Han Shantong ({{zh, t=韓山童, p=Hán Shāntóng; died 1351), born in
Luancheng,
Hebei
Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...
, was one of the early leaders of the
Red Turban Rebellions
The Red Turban Rebellions () were uprisings against the Yuan dynasty between 1351 and 1368, eventually leading to its collapse. Remnants of the Yuan imperial court retreated northwards and is thereafter known as the Northern Yuan in historiogr ...
. He claimed to be the descendant of
Emperor Huizong of Song
Emperor Huizong of Song (7 June 1082 – 4 June 1135), personal name Zhao Ji, was the eighth emperor of the Northern Song dynasty of China. He was also a very well-known calligrapher. Born as the 11th son of Emperor Shenzong, he ascended the ...
(1082–1135), the penultimate emperor of the
Northern Song dynasty
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a ra ...
, and rebelled against the
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
-led
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...
.
Background of the rise to popularity
The
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...
flood of 1344 caused heavy casualties, displacement, hunger, epidemics, and the crisis in
Dadu, the Yuan capital. The popular discontent with the ruling Yuan dynasty was triggered by the major construction project of the Yellow River rerouting 1351.
Rebellion leader's career
During the works, he claimed to have found a stone image with only one eye and a prophecy about the revolt inscribed on its back (''Caomuzi''). This was probably the reflection of some popular beliefs already widespread in Henan of the time. Han proclaimed the rebirth of
Maitreya Buddha
Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed at ...
and the near coming of the "King of Light" (天下大亂,彌勒下生,明王出世). Apparently, he used the title for himself (although there is no such historical record, after his death his son became known under the title "King of Light the Young", which provides the indirect evidence.)
Han Shantong found a staunch supporter in
Liu Futong
/ ( or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'kill', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the classic text ...
(劉福通). After the plot was discovered, Han was executed.
The son and legacy
Han's son,
Han Lin'er
Han may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group.
** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
(韓林兒) became the symbol of the following rebellion, of which Liu Futong became the leading general.
Zhu Yuanzhang
The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398.
As famine, plagues and peasant revolts in ...
, the future founder of the Ming dynasty, was Han Lin'er's subordinate as late as 1363. Though Han and Liu's military power declined after 1359, Lin'er was probably seen as a legitimate future emperor. However, in 1366 or 1367, he accidentally drowned in a pond, not having achieved the rulership. There is suspicion that the drowning was staged by Zhu Yuanzhang's agents; by this time Zhu Yuanzhang was already approaching the victory in his struggle for the
Mandate of Heaven
The Mandate of Heaven () is a Chinese political philosophy that was used in ancient and imperial China to legitimize the rule of the King or Emperor of China. According to this doctrine, heaven (天, ''Tian'') – which embodies the natural ...
(The story was reminiscent of
Xiang Yu
Xiang Yu (, –202 BC), born Xiang Ji (), was the Hegemon-King (Chinese: 霸王, ''Bà Wáng'') of Western Chu during the Chu–Han Contention period (206–202 BC) of China. A noble of the Chu state, Xiang Yu rebelled against the Qin dynas ...
and the puppet
Emperor Yi of Chu
Emperor Yi of Chu (died 206 BC), also known as King Huai II of Chu before receiving his ''de jure'' emperor title, personal name Xiong Xin, was the ruler of the Chu state in the late Qin dynasty. He was a grandson of King Huai of Chu. In 223 B ...
).
Historical sources on the power transition predating foundation of the
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
were destroyed or heavily censored in order to hide the base origin of the founding emperor and his relation to the rebels. For this reason information on Han Shantong and other rebel leaders is very scarce.
The single extant historical reference to Han Shantong's grandfather being a member of a "
White Lotus
The White Lotus () is a syncretic religious and political movement which forecasts the imminent advent of the "King of Light" (), i.e., the future Buddha Maitreya. As White Lotus sects developed, they appealed to many Han Chinese who found solac ...
gathering" developed into a stereotype that his teaching belonged to some clandestine tradition of long standing. This view is refuted by Ter Haar's research
[The White Lotus, p.123]
See also
*
Xu Shouhui
Xu Shouhui () (1320–1360) was a 14th-century Chinese rebel leader who proclaimed himself emperor of the Tianwan dynasty (天完) during the late Yuan dynasty period of China. He was also known as Xu Zhenyi (徐真一 or 徐真逸, romanized i ...
*
Chen Youliang
Chen Youliang (陳友諒; 1320 – 3 October 1363For those cross-referencing the Mingshi, in the old Chinese calendar 至正二十三年 refers to the year 1363 CE, 七月二十日 refers to 8月29日 or 29 August, and 八月二十六日 re ...
Sources
*Barend J. ter Haar, The White Lotus Teachings in Chinese Religious History
References
Red Turban rebels
Yuan dynasty people
1351 deaths