国内对天地会的研究,始于二十世纪初。辛亥革命前陶成章所著《教会源流考》一文,是国人最早较系统探求白莲教、洪门史的著作,为后人研究教门、会党奠定了初基。此后学术界开始注意于搜集、整理天地会文献资料,并就源流、宗旨、性质、分布及活动等问题间有探讨。情况虽不热烈,但颇有歧论。其中关于起源与性质问题,分歧尤大。 The study of heaven and earth will begin in the early twentieth century. Before the Revolution of 1911, Tao Chengzhang’s “The Origin of the Church Test” was the earliest book of the people to explore the White Lotus teachings and the history of Hong Men systematically, laying the foundation for future generations to study and teach. Since then, academia has begun to pay attention to collecting and organizing the literature of World Society and discussing the issues such as origin, purpose, nature, distribution and activities. Although the situation is not enthusiastic, it is quite a bit of a dispute. Among them, the differences in origin and nature are particularly great.