ABSTRACT
While most scholarship on Chinese brotherhoods and secret societies focuses on questions of their origins and activities, little research has been done on the Qing government's response. What exactly did the state do to try to eliminate or curb these illegal associations? From the state's perspective, members of such groups were merely rebels and outlaws deserving of punishment for their crimes according to the established laws. Whenever these illegal societies became involved in large-scale uprisings, the army was called out to quell the disturbances; since these were rare occasions, however, military solutions were inappropriate in most cases. Instead, the state relied heavily on legal controls, promulgating numerous harsh laws to deal specifically with sworn brotherhoods and secret societies. Even military campaigns had to be coupled with regular legal procedures. All those who were arrested had to stand trial and face punishment, which, for many, meant death or exile.
