I've long had an interest in some of the more colorful aspect of Chinese religion, ever since I moved to Taiwan some 12 years ago. Recently I've had an opportunity to dig more deeply into the subject. There's a great wealth of research available in both English and Chinese. However, by the very nature of academic work it can be a little difficult to dig through the mountains of links and material to get to specific and reliable information about specific groups.
Of course, part of the problem lies with the groups themselves, as they are in fact secretive. Many sects have numerous names for themselves at the same time, as do the members of the groups themselves.
So my aim here is not to be a reliable guide myself, but to try and summarize and synthesize some of the relevant research, providing links where possible.
