Secret Society Member

Chiang as the ruler, ruled the country side through village loafers, 'dog leg' (ie. a 'stooge'., common peasant term for an agent of the landlord) and bailiffs who were agents of the landed gentry. He ruled cities through gangsters and secret societies. 'Feudal tyrant, bourgeois comprador, village suzerain, secret society member and party leader — Chiang was both the product and the uncrowned head of a society in transition. His governmental principles were those of the Han despots — political authority centralised in one man, reinforced by the graded bureaucracy. The sanction for government was the possession by the leader and his ancestors of a magical property called Virtue'. Benevolence, Righteousness, Wisdom, Fidelity and Politeness — these insured the prosperity of the country'.