This receipt was issued by a Chinese secret society in Singapore. Such receipts were used to acknowledge monetary a contribution made by members to the societies, and this particular copy was printed appears to be the copy that was retained by the secret society. These receipts often resembled official stamps issued by trading companies, and might have been a deliberate attempt by the secret societies to pass themselves off as harmless business enterprises. The Chinese secret societies in Singapore were a form of mutual aid for the Chinese migrants who had arrived in Singapore in the 19th century. Their origins can be traced to the Tiandihui (Heaven and Earth Society), a secret society in China founded on the basis of overthrowing the Qing dynasty and restoring the Ming. After the Tiandihui took root in Singapore, various splinter societies (hui or kongsi) subsequently emerged among the main dialect groups.
