The Last Emperor, 6-year-old Puyi, formally abdicated the throne on Feb. 12, 1912, ending not only the Qing dynasty but China's millennia-long imperial period. The White Lotus society (Bailianjiao) was a religious cult already in existence in the Nan (Southern) Song dynasty (11271279). Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Encyclopedia.com. Instead, Britain began a lucrative, illicit trade in opium, traded from British imperial India into Canton, far from Beijing. However, the rulers were afraid that White Lotus Society might menace their rules. "Issues and Trends in China's Demographic History." A decree from the Emperor Daoguang admitted, "it was extortion by local officials that goaded the people into rebellion" Using the arrest of sectarian members as a threat, local officials and police extorted money from people. from Hubei and Shaanxi provs. Consequently, a person's actual participation in sectarian activities had no impact on his or her arrest; what really mattered was whether monetary demands were met or not. The White Lotus Rebellion began as a tax protest led by the White Lotus Society, a secret religious society. Beginning as tax protests, the eventual rebellion gained growing support and sympathy from many ordinary people. The Red Turban Rebellion which took place in 1352, was led by the White Lotus group. "Broken Passage to the Summit: Nayanchengs Botched Mission in the White Lotus War." This internecine war lasted over ten years, at a cost of tens of thousands of lives and an expenditure, by the government alone, of two hundred million taels in money. The White lotus (Bailian Jiao, ) was a Buddhist political and religious movement that believed in a universal female divinity, the "Unborn Old Mother" who would gather all of her children towards the end of the millennium, into one large family. The group later reemerged in the late 18th century in the form of an inspired Chinese movement. Vast sums of money earmarked for the campaign against the rebels, however, were embezzled by the imperial favourite Heshen and his friends. Others began to openly call for the overthrow of the existing regime and replace it with a constitutional rule. The White Lotus led impoverished settlers into rebellion, promising personal salvation in return for their loyalty. //]]>. When the Manchu tribes of Manchuria (now Northeast China) conquered China some 500 years later in the 17th century and proclaimed the Qing dynasty, the White Lotus members dedicated themselves to the overthrow of the alien Manchu and to the return of the previous Ming dynasty (13681644). In 1794, a similar movement arose in the mountainous region that separated Sichuan province from Hubei and Shaanxi provinces in central China, initially as a tax protest. When they congregate and oppose the government, they are rebels; when they disperse and depart, they are civilians once more. The Qing dynasty promoted itself as a conquering force, ruling China for 268 years before collapsing in 19111912. When they congregate and oppose the government, they are rebels; when they disperse and depart, they are civilians once more. By 1387, after more than 30 years of war, their leader, Zhu Yuanzhang conquered the North China Plain and occupied the Yuan capital Khanbaliq (present-day Beijing). ." The White Lotus Rebellion was a rebellion initiated by followers of the White Lotus movement during the Qing dynasty of China. The group later reemerged in the late 18th century in the form of an inspired Chinese movement. Eventually, the rebellion was crushed by the Qing elites; but the White Lotus organization remained secret and intact, and advocated for the overthrow of the Qing dynasty. The White Lotus bands mainly used guerrilla tactics, and once they disbanded were virtually indistinguishable from the local population. White Lotus Rebellion, Chinese anti-Manchu uprising that occurred during the Ch'ing dynasty. By 1804 the area was again placed under imperial control by the local militia. The White Lotus Rebellion Another important rebellion launched by members of the White Lotus Society was the White Lotus Rebellion . In 1896, Yan Fu translated Herbert Spencer's treatises on social Darwinism. The White Lotus bands mainly used guerrilla tactics, and once they disbanded, they were virtually indistinguishable from the local population. Main article: White Lotus Rebellion Beginning in 1794, two decades after Wang Lun's failed uprising, a movement also arose in the mountainous region that separates Sichuan from Hubei and Shaanxi in central China as tax protests. - systematic program of pacification followed, Causes and effects of internal challenges; Wh, taiping (Taip'ing) rebellion: reasons for the, taping rebellionconsequences for Chinese soc, tongzhi restoration and self-strengthening mo, collectivisation (maintenance of power, stali, John Lund, Paul S. Vickery, P. Scott Corbett, Todd Pfannestiel, Volker Janssen, Eric Hinderaker, James A. Henretta, Rebecca Edwards, Robert O. Self. Eventually, the Qing armies and the peasants united, but they were unable to defeat the foreign powers. When the Manchu tribes of Manchuria (now Northeast China) conquered China some 500 years later in the 17th century and proclaimed the Qing dynasty, the White Lotus. It took nine years of warfare and great loss of life before the rebellion was put down. The dynasty had to resort to a strategy of removing all food supplies from the countryside and collecting the peasants into a series of armed stockades. ", Dai, Yingcong. