The Way of the Taiping, also known as the Way of the Great Peace, was a Chinese

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao ...

movement founded by

Zhang Jue Zhang Jue (; died October 184) was a Chinese military general and rebel. He was the leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was said to be a follower of Taoism and a sorcerer. His name is sometimes ...

during the

Eastern Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

. Its adherents all around China participated in the

Yellow Turban Rebellion The Yellow Turban Rebellion, alternatively translated as the Yellow Scarves Rebellion, was a peasant revolt in China against the Eastern Han dynasty. The uprising broke out in 184 CE during the reign of Emperor Ling. Although the main rebelli ...

of 184, with the rebellion being suppressed within the same year by the Eastern Han government. The religious movement was greatly reduced and died soon afterwards. The Way of the Taiping was one of the two largest movements within early

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

, with the other being the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice. During the reign of

Emperor Ling of Han Emperor Ling of Han (156 – 13 May 189), personal name Liu Hong, was the 12th and last powerful emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty. Born the son of a lesser marquis who descended directly from Emperor Zhang (the third Eastern Han emperor), ...

, the movement was recorded to have been popular in eight Provinces:

Qing Province Qingzhou or Qing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China dating back to BCE that later became one of the thirteen provinces of the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). The Nine Provinces were first described in the ''Tribute ...

Xu Province Xuzhou as a historical toponym refers to varied area in different eras. Ordinarily, it was a reference to the one of the Nine Provinces (China), Nine Provinces which modern Xuzhou inherited. History Pre-Qin era Xuzhou or Xu Province was one ...

You Province You Prefecture or You Province, also known by its Chinese name Youzhou, was a prefecture ('' zhou'') in northern China during its imperial era. "You Province" was cited in some ancient sources as one of the nine or twelve original provinces ...

Ji Province Ji Province, also known by its Chinese name Jizhou, was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China. It is referenced in Chinese historical texts such as the '' Tribute of Yu'', ''Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''. Rites of Zhou,Offices of Summer (� ...

Jing Province Jingzhou or Jing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China referenced in Chinese historical texts such as the '' Tribute of Yu'', ''Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''. Jingzhou became an administrative division during the reign of Empe ...

Yang Province Yangzhou, Yangchow or Yang Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China mentioned in historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', '' Erya'' and ''Rites of Zhou''. Name There are four different theories regarding the origin of the ...

Yan Province Yan Province or Yanzhou was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China. During the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), it covered roughly present-day southwestern Shandong, eastern Henan, and the northwestern corner of Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ...

, and Yu Province.。

Origins

The Way of the Taiping originated in the reign of

Emperor Shun of Han Emperor Shun of Han (; 115 – 20 September 144) was an emperor of the Chinese Han Dynasty and the eighth emperor of the Eastern Han. He reigned from 125 to 144. Emperor Shun (Prince Bao) was the only son of Emperor An of Han. After Emperor A ...

of the

(126-144). A

Fangshi ''Fangshi'' () were Chinese technical specialists who flourished from the third century BCE to the fifth century CE. English translations of ''fangshi'' include alchemist, astrologer, diviner, exorcist, geomancer, doctor, magician, monk, myst ...

named '' Gan Ji'' (Some later histories referred to him as Yu Ji) claimed that he received a divine book called the '' Taiping Qingling Shu'' (太平清領書) from a pond in

Quyang County Quyang County () is under the administration of Baoding City, Hebei province, China. The county is famous for its stone carvings, many of which are exported abroad. The Beiyue Temple is located in Quyang city. Administrative divisions Towns: * He ...

, and thereafter started to build elaborate temples and established rituals like the burning of incense and the reading of

manuscripts. He also treated the people's (

Baixing Baixing () or lao baixing () is a traditional Chinese term, meaning "the people" or "commoners." The word "lao" () is often added as a prefix before "baixing". A confederation of tribes living along the Yellow River were the ancestors of what ...

) illnesses with burnt Fulu mixed with water, and he became very popular amongst them. According to the ''

Book of Later Han The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Lat ...

'', during the reign of

Emperor Shun Emperor Shun () was a legendary leader of ancient China, regarded by some sources as one of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors being the last of the Five Emperors. Tradition holds that he lived sometime between 2294 and 2184 BC. Tradition a ...

