Triads are in the public eye again, after thugs with triad connections were accused of being involved in street violence during Hong Kong’s democracy protests. As with anything to do with organised crime, it’s open house at the rumour mill. In the last decades, the triads are said to have branched out into more legitimate business, but it’s still a murky world.

Without the requisite machetes, we can instead arm ourselves with some triad terms, again courtesy of Rosalyn S, so if you can’t walk the walk then at least you can talk the talk. Here are a few of the most useful triad terms.

A photo essay from the Old Beijing Stock Exchange – by Jens Schott Knudsen

Ed: Yes, it’s Wednesday, sue me. Another Hong Kong themed post in our mini series from across the border. In the light of fresh clashes between occupiers, police, angry residents and pro-mainland agents provocateurs, some colourful language is being thrown around. Hong Kongers (香港人 xiānggǎngrén) blame mainland Chinese (大陆人 dàlùrén) for being uncouth and under the heel. Mainlanders accuse Hong Kongers of being arrogant and unpatriotic. Here are a few insults necessary to keep up with the mudslinging, from Rosalyn S.

That first taste you never forget – by Brent Crane

What first struck me in Hangzhou were the trees. Along South Mountain road, a trendy corridor of cafés, modern art galleries and Western eateries that runs along the eastern shoulder of the lake, there is a line of strong, tall sycamore trees. It’s rare to find an old tree in a Chinese city, where the old tends to give way to the new and young.

Hangzhou is famous in China for its sprawling tea fields and the mythical West Lake, the waters of which have enraptured poets, painters and imperial royalty for centuries. Now they attract an endless stream of camera-toting tourists, with robotic tour guides and knick-knack hawkers.

Terms and symbols from the Hong Kong protests – by Rosalyn S

All eyes are on the Occupy Central protests in Hong Kong. But because the biggest gatherings are at Admiralty up the road, some local newspapers have renamed the movement from 佔中 (zhànzhōng – zim3 zung1) to the identically pronounced 佔鐘, where the second character is a stand in for Admiralty (金鐘 jīnzhōng – gam1 zung1).

Occupy Central isn’t the only misnomer. After pictures of unarmed protesters using umbrellas to shield against police attacks appeared next to international headlines, the foreign media has coined the catchy sound bite, Umbrella Revolution (雨伞革命 yǔsǎn gémìng – jyu5 saan3 gaak3 meng6).