Han Shantong Yingzhou, Henan

Henan

Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...

, 14 c. - one of the early Red turban rebellion

Red Turban Rebellion

The Red Turban Rebellion was an uprising much influenced by the White Lotus Society members that targeted the ruling Yuan Dynasty.- Causes :...

 leaders. He claimed to be the descendant of Song Huizong (1082–1135), the last emperor of the Northern Song dynasty, thus opposing himself to the ruling Yuan

Yuan Dynasty

The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...

 regime.

Background of the rise to popularity

The Yellow River

Yellow River

The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...

 flood of 1344 caused heavy casualties, displacement, hunger, epidemics, and the crisis in Dadu

Khanbaliq

Khanbaliq or Dadu refers to a city which is now Beijing, the current capital of the People's Republic of China...

, the Yuan capital. The popular discontent with the ruling Mongol dynasty was triggered by the major construction project of the Yellow River rerouting 1351.

Rebellion leader's career

During the works he claimed founding a stone image with only one eye and a prophecy about the revolt inscribed on its back (Caomuzi). This was probably the reflection of some popular beliefs already widespread in Henan of the time. Han proclaimed the rebirth of Maitreya Buddha and the near come of the "King of Light" (天下大亂，彌勒下生，明王出世). Apparently, he used the title for himself (though there is no such historical record, after his death his son became known under the title "King of Light the Young", providing the undirect evidence.)

Han Shantong found a staunch supporter in Liu Futong 劉福通. After the plot was discovered, Han was executed.

The son and legacy

Han's son, Lin'er (Lín ér 林兒/林儿) became the symbol of the following rebellion, of which Liu Futong became the leading general. Zhu Yuanzhang, the future founder of the Ming dynasty, was Han Lin'er's subordinate as late as 1363. Though Han and Liu's military power declined after 1359, Lin'er was probably seen as a legitimate future emperor. However, he accidentally drowned in a pond, not having achieved the rulership. There is a suspiction that drowing was staged by Zhu Yuanzhan's agents, who by the time was already approaching the victory in his struggle for the Mandate of Heaven

Mandate of Heaven

The Mandate of Heaven is a traditional Chinese philosophical concept concerning the legitimacy of rulers. It is similar to the European concept of the divine right of kings, in that both sought to legitimaze rule from divine approval; however, unlike the divine right of kings, the Mandate of...

. (The story was reminiscent of Xiang Yu

Xiang Yu

Xiang Yu was a prominent military leader and political figure during the late Qin Dynasty. His given name was Ji while his style name was Yu ....

 and the Yi puppet emperor)

Historical sources on the power transition predating foundation of the Ming dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

 were distructed or heavily censured in order to hide the base origine of the founding emperor and his relation to the rebels. For this reason information on Han Shantong and other rebel leaders is very scarce.

The single extant historical reference of Han Shantong's grandfather being a member of a "White lotus

White lotus

White lotus can refer to:* White waterlily, an aquatic flowering plant** Nymphaea alba, of Europe and North Africa** Nymphaea lotus, of East Africa and Southeast Asia...

gathering" developed into a stereotype that his teaching belonged to some clandestine tradition of long standing. This view is refuted by Ter Haar's research