White Lotus Rebellion The White Lotus Rebellion ( , 1794 – 1804 ) was a rebellion that occurred during the Qing Dynasty of China . It broke out in 1794 , and was at full height in 1796 , among impoverished settlers in the mountainous region that separates Sichuan province from Hubei and Shaanxi provinces . Although the rebellion was finally crushed by the Qing government in 1804 , it marked a turning point in the history of the Qing dynasty . Qing control weakened and prosperity diminished by the 19th century . The Rebellion is estimated to have caused the deaths of some 100 , 000 rebels . The White Lotus Society . The White Lotus Rebellion began as a tax protest led by the White Lotus Society , a secret religious society . The White Lotus Society is traditionally considered to have first appeared during the 14th century under Mongol rule . The Red Turban Rebellion which took place in 1352 , was led by the White Lotus group . By 1387 , after more than thirty years of war , their leader , Zhu Yuanzhang had liberated all of China . Having attained the Mandate of Heaven and the status of Emperor , he took the title Hongwu and founded a new dynasty - the Ming . The group later reemerged in the late 18th century in the form of an inspired Chinese movement . Though many movements and rebellions were considered by imperial bureaucrats to have been led by White Lotus Society leaders , there is reason to doubt that the White Lotus Society had any organizational unity . BJ Ter Haar has argued that the term " White Lotus " was used primarily by Ming and Qing imperial bureaucrats to disparagingly explain a wide range of unconnected millenarian traditions , rebel movements , and popular religious practices . According to Ter Haar , it is clear that the " White Lotus " rebels of the uprisings that occurred between 1796 and 1804 did not voluntarily use the term " White Lotus " to refer to themselves or their movement . The term was only used by the millenarian rebels under intense pressure during government interrogations . It is only as historical sources look back upon these events do they began to summarize the various aspects of these uprisings as the " White Lotus rebellion . " Members of the society were not ethnically different from Han Chinese , but subscribed to a belief based on a mixture of Taoism , Buddhism , and Manichaeism . The group forecast the advent of Maitreya , advocated restoration of the native Chinese Ming Dynasty , and promised personal salvation to its followers while promising the return of the Buddha . History . In 1774 , one instance of a derivative sect , the Eight Trigrams arose in the form of underground meditation teachings and practice in Shandong province , not far from Beijing near the city of Linqing . The leader , herbalist and martial artist Wang Lun , led an uprising that captured three small cities and laid siege to the larger city of Linqing , a strategic location on the north - south Grand Canal transportation route . Wang Lun likely failed because he did not make any attempts to raise wide public support . He did not distribute captured wealth or food supplies , nor did he promise to lessen the tax burden . Unable to build up a support base , he was forced to quickly flee all three cities that he attacked in order to evade government troops . Though he passed through an area inhabited by almost a million peasants , his army never measured more than four thousand soldiers , many of whom had been forced into service . A similar movement arose in the mountainous region that separates Sichuan province from Hubei and Shaanxi provinces in central China as tax protests . The White Lotus led impoverished settlers into rebellion , promising personal salvation in return for their loyalty . Beginning as tax protests , the eventual rebellion gained growing support and sympathy from many ordinary people . The rebellion grew in number and power and eventually , into a serious concern for the government . Suppression . The Emperor Qianlong ( Ch ' ien - lung ) ( reigned 1735 – 99 ) sent Helin , brother to the infamously corrupt eunuch Heshen and Fukangan , related by marriage to the Emperor , to quell the uprising . Surprisingly , the ill - organized rebels managed to defeat the inadequate and inefficient Imperial forces . After both died in battle in 1796 , Beijing sent new officials but none were successful . Only after 1800 did Beijing adopt new tactics that established local militias ( " tuan " ) to help surround and destroy the White Lotus . The Qing commanders sent to repress the rebellion had a difficult time putting down the White Lotus . The White Lotus bands mainly used guerrilla tactics , and once they disbanded were virtually indistinguishable from the local population . As one Qing official complained : " The rebels are all our own subjects . They are not like some external tribe . . . that can be demarcated by a territorial boundary and identified by its distinctive clothing and language . . . . When they congregate and oppose the government , they are rebels ; when they disperse and depart , they are civilians once more . " Without any clear enemy to fight , brutality against civilians became more common . Because of the brutality of the Qing troops , however , the troops were soon nicknamed the " Red Lotus " Society . A systematic program of pacification followed in which the populace was resettled in hundreds of stockaded villages and organized into militia . In its last stage , the Qing suppression policy combined pursuit and extermination of rebel guerrilla bands with a program of amnesty for deserters . The White Lotus Rebellion was put down in 1805 as a combination of military and social policies . Approximately 7 , 000 Banner troops were sent in from Manchuria in combination with Green Standard Army soldiers from Guizhou and Yunnan as well as tens of thousands of local mercenaries . A decree from the Emperor Daoguang admitted , " it was extortion by local officials that goaded the people into rebellion . . . " Using the arrest of sectarian members as a threat , local officials and police extorted money from people . Actual participation in sect activities had no impact on an arrest ; whether or not monetary demands were met , however , did . Administrators also seized and destroyed sectarian scriptures used by the religious groups . One such official was Huang Yupian ( ) , who refuted the ideas found in the scriptures with orthodox Confucian and Buddhist views in " A Detailed Refutation of Heresy " ( " Pōxié Xiángbiàn " ) , which was written in 1838 . This book has since become an invaluable source in understanding the beliefs of these groups . The end of the White Lotus Rebellion in 1804 also brought an end to the myth of military invincibility of the Manchu , perhaps contributing to the greater frequency of rebellions in the 19th century . The White Lotus continued to be active , and might have influence the next major domestic rebellion , the Eight Trigrams Uprising of 1813 . Legacy . After 48 years , official Zeng Guofan studied and was inspired by the dynasty ' s methods during the White Lotus Rebellion while considering ways to defeat the Taiping movement . References .