by Rodney Crutchfield

Created on: April 18, 2009   Last Updated: September 17, 2009

The Yellow Turban Rebellion, also known as the Yellow Scarves Rebellion, was a peasant revolt against the Chinese Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty in A.D. 184. The rebellion centered around agrarian issues in a time of famine. Leaders of the revolt were Taoists, and this revolt marked an important point in Taoism's history.

Leaders of the rebellion were Zhang Jiao, known as "The General From Heaven", and his two brothers, Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang, who were all Taoist priests. Together, the three had founded a Taoist sect in Shandong Province.

Zhang Jiao practiced a form of Taoism that concentrated on healing by confession of sins and faith healing. He told his followers that in the first year of a new cycle, the sky would turn yellow, the Han Dynasty would come to an end and a new era of government would begin. Because of this, his followers wore yellow scarves into battle.

The Yellow Turban military forces were concentrated in three areas. The group commanded by Zhang Jiao and his two brothers gained their support from the region just north of the Yellow River, which was Zhang Jiao' home and base. A second uprising took place in You province, near the present site of Beijing. The third uprising took place around Yingchuan, Runan, and Nanyang. The last two uprisings put the imperial capital into grave jeopardy.

At this time, the rebel force consisted of about 360,000 fighters. Liu Yan, the empress' half brother, was put in charge of the imperial forces. He looked for men to help fight the rebels, and took in 100,000 conscripts from southern provinces that were not in rebellion.

For the next several months, the fighting was centered around the city of Wan, until in February of A.D. 185, the city's defenses were breached and all inhabitants were massacred. The capture of Wan was the last great defeat of the Yellow Turbans. Their forces in the North China Plain had been defeated in the previous summer months, their forces scattered, and the Zhang brothers had been killed. Mop up operations were completed by the middle of February, A.D. 185, and the emperor issued a proclamation of celebration.

The rebels had been defeated in February, A.D. 185, but only two months later fighting broke out again. Fighting started in the Hebei Province, and in 186 it reached Shaanxi and Liaoning. A second revolt broke out in Sichuan, but it was not coordinated with the Yellow Turban uprisings in the north.

In December, 188, and in early 189, the rebels threatened the Han capital city of Luoyang. As a reaction, imperial troops were sent both south and west, and were able to score a victory, taking the pressure off of Luoyang. In 192 the imperial General Cao Cao gained submission of the rebel army. The Yellow Turbans ceased to be a threat after 205.

While the Yellow Turbans were defeated, the military leaders and provincial governors gained power at the expense of the Han government. This hastened the end of the Han Dynasty, which collapsed in A.D. 220.

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