A Tong is a Chinese criminal organization, from the Cantonese word 堂. While the literal definition is "a place where extended family meet" (廟堂), it usually means a clandestine Chinese secret society This article is on all of the Yue dialects. ... Extended family is a term with several distinct meanings. ... A secret society is an organization that requires its members to conceal certain activities—such as rites of initiation —from outsiders. ...

Some of the first Tongs formed in the second half of the 19th century among the earliest immigrant Chinese American communities. Many were outcasts or lacked the clan or family ties to join more prestigious Chinese surname associations, business guilds, or other legitimate enterprises. As a result, they banded together to form their own secret societies for protection. These first tongs modeled themselves upon the Triads, underground organizations dedicated to the overthrow of the Qing dynasty, and adopting their codes of brotherhood, loyalty, and patriotism. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... A Chinese American is an American who is of ethnic Chinese descent. ... Triad (Simplified Chinese: 三合会; Traditional Chinese: 三合會; Hanyu Pinyin: ; literally Triad Society) is a collective term that describes many branches of an underground society and organizations based in Hong Kong and also operating in Mainland China, Macao, and Chinatowns in Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. ... The Qing Dynasty (Manchu: daicing gurun; Chinese: 清朝; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: ching chao), sometimes known as the Manchu Dynasty, was a dynasty founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what is today northeast China, expanded into China proper and the surrounding territories of Inner Asia, establishing the...

Unlike the Triads, dedicated to a political cause, the Tongs formed without clear political motives, and soon found themselves involved in lucrative criminal activities, including extortion, gambling, people smuggling, and prostitution. Prostitution proved to be an extremely profitable business for the Tongs, due to the high male-to-female ratio among the early immigrants. The Tongs would kidnap or purchase females from China and smuggle them over the Pacific Ocean to work in brothels. The tongs constantly battled over territory, profits, and women in feuds known as the Tong wars, occurring between the 1850s to the 1920s. Extortion is a criminal offense, which occurs when a person obtains money, behaviour, or other goods and/or services from another by wrongfully threatening or inflicting harm to this person, reputation, or property. ... Gambling has had many different meanings depending on the cultural and historical context in which it is used. ... People smuggling is a term which is used to describe the illegal and organised smuggling of people across international boundaries, usually for financial gain. ... A sex worker in Germany. ... The Tong wars were a series of feuds between gangs of Chinese immigrants in major US cities (notably San Francisco and Los Angeles) between the 1850s and the 1920s. ... // Events and Trends Technology Production of steel revolutionised by invention of the Bessemer process Benjamin Silliman fractionates petroleum by distillation for the first time First transatlantic telegraph cable laid First safety elevator installed by Elisha Otis Science Charles Darwin publishes The Origin of Species, putting forward the theory of evolution... The 1920s were a decade sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ...

These criminal enterprises eventually became involved in political activities as well. When Sun Yat-sen formed his Revive China Society, with the purpose of overthrowing the Qing dynasty, he found a receptive audience among many of the Tongs in addition to legitimate organizations. Many of the Tongs worked closely with organizations and contacts in China and provided funding to advance their political goals. Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙, November 12, 1866–March 12, 1925) was a Chinese revolutionary and political leader who had a significant role in the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty. ... The Hsing-chung Hui flag was designed by Lu Hao-tung and is currently the KMT flag. ...

The 1930s was an era of decline in violent criminal activities in the Chinatowns. Due to the efforts of middle class or second-generation Chinese activists, and campaigning by Christian missionaries, prostitution was on the decline. Since the Chinatowns had become a major tourist attraction, the tongs had become less willing to see a decline in their revenues from bloodshed and violence. The tongs had already spun off their operations into legitimate businesses, and organized themselves more professionally, and expanding their ranks to include legitimate merchants and businessmen. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Chinese New Year celebrated in a Chinatown in Paris. ... The middle class (or middle classes) comprises a social group once defined by exception as an intermediate social class between the nobility and the peasantry. ...

See also

• Tong war
• Hui
• Triad