This red flag with the yellow border, bearing an unrecognised Chinese character, can be identified based on its colours to be from the third Hong lodge (Family Royal Hall) of the Tiandihui (Heaven and Earth Society). The Tiandihui was a local secret society based on the original one founded in China as the result of social and economic hardships and with the aim of overthrowing the Qing dynasty and restoring the Ming. With the influx of Chinese migrant workers into Singapore in the 19th century, the Tiandihui was set up as a form of mutual-aid and the provision of both economic and spiritual support. Various flags bearing traditional symbolism were used during the society’s initiation ceremony, an elaborate and dramatic affair comprising a series of rituals which culminated in the swearing of a blood oath by newly inducted members. The significance of this particular flag is unknown.
