Elders' Association - Elders' Association

A Chinese secret society. It was founded in Sichuan Province, influenced by the religious sect White Lotus Sect and the Tiandihui, a political party with a mutual aid nature. After the downfall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1864), which was centered around the Tiandihui, it expanded its influence mainly among the Qing Dynasty military (the Xiang Army and the Huai Army) that was involved in the suppression of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It selected those with confirmed identities to form an alliance, formed a fictitious family-like bond, and established temples in each province to strengthen its influence. It was widely distributed in the Yangtze River basin, mainly in Hunan and Hubei provinces, and was active mainly with the goal of opposing the Qing and restoring the Ming Dynasty. Revolutionaries such as Sun Yat-sen allied themselves with this movement, playing a leading role in the revolutionary movement at the end of the Qing Dynasty and contributing to the Xinhai Revolution, but after the establishment of the Republic of China, it became increasingly counter-revolutionary in nature.

[Yutaka Nozawa]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国の秘密結社の一つ。宗教的な教門の白蓮(びゃくれん)教や、相互扶助的な性格をもつ会党の天地会などの影響を受けながら、四川(しせん)省に成立。天地会を中心とした太平天国の滅亡（1864）後に、おもにその討伐にあたった清(しん)朝の軍隊（湘軍(しょうぐん)、淮軍(わいぐん)）のなかに勢力を伸ばした。身元確かな者を選んで結盟し、擬制的な家族的結合をとり、各省に山堂を設けて勢力を扶植した。湖南・湖北両省を中心に、広く揚子江(ようすこう)流域に分布し、反清復明(はんしんふくみん)を主目標に活動した。孫文(そんぶん／スンウェン)ら革命派がこれと結び、清末の革命運動で主戦的役割を果たし、辛亥(しんがい)革命に貢献したが、中華民国成立後は反革命的な性格を強めるに至った。

［野澤　豊］

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