A mason in China
16 July 24
Travels in China
By Bro Alex Manu
From the late 1960s to early 1980s I knew little of mainland China, but when Deng Xiaoping opened China’s economy to delicate economic reform in 1987, he suddenly opened contact with the West.
China accelerated its engagement with western economies in the early 1990s, which heralded my first business trip to Mainland China in 1996, after which we began selling our Australian technology manufactured product directly to China, although ManuFlo® had already begun selling to South East Asia in 1976.
I have now been travelling to China for over 28 years, during which time I have witnessed an amazing rate of infrastructure growth that has surpassed western nations, and provided most of China’s 1.5 billion citizens with a prosperous, efficient and safe standard of living.
Now in 90% retirement mode, my fascination with China (as with many ancient civilizations) has switched from business to historical, religious, philosophical and cultural exploration, and given me an insatiable thirst for the discovery of new experiences and knowledge.
I wish to highlight some Freemasons in China facts before I provide an account of my enlightening travels to Northern China.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) has outlawed Freemasonry within its borders, so currently there are no masonic lodges operating there.
In contrast, Freemasonry is active in Taiwan. The Grand Lodge of China is based in Taipei and has a total of 10 lodges with over 750 members. It’s worth noting that the United Grand Lodge of England recognizes this Grand Lodge.
Similarly, Hong Kong has a rich masonic history. Two lodges were established there after Britain acquired the territory.
Royal Sussex Lodge No 501, warranted in 1844, it moved from Hong Kong to Guangzhou and Shanghai before returning to Hong Kong in 1952. Zetland Lodge No 525 EC, warranted in 1846, has remained in Hong Kong since its formation.
Right - The Tsingtao (previously Germania) Brewery in Qingdao
In early 2024 I began researching my latest three week trip to Northern China. The goal was to visit historical cities, spiritual religious sites and experience the cultural aspects of the region. Because intending to travel without guides to areas not overly visited by western tourists we had to do our homework. We therefore loaded Google voice and image translator on our phones, DD-ride sharing app and AliPay for digital payments. These apps are beneficial as not all areas accept cash and less visited areas are a little light on English.
In April 2024 we boarded a 1hr flight from Seoul to Qingdao China, a medium sized city of 10 million on the Yellow Sea. We covered 50,000 steps in two days walking and discovering the seaside city with beautiful coastal walks, witnessing the strong German colonial building influence of their stay from 1898–1914.
Of course, being Germans, they also built a brewery. The Germania Brewery was founded in 1903 and began to introduce the Chinese to beer. The brewery would later change its name to Tsingtao Brewery.
I always wondered what, where and how did elements of Taisom, Shaolin, Buddhism and Confucianism originate, delineate, manifest, interconnect and converge. As I was to discover on this trip, many of my fascinations and questions would be unravelled and answered.
Left - Mt Laoshan near the East China Sea on the Shandong Peninsula
Just a one hour bus trip from Qingdao is Taoism’s most sacred mountain Mt Laoshan, where reside ancient Taoist temples. The monks explained to me that Taoism (or Daoism) is a diverse tradition indigenous to China, characterized as both a philosophy and a religion. Taoism emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao – generally understood as being the impersonal, enigmatic process of transformation ultimately underlying reality.
Possible English translations include ‘way’, ‘road’, and ‘technique’ – like in Star Wars ‘the Force’. Taoist practices include forms of meditation, astrology, qigong, feng shui, and internal alchemy.
A common goal of Taoist practice is self-cultivation resulting in a deeper appreciation of the Tao, and thus a more harmonious existence. Generally, emphasis is on virtues such as effortless action, naturalness or spontaneity, simplicity, and the three treasures of compassion, frugality, and humility.
Legend has it that Laozi a philosopher scholar monk founded Taoism in the 4th century BCE. Taoism was to have a profound influence on Chinese Rulers from the Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties eras thereafter.
Taoism is the most important ideology in Chinese thought, second only to Confucianism. Although almost completely different from Confucianism, it is not always contradictory. Later, when Buddhism was introduced to China, the two systems began influencing one another, with long-running discourses shared between Taoists and Buddhists; the distinct Mahayana tradition of Zen that emerged during the Tang dynasty incorporates many ideas from Taoism.
Next stop travelling at 300kms/hr via bullet train was the former ancient capital city Luoyang with 7 million people. Situated on the central plain of China, Luoyang is among the oldest cities in China and one of the cradles of Chinese civilization and the gateway of the Silk Road. It is the earliest of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China dating back to 2070 BCE. The concept of Yin and Yang originates from the two rivers that flow through the Luoyang plains.
