Page:Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills.djvu/93

 of Lan Ta-shun (藍大順) and Li-Tuan-ta (李短韃). The different characters of these two are shown by their nicknames, "Lan hurry up," and "Li go slowly." Though not Ssŭch‘uanese they easily persuaded the ku-fei to join them against the Manchus. The revolt was quelled by Hunan troops under Viceroy Lo Wên-chung. The remnants of Lan's marauders were scattered in Tsung Ch‘ing-chou, Kuan-hsien, and Tai-I hsien. These districts west of the Min River seem to have been also the chief refuge of Chang Hsien-chung's bands, which no doubt accounts for the lawless, ungovernable character of the population there.

After Lo Wên-chung's coming the ku-fei began to be called t‘u-fei, but the former term is still known and is sometimes applied to them by officials. The term t‘u was used of the aboriginal tribes, and fei probably meant they were not fit to be classed as men, fei-jên (非人). This term, fei-jên (匪人), has been systematically applied to all aborigines all over China.

The meaning of Han Liu is also variously given; some regard it as meaning simply brigands; others say the name means the descendants of Liu Pei (劉備) of the Han dynasty; but it most likely means the descendants of the obstructives and outcasts of the Han period.

It may safely be said that there is now little or no difference between Han Liu, ku-fei, t‘u-fei, p‘ao-ko (胞哥), ko-lao (哥老), and chiang-hu (江湖); all are somehow linked up in one great fraternity. The prestige of some brethren extends over several provinces and it would be highly interesting to trace the connection between the Dragon throne and the rolling dragons of the provinces.

The Ko-lao-hui and the Han Liu. With the advent of Lo Wên-chung and the suppression of Lan Ta-shun's revolt about 1855, a new secret society organization seems to have been introduced into the province in the shape of the Ko-lao-hui. Some Chinese state that it was introduced by the government as a check to the Han Liu. It is more generally held, however, that Lo's Hunan braves brought it with them. Many of these soldiers settled in Ssŭch‘uan and their brotherhood gradually amalgamated with that of the Han Liu. It would