Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The White Lotus Rebellion was initiated as an antitax protest led by the White Lotus Society, a secret religious society. The crippled Qing dynasty clung to power for another decade, behind the walls of the Forbidden City, but the Wuchang Uprising of 1911 put the final nail in the coffin when 18 provinces voted to secede from the Qing dynasty. 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. What anecdote, or short personal story, does Didion tell at the beginning of the essay "Georgia O'Keeffe"? The rules of Emperor Kangxi from 1661 to 1772 and Emperor Qianlong from 1735 to 1796 were still considered the golden age of prosperity. [10], The Qing commanders who were sent to repress the rebellion had a difficult time putting down the White Lotus. Buddhist sects, such as the White Lotus sect, a group that attracted many followers among the Chinese lower classes. The government had to depend on more Han Chinese recruits (Green Standard) since there were not enough Manchu. During the Qing dynasty, inventions continued to emerge despite the turbulent uprisings and conflicts such as the White Lotus Rebellion, the First Opium War, and the Taiping Rebellion. 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. In particular, the court marked itself off from its subjects in certain religious, linguistic, ritual, and social characteristics, always presenting themselves as outside conquerors. After the strnggle had lasted six years, Lin Chi-hich was captunredd. The White Lotus rebellion began when large groups of Chinese rioted in 1794. 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. Strong rebel leaders began to have major impacts on the ability of the Qing to rule. The White Lotus Rebellion was put down in 1805 as a combination of military and social policies. 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. "Reluctant guerrillas in early nineteenth century China: the White Lotus insurgents and their suppressors. (present perfect, tell). Only after 1800 did the Qing government adopt new tactics that established local militias (tuan) to help surround and destroy the White Lotus. Matt, I think religion played an important rule in peasants' rebellion in ancient China. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Since the 1340s, the Mongol Yuan Dynasty was experiencing problems. In 2014, with the publication of White Lotus Rebels and South China Pirates: Crisis and Reform in the Qing Empire (2014), Wensheng Wang challenged the perception of the Jiaqing reign (1796-1802) as a "dead middle hiatus" between its past and present by arguing that the emperor successfully carried out policy reforms that readjusted the priorities of governance and enabled the dynasty to . [8] The leader, herbalist and martial artist Wang Lun, led an uprising that captured three small cities and laid siege to the larger city of Linqing, a strategic location on the north-south Grand Canal transportation route. The Qing had forbidden agriculture in the northern regions, which were left to the Mongol pastoralists, but the introduction of new world crops such as potato and maize opened the northern region plains farming. The White Lotus continued to be active, and it might have influenced the next major domestic rebellion, the Eight Trigrams Uprising of 1813. 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). Where this rebellion took place and the Qing Empires reaction: //]]>. XIX Century Civil Wars. The White Lotus Rebellion was initiated as an antitax protest led by the White Lotus Society, a secret religious society. There the foreign powers essentially controlled trade and the military, although technically they remained part of Qing China. In the period after about 1680 the introduction of corn (maize) and sweet potatoes, followed in the 18th century by the introduction of the Irish potato, made upland farming possible. 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. 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. This is a list of major rebellions that have occurred in China from 209 BCE to present times. [6], A systematic program of pacification followed in which the populace was resettled in hundreds of stockaded villages and organized into militia. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. 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 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. 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. ." Sun Yat-Sen emerged as China's first "professional" revolutionary, having gained an international reputation by being abducted by Qing agents in the Chinese Embassy in London in 1896. 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 . Kublai Khan (1215-1294) was the greatest of the Mongol emperors after Genghis Khan and founder of the Yan dynasty in China., Tibet 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. }, Page last modified: The White Lotus Rebellion was a rebellion initiated by followers of the White Lotus movement during the Qing dynasty of China. The White Lotus War (1796-1804) in central China marked the end of the Qing dynasty's golden age and the fatal weakening of the imperial system itself. Other White Lotus spinoffs include the Eight Trigrams, the Tiger Whips, and the Yihequan (Boxers). 