Beggars' Sect
| Beggars' Sect | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 丐幫 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 丐帮 | ||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Gaì Bāng |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Jyutping | Koi3 Bong1 |
The Beggars' Sect is a fictional martial arts sect featured prominently in works of wuxia fiction by writers such as Jin Yong, Gu Long and Wolong Sheng. The sect has also found its way into martial arts films such as King of Beggars. The sect's members are mostly beggars as its name suggests, but some of them are from other walks of life. They are noticeable in public for their dress code and behaviour. The members adhere to a strict code of conduct and maintain the utmost respect for ranks and hierarchy. They uphold justice and help those in need through acts of chivalry. The Beggars' Sect is also one of the supporting pillars in the defence of ancient Han Chinese society from foreign invaders. The sect has a wide network of communications and the members are reputed for their excellent information-gathering skills. This is due to the sect's large size and the nature of its members, which allows them to blend into different parts of society easily.
The sect was founded in the Han dynasty and lasted for centuries. It is mentioned in wuxia novels such as Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils (Northern Song dynasty) and the Condor Trilogy (Southern Song dynasty to Yuan dynasty).
The Beggars' Sect was one of the largest and most highly recognised martial arts sects in the wulin (martial artists' community) until the Yuan dynasty. Its fame and popularity began to decline in the Yuan dynasty due to ill discipline among its members and incompetent leadership.
The sect is divided into various sections, including the "dirty clothing" section (污衣派) and the "clean clothing" section (淨衣派). The former is dominated by beggars while the latter is made up of non-beggars. It has many fenduo (分舵; branches) spread throughout the land and each of them is headed by a duozhu (舵主; branch master).
Each member carries at least one pouch-like "bag" (袋子) and the number of bags he/she carries indicates his/her rank in the sect. The highest rank a member can attain is that of an elder (長老), which is second only to the chief. Elders carry nine "bags" each.
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Wikipedia