The Spirit Soldier rebellion of 1959 was an
anti-Communist peasant uprising at Sizhuang County,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
. One of several rebellions which occurred in Henan due to the catastrophic
Great Leap Forward implemented by the Chinese government, it lasted for twenty days in February 1959 and was one of the largest rural rebellions in China during the 1950s.
Background
Central China
Central China () is a geographical and a loosely defined cultural region that includes the provinces of Henan, Hubei and Hunan. Jiangxi is sometimes also regarded to be part of this region. Central China is now officially part of South Centra ...
has a long history of both peasant uprisings as well as secret societies. In the 1920s and 1930s uprisings took place in
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...
,
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
, and
Guizhou
Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to the ...
, during which peasant rebels organized as part of a large, decentralized Spirit Soldier movement that taught its members that they could become invulnerable by undergoing secret rituals.
From 1958, the
Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...
(CCP) under
Chairman Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
launched the
Great Leap Forward causing a great crisis in many rural areas of China. The
Great Chinese Famine erupted, killing millions, while the starving peasants were not allowed to leave their villages and fields. Despite the catastrophic conditions, people opposed to the Communist policies generally struggled to organize any proper opposition, as the Communist government maintained a strong hold on the country and suppressed most grassroots challenges. Regardless, desperate peasants began to organize low-level resistance. In many cases "redemptive societies" were involved; these were often secret societies or
salvationist religions. Some of these groups went beyond spiritual and passive resistance, and actually attempted uprisings. While numerous resistance groups and rebellions broke out, most of these remained small in scale.
Rebellion
Armed resistance in Henan began in 1959 with cases of banditry, as members of the
militia
A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
deserted, stole weapons, set up roadblocks and tried to intercept food transports. According to researcher S.A. Smith, the Spirit Soldier rebellion of 1959 was one of the few open rebellions that were "by no means trivial". A secret society known as "Regiment of Spirit Soldiers" (Shenbingtuan) initially gathered about 1,200 followers from several Chinese provinces such as Hubei, Sichuan, and
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...
. This substantial force then moved into Henan, where it attacked government offices in Sizhuang County on 2 February 1959. Chinese security forces needed twenty days to put down the uprising.
Aftermath
Unrest continued in central China and other regions during 1959 and 1960, but never came close to threatening the power of the Chinese Communist Party.
See also
*
List of peasant revolts
This is a chronological list of conflicts in which peasants played a significant role.
Background
The history of peasant wars spans over two thousand years. A variety of factors fueled the emergence of the peasant revolt phenomenon, including:
...
References
Works cited
*
*
*
*
*
{{refend
Conflicts in 1959
1959 in China
20th-century rebellions
Military history of Henan
Peasant revolts
Rebellions in China
Great Leap Forward