The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. . https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/white-lotus-rebellion, "White Lotus Rebellion Having attained the Mandate of Heaven and the status of Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang named his period of reign "Hongwu" (thus he was known as the Hongwu Emperor) and founded a new dynasty the Ming dynasty. After both died in battle in 1796, the Qing government sent new officials, but none were successful. The rebels are all our own subjects. 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. [11], The tide of the rebellion was turned by Qing leaders relying on the local gentry-raised private militias of Hunan, Hubei and Shaanxi. The group later reemerged in the late 18th century in the form of an inspired Chinese movement. [6] The group forecast the advent of Maitreya, advocated restoration of the native Chinese Ming Dynasty, and promised personal salvation to its followers while promising the return of the Buddha.[7]. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. In response, the Qing Empress Dowager Cixi clamped down hard on reformers. White Lotus Rebellion, Chinese anti-Manchu uprising that occurred during the Ch'ing dynasty. The rebellion was ended by the deaths of some 100,000 rebels. Chien-lung "Issues and Trends in China's Demographic History." //. The elites' self-proclaimed position as outsiders contributed to their eventual demise. In its last stage, the Ch'ing suppression policy combined pursuit and extermination of rebel guerrilla bands with a program of amnesty for deserters. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/White-Lotus-Rebellion, Ancient Origins - The White Lotus Society and the Demise of Mongol Rule in China, GlobalSecurity.org - White Lotus Rebellion 1796-1804. After 48 years, official Zeng Guofan studied and was inspired by the dynasty's methods during the White Lotus Rebellion while considering ways to defeat the Taiping movement. The Qing believed that the way to avoid the errors of the White Lotus rebellion was to clamp down on foreign influence. [citation needed]. The Qing commanders who were sent to repress the rebellion had a difficult time putting down the White Lotus. The rebellion began in 1794, when large groups of rebels claiming White Lotus affiliations rose up within the mountainous region that separated Sichuan province from Hubei and Shaanxi provinces. - rebellion began in 1794; rebellion initiated by followers of the White Lotus movement during the Qing dynasty of China, - the ill-organized rebels managed to defeat the inadequate and inefficient Qing imperial forces, - was initiated as a tax protest led by the White Lotus Society, a secret religious society. This rebellion was less successful than that of the Red Turbans, and the Qing government succeeded in crushing this uprising. The White Lotus bands mainly used guerrilla tactics, and once they disbanded were virtually indistinguishable from the local population. [9], A systematic program of pacification followed: the populace was resettled in hundreds of stockaded villages and organized into militias. 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). The rebellion was started by some elements of the millenarian Tianli Sect () or Heavenly Principle Sect, which was a branch of the White Lotus Sect. Although the rebellion was finally crushed by the Qing government in 1804, it marked a turning point in the history of the Qing dynasty. The White Lotus society (Bailianjiao) was a religious cult already in existence in the Nan (Southern) Song dynasty (1127-1279). Although the rebellion was finally crushed by the Qing government after eight years of fighting, it marked a sharp decline in the strength and prosperity of the Qing dynasty. The French Revolution was now the French "rebellion" or "chaos," but in fact, the existence of leased territories and foreign concessions provided plenty of fuel and varying degrees of safety for radical opponents. He declared that to prevent the capture of the young prince when a child, he had fled with him and concealed him beyond the borders of China. The White Lotus Rebellion (Chinese: ; pinyin: Chun ch bi lin jio q y, 17941804) was a rebellion initiated by followers of the White Lotus movement during the Qing dynasty of China. The White Lotus Society is traditionally considered to have first appeared during the Jin dynasty founded by Huiyuan in Mountain Lu, Jiujiang. 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 rebellion was ended by the deaths of some 100,000 rebels. Snow Lotus is your One stop shop for exclusive Antique Silver Artifacts & Authentic Silver in Dallas. _____ us amazing stories about her youth in Hong Kong. Omissions? 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 first Chinese immigrant to the United Sta, boxer Alissa, Clarissa, kisser, Larissa, Marisa, Melissa, Orissa, reminiscer fixer, mixer, sixer convincer, mincer, pincer, rinser, wincer Amrits, White Lafitte Jos (Silvestre de los Dolores), White House Correspondents' Association Dinner 2006 Speech, White Hot: The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd, White Nights (Belye Nochi) by Fedor Dostoevskii, 1848, https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/white-lotus-rebellion. The ethnic Manchu rulers of China's Qing dynasty reigned over the Middle Kingdom beginning in 1644 CE, when they defeated the last of the Ming, up until 1912. A systematic program of pacification followed in which the populace was resettled in hundreds of stockaded villages and organized into militia. In the late 18th century, in response to famine, crowded conditions, and harassment from petty government officials, White Lotus leaders in central China began a rebellion; they promised their followers that there would be the return of the Buddha and the end of suffering. 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.