研究中國秘密會黨的東西方學者，在過去40年當中，曾提出不同的概念或理論，用以解釋三合會的起源、發展、以及與主流社會的關係。這些概念或理論雖然論及三合會的活動、組織型態、性質與其他層面而具有相當的實用性，但由於學術背景或個人觀點的關係，使得三合會的作者，往往只為讀者提供了某種特定的信息。本文的目的，在於將過去40年，出版於美國、中國、和台灣的九冊三合會代表作品之重點，予以分成社會運動、社會互助團體、有組織犯罪企業、及極右翼激進民族主義組織四大類，並在此項分類的基礎上，比較三合會代表文獻之特色與差異。

Western and Chinese scholars specializing in the Chinese secret societies have used different concepts and theories to explain the Triads’ etiologies, developmental patterns, and relationships with the mainstream society in the past four decades. These concepts and theories are important because they can help students and law enforcement officials in examining the activities, organizational configurations, and nature of the Triads. However, due to different academic affiliations or individual perspectives, it is quite common that current publications regarding the Triads provide only certain types of information to the readers. With this in mind, the purpose of this article is to review and compare the most representative nine books on the Triads published in the U.S., China, and Taiwan in the past forty years. The themes of these books are categorized as social movements, mutual-help associations, organized crime enterprises, and ultra-nationalist organizations in this article. Based on this classification, the focal points and differences among these milestone publications are discussed.