The Yellow Turban Army, also known as the Yellow Turban Bandits (after the publishing of the
Romance of the Three Kingdoms), was a peasant rebel force led by the late
Eastern Han dynasty mystic
Zhang Jue from
Julu Commandery. The Yellow Turbans launched an uprising against the central government in 184, the year of the Jiazi in the
Sexagenary cycle. The
Yellow Turban Rebellion became one of the biggest rebellions in Chinese history, but it was mostly quelled within a year by the Eastern Han government. As result, the Chinese historiography has always placed it as the progenitor of the
Three Kingdoms Era. Some Yellow Turban factions continued their insurgency for decades, however, and the last known remnants of the movement were defeated in the first decade of the
3rd century.
Yellow Turban Army
The Yellow Turban Army was composed of commoners, rabble and other people of opportunity.
Zhang Jue and his brothers Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang treated many of them, and thus were very popular. When Zhang Jue saw that followers of the
Way of the Taiping grew more numerous by the day, he openly revolted in the large-scale
Yellow Turban Rebellion. The scale of the Rebellion involved almost a million people, Zhang Jue died during the rebellion, with his brothers falling in battle. The Rebellion was put down within the year, but laid the foundations of the fall of the
Eastern Han dynasty.
Impact
The Rebellion may have been put down within the year, but it laid the foundations of the fall of the
Eastern Han dynasty. The central government handed local officials immense authority with regards to the recruitment of soldiers, which resulted in the warlordism of the late Eastern Han dynasty and the
Three Kingdoms Era, undeniably a fatal blow to the Eastern Han. The Rebellion accelerated the demise of the Eastern Han, and even after the defeat of the rebellion, small scale conflicts continued under the Yellow Turban banner along the
Yellow River. This is also why the Yellow Turban Rebellion is often documented in Chinese historiography as the beginning of the
Three Kingdoms Era.
Leaders
Zhang Jue, head of the Yellow Turban Army, died from illness during the Rebellion. Declared himself the "Great Teacher" (大賢良師), and "General of Heaven" (天公將軍).
Zhang Bao, Zhang Jue's second youngest brother, died from a hail of arrows during battles between Eastern Han soldiers from
Qing Province and
Xu Province, with the army he led dissolving thereafter. Declared himself "General of Land" (地公將軍).
Zhang Liang, Zhang Jue's youngest brother, a leading general of the Yellow Turban Army. Declared himself "General of the People" (人公將軍).
Notable Individuals
Ma Yuanyi (馬元義), in the early days of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Ma led tens of thousands of the Yellow Turban Army in secret, and plotted with close officials (Zhong Chang Shi 中常侍) of the Emperor to rise up in
Ye. The plot leaked and he was pulled apart by chariots in
Luoyang.
Zhang Mancheng (張曼成), Zhang was from
Nanyang, and he rose up with tens of thousands of the Yellow Turban Army, killing the
Junshou (commandery governor),
Chu Gong 褚貢. Two months later he was in turn killed by the newly appointed
Taishou of Nanyang,
Qin Jie 秦頡.
Zhao Hong (趙弘), after the death of Zhang Mancheng, Zhao Hong became the leader of his faction of the Yellow Turban Army. Zhao occupied and held
Wancheng, but was killed in a shock attack led by
Zhu Jun.
Han Zhong (韓忠), after the death of Zhao Hong, Han Zhong led the remainder of his faction of the Yellow Turban Army, and reoccupied Wancheng, holding out against Zhu Jun. Zhu caught Han in a surprise attack and Han surrendered. Han was killed in a fit of rage by Qin Jie.
Sun Xia (孫夏), after the death of Han Zhong, Sun Xia became the commander of Han's Yellow Turban Army remains. He led the defence of Wancheng against Zhu Jun, only to fall in battle. This faction of the Yellow Turban Army thus dispersed.
Bo Cai (波才), Bo Cai defeated Zhu Jun in battle. A month later, the combined forces of
Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun won a great victory against Bo.
Peng Tuo (彭脫), Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun chased Peng's Yellow Turban Army in
Xihua, and shattered it.
Luo Ji (卜己), Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun then went on to engage Luo Ji's Yellow Turban Army, which was based in Dong
Jun, near present-day
Puyang. Huang and Zhu caught up to Luo's Army near Cangting, north of present-day
Yanggu County,
Shandong, and managed to capture Luo alive, decapitating over 7,000 of his soldiers.
Guo Tai(郭泰)[note 1], Between 16 March and 13 April 188, Guo Tai (郭太) led some 100,000 Yellow Turban remnants to start a rebellion in
Xihe Commandery (西河郡; around present-day
Fenyang,
Shanxi). As they originated from Baibo Valley (白波谷; "White Wave Valley") in Xihe Commandery, they later became known as the "White Wave Bandits" (白波賊). They allied with the
Xiongnu leader
Yufuluo and attacked
Taiyuan Commandery (太原郡; around present-day
Taiyuan,
Shanxi) and Hedong Commandery (河東郡; around present-day
Yuncheng, Shanxi).[1][2] Between 27 October and 25 November 189, when the bandits attacked Hedong Commandery, the warlord
Dong Zhuo sent his son-in-law
Niu Fu to lead troops to attack them, but Niu Fu failed to defeat them.[3][4]
Yang Feng(楊奉), Around mid-195,
Emperor Xian fled from the imperial capital
Chang'an, where he had been held hostage by Dong Zhuo's followers, led by
Li Jue and
Guo Si, since Dong Zhuo's death in 192. He returned to the ruins of the old imperial capital
Luoyang, which Dong Zhuo burnt down in 191 while forcefully relocating its residents to Chang'an.
Dong Cheng (a former subordinate of Niu Fu) and
Yang Feng (a former White Wave bandit)[5] protected Emperor Xian in Luoyang when Li Jue and Guo Si tried to pursue and bring the emperor back to Chang'an. Dong Cheng and Yang Feng summoned the White Wave Bandits, led by Li Le (李樂),
Han Xian, Hu Cai (胡才) and others, to come to Emperor Xian's aid.
Han Xian(韓暹), Emperor Xian returned from Chang'an, and Xiongnu forces led by
Qubei and the leader of the White Wave Bandits, Han Xian, came to his aid.
Hu Cai(胡才), Came to Emperor Xian's aid on Dong Cheng and Yang Feng's command. Xiongnu forces led by Qubei also responded to the call and came to help Emperor Xian resist Li Jue and Guo Si's forces.[6]
Li Le(李樂), Came to Emperor Xian's aid on Dong Cheng and Yang Feng's command. Xiongnu forces led by Qubei also responded to the call and came to help Emperor Xian resist Li Jue and Guo Si's forces.[6]
Self-Declared Yellow Turbans
Ma Xiang(馬相). In 188, Ma Xiang (馬相) and Zhao Zhi (趙祗) led Yellow Turban remnants to start a rebellion in
Yi Province (益州; covering present-day
Sichuan and
Chongqing). They killed Li Sheng (李升; Prefect of Mianzhu County 緜竹縣), Zhao Bu (趙部; Administrator of Ba Commandery 巴郡) and Xi Jian (郗儉; Inspector of Yi Province). Ma Xiang even declared himself emperor. The rebellion was suppressed by local forces led by Jia Long (賈龍), a former subordinate of Xi Jian.[58][59]