White Lotus Rebellion

The White Lotus Rebellion (Chinese: 川楚白莲教起义; pinyin: Chuān chŭ bái lián jiào qǐ yì, 1796–1804) was a rebellion that occurred during the Qing Dynasty of China. It broke out in 1796 among impoverished settlers in the mountainous region that separates Sichuan province from Hubei and Shaanxi provinces. It apparently began as a tax protest led by the White Lotus Society, a secret religious society that forecast the advent of Maitreya, advocated restoration of the native Chinese Ming Dynasty, and promised personal salvation to its followers.

At first the Qing administration, under the control of Heshen, sent inadequate and inefficient imperial forces to suppress the ill-organized rebels. On assuming effective power in 1799, however, the Jiaqing Emperor (reigned 1796–1820) overthrew the Heshen clique and gave support to the efforts of the more vigorous Manchu commanders as a way of restoring discipline and morale. A systematic program of pacification followed in which the populace was resettled in hundreds of stockaded villages and organized into militia. In its last stage, the Qing suppression policy combined pursuit and extermination of rebel guerrilla bands with a program of amnesty for deserters. 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 caused the deaths of some 16 million people.

Leaders

• Early: Qi Lin (Chinese: 齊林; pinyin: Qí Lín)
• Early: Qi Wangshi (Chinese: 齊王氏; pinyin: Qí Wángshì), Wang Cong'er (Chinese: 王聰兒; pinyin: Wáng Cōng'ér)
• Middle: Xue Tiande (Chinese: 徐天德; pinyin: Xú Tiāndé)
• Late: Ran Tianyuan (Chinese: 冉天原; pinyin: Rǎn Tiānyuán)

Zeng Guofan study

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.

Sources

• http://www.bartleby.com/65/wh/WhiteLot.html