Updated Monday, September 28, 2009 9:31 am TWN, By Joe Hung, The China Post

Legend of Huang Sangui II

Huang Sangui (黃三桂) was greatly impressed by Lin Shuangwen, the tall and handsome leader of the Tryad. Lin, who wanted to persuade the Banka community leader to join his Tryad, told him the ultimate goal of his secret society was to overthrow the Manchu dynasty and restore Han Chinese Ming rule over China. After a brief meeting to get acquainted with each other, Lin proposed that he and Sangui should become sworn brothers. One vow the sworn brothers – the vow is taken even today when friends become sworn brothers – have to take is to swear that they would treat each other like siblings who were not born on the same day, but would die on the same day, like Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei who did so at a peach garden in the second century.

Sangui intended to take the vow with Lin at once. So he excused himself to go to the kitchen to ask his chef to prepare a feast to celebrate their oath-taking to become sworn brothers.

It so happened that Sangui's wife, who was his excellent business advisor, overheard the conversation between her husband and Lin from behind a screen in the parlor where they were meeting. She was not as impressed by Lin as her husband was. She doubted Lin's sincerity. So when they were alone when her husband took time out to go to the kitchen, she asked him whether he would take the oath of sworn brothers. “Yes,” he told his wife frankly, “I would.”

“Of course,” the wife said, “Lin seems to be a great man. But I am not sure he is a man you can trust as a sworn brother.”

“Then how can we find out he is truly trustworthy?”

　　“Let's test him.”

　　“What test?”

The clever woman thought a while. She told her husband she would have a dish of capon prepared for the party. The capon would be so cut up as to leave pieces of meat still somewhat stuck together by the skin not cleanly severed. When her husband tried to pick a piece of meat, he could not do with a pair of chopsticks. “Then,” she said, “we'll see what the Tryad leader would do. If he tried to help you pick the piece of meat, he would be a trusty friend who could be your sworn brothers.” Friends should help each other, she reasoned.

Her husband agreed.

When the feast began, Sangui and the Tryad leader toasted each other. Then, the first course was served. It's a dish of tender capon. Instead of asking the guest to partake of it first, Sangui tried to pick a piece of meat from the plate. He couldn't pick up the meat with his chopsticks, for the piece he chose was still linked with the two on either side of it by the skin that wasn't cleanly severed. Lin didn't try to help. He just watched Sangui struggle with the capon.

No oath of sworn brotherhood was taken. Lin Shuangwen had to return to Changhua without making Sangui a member of his Tryad.

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