Kolaohui

(Society of the Elder Brother) or Kotihui (Society of Brothers), secret anti-Manchu societies that arose in China in the second half of the 17th century. They included peasant, urban poor, and lumpen-proletarian strata. Their leaders were, as a rule, shenshih (Chinese gentry). The principal demand was, “Down with the Ch’ing (dynasty), we shall restore the Ming (dynasty).” At the end of the 19th century they strongly opposed the activities of foreign missionaries. They were most active in Central and East China. During the period of preparation for and carrying out of the Hsinhai Revolution (1911–13), they were used by bourgeois revolutionaries in the struggle against the Ch’ing monarchy. In recent times they degenerated into reactionary organizations and lost their significance.