In Chongqing, most of Pao Ge’s docks are in teahouses (some teahouses are opened on the docks). Some teahouses have official signboards of XX Public Company or XX Company hanging out in front of them. The teahouses are the activity center and contact point of Brother Pao, and the chief steward of Hongqi is often in charge.

Brother Pao also stipulates eighteen crimes, such as the crime of being unfilial to parents, disrespecting elders, beating relatives, molesting women, etc. Those who commit these crimes will be punished with "knife" and "tackling". , "three swords and six eyes", "dig your own holes and bury them yourself", "hang a black card", "uproot" and "downgrade" and other punishments. Other provisions in Brother Pao's classic "Under the Sea" include "Ten Articles", "Ten Paragraphs", "Ten Essentials", "Ten Forbiddens", "Five Ethics", "Eight Virtues" and "Nine Chapters". The text is popular and true. It's hard to tell the difference. In fact, all these provisions are rarely implemented in the Pao Ge organization in Chengdu. Regarding the financial sources of the Pao Ge organization, according to Fan Shaozeng's article "Recalling my organizational activities in Sichuan Pao Ge" written in the 84th volume of National Cultural and Historical Materials: "...the main sources of money are as follows: First, Hi Pao Ge The second is the income from visiting the wharf and opening a teahouse; the third is gambling and taking profits; the fourth is illegal income from dealing in tobacco and drugs, hoarding food and oil, and the fifth is selling guns and ammunition. Weapons, etc. Later, there was also a "smoking gang" that specially provided bodyguards for gangs who went to mountainous areas to purchase opium and tobacco. They passed the checkpoint safely and received 20 or 30% of the bodyguard fee after arriving at the destination. What Fan Shaozeng said is from general sources. The situation of Paoge organizations in each region is different, and the methods are all kinds of strange. It is impossible to go into details. However, some organizations openly or covertly accept subsidies from secret service agencies, the military, and the government, or use signs from certain military or political departments to openly collect money. It is obvious to collect taxes and enrich one's own pockets.

The number of Chongqing Paoge's public houses (piers) has exceeded a thousand in more than ten years, except for "Sun, Wu, Ding, Zhang" and "Ma," In addition to Yuan, Jiang and Tang, the more famous ones are Leng Kaitai who can connect the green and red gangs along the Yangtze River, Deng Shucai who is famous in southern Sichuan, Ma Kunshan who always shuts down the fire on the North Road, and Gong who inserts a chicken feather upside down. When it comes to virtue, there is Chen Junshan who has been defeated in all directions...the role and poisonous energy of these people are indeed no greater than those of Fan Shaozeng, Chen Lanting, and Shi Zhaowu.