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Members of the society were not ethnically different from Han Chinese, but subscribed to a belief based on a mixture of Taoism, Buddhism, and Manichaeism. The experience of suppressing the rebellion led to improvement in the organization and training of the militia, as many of their leaders wrote extensively on mobilization, enlistment and local defense methods. Kublai Khan Motivated by millenarian Buddhists who promised the immediate return of the Buddha, it erupted out of social and economic discontent in the impoverished provinces of Hubei, Shaanxi, and Sichuan (including modern Sichuan and Chongqing). Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. (February 22, 2023). Since the 1340s, the Mongol Yuan Dynasty was experiencing problems. The White Lotus Rebellion White Lotus (Pai-lien chiao) sectarianism appealed to Chinese, most notably to women and to the poor, who found solace in worship of the Eternal Mother who was to gather all her children at the millennium into one family. White Lotus Rebellion, (1796-1804), large-scale uprising in the mountainous regions of central China that contributed to the decline of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911/12). White Lotus Rebellion, Chinese anti-Manchu uprising that occurred during the Ch'ing dynasty. In 1774, one instance of a derivative sect, the Eight Trigrams arose in the form of underground meditation teachings and practice in Shandong province, not far from Beijing near the city of Linqing. The White Lotus is a syncretic religious and political movement which forecasts the imminent advent of the "King of Light" , i.e., the future Buddha Maitreya. Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). Dr. Kallie Szczepanski is a history teacher specializing in Asian history and culture. Grandmother. that can be demarcated by a territorial boundary and identified by its distinctive clothing and language. Unable to build up a support base, he was forced to quickly flee all three cities that he attacked in order to evade government troops. The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. . After both died in battle in 1796, the Qing government sent new officials, but none were successful. The White Lotus peasant rebellion broke out in 1795 (White Lotus was the name of a secret society that had first fought against the Mongols). Qing Dynasty, China's Last Imperial Family, The Boxer Rebellion in Editorial Cartoons, Biography of Sun Yat-sen, Chinese Revolutionary Leader, The Fall of the Ming Dynasty in China in 1644, Tibet and China: History of a Complex Relationship, The Complex Structure of Ethnic Conflict in the Frontier: Through the Debates Around the 'Jindandao Incident' in 1891, The Monarch and Inner/Outer Court Dualism in Late Imperial China, 'Revolution': Conceptualizing Political and Social Change in the Late Qing Dynasty, Moving to the Right Place at the Right Time: Economic Effects on Migrants of the Manchuria Plague of 191011, Size and Dynastic Decline: The Principal-Agent Problem in Late Imperial China, 17001850. White Lotus sectarianism appealed to other Chinese, most notably to women and to the poor, who found solace in worship of the Eternal Mother, who was to gather all her children at the millennium into one family. It took nine years of warfare and great loss. This signaled the beginning of the end for the Qing dynasty. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. A smaller precursor to the main rebellion broke out in 1774, under the leadership of the martial-arts and herbal-healing expert Wang Lun in Shandong province of northern China. The government had to depend on more Han Chinese recruits (Green Standard) since there were not enough Manchu. 