Conflicts were likely to be restricted to cases where a rural tailoring proprietorship was under threat by unfair hikes in land and building taxes that sometimes involved bank officers and government officials in collusion with larger industrial business interest.
The folklore surrounding the RTG’s paramilitary branch is often recounted in romantic and swashbuckling terms. The operatives within the paramilitary sect were rumored to have been trained in Eastern martial arts. Although this seems far fetched (like an episode from the 70’s television program; Kung Fu) it is possible that Chinese tailors working in the West in proximity to their guild-cousins (non-Chinese tailors working in the West) would have shared defensive techniques. This may account for the speculation regarding the paramilitary’s fighting prowess.
It is also rumored that these men suited themselves in a hybrid of the “rural tailor look” (derived from the Standards and Ethics document) and a sharper more finely cut style of dressing. This is also possibly based on fact. It is likely that this group would have needed to present themselves as having style-and-stature to rival the politicians, bankers, and industrialist they were confronting in disputes.
At any rate, if there was a guild and if there was a paramilitary element, it seems likely that defending the atelier and protecting personal design know-how would have been paramount concerns as menswear became industrialized and cheapened. This attitude would be in some ways “Masonic” in nature and it would not be exceptional during the period.
Some evidence does exist of rural tailors being imprisoned. However it is not clear from the documents whether this was for violent confrontation with authorities (as would be expected from a paramilitary branch) or whether the incarceration was related to the non-payment of the land and building taxes.
Looking at photos from the dossiers of imprisoned rural tailors of the period one might find oneself hoping that they “went down fighting”.
