The White Lotus reemerged in the late 18th century in the form of an inspired Chinese movement in many different forms and sects. In
1774 one instance of a White Lotus derivative sect The Eight Trigrams arose in the form of underground meditation teachings and practice in
Shandong province. The leader,
herbalist and
martial artist Wang Lun, led a major uprising that captured three small cities and laid siege to the larger city of
Linqing before being defeated.
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.
Heshen, a corrupt official, was sent by the Emperor
Qianlong (Ch'ien-lung) (reigned 1711–99) to quell the uprising. Surprisingly, the ill-organized rebels managed to defeat the inadequate and inefficient Imperial forces. Heshen had been known to embezzle funds and resources earmarked for the defeat of the White Lotus, and had only gained his position because he was the Emperor's favorite, and this accounted for his defeat. Upon assuming effective power in 1799, Emperor
Jiaqing (Chia Ch’ing) (reigned 1796–1820) disposed of Heshen and gave support to the efforts of more vigorous Manchu commanders as a way of restoring discipline and morale. 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 rebellion came to an end in 1804. 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 his
A Detailed Refutation of Heresy (破邪詳辯
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.
