Wang Lun (; died 1 November 1774) was the leader of the

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 ...

sect in

Shandong province Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizatio ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in the 1770s. He preached a

millenarian Millenarianism or millenarism (from Latin , "containing a thousand") is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society, after which "all things will be changed". Millenariani ...

philosophy, emphasizing the imminent coming of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

Maitreya 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 ...

. A

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

master and self-taught

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, Wang taught his followers

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

, and the ability to fast for very long periods by drinking purified water. His group became known as the "Pure Water Sect", and by 1774 numbered several thousand. Having told the sect that he was the reincarnation of Maitreya and was destined to become

Emperor of China ''Huangdi'' (), translated into English as Emperor, was the superlative title held by monarchs of China who ruled various imperial regimes in Chinese history. In traditional Chinese political theory, the emperor was considered the Son of Heave ...

, he mobilized his followers and marched on the city of

Shouzhang Shouzhang () is a town in Yanggu County, Liaocheng, in western Shandong province, China. References Township-level divisions of Shandong {{Shandong-geo-stub ...

on 3 October 1774. With the help of confederates inside the city gates, the rebels quickly seized the city and ransacked the treasury and granary. They held the city for a few days only, before abandoning it to attack the city of Yangku. Yangku was easily captured, as the local garrison was marching to relieve Shouzhang, which the local authorities believed was still in rebel hands. The rebels then moved on to capture the towns of Tangyi and then

Liulin Liulin ( is a county of western Shanxi province, China, bordering Shaanxi province and the Yellow River to the west. It is under the administration of Lüliang city. The county is the site of the Xiangyan Temple ( zh). Liulin has been inhabited s ...

with ease, and from there they marched on to

Linqing Linqing () is a county-level city under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Liaocheng in western Shandong Province, China. Geography and climate It is located north-northwest of Liaocheng. The city is situated at the confluenc ...

, a large and strategically important city. Before reaching Linqing, Wang Lun's rebels defeated

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

troops at every engagement, and rumor spread that the rebels practiced invulnerability

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

. Many city officials of Linqing fled in terror before the White Lotus rebels arrived at the city on 11 October. Over the next few weeks, Wang Lun's forces besieged the city, but the Qing defenses commanded by

Qin Zhenjun Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

effectively resisted the attack. Eyewitnesses reported that rebel troops fought fiercely even when there seemed to be no hope. Wang Lun's young concubine Wu Sannian reportedly held off Qing soldiers for hours singlehandedly before being overcome and killed. By 31 October, Wang was surrounded. Determined not to be captured alive, he set fire to the tower in which he was trapped. His burned body was identified by his sword and bracelets. In fiction, Wang's life is narrated in

Alfred Döblin Bruno Alfred Döblin (; 10 August 1878 – 26 June 1957) was a German novelist, essayist, and doctor, best known for his novel '' Berlin Alexanderplatz'' (1929). A prolific writer whose œuvre spans more than half a century and a wide variety of ...

's 1916 historical novel, ''

The Three Leaps of Wang Lun ''The Three Leaps of Wang Lun'' (''Die drei Sprünge des Wang-lun'') is a historical novel by the German author Alfred Döblin that narrates upheaval and revolution in 18th-century China. Published in 1916 (although back-dated to 1915), this epic ...

''.

References

*Ching, Frank. ''Ancestors: 900 Years in the Life of a Chinese Family.'' Pan Books, 1988. *Naquin, Susan. ''Shantung Rebellion: The Wang Lun Uprising of 1774.'' New Haven: Yale University Press, 1981. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Lun 1774 deaths Chinese warriors Qing dynasty rebels 18th-century Chinese people Year of birth unknown