It is interesting that every triad society worships the famous hero Guan Gong (or Guan Yu as his given historical name) from the Han Dynasty (Period of the Three Kingdoms) who exemplifies the Chinese thinking of the six qualities of a humble man:

• humanity (仁)
• righteousness (義)
• ritual obedience (禮)
• wisdom (智)
• loyalty (忠) and
• trust (信).

Triads also use numeric codes to distinguish between ranks and positions within the gang. For example, “426” refers to “fighter” while “49” denotes a rank-and-file member. “489” refers to the “mountain master” while 438 is used for the “deputy mountain master”, 415 for “white paper fan” and 432 for the “straw sandal”. “25” refers to an undercover law enforcement agent or spy from another triad, and has become popularly used as a slang for traitor.

also:

4+8+9= 21 /3 (Heaven, Earth, and Man = Creation) = the lucky number 7, meaning that Dragon Head represents and embodies Society.
4+3+8= 15 /3= 5 (longevity)
4×26+4= 108 (Man)
4×9= 36 (Heaven), the number of oaths required by each society member.

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