A Brief History: From the Late Qing to the Schism
Photograph of members of the Lu Ban Society in 1905.
While the Lu Ban Society is widely recognized as an organization founded by Chinese immigrants, its deep-seated anti-feudal origins remain less understood. The group's founders trace their lineage to the Tiandihui, originally a mutual aid network, but later dedicated their activities to overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming in 18th-century China. Fleeing relentless persecution by the Manchu court, some members of the Tiandihui decided to migrate to Vietnam (then known as Dai Nam), where the Nguyen dynasty granted them land to cultivate in the country's Southern region.
During this period, due to certain spiritual beliefs and concerns about possible aggression from local paranormal factions, the Tiandihui had brought with them members of the "Yin Yang Fengshi" to assist their operational establishment. While the Yin Yang Fengshi was historically classified merely as a subsidiary branch of the Tiandihui, recent findings indicate that the Fengshi maintained a degree of operational autonomy, primarily supplying wooden products and providing consultation on feng shui matters and traditional customs to Tiandihui members. Ultimately, the descendants of these two factions had consolidated, leading to the establishment of the "Lu Ban Society", headquartered in Saigon–Cholon (present-day Ho Chi Minh City).
A corner of Cholon, where battles of the old Lu Ban Society once took place. Originally a separate city, Cholon later merged with Saigon Metropolitan and Gia Dinh province to form Ho Chi Minh City.
Similar to Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army, the Lu Ban Society also provided their support to the Nguyen forces against French colonial expansion using incantations and rituals, most notably through the summoning of spectral battalions commanded by the apparitions of kings and generals. Unfortunately, the details of this occult warfare were systematically expunged from history by the National Gendastrerie and the SCP Foundation under the pretext of maintaining the "Veil." Consequently, throughout the French colonial era and the subsequent Vietnamese struggle for independence, the Society's younger generation began to transform the group from a simple traditional occult movement, into an underground criminal syndicate, a pragmatic metamorphosis deemed necessary to safeguard their esoteric lineage from total erasure.
In 1998, the Night of Waltz incident occurred in Poland, during which a cultist group summoned a deity that immediately broke the Veil, thus allowing the people to now see the wonders of our world. However, this had also caused the Lu Ban Society to fracture, with one faction headed by Ly Huynh — which attempted to replicate the Polish cultist group, trying to summon their "Mother of Authority" in order to gain regional dominance; and the other faction led by Ly Muc — which advocated for Lu Ban Society to return to its foundational roots as the Tiandihui and Yin Yang Fengshi. This internal conflict eventually resulted in the formation of the 'New Lu Ban Society' under Ly Muc, after which they decided to collaborate with the Foundation and local military forces to neutralize Ly Huynh's conspiracy.
Where Things Stand
A member of the New Lu Ban Society preparing lucky charms for Tet goers.
The New Lu Ban Society today functions as a spiritual collective comprising shamans, sorcerers and traditional medicine practitioners. While the Society remains under strict surveillance of the SCP Foundation Vietnamese Branch, and faces skepticism from local authorities due to rigid policies regarding paranormal groups, it has managed to achieve significant steps toward legitimacy. Most notably, the Society has established a collaboration with the Institute for Research and Application of Human Potentialities, an agency dedicated to the investigation and recruitment of extraordinary human beings under the protection of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
"When the Veil was lifted, what were superstitions suddenly held some elements of truth." These are the words of Mr. N.V.A., a member of the New Lu Ban Society when asked about the group's daily activities. He mentioned that, while the Society continues its historical trade in practicing exorcisms, making lucky charms, treating diseases, and telling divination — activities that existed well before 1998, they also actively educate the people regarding the prevention of superstition, so that they wouldn't have incorrect misconceptions about supernatural phenomena.
"There have been cases of children losing their lives to greedy individuals masquerading as 'shamans' who would then use make-up doctrines, harmful medicines, and even violent rituals of blood to trick and exploit families," N.V.A. noted. "This has already happened prior to the UnVeiling, but worsened afterward due to the confusion between real magics and fraud." This further demonstrates the detrimental impact of the Veil, which had suppressed information instead of educating the public, ultimately endangering the people it claimed to protect.
Reconciliation
Photograph of the Rhythm Grave in the guise of a musical band, taken in 1911.
Of course, possessing more moderate ideals does not grant the New Lu Ban Society the right to deny the crimes of their previous generation. Despite the schism, followers of Ly Muc and their descendants continue to strive to redress the sins caused by Ly Huynh's faction. Their efforts include holding memorial events and reparation activities for those harmed by Huynh's ambition to summon the 'Mother of Authority,' specifically descendants of the Teochew sorcerous musicians slaughtered by the old Lu Ban Society in the '90s.
During the late 19th-century, the old Lu Ban Society's main rival in Saigon was the Rhythm Grave, an organization of Teochew sorcerous musicians specialized in thaumaturgical melodies. They battled for years until the Polish 1998 incident occurred, which fundamentally altered both's scopes of global natures and threats. While the Rhythm Grave and Ly Muc's faction in the Lu Ban Society slowly moved toward a truce as a way to face the new era together, Ly Huynh and loyalists refused to pivot. Instead, they doubled down on their ambition, attempting to summon a deity in order to secure dominance over the entire Far East of Asia.
Though Ly Huynh's grand ambition was foiled, his faction succeeded in decimating the entire Rhythm Grave group, capturing and sacrificing almost all of its Teochew members. Multiple meetings have been arranged between the New Lu Ban Society with the remnants of Rhythm Grave, however, the path to forgiveness remains difficult, and the emotional scars of this massacre may persist for generations to come.
【Takayuki Hirosue and Nguyễn Phúc】