[9]. Only after 1800 did Beijing adopt new tactics that established local militias (tuan) to help surround and destroy the White Lotus. @media only screen and (min-device-width : 320px) and (max-device-width : 480px) { Surprisingly, the ill-organized rebels managed to defeat the inadequate and inefficient Qing imperial forces. Qing rule gradually collapsed during the second half of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th, due to a complicated interplay between internal and external factors. The rebellion soon grew in numbers and power, and eventually became a serious concern for the oppressive Amarr empire . Barend Joannes 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. ", Dai, Yingcong. Wang Lun likely failed because he did not make any attempts to raise wide public support. What anecdote, or short personal story, does Didion tell at the beginning of the essay "Georgia O'Keeffe"? During much of that time, China was the single, undisputed superpower in East Asia, with neighboring lands such as Korea, Vietnam, and an often-reluctant Japan trailing in its cultural wake. 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. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. Write in the blank the verb and tense indicated in parentheses. He did not distribute captured wealth or food supplies, nor did he promise to lessen the tax burden. But as oue leader fell or was captured, another replaced him, and as the rebellion was extinguished in one place, it blazed out in another. The White Lotus Society is traditionally considered to have first appeared during the Jin dynasty founded by Huiyuan in Mountain Lu, Jiujiang. 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. 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). There the foreign powers essentially controlled trade and the military, although technically they remained part of Qing China. The government had to depend on more Han Chinese recruits (Green Standard) since there were not enough Manchu. If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari, For the 14th-century rebellion also related to the White Lotus, see, Conscientious objection to military taxation, List of historical acts of tax resistance, National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, The Cold War and the Income Tax: A Protest, Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty, Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Convention Between Great Britain and China Respecting Tibet, Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory, Banknotes of the Ta-Ching Government Bank, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. 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. She has taught at the high school and university levels in the U.S. and South Korea. Omissions? Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Ordinary Han Chinese felt little loyalty to the Qing rulers, who still presented themselves as conquering Manchus from the north. We are committed to providing our patients care in the same warm, caring, and professional manner we would extend to members of our own family. ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/fall-of-the-qing-dynasty-195608. Rather than following the path of Japan's Meiji Restoration and modernizing the country, Cixi purged her court of modernizers. 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. A White Lotus rebellion known as the Red Turban Uprising helped Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming dynasty, capture Beijing, but he turned against the group once he had achieved imperial power. Imperial Mistakes Contents 1 Daze Village Uprising 2 Rebellion of the Seven States 3 Llin 4 Chimei 5 Yellow Turban Rebellion 6 Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion 7 An Shi Rebellion 8 Red Turban Rebellion 9 Li Zicheng's Rebellion 10 Revolt of the Three Feudatories [6] As one Qing official complained: The rebels are all our own subjects. #ga-ad {display: none;} 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 Fall of China's Qing Dynasty in 19111912." The Fall of China's Qing Dynasty in 19111912. Though many movements and rebellions were considered by imperial bureaucrats to have been led by White Lotus Society leaders, there is reason to doubt that the White Lotus Society had any organizational unity. The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. . Update now. 3: China and Her National Minorities; Han. 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). As a result of such technological improvements, the Chinese population exploded, increasing from just shy of 178 million in 1749 to almost 359 million in 1811; and by 1851, the population in Qing dynasty China was close to 432 million people. At first, farmers in regions adjacent to Mongolia worked for the Mongols, but eventually, the people in the overcrowded Hubei and Hunan provinces flowed out and into the region. Though he passed through an area inhabited by almost a million peasants, his army never measured more than four thousand soldiers, many of whom had been forced into service. Find your perfect car with Edmunds expert reviews, car comparisons, and pricing tools. . Although the rebellion was finally crushed by the Qing government after eight years of fighting, it marked a sharp decline in the strength and prosperity of the Qing dynasty. Since then, this book has become an invaluable source because it has enabled scholars to understand the beliefs of these groups. When they congregate and oppose the government, they are rebels; when they disperse and depart, they are civilians once more. 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). The White Lotus Rebellion was initiated as an antitax protest led by the White Lotus Society, a secret religious society. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 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 . Nevertheless, where can you catch hints that the -angel longs for his former state? 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. "Tianlijiao ", in. Wang Lun likely failed because he did not make any attempts to raise wide public support. The Tipng Rebellion (1850-1864), a large-scale uprising that started in southern China, marched within miles of the capital in 1853. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The Qings were from Manchuria, and they established their dynasty as a conquering force of the Ming dynasty by non-Chinese outsiders, maintaining that identity and organization throughout their 268-year reign. Since then, this book has become an invaluable source because it has enabled scholars to understand the beliefs of these groups. A similar movement arose in the mountainous region that separates Sichuan province from Hubei and Shaanxi provinces in central China as tax protests. Updates? You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. 