Talk:The Tongs

What is Tongs and why i think this page might be wrong.

I believe the Tongs are talking about the elders within the Triads. Like in real life Triads, The leader are voted by a council of elders, old gangsters with sizeable turf to their own.

I'm also not convinced about the direct translation of tongs. The tongs written here is the tool for gripping coals, but the Cantonese(triads usually are HK-based) "Tong" means 堂, which also means hall/office, and in the origins of triads, when they are a kind of  rebellion brotherhood in ancient china, there are masters of each "hall", sub-sects within the brotherhood that has their own rules, way of doing things etc. The masters are all elders, who will counsel the head in all matters.

With an explanation like these all will make more sense IMHO. Since real Triads' leader must step down after his period of mandate, a new head will be voted by the elders. Since they prefer someone with a brain to lead them, they favor Zhou, while Chan, who kept telling people that his father will make him head, still have to curry favors with the tongs for this reason. Chan's father have to promise the tongs that he will settle the traitor etc. So they are not a separate gang, as per written in this page, but merely leaders within the triad, similar to the hierarchy of the mafia. Except the fact that the triad boss must give respect to them, since chinese are big on the "respect your elders".

If people agree with me, i would change the description.

(Dragonewt (talk) 16:18, May 18, 2014 (UTC))