According to the Xi Lu legend, five monks from a Shaolin monastery were escaping persecution from the Qing Emperor Kangxi when they chanced upon a white censer flowing downstream. Fishing it out of the river, they found the words ‘fanqing fuming’ (overthrow the Qing, restore the Ming) written across it. They saw this as a sign from the heavens and offered prayers to the gods, swearing to avenge their fellow monks who had been killed by the Emperor’s troops. The three-legged censer thus became incorporated into secret society rituals, symbolising the unity of heaven, earth and man.