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. Civil conflicts including the White Lotus Rebellion (1774-1805), Xinjiang wars (1820s and 1860s) and Taiping Civil War (1850-64) broke out across Qing China. Administrators also seized and destroyed sectarian scriptures which were used by the religious groups. How did the Rebellion impact Qing society? 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). Only after 1800 did the Qing government adopt new tactics that established local militias (tuan) to help surround and destroy the White Lotus. In the closing years of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, they organized resistance to the foreign overlords, and now they are doing so again, but against the reigning Ming Dynasty! The White Lotus Rebellion was a rebellion initiated by followers of the White Lotus movement during the Qing dynasty of China. He simply and quietly disappeared. [9], Throughout the 1820s and 1830s, the area of the boundary between Henan and Anhui was perpetually plagued by White Lotus revolts, the White Lotus rebels were frequently in league with the area's brigands and salt smugglers. [6], The Qing commanders sent to repress the rebellion had a difficult time putting down the White Lotus. "The Fall of China's Qing Dynasty in 19111912." The White Lotus rebellion began when large groups of Chinese rioted in 1794. . On assuming effective power in 1799, however, Emperor Chia Ch'ing (reigned 17961820) overthrew the Ho-shen clique and gave support to the efforts of the more vigorous Manchu commanders as a way of restoring discipline and morale. In 1896, Yan Fu translated Herbert Spencer's treatises on social Darwinism. Wang Lun likely failed because he did not make any attempts to raise wide public support. "White Lotus Rebellion from Hubei and Shaanxi provs. The young pretender, Wang Fa-sheng, was never any other than a puppet in the hands of the leaders. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. At the . 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). - marked a turning point in the history of the Qing dynasty. The end of the White Lotus Rebellion in 1804 also brought an end to the myth of the military invincibility of the Manchus, contributing to the increasing frequency of rebellions in the 19th century. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. This page was last updated at 2022-12-21 05:40 UTC. ", McCaffrey, Cecily. The White Lotus Rebellion Another important rebellion launched by members of the White Lotus Society was the White Lotus Rebellion . XIX Century Civil Wars. These militia groups were later instrumental in defeating the Taiping rebellion. Within China, dissent grew, and the empire began to crumble from within. Actual participation in sect activities had no impact on an arrest; whether or not monetary demands were met, however, did. Many partisans joined and the society grew rapidly until 1794, when it broke out into the rebellion that subsequently spread over Hupeh and Western China under Liu Cbi-hieh and cast a gloom over the close of the long and brilliant reign of Kien-lung. This book has since become an invaluable source in understanding the beliefs of these groups. Since the 1340s, the Mongol Yuan Dynasty was experiencing problems. [6] The term was only used by the millenarian rebels under intense pressure during government interrogations. It broke out in 1794, and was at full height in 1796, among impoverished settlers in the mountainous region that separates Sichuan province from Hubei and Shaanxi provinces. What started as a local rebellion grew into a serious political crisis, as the central government was no longer able to operate its military machine. Dr. Kallie Szczepanski is a history teacher specializing in Asian history and culture. Without a clear enemy to fight against, brutality against civilians became more common. The White Lotus continued to be active, and it might have influenced the next major domestic rebellion, the Eight Trigrams Uprising of 1813. 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 government had to depend on more Han Chinese recruits (Green Standard) since there were not enough Manchu. Then a turn of fortune and successive victories of the imperialists would almost annihilate their armies and crush all their hopes. The Cult of the White Lotus, a secret revolutionary society, has once again become popular among the common people. . Here, the White Lotus led impoverished settlers into rebellion, promising personal salvation in return for their loyalty. Throughout the 1820s and 1830s, the area of the boundary between Henan and Anhui was perpetually plagued by White Lotus revolts, the White Lotus rebels were frequently in league with the area's brigands and salt smugglers. Tibet has been an independent country throughout the historical period and since time immemorial according to Tibetans' own myth-based sense of, Xinjiang (shnjyng) or Sinkiang (shnjyng, snkyng) [Chinese,=new frontier], officially Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Mandarin Xinjiang U, For more information on Chinese history and culture, seeVol. 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. In the stockades they were organized into local militia defense corps. "Rebellion and Religious Identity: The Case of the White Lotus Uprising (17961804)", This page was last edited on 14 February 2023, at 03:10. Although the Manchu finally crushed (1804) the rebellion, the myth of the military invincibility of the Manchu was shattered, perhaps contributing to the greater frequency of rebellions in the 19th cent. "Civilians Go into Battle: Hired Militias in the White Lotus War, 1796-1805. . Under the Ming and the Qing, the movement existed in small, secret congregations and its doctrines were spread through baojuan ("precious volumes . The rebellion was ended by the deaths of some 100,000 rebels. Issues and Trends in China's Demographic History. 5 recommendations for White Lotus Dental from neighbors in Frisco, TX. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. However, the date of retrieval is often important. [13], Forty-eight years later, Zeng Guofan, leader of Hunan-based Xiang Army studied the Qing government's methods during the White Lotus Rebellion and he was inspired by them while he was considering ways to suppress the Taiping Rebellion.