White Lotus Rebellion

The White Lotus Rebellion (Chinese: ; pinyin: , 1796–1804) was a rebellion initiated by followers of the White Lotus movement during the Qing dynasty of China. 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. 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.

Although the rebellion was finally crushed by the Qing government in 1804, it marked a turning point in the history of the Qing dynasty. Qing control weakened and prosperity diminished by the 19th century. The rebellion is estimated to have caused the deaths of some 100,000 rebels.

The White Lotus Rebellion was initiated as a tax protest led by the White Lotus Society, a secret religious society. The White Lotus Society is traditionally considered to have first appeared during the 14th century under the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Red Turban Rebellion which took place in 1352, was led by the White Lotus group. 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). 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. The group later reemerged in the late 18th century in the form of an inspired Chinese movement.

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