The Yellow Turban Rebellion

The philosophy of Taoism emphasizes balance in the Universe and in the long history of China, balance has often been achieved through rebellion and revolt. Periods of corruption, poverty and general discontent simmered until the boiling point had been reached and the peasants took matters into their own hands. With the Yellow Turban Rebellion, one man, Zhang Jue, stirred the pot of discontent and added a dash of magic seasoned with a logical argument that the Han Dynasty had lost the Mandate of Heaven. He attracted scores of peasant followers and a full blown rebellion ensued.

Near the end of the Han Dynasty, heavy taxation among the peasants helped pay for the military fortification of the Silk Road and the protection of China's overseas trade. It also made it difficult for the peasants to eat. Spiritual comfort from the old order of Confucianism and philosophical Taoism did little for hungry people and into these difficult times came Zhang Jue. Giving himself the label of "The Good Doctor of Great Wisdom," he tapped into the new wave of popular Taoism and offered the people a magical healing potion. Calling it the "Way of the Highest Peace" and by reciting incantations over it, ordinary water was endowed with magical properties which would help one attain long life or even immortality. Popular Taoism filled a void in people's lives with tangible charms and spells, as opposed to mere philosophies, and Zhang Jue paired his with the message that the Han Dyansty had lost favor with Heaven and would soon fall.

His message spread through China's countryside and hundreds of thousands of believers donned yellow turbans as a symbol of the soil from which they drew their living and to mark themselves as Zhang Jue's followers. In 184 AD, he decided the time had come to assist the fall of the Han Dynasty with force and put out a call for a revolt. Heading for the capital of Luoyang, his massive and undisciplined army, gathered from all over China, looted, pillaged, burned and murdered their way across the countryside, targeting government officials and their residences as well as entire towns. Fear spread and the Chinese court began making preparations for the rebels' arrival.

The Han Dynasty was technically headed by an emperor, however, the ruling force behind the throne was the eunuchs. Long tradition at the Chinese court used eunuchs as harem guards, servants and spies, and many were in a position within the court to gain immense power. The squabbles and political infighting between the eunuchs and the Chinese nobility and bureaucrats, their main competition, was called to a temporary halt in the face of Zhang Jue's advancing Yellow Turbans. Both the landowners and the eunuchs raised large armies to combat the menace, drainng their treasuries to do so. The eunuchs faced another problem, however, within their ranks. Some had been bribed by the rebels and corruption caused a rift among them that eventually led to a massacre. The Imperial army, meanwhile, faced the pitifully unprepared Yellow Turbans and completely decimated the rebels, who so believed in the protection of their gods and the righteousness of their cause that many did not even carry weapons. It didn't help that Zhang Jue had guaranteed them invincibility on the battlefield with the help of magic potions.

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