The Chinese term "黑社会" (hēishèhuì), meaning "organized crime" or "underworld society", is a compound word formed through semantic combination: "黑" (hēi) literally means "black", metaphorically extending to "dark", "secret", "illegal", or "evil"; "社会" (shèhuì) means "society". Thus, the term conceptually fuses to denote a "black society", a secretive, illegal social organization operating outside the bounds of lawful society, structured with its own hierarchies and rules, engaging in activities like racketeering, trafficking, and violence.