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. Without a clear enemy to fight against, brutality against civilians became more common. This took place during the Qing Dynasty, and lasted from 1796 to 1804. Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps. White Lotus Rebellion, Chinese anti-Manchu uprising that occurred during the Ch'ing dynasty. Led by Lin Qing (; 1770-1813) and Li Wencheng, the revolt occurred in the Zhili, Shandong, and Henan provinces of China. This signaled the beginning of the end for the Qing dynasty. 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. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 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. [citation needed]. He simply and quietly disappeared. In 1896, Yan Fu translated Herbert Spencer's treatises on social Darwinism. however it was indirectly responsible because it was the catalyst for the other rebellions that occurred in the future. [citation needed], For the 14th-century rebellion also related to the White Lotus, see, Last edited on 14 February 2023, at 03:10, "Civilians Go into Battle: Hired Militias in the White Lotus War, 17961805", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White_Lotus_Rebellion&oldid=1139241640, Dai, Yingcong. The Fall of China's Qing Dynasty in 19111912. A second major contributor was internal turmoil, expressed in a series of devastating rebellions beginning in 1794 with the White Lotus rebellion, and ending with the Boxer Rebellion of 18991901 and Wuchang Uprising of 19111912. An independent military force, the militia proved difficult to disband, and frequently it turned against the dynasty in the early 20th century. ", Dai, Yingcong. A systematic program of pacification followed in which the populace was resettled in hundreds of stockaded villages and organized into militia. 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. The Tipng Rebellion (1850-1864), a large-scale uprising that started in southern China, marched within miles of the capital in 1853. The White Lotus bands mainly used guerrilla tactics, and once they disbanded were virtually indistinguishable from the local population. 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. Szczepanski, Kallie. 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. Social uprisings against the Qing began with the White Lotus uprising in 17961820. 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. 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. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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 Read More Yuan dynasty In China: Foreign religions This rebellion grew rapidly under Lin Chi-hieh and other leaders, oue of whom was a woman surnamed Wang, until there were a hundred thousand rebels in arms, who fought with varying fortune against an at least equal number of imperialist solidiers. The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. . ." In its last stage, the Qing suppression policy combined the pursuit and extermination of rebel guerrilla bands with a program of amnesty for deserters. Having attained the Mandate of Heaven and the status of Emperor, he took the title Hongwu and founded a new dynasty - the Ming. [6] "Tianlijiao ", in. - 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. International imperialism brought the Opium Wars (1840-42 and 1856-60), Sino-French War (1884-85), Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) and Boxer War (1898-1900). He did not distribute captured wealth or food supplies, nor did he promise to lessen the tax burden. The nine-years long White Lotus war had devastated a large number of districts in Central China. from Hubei and Shaanxi provs. 12 talking about this. 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. 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. Only after 1800 did the Qing government adopt new tactics that established local militias (tuan) to help surround and destroy the White Lotus. With its weaknesses exposed, China began to lose power over its peripheral regions. 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). Althongh there were several risings against the Manchu dynasty during the first four reigns, the White Lotus Society kept quiet until about 1761, when the Emperor Kien-lung issued an edict against it and the Ming Tsuen or Illustrious Worthies and the Pah Yun or White Cloud sects. Sun Yat-Sen was elected the first president of China, and the Republican era of China had begun. One such official was Huang Yupian (), who refuted the ideas which were found in the scriptures which expressed orthodox Confucian and Buddhist views in A Detailed Refutation of Heresy ( Pxi Xingbin), which was written in 1838. from Hubei and Shaanxi provs. The government had to depend on more Han Chinese recruits (Green Standard) since there were not enough Manchu. The Qing dynasty promoted itself as a conquering force, ruling China for 268 years before collapsing in 19111912. After both died in battle in 1796, the Qing government sent new officials, but none were successful. A decree by the Daoguang Emperor admitted, "it was extortion by local officials that goaded the people into rebellion" By threatening the arrest of people who engaged in sectarian activities, local officials and police extorted money from people. 