History Main / TheTriadsAndTheTongs

* [[DudeLooksLikeALady Fong-Fong]] and [[ChineseVampire Ling-Ling]] Wong from ''Manga/RosarioToVampire''.

After contributing to the fall of the Qing Empire in the 1911 revolution, without resurrecting the Ming (as had been their original intention), the Triads now found themselves without a purpose and there was a split between the Mainland and overseas branches. The Mainland group is what we now commonly refer to as the Triads, while the overseas group became known as the Hongmen. The mainland Triads now turned to crime as they were unable to reenter normal society. After the Communist takeover, many Triad members moved to Hong Kong and Taiwan to escape new measures against organized crime. Hong Kong's Triad problems peaked in the 1970s, helped by police corruption.

* Like canon, ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' NextGenFic ''Fanfic/AvatarTheLegendOfArata'' has three bending gangs. The Triple Threats runs by Chikao and later [[TheStarscream Habiki]], the Agni Kais ran by Kosuke, and the Red Monsoons ran by Jiang.

* ''VideoGame/FarCry4'': Pagan Min, as well as his top lieutenant Yuma Lau and most of his army, originally belonged to a Triad-run drug cartel headed by Pagan's father operating in the Golden Triangle. It's mentioned that after Pagan killed his father and usurped control of the gang, he butted heads with the Triad's "old guard" for dominance, but lost and was run out of Southeast Asia as a result.

* In [[ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX Punisher Max]] the Chinese Mafia is one of the many criminal organizations operating in New York. They have a brief but memorable appearance when Nicky pays them a visit and teaches them ''why'' you don't fuck with the Cesare Crime Family. Hint: It involves [[spoiler:child homicide]] and soup... please don't ask for more details.

* The Wing Kong and Chang Sing street gangs/tongs in ''Film/BigTroubleInLittleChina''.

* In ''VideoGame/KaiserreichLegacyoftheWeltkrieg'', the Triads have become very influential in the Legation Cities, and part of their focus tree involves dealing with the Triads. Alternatively, the player may choose to have the Triads launch a coup and outright ''take over'' the Legation Cities, making the Triads a nation-state in their own right.

* The very first set of levels in ''VideoGame/HitmanCodename47'' involve stirring turmoil between the Red Dragon and Blue Lotus Triads by killing key members during negotiation attempts as part of a plan to get close to and assassinate the Red Dragon leader, Lee Hong.

* Triad gangs show up in seasons one and two of ''Series/IronFist2017''. In the second season, one of the major plots is a growing war between two gangs, the [[KnifeNut Golden Tigers]] and the [[AnAxeToGrind Hatchet Gang]] as a result of the power vacuum left by the Hand's elimination in ''Series/TheDefenders2017''.

* In ''GameMode/{{Kaiserreich}}'', the Triads have become very influential in the Legation Cities, and part of their focus tree involves dealing with the Triads. Alternatively, the player may choose to have the Triads launch a coup and outright ''take over'' the Legation Cities, making the Triads a nation-state in their own right.

* The two largest Triad groups known are the Sun Yee On, and their rival the, 14k. They are the [[BlandNameProduct namesakes]] of the groups given focus in ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs''. Their memberships reach in the ''ten-thousands''.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' has Triad groups of bending criminals that have a large amount of influence in the poorer areas of Republic City, who are thematically a mix of both traditional Triads and 1920's American mobsters. The Triple Threat Triad, [[EqualOpportunityEvil which accepts members of all three main bending disciplines]], is the criminal group most focused upon in the series (particularily in the first two seasons), but some episodes have shown more element-exclusive Triad groups such as the Agni Kai Triad (firebenders), Red Monsoon Triad (waterbenders) and Terra Triad (earthbenders).

* A Chinese gangster makes a brief appearance in a flashback in ''Film/Snatch'', attempting to murder local LondonGangster PsychoForHire Bullet-Tooth Tony. Key word is "attempting", because Tony shrugs off every bullet the gangster shoots him with, until he's left screaming "WhyWontYouDie?!", and then [[NeverBringAGunToAKnifeFight Tony kills him with a sword.]] The Triads have a more prominent role in a more recent Creator/GuyRitchie film, ''Film/TheGentlemen.''