( 125–144), Gong Chong (宮崇), one of Gan Ji's disciples, submitted the ''Taiping Qingling Shu'' to the emperor, but did not receive substantial attention. Gong Chong's disciple Xiang Kai tried the same, but his efforts also faltered. Later on, the book fell into the hands of

, who established the Way of the Taiping.

Later Developments

from

Julu Commandery Julu Commandery () was a historical commandery of China, located in modern-day southern Hebei. The commandery was established by Qin after it annexed Zhao in 222 BC. In early Western Han dynasty, it was part of the Zhao Kingdom. After the failed ...

, having obtained the ''Taiping Qingling Shu'', declared himself "Great Teacher" (大賢良師), preached to his disciples and treated peoples' illnesses. He quickly became popular, as he sent his eight disciples around the country, using the "Kind Way" (善道) to preach to the commoners, and within ten years had followers numbering 100,000, across eight Provinces:

, and Yu Province. Zhang Jue split his followers into 36 "Fang"s (directions), with the bigger Fang having over 10,000 each, while the smaller Fangs having 7,000 people. He and his brothers gave themselves titles: Zhang Bao was the "General of Land" (地公將軍),

Zhang Liang Zhang Liang is the romanization of common names like 張良, 張亮 and 張梁. 張良 * Zhang Liang (Western Han) (died 189 BC), early Han dynasty strategist ** Zhang Liang, an animation character from the animated TV series ''The Legend of Qin'' ...

was the "General of the People" (人公將軍); and Zhang Jue was the "General of Heaven" (天公將軍). The Way of the Taiping acted like a military organisation thereafter.

Preachings

Zhang Jue held a nine-section cane, and often proclaimed that people were sick and suffering because they had sinned. For them to recover, the patients must first reflect on their mistakes, and when they finally show contrition, he would make them drink the Fulu-water mixture. He praised those who recovered as having great faith, and for those who did not as having not enough. The Way of the Taiping worshiped the colour yellow, and followers wore yellow clothes with yellow headbands, and they worshiped the

Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...

Laozi Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state ...

and Taiyi (太一), who was the greatest God in the pantheon. Taiyi is an anthropomorphism of the

North Star Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...

Uprising

Zhang Jue proposed the slogan of "Cangtian (heaven, blue sky) is dead, the Huangtian (yellow sky) has been established, the age is at Jiazi (184AD),

tianxia ''Tianxia'' (), literally meaning "(all) under Heaven", is a Chinese term for a historical Chinese cultural concept that denoted either the entire geographical world or the metaphysical realm of mortals, and later became associated with poli ...

experiences great fortune" (蒼天已死，黃天當立，歲在甲子（184年），天下大吉), and theorised that of

Zou Yan Zou Yan (; ; 305 BC240 BC) was a Chinese philosopher and spiritual writer best known as the representative thinker of the Yin and Yang School (or School of Naturalists) during the Hundred Schools of Thought era in Chinese philosophy. Biography Z ...

's cycle of five elements ( Wu Xing), the Earth (Yellow) element was to replace the Han Dynasty's Fire element. Zhang Jue's followers wrote the slogan in the capital and

yamen A ''yamen'' (''ya-men''; ; Manchu: ''yamun'') was the administrative office or residence of a local bureaucrat or mandarin in imperial China. A ''yamen'' can also be any governmental office or body headed by a mandarin, at any level of gover ...

walls of the provinces and prefectures, and planned for the leader of the large Fangs Ma Yuanyi to lead the tens of thousands of followers from

and

to rise up on the 5th of March 184AD. Ma went around the capital and nearby cities to prepare for the rebellion, and had officials within the Palace walls as spies. But the central government caught wind of the conspiracy, and Ma was torn asunder by chariots for treason.

ordered the arrest of Zhang Jue and his followers, and this prompted Zhang to initiate the

in February, with the scale of the rebellion shocking the court. New followers flocked from all over the country to join the Way of the Taiping.

Defeat

Within the same year of the uprising, Zhang Jue died from an illness, Zhang Bao was killed, and Zhang Liang fell in battle. The Yellow Turban Army still resisted in various locales for the next ten years, and many joined

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the dynasty's final years. As one o ...

's army later on.窪德忠：《道教史》，頁86。 The Way of the Taiping survived in a different form, even after the Jin Dynasty, in the worship of the Taiping Di Jun(太平帝君).

References