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. [11], The tide of the rebellion was turned by Qing leaders relying on the local gentry-raised private militias of Hunan, Hubei and Shaanxi. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/fall-of-the-qing-dynasty-195608. 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. In 1805, the imperial authorities suppressed the White Lotus Rebellion by instituting a combination of military and social policies. By 1804 the area was again placed under imperial control by the local militia. When the White Lotus Rebellion (1796-1804) occurred, the dynasty was forced to turn to peasant soldiers to suppress the rebels in central and southern China, since the regular army lacked the necessary strength and morale. When the last Chinese dynastythe Qing dynastyfell in 19111912, it marked the end of the nation's incredibly long imperial history. Actual participation in sect activities had no impact on an arrest; whether or not monetary demands were met, however, did. Japan stripped away Taiwan, took effective control of Korea (formerly a Chinese tributary) following the First Sino-Japanese War of 189596, and also imposed unequal trade demands in the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki. Nothing is known of his end. Retrieved February 22, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/white-lotus-rebellion. The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. . The White Lotus society (Bailianjiao) was a religious cult already in existence in the Nan (Southern) Song dynasty (11271279). 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. 11-07-2011 03:30:12 ZULU. The White Lotus Rebellion was put down in 1805 as a combination of military and social policies. The end of the White Lotus Rebellion in 1804 also brought an end to the myth of military invincibility of the Manchu, perhaps contributing to the greater frequency of rebellions in the 19th century. 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 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). Alternate titles: Bailianjiao, Pai-lien chiao, San Jos State University - The White Lotus Religion in China. "White Lotus Rebellion [4], 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. Szczepanski, Kallie. . 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. . Issues and Trends in China's Demographic History. 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). The Red Turban Rebellion which took place in 1352, was led by the White Lotus group. At the . ThoughtCo. The White Lotus led impoverished settlers into rebellion, promising personal salvation in return for their loyalty. The British under Queen Victoria were a huge market for Chinese teas, but the Qing refused to engage in trade negotiations, rather demanding that Britain pay for the tea in gold and silver. Imperial Mistakes [8] The leader, herbalist and martial artist Wang Lun, led an uprising that captured three small cities and laid siege to the larger city of Linqing, a strategic location on the north-south Grand Canal transportation route. The Rebellion is estimated to have caused the deaths of some 100,000 rebels.[1][2]. 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. Only after 1800 did Beijing adopt new tactics that established local militias (tuan) to help surround and destroy the White Lotus. The rebellion began in 1794, when large groups of rebels claiming White . 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 grew in number and power and eventually, into a serious concern for the government. In the stockades they were organized into local militia defense corps. [12] 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. The feared Manchu banners, since their conquests of the early 1700s, showed they were no longer a military force of much value, and the emperor had to recruit a new army made up of Chinese militia. 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. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. When they congregate and oppose the government, they are rebels; when they disperse and depart, they are civilians once more. 5 recommendations for White Lotus Dental from neighbors in Frisco, TX. Snow Lotus | Frisco TX 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). By 1387, after more than thirty years of war, their leader, Zhu Yuanzhang had liberated all of China. It broke out (1796) among impoverished settlers in the mountainous region that separates Sichuan prov. Updates? The Qing commanders who were sent to repress the rebellion had a difficult time putting down the White Lotus. Then a turn of fortune and successive victories of the imperialists would almost annihilate their armies and crush all their hopes. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. The White Lotus Society is traditionally considered to have first appeared during the 14th century under the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The rebels are all our own subjects. He did not distribute captured wealth or food supplies, nor did he promise to lessen the tax burden. [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. 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! It broke out (1796) among impoverished settlers in the mountainous region that separates Sichuan prov. 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.