The traditional hierarchy and rituals, based in esoteric numerology and mythology, are not always followed as strictly or exactly as the old days, but many traditions live on in lingo and ceremony. The leader of a Triad is called the Mountain Master or Dragon Head. Below him are his highest tier: Deputy Mountain Master, who acts as the Dragon Head's advisor and proxy, Incense Master, who oversees ceremonies and initiations, and Vanguard, who handles recruitment and assists the Incense Master. The middle officers are the Red Poles, White Paper Fans and Straw Sandals. Red Poles are the gang bosses and war leaders, commanding their own units to attack enemies, defend turf and engage in street crime. White Paper Fans are the consiglieres and administrators, managing and advising on finances, business and legal matters. Straw Sandals are liaisons, organizing and scheduling important meetings or gang fights. At the bottom are 49ers, who are simply the low-ranking initiates under Red Poles, and Blue Lanterns, the miscellaneous thugs, dealers, and contacts who are informally affiliated with or freelance for the group but not properly initiated into the Triad for life. Blue Lanterns tend to outnumber 49ers in modern times, but obviously are less trusted and more expendable. 25er is slang for a corrupt cop or contact in a rival group, serving as spies and informants.

* VideoGame/{{Strider}} Hiryu confronts a large-scale Chinese Mafia terrorist strike in the first stage of ''Strider 2''.

It should be noted that 'Chinese Mafia' is both an oversimplification and misconception of Triads and Tongs, as neither have that much presence in China itself. Triads have some influence in certain regions of China, but operate most extensively outside of mainland China, as Mao's regime dismantled traditional secret societies during the Cultural Revolution, and the Tongs are largely a western phenomenon. Within the actual People's Republic of China there are criminal outfits called Black Societies, [[TheSyndicate which wield significant but subtle political power and clout with local law enforcement]], and Dark Forces, which are [[GangBangers less organized, less powerful]] gangs (both terms being awkward translations of weird Chinese terms), neither having any relationship to traditional Chinese mysticism. Essentially, Triads are ethnically Chinese criminal societies [[RuthlessForeignGangsters abroad]].[[note]]Most prominently in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, with heavy presence in Southeast Asia, though they also have minor footholds in Japan, Korea, Russia, Australia, Europe, Hawaii and, thanks to Chinatowns and the Tongs, continental USA and Canada.[[/note]]

* In ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series, the Camonna ''Tong'' is essentially the native Dunmeri (Dark Elf) {{Mafia}}, with elements of TheSyndicate. Into the early 4th Era, they essentially run Morrowind's smuggling, drug, and illegal slave trade operations. There is also the Morag Tong, a legal (at least in Morrowind) [[MurderInc assassin's guild]] that is officially sanctioned by the Dunmeri government as an alternative to [[AllowedInternalWar destructive open warfare]] between the [[TheClan Great Houses]]. Both of these come from Tong being Dunmeri for 'Guild' (Morag means 'Forester'. What Camonna means was never explained).

* In ''ComicBook/TheFurtherAdventuresOgIndianaJones'' #28, Dr. Jones runs afoul a Tong who want the Chimese mummy he is in San Francisco to collect.

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* [[WebOriginal/AcademyOfSuperheroes ASH]]: The Onyx Eye tong are a crime syndicate and a villainous martial arts school.

* Triad gangs show up in seasons one and two of ''Series/IronFist''. In the second season, one of the major plots is a growing war between two gangs, the [[KnifeNut Golden Tigers]] and the [[AnAxeToGrind Hatchet Gang]] as a result of the power vacuum left by the Hand's elimination in ''Series/TheDefenders''.

[[KnifeNut As mentioned earlier, the traditional punishment is death by a hundred cuts, or getting ambushed and hacked up which is easier and quicker. Hong Kong triads especially love their cleavers, given the difficulty of obtaining guns in Hong Kong. A machete is fine too.]] Overseas groups may use guns, automatic weapons and explosives, if they don't find them dishonorable.

* In ''Film/KungFuHustle'', several street gangs are causing trouble in 1930s Shanghai; with the [[AnAxeToGrind Axe]] {{Gang|OfHats}} (led by [[BigBad Brother]] [[TheDon Sum]]) being the most feared and powerful criminal organization in the city. In fact, the film begins with a minor mob boss (the leader of the Crocodile Gang) bullying a local cop inside a police station, only for him and his men to be eliminated by the Axe Gang soon afterwards.