Chasing the Dragon by Jackie Pullinger

Ming Dynasty. Today, the historical Triad Society has degenerated into hundreds of separate Triad societies. All claim to be part of the Triad tradition, but in fact they are mainly criminal gangs who use the name and rituals as covers for their own evil purposes.
    To join the original Triad Society, it was essential to go through certain rituals. These included learning poems, handshakes and hand signs and shedding and drinking blood. Sacrifices were laid down; when you entered the Triad Society, you swore to follow your “brother” forever. He became your
daih lo
or big brother; you became his
sai lo
or little brother, and you were then related forever. If you proved yourself, an aspiring Triad would ask to follow you, and you became his big brother. Thus, the Triad Society was a pyramid of relationships. Inside each gang there was a complicated hierarchy of ranksand duties. The officers had colorful names like Red Pole, White Paper Fan and Grass Sandal. At other times, these officers were known simply by their numbers—as 489, 438, 426 and 415. Ordinary members were called “49 boys.”
    All over Hong Kong the Triads inspired terror, which made it easier to run protection rackets. The Walled City was the perfect place for them; they took the fullest advantage of its uncertain sovereignty. Two main gangs operated there, divided geographically by a certain street. There was a tacit understanding between the groups regarding territory and business. The
Ging Yu
controlled all the heroin dens, both the selling points and the smoking dens. They also ran protection rackets and controlled prostitution east of Old Man Street.
    Far more feared were the brothers of the 14K, which was a relative newcomer amongst the traditional Triad societies, having been formed in China in 1949. It derived its name from No. 14 Po Wah Street, Canton, where it was organized to support the Chinese Nationalistic cause. It was reputed to have 100,000 members worldwide at the time; 60,000 in Hong Kong alone. I understood that it controlled all opium
divans
, gambling, blue films, child brothels, illegal dog restaurants and protection rackets on the west side of the city.
    It was highly decentralized, with each area gang leader looking after his particular patch. However, they could call on each other for help when needed; they all knew the main office bearers and referred to members of related gangs as “cousins.” Within a matter of minutes, a Triad could call out a dozen brothers, and within hours several hundred could be ready for a fight.
    Whereas the non-Triads slipped in and out of the place, praying not to be stopped, those committed to the 14K or the
Ging Yu
walked abroad only in their own territory. I used to pick my way over all the streets and made a point of learning every exit until I was more familiar with the place than the gangsters themselves, who were necessarily limited to one half of the city.
    The Triads that I knew were certainly criminals, but to some extent they followed the old maxim that there is honor amongthieves. In return for absolute obedience, the
daih lo
promised to look after his
sai lo
. If the little brother was imprisoned, the big brother made sure that inside prison he got food, drugs and protection. Not that all Triad members took drugs; drug taking was frowned on, because it lessened their usefulness. In fact, it was our shared concern for the addicts that would later place me at the same tea table as some of the Triad bosses.
    It was no surprise to me when I learned that Christopher was about to be initiated into the 14K. How else could he walk on certain streets if he belonged to no gang? How else could he retaliate when wronged without a group of brothers to fight for him?
    Christopher had been attending the Youth Club regularly, but he now carefully avoided me. Every time I tried to approach him, he disappeared into the maze. He had started to gamble and was hanging around well-known criminals. However, he