The Three Kingdoms Era - Yellow Turban Rebellion

Thus far in this blog series I've been going through the eras in Chinese history at a breakneck pace. The original intention had been to give a broad overview of each dynasty and era, and then go back and fill in the blanks later on. However, I'd not expected at the start of the series to have rediscovered my love for the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, so we're going to be spending a few weeks examining this period in detail. So this week we look at the event that kickstarts the Romance of the Three Kingdoms: The Yellow Turban Rebellion

Before I get cracking, I'd like to note that if this interests anyone, you can find a very accurate portrayal of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms online here. The subtitles are terrible, but that's just part of the fun! Keep in mind that the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a historical novel, and is 50/50 fact/fiction at best.

So like I mentioned in the previous post, the Eastern Han Dynasty was beset by all manner of problems, including corruption, a loss of central power, heavy burdens of taxes and so on. In 184 CE, the Yellow Turban or Yellow Scarves Rebellion broke out, so called because of the scarves they wore on their heads. Led by three brothers (Zhang Jue, Zhang Bao, Zhang Liang) of the Daoist sect the 'Way of Supreme Peace', the uprising caused massive disruptions to Imperial Commanderies throughout the North of the Empire, near modern day Beijing and even threatening the Imperial Capital of Luoyang (Modern day Luoyang, Henan Province). For the first few months of 184 the rebels steadily gained ground, pushing back Imperial forces wherever they met them. By the middle of 184 however, the Imperial forces had pushed back the rebels and besieged them in the city of Wan (near modern day Nanyang, Henan Province) capturing the city and putting the rebels to the sword in 185. Although this ostensibly ended the rebellion, later in 185 more rebellions broke out, not fully ending as a military threat until 205. In 192 the Warlord Cao Cao (he'll be important later) gained the submission of a rebel army in Yan Province.

In the middle of all of this slaughter and fighting three very important figures step onto the stage. As the call to arms went out from the central government, a distant Imperial Uncle, Liu Bei (style name Xuande) meets Guan Yu (style name Yunchang) and Zhang Fei (style name Yide). According to folklore, the three swear an oath of brotherhood in a peach garden, and go off to fight the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

In reality, history tells us that the three were close like brothers, often sleeping in the same bed, but say nothing about an actual oath of brotherhood. These three people are important because later on in the Three Kingdoms era Liu Bei goes on to form the Kingdom of Shu-Han in the west of the nation. Guan Yu in particular was deified following his death, and is the God of War and of Bean Merchants (not making this up) in the Chinese cosmology.

Liu Bei from a Tang Dynasty print

Guan Yu

Zhang Fei

Two very important things came out of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Firstly, the rebellion was widespread, and ended in the sack of many government centres, and also resulted in the deaths of a large number of Imperial Magistrates. Secondly, the local generals and warlords who were instrumental in putting down the rebellion were given local military and administrative power, further diluting central authority and hastening the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.