The Red Turban Rebellion (Chinese: 紅巾之亂) was an uprising by the White Lotus Chinese that targeted the ruling Yuan Dynasty. 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. ... The Yuan Dynasty (Chinese: ; pinyin: Yuáncháo; Mongolian: Dai Ön Yeke Mongghul Ulus), lasting officially from 1271 to 1368, followed the Song Dynasty and preceded the Ming Dynasty in the historiography of China. ...

Causes

In 1333, the Mongol Yuan Dynasty was experiencing problems. The Yellow River flooded constantly, and other natural disasters also occurred. At the same time, the Yuan Dynasty required considerable military expenditure to maintain its vast empire. This was solved mostly through additional taxation, in which the Han Chinese felt themselves oppressed, as they constituted the lowest two groups in the four groups of the social structure under the Yuan Dynasty.^[1] Events End of the Kamakura period and beginning of the Kemmu restoration in Japan. ... The Yellow River (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin:  ; Wade-Giles: Hwang-ho, sometimes simply called the River in ancient Chinese) is the second longest river in China (after Yangtze River) and the fifth in the world. ... Han Chinese (Simplified Chinese: 汉族; Traditional Chinese: 漢族; Pinyin: hànzú) is a term which refers to the majority ethnic group within China and the largest single human ethnic group in the world. ...

The Red Turban Army

The Red Turban Army was originally started by the followers of White Lotus and Manichaeism to resist the Mongols. The name "Red Turban" was used because of their tradition of using red banners and wearing red turbans to distinguish themselves. Manichean priests, writing at their desk, with panel inscription in Sogdian. ...

These rebellions began on a sporadic basis, firstly on the coast of Zhejiang, when Fang Guozhen (a Han) and his men assaulted a group of Yuan officials. After that, the White Lotus society led by Han Shantong in the north of the Yellow River became the centre of anti-Mongol sentiment. Zhejiang (also spelled Chehkiang or Chekiang) is an eastern coastal province of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

In 1351, the society plotted an armed rebellion, but the plan was disclosed and Han Shantong was arrested and executed by the Yuan Government. After his death, Liu Futong, a prominent member of the White Lotus, assisted Han's son, Han Liner, to succeed his father and establish the Red Turban Army. After that, several other Han rebels in the south of the Yangtze River revolted under the name of the Southern Red Turbans. Among the key leaders of the Southern Red Turbans were Xu Shouhui and Chen Youliang. Events End of the reign of Emperor Suko of Japan, third of the Northern Ashikaga Pretenders Start of the reign of Emperor Go-Kogon of Japan, fourth of the Northern Ashikaga Pretenders May 1 Zürich joins the Swiss Confederation. ... Afternoon light on the jagged grey mountains rising from the Yangtze River gorge The Yangtze River or Chang Jiang (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Cháng Jiāng)   is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in... Xú Shòuhuī (徐壽輝, in Wade-Giles Hsü Shou-hui, ? - 1360) was a rebel leader in late the Yuan Dynasty in China and proclaimed himself emperor. ... Chén YÇ’uliàng (陳友諒, in Wade-Giles Chen Yu-liang) (1320 - August 23, 1363) was the founder of the rebel Dahan (大漢 Great Han) regime in late Yuan Dynasty in China. ...

Conclusion

Main article: Hongwu Emperor

One of the more significant Red Turban leaders was Zhu Yuanzhang. At first, he followed Guo Zixing, and in fact later married Guo's daughter. After Guo's death, Zhu was seen as the leader of the rebellion and took over Guo's army. The Hongwu Emperor (September 21, 1328 – June 24, 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, was the founder and first emperor (1368–98) of the Míng Dynasty of China. ...

Between 1356 and 1367, Zhu began a series of campaigns seeking to defeat his opponents in the Red Turbans. At first, he nominally supported Han Liner to stablize his northern frontier. Then he defeated his rivals Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng and Fang Guozhen one by one. After rising to dominance, he drowned Han Liner. Calling for a racial revolution to overthrow the Mongols and restore the Han Chinese, Zhu gained popular support. Events January 20 - Edward Balliol surrenders title as King of Scotland to Edward III of England April 16 — the King of the Serbian Kingdom of Raška Stefan Dušan is proclaimed Tsar (Emperor) of all Serbs, Arbanasses and Greeks in Skopje by the Serbian Orthodox Christian Patriarch of a... Events Battle of Najera, Peter I of Castile restored as King. ...

In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor in Yintian, historically known as the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The next year, the Ming Army captured Dadu, and the rule of Yuan Dynasty was officially over. China was unified again. Events Timur ascends throne of Samarkand. ...   (Chinese: 南京; Romanizations: NánjÄ«ng (Pinyin), Nan-ching (Wade-Giles), Nanking (Postal map spelling)) is the capital of Chinas Jiangsu Province and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history and culture. ... The Hongwu Emperor (September 21, 1328 – June 24, 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, was the founder and first emperor (1368–98) of the Míng Dynasty of China. ... For other uses, see Ming. ... Beijing [English Pronunciation] (Chinese: 北京 [Chinese Pronunciation]; Pinyin: BÄ›ijÄ«ng; IPA: ), a city in northern China, is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ...

Footnotes