This black stamp featuring a bagua (eight-sided diagram) can be found on various documents of Chinese secret societies in Singapore. The bagua holds special significance in Taoist tradition, which yields considerable influence over the beliefs of the secret societies. The traditional Chinese character of ji, meaning to store or accumulate, can be seen in the centre of the bagua. It is, however, unclear what the significance of the character is. Chinese secret societies in Singapore were a form of mutual aid for the Chinese migrants who had arrived in Singapore in the 19th century. Their origins can be traced to the Tiandihui (Heaven and Earth Society), a secret society in China founded on the basis of overthrowing the Qing dynasty and restoring the Ming. After the Tiandihui took root in Singapore, various splinter societies (hui or kongsi) subsequently emerged among the main dialect groups.
