| Eight Triagrams Uprising | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofQing Rule in China | |||||||||
 Lin Qing, head of the sect and leader of the uprising | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Baguadao | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Lin Qing Li Wencheng | Jiaqing Emperor Prince Mianning Prince Cheng (Zairui) Prince Mianzhi | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
TheEight Trigrams uprising of 1813 (Chinese:癸酉之變) broke out in China under theQing dynasty. The rebellion was started by some elements of the millenarianTianli Sect (天理教) or Heavenly Principle Sect, which was a branch of theWhite Lotus Sect. Led byLin Qing (林清; 1770–1813) andLi Wencheng, the revolt occurred in theZhili,Shandong, andHenan provinces of China.
In 1812, the leaders of theEight Trigram Sect (Bagua jiao) also known as the Sect of Heavenly Order (Tianli jiao) announced that leaderLi Wencheng was a 'true lord of the Ming' and declared 1813 as the year for rebellion,[1] while Lin Qing declared himself the reincarnation ofMaitreya, the prophesied future Buddha in Buddhism, using banners with the inscription "Entrusted by Heaven to Prepare the Way", a reference to the popular novelWater Margin.[2] They considered him sent by theEternal Unborn Mother of esoteric Chinese religions,[3] to remove the Qing dynasty whom they regarded as having lost theMandate of Heaven to rule.[2]
The third leader was Feng Keshan, who was called the "King of Earth", Li titled the "King of Men", and Lin referred to as "King of Heaven".[4]
The group won support from several powerfuleunuchs in theForbidden City. On 15 September 1813, the group attacked the imperial palace inBeijing. The rebels made it into the city.
The rebellion is seen as being similar to the previousWhite Lotus Rebellion, with the former being of religious intent and the latter leaders of the Eight Trigram appearing more interested in personal power by overthrowing the Qing dynasty.[1]
Leader Lin Qing (林清; 1770–1813) was a hustler who drifted between odd jobs before taking over a local White Lotus sect. He met Li Wencheng in 1811, who at the time was acquiring control over a network of similar sects. Feng Keshan was a martial artist with strong ties to martial arts groups in the border region betweenShandong,Henan andZhili, and thus access to a large pool of recruits for rebellion, although he was significantly less interested in religious affairs.[4] The name "Eight Trigrams" comes from the ancient Chinese divination textI Ching.[3]
Lin Qing and Li Wencheng were partially inspired by theappearance in 1811 of a bright comet. Although the imperial government took this comet to predict glory for the dynasty, Lin and Li saw it as an "auspicious blessing for their enterprise". Dividing their followers into eight "trigrams", they told them that "when Li Wencheng has risen up, everyone who had given money or grain" to their enterprise "would be given land or official rank."[1]
During July 1813, the main leaders of the Eight Trigrams met to set a date for the rebellion. They were prompted by droughts and floods, as well as by sharp increases in the price of wheat, and set 15 September as an appropriate time for the rebellion to begin. In addition to being right after the harvest, the Jiaqing Emperor was scheduled to be out of Beijing on a hunting trip, so the Forbidden City would be lightly guarded. The plan was that when Jiaqing returned to Beijing, they would attack him outside the city and assassinate him.[1][2]
Li Wencheng was to rise in Huaxian and march northward to gather more followers and converge with Lin Qing in Beijing.[4]
Beijing officials heard rumors of the planned rebellion and arrested Li Wencheng on 2 September. Officials tortured Li, but before they hurt him too seriously, Li's followers broke in and released him. This event pushed forward the date of the rebellion, and by 6 September, the members were busy collecting weapons. Followers of the Eight Trigrams quickly took control of the towns ofHuaxian,Caoxian, andDingtao in southern Zhili and Shandong provinces.[1]
Lin Qing was in charge of the attack on the Forbidden City, although he personally did not participate in the attack. The rebels hid in shops outside the Eastern and Western palace gates.[3] Lin enlisted several palace eunuchs to lead his approximately 250 followers through the gates. To distinguish themselves, the rebels tied white cloth around their heads and waists. Armed with knives and iron bars, they planned to enter the Forbidden City at noon, when the guards would be eating their meals. In addition, the Jiaqing Emperor was less than fifty miles from the city walls. This plan met with mixed success and about eighty rebels made it through the gates before they were closed. Fighting soon erupted as the Manchus realized that the rebels were inside the gates. It was at this time thatPrince Mianning joined the battle and used his musket to wound one rebel and to kill another.[1][2]
With the advantage of surprise lost, the rebels turned and fled. Under the leadership of the Three Princes Cheng, Mianzhi, Mianning, as well as officers of theImperial Guards Brigade and loyal eunuchs, the surviving rebels were hunted down.
Several thousand supporters continued besieging several cities from their headquarters inHuaxian,Henan province for several months until suppressed by Qing forces on 1 January 1814.[2]
Li Wencheng, along with 4000 supporters, withdrew toHuixian. He self-immolated and died while besieged by Qing troops. His wife Li Zhangshi keptHuaxian until the following year when she hanged herself as the city fell.
During the battle at the Forbidden City, a total of thirty-one rebels were killed and forty-four captured alive, but before it was over the rebels had either murdered or injured over a hundred people in the palace. By the time the government suppressed the revolt, more than 20,000 Eight Trigrams members had been killed.[1] It is estimated that 70,000 were killed in total during the period of disorder.[3]