Right -The Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang
In this location we visited the Buddhist Longmen Grottoes, which house over 2000 statues dating back to 500 CE. Also the White Horse temple complex 68 CE – the earliest Buddhist site in China – the Grand Canal and the Shaolin Kung-Fu monks located in a sacred mountain range. We also saw where Bruce Lee trained and the inspirational site of the Kill Bill films. We visited the history museum, site of an amazing amount of artifacts, with many more constantly being discovered. Next stop again via bullet train was the small city of Huayin. This city borders the famous and sacred mountains of Hua Shan. Access was via 1hr bus trip and then hike or cable car (which we opted for) to the top of the mountains. We then trekked and traversed the five sacred peaks. Chinese legend states that the Chinese civilization was born at the top of this mountain range. At the top of each peak there are Daoist temples, the earliest recorded being from the 2nd century BCE. We managed to trek to three of the peaks. The paths can be steep, arduous and treacherous.
Left - Huayin city set against Mount Hua
This was an exhilarating experience and is highly recommended.
Next stop would normally be Xi’an, city of Qin Shi Huang – the first emperor of unified China in 221 BCE and the site of famous burial tombs with the terracotta warriors – but we had visited the city years prior so we opted to visit the ancient city of Pingyao with a current population of half a million. It lies 400kms north of the Hua Shang mountains.
On our journey north via bullet train, I saw a diverse landscape of lush farmland, arid zones with carved out dry valleys and in the distance vast mountain ranges. Along the route were villages and small cities, and I could see abandoned old settlements and caves.
Right - Daoist temples at the top of Hua Shan mountain are popular spots to visit.
The first records of Pingyao date back to 800 BCE. It is famous as the best preserved intact medieval city, including its city walls built in 1370 CE. Beyond those walls lies the modern city, where we stayed and lived the life of ancient Ming and Qing lords for two days, sampling the cuisine and massages. The city was also the hub of the Chinese banking system from the 16th century. Here Taoism and Buddhism thrive with temples scattered throughout the area. Within the city walls is a Confucius Temple from 618 CE worshipping Confucius (551–478 BCE), a famous philosopher, educator and the founder of the Confucian school.
Our next stop was 400kms further in the city of Datong, the most northern city of the Shanxi province which borders the steps of the Mongolian plains.
In 398 CE, it became a capital city of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
The city walls are huge and immense at 14kms long if laid out. The Great Wall of China runs just north of the city. Here we visited the famous Yungang Buddhist Grottos 460 CE containing 51,000 statues and the famous hanging temples built on the side of a near inaccessible cliff face. Trivia fact, Marco Polo visited Datong in 1277.
I noticed there were very few westerners in this part of China. I had found the locals to be very warm, respectful, helpful and welcoming. I was somewhat of a novelty to the locals. If they could not understand my explanation of Australia I simply mentioned kangaroo and started hopping like one and it clicked for them immediately. I also noticed so far that China is extremely safe to walk the streets day and night. There was an abundance of traditional food and the streets and parks very clean. There are security cameras in most locations but I was happy to forego privacies if it meant one can feel safe and free to roam as one pleases.
Our final stop was Beijing, some 350kms west of Datong, with a population of 22 million. Its name means ‘Northern Capital’ (běi for north and jīng for capital), was applied to the city in 1403 during the Ming dynasty.
This was my third visit to the city and this time my goal was to visit the military museum, national museum of history and Mao Zedong’s mausoleum.
To avoid disappointment be sure to book in advance for these amazing experiences. The National Museum is huge in scale and showcased an array of historical and modern items. The military museum was mind boggling, we spent seven hours viewing a huge display of early and modern planes, tanks, guns, bombs, rockets, artillery, artifacts and many soviet and US items from the various theatres of war. Also fascinating were on display the wrecks of U2 spy planes and D21 spy drones shot down over China.
Unfortunately, we were unable to visit Mao as you have to book a month in advance. On the last day we wandered around Tiananmen Square.
What also amazed me was the sheer number of EV cars and luxury goods for sale in opulent shopping centres in Beijing.
On arriving back in Seoul, Korea, I realized the profound influence China has had on the rest of Asia. Look no further than the Korean flag. On it is the circular symbol of Yin and Yang and in 360 degrees the symbols of Sky, Water Fire and Earth. All derived from ancient Chinese Taoist teachings.
This trip gave me a profound understanding of the friendliness and kind spirit of the Chinese people due to the philosophies that teach them to respect and nurture a harmonious environment. I see China’s greatest challenge is to continue to provide a good standard of living for its 1.5 billion citizens, and to try and manage the environment which is under immense pressure from the sheer number of people. The infrastructure is incredibly modern and the road, rail and air networks are very safe and efficient, which is providing a good standard of living. I am already planning my next visit which will be to North West China, Mongolia, journeying through the ‘Stan’ countries of the silk road.
When we are highly informed, no government, organization or compromised information source can easily corrupt our minds and spread fear. Knowledge and experience gives us the power of enlightenment, and with it our true chance of future universal harmonious peace for humankind.
One day I am sure if the Freemason movement is persistent and engages with Chinese authorities, their officials will realize and embrace a masonic lodge again in Mainland China as a portal for storing and sharing all the knowledge of great civilizations.