11-07-2011 03:30:12 ZULU. Rather, it consisted of uncoordinated roving bands using hit-and-run guerrilla tactics. The young pretender, Wang Fa-sheng, was never any other than a puppet in the hands of the leaders. By 1387, after more than thirty years of war, their leader, Zhu Yuanzhang had liberated all of China. Another major contributing factor to the downfall of the Qing dynasty was European imperialism and China's gross miscalculation of the power and ruthlessness of the British crown. Other White Lotus spinoffs include the Eight Trigrams, the Tiger Whips, and the Yihequan (Boxers). The government had to depend on more Han Chinese recruits (Green Standard) since there were not enough Manchu. The White Lotus Society is traditionally considered to have first appeared during the 14th century under the Mongol -led Yuan dynasty. The nine-years long White Lotus war had devastated a large number of districts in Central China. The Cult of the White Lotus, a secret revolutionary society, has once again become popular among the common people. He did not distribute captured wealth or food supplies, nor did he promise to lessen the tax burden. White Lotus Rebellion, (17961804), large-scale uprising in the mountainous regions of central China that contributed to the decline of the Qing dynasty (16441911/12). [5] According to Ter Haar, it is clear that the "White Lotus" rebels of the uprisings that occurred between 1796 and 1804 did not voluntarily use the term "White Lotus" to refer to themselves or their movement. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps. By 1387, after more than 30 years of war, their leader, Zhu Yuanzhang conquered the North China Plain and occupied the Yuan capital Khanbaliq (present-day Beijing). Wang Lun likely failed because he did not make any attempts to raise wide public support. The Qing state banned the religion, and it, The White Lotus society (Bailianjiao) was a religious cult already in existence in the Nan (Southern) Song dynasty (11271279). It apparently began as a tax protest led by the White Lotus Society, a secret religious society that forecast the advent of the Buddha, advocated restoration of the native Chinese Ming dynasty, and promised personal salvation to its followers. BJ Ter Haar has argued that the term "White Lotus" was used primarily by Ming and Qing imperial bureaucrats to disparagingly explain a wide range of unconnected millenarian traditions, rebel movements, and popular religious practices. Completely unprepared for such an onslaught, the Qing dynasty lost, and Britain imposed unequal treaties and took control of the Hong Kong region, along with millions of pounds of silver to compensate the British for the lost opium. The White Lotus peasant rebellion broke out in 1795 (White Lotus was the name of a secret society that had first fought against the Mongols). According to Ter Haar, it is clear that the "White Lotus" rebels of the uprisings that occurred between 1796 and 1804 did not voluntarily use the term "White Lotus" to refer to themselves or their movement. This rebellion was less successful than that of the Red Turbans, and the Qing government succeeded in crushing this uprising. [11], The tide of the rebellion was turned by Qing leaders relying on the local gentry-raised private militias of Hunan, Hubei and Shaanxi. One Qing response was to suppress the word "revolution" by banning it from their world-history textbooks. The Red Turban Rebellion which took place in 1352, was led by the White Lotus group. [10], The Qing commanders who were sent to repress the rebellion had a difficult time putting down the White Lotus. Only after 1800 did the Qing government adopt new tactics that established local militias (tuan) to help surround and destroy the White Lotus. The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. . [6], The Qing commanders sent to repress the rebellion had a difficult time putting down the White Lotus. Approximately 7,000 Banner troops were sent in from Manchuria in combination with Green Standard Army soldiers from Guizhou and Yunnan as well as tens of thousands of local mercenaries.[6]. (present perfect, tell). in, Gaustad, Blaine C. "Prophets and pretenders: inter-sect competition in Qianlong China. The doctrine of the White Lotus includes an alleged forecast to the advent of the Buddha. In 1794, one instance of a derivative sect of the White Lotus, the Eight Trigrams arose in the form of underground meditation teachings and practice in Shandong province, not far from Beijing (Zhili) near the city of Linqing. It is only as historical sources look back upon these events do they began to summarize the various aspects of these uprisings as the "White Lotus rebellion."[7]. The White Lotus Rebellion 1796-1804 In the deeply forested border area between the provinces Hubei, Sichuan and Shaanxi, a lot of homeless "floating" people (liumin ) had gathered to escape the grip of landowners, creditors and tax collectors. The Emperor Qianlong (Ch'ien-lung) (reigned 173599) sent Helin, brother to the infamously corrupt eunuch Heshen and Fukangan, related by marriage to the Emperor, to quell the uprising. - the imperial authorities suppressed the White Lotus Rebellion in 1805 using a combination of military and social policies. Wang Lun likely failed because he did not make any attempts to raise wide public support. "Rebellion and Religious Identity: The Case of the White Lotus Uprising (17961804)", This page was last edited on 14 February 2023, at 03:10. //