Red Turban Rebellion

A religious peasant revolt (1351-66) that overthrew the rule of the Mongolian Yuan dynasty in China and triggered the establishment of the Han Chinese Ming dynasty. The White Lotus and Maitreya followers were at the center of the revolt, and they were also called the "Red Turban Bandits" because they wrapped their heads in red cloth as a sign of their comrades. Under the oppression of the Yuan dynasty, Han Shan Tong, the leader of the White Lotus Church, a secret religious organization based in Luancheng (Hebei Province), had been preaching the theory of Maitreya Buddha's rebirth from the dead for a long time, and had gained many followers throughout northern China. In 1351, the Yuan Dynasty conscripted many peasants as laborers to repair the Yellow River, which had caused a major flood, but Yamato sent an agitator among them and, taking advantage of the unrest in the people's hearts, rose up in rebellion, calling himself "the eighth-generation grandson of Huizong of the Song Dynasty." The Red Turbans lost Yamato in the first crackdown, but his followers Liu Futong and others took his surviving son Han Lin'er and fled to Anhui Province, where they placed him on the throne in Bozhou (Anhui Province), calling him "Little Ming King," founded the Song Dynasty, and issued calls to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty in all directions. Taking advantage of this, Xu Shouhui of Hubei, Guo Zixing of Anhui, Zhu Yuanzhang (the Ming Emperor), and Bu Wangsan of Henan rebelled one after another. In 57, the Han Lin'er government divided its forces into three routes and sent a northern expedition against the Yuan dynasty, and the Red Turbans' influence temporarily extended throughout northern and central China. They practiced vegetarianism, followed religious rules, and had strict military discipline, defeating the corrupt Yuan army everywhere. However, they did not have a clear political program, and their forces were divided due to internal conflicts between their generals, and they were counterattacked by the Yuan army and armed landlords, destroying their base. In the midst of all this, Zhu Yuanzhang occupied Nanjing and became independent, steadily consolidating his base and succeeding in unifying the world.

[Noriko Taniguchi]

“Zhu Yuanzhang” by Noriyuki Taniguchi (1966, Jinjin Oraisha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、モンゴル民族の王朝元(げん)の支配を倒し、漢民族王朝明(みん)の成立のきっかけとなった宗教的農民反乱（1351～66）。白蓮(びゃくれん)・弥勒(みろく)教徒がその勢力の中心で、紅布で頭を包み同志の標識としたので「紅巾の賊」ともいう。元朝の圧政下で、欒城(らんじょう)（河北省）に本拠を置く秘密宗教結社、白蓮教会の会首韓山童(かんさんどう)は、早くから弥勒仏下生(げしょう)の説をもって布教し、華北各地で広く信者を獲得していた。おりしも1351年、大氾濫(はんらん)をおこした黄河の修理のため元朝は多数の農民を役夫として徴発したが、山童はこの役夫のなかに扇動者を送り込み、民心の動揺に乗じて「宋(そう)の徽宗(きそう)八世の孫」と称し、反乱に立ち上がった。紅巾軍は最初の弾圧で山童を失ったが、教徒の劉福通(りゅうふくつう)らはその遺児韓林児(かんりんじ)を奉じて安徽省に逃れ、亳州(はくしゅう)（安徽省）で彼を帝位につけ、「小明王(しょうみょうおう)」と称し、宋国を建てて元朝打倒の檄(げき)を四方に発した。これを機に湖北の徐寿輝(じょじゅき)、安徽の郭子興(かくしこう)、朱元璋(しゅげんしょう)（明の太祖）や河南の布王三(ふおうさん)らが相次いで反乱を起こした。57年には、韓林児政権は諸軍を3路に分け、元朝に対して北伐軍を送るなど、紅巾軍の勢力は一時、華北、華中一帯に及んだ。彼らは菜食主義や、宗教的戒律、厳正な軍規をもち、至る所で腐敗した元軍を破った。しかし明確な政治的プログラムをもたず、部将間の内部対立などにより勢力が分裂し、元軍と地主の武装団による反撃にあい、本拠も壊滅した。こうしたなかで朱元璋は南京(ナンキン)を占領すると自立し、着実に地盤を固め天下平定に成功した。

［谷口規矩雄］

『谷口規矩雄著『朱元璋』（1966・人物往来社）』

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