Another Very Interesting piece that speaks on Chinese and Freemasonry
http://www.freemasonry.bcy.ca/aqc/china.html
an except........
Quote:
Again, in the same book, the "Shu-King," the most ancient work in China, I find the magistrates spoken of as the " Chunjên," literally the level men, the level being the emblem of their authority and the type of the conduct looked for from them.
Further, I find in one of the most ancient of the documents of which this work is a collection, the three chief officers of State in whose hand the supreme direction lay, spoken of as the "San Chai"—the three houses or builders ; in other words, the three grand masters, to whom the management of the Grand Lodge was then entrusted.
There is, too, reason for thinking that the character by which the root or source of things is represented, "hên," that which China’s sages tell us is the most important of all our duties to attend to, is a hieroglyphic picture of the skillet, an emblem held by masons in high respect.
And, finally, not to multiply instances, I find one of the most ancient names by which the Deity is spoken of in China is that of the First Builder, or as masons say, the Great Architect of the Universe.
U.m.s.o.i. Masonic union of strict initiation observance
http://www.umsoi.com/english/freemasonry-in-china/
Quote:
Since immemorial time, China has always been a mystery in the eyes of Westerners. This is especially so with regard to Freemasonry. Masonic scholars are already rare anywhere in the world and Masonic scholars in China are virtually non-existent.
This paper traces how Freemasonry was introduced into Imperial China by various Constitutions in the Quig Dynasty, how it developed at the time and how it survived two World Wars and the political changes in China.
It is fascinating to see how the Grand Lodge of China was constituted in Shanghai, and then moved to Taiwan, how Freemasonry developed in Macau, how Freemasonry flourished in Hong Kong and finally how Hong Kong has become not only the Masonic hub of the Far East, but also the Masonic pillar in the People’s Republic of China under the “One Country Two Systems” principle.
Since immemorial time, China has always been a mystery in the eyes of Westerners. This is especially so with regard to Freemasonry. Masonic scholars are already rare anywhere in the world and Masonic scholars in China are virtually non-existent.
This paper traces how Freemasonry was introduced into Imperial China by various Constitutions in the Quig Dynasty, how it developed at the time and how it survived two World Wars and the political changes in China.
It is fascinating to see how the Grand Lodge of China was constituted in Shanghai, and then moved to Taiwan, how Freemasonry developed in Macau, how Freemasonry flourished in Hong Kong and finally how Hong Kong has become not only the Masonic hub of the Far East, but also the Masonic pillar in the People’s Republic of China under the “One Country Two Systems” principle.
Square and compass and the Chinese usage of it
http://www.masonic-lodge-of-educatio...compasses.html
Quote:
1880: Excerpt from a speech delivered by Brother Herbert A. Geles, Worshipful Master of Ionic Lodge No. 1781, at Amoy, entitled "Freemasonry in China"
"From time immemorial, we find the Square and Compasses used by Chinese writers to symbolize precisely the same phases of moral conduct as in our system of Freemasonry. The earliest passage known to me (Albert Mackey) which bears upon the subject is to be found in the Book of History, embracing the period reaching from the 24th to the 7th century before Christ. It is there, in an account of a military expedition, that we read:
"Ye officers of government, apply the Compasses!"
In another part of the same records, a Magistrate (judge) is spoken of as:
"A man of the level, or the level man."
Read more:
http://www.masonic-lodge-of-educatio...#ixzz0deRa3Zyj