Yellow Turban Army

Last updated October 28, 2023

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.

Beihai Jun Yellow Turbans

Zhang Rao (張饒), led 200,000 Yellow Turbans from Ji Province, and defeated Kong Rong in battle.
Guan Hai (管亥), Guan besieged Kong Rong, and this led Kong to send Taishi Ci from Donglai Commandery (東萊郡) to request the then Chancellor (相) of Pingyuan State (平原國) Liu Bei for aid.

White Wave Bandits

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]
Zhao Di(趙祗), as above.

Footnotes

↑ Fan Ye (The author of the Book of the Later Han)'s father's name was Tai 泰, and thus the Book of the Later Han referred to Guo Tai 郭泰 as Guo Tai 郭太.

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References

↑ ([中平五年二月， ...]黃巾餘賊郭太等起於西河白波谷，寇太原、河東。) Houhanshu vol. 8.
↑ (魏書曰：於夫羅者，南單于子也。中平中，發匈奴兵，於夫羅率以助漢。會本國反，殺南單于，於夫羅遂將其衆留中國。因天下撓亂，與西河白波賊合，破太原、河內，抄略諸郡為寇。) Wei Shu annotation in Sanguozhi vol. 1.
↑ (白波賊寇河東，董卓遣其將牛輔擊之。) Houhanshu vol. 9.
↑ (初，靈帝末，黃巾餘黨郭太等復起西河白波谷，轉寇太原，遂破河東，百姓流轉三輔，號為「白波賊」，眾十餘萬。卓遣中郎將牛輔擊之，不能卻。) Houhanshu vol. 72.
↑ (傕將楊奉本白波賊帥， ...) Houhanshu vol. 72.
1 2 (李傕、郭汜既悔令天子東，乃來救段煨，因欲劫帝而西， ... 而張濟與楊奉、董承不相平，乃反合傕、汜，共追乘輿，大戰於弘農東澗。承、奉軍敗，百官士卒死者不可勝數，皆棄其婦女輜重，御物符策典籍，略無所遺。 ... 天子遂露次曹陽。承、奉乃譎傕等與連和，而密遣閒使至河東，招故白波帥李樂、韓暹、胡才及南匈奴右賢王去卑，並率其眾數千騎來，與承、奉共擊傕等，大破之，斬首數千級，乘輿乃得進。董承、李樂擁衛左右，胡才、楊奉、韓暹、去卑為後距。傕等復來戰，奉等大敗，死者甚於東澗。) Houhanshu vol. 72.

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傅樂成：《中國通史》. 台北：大中國圖書公司，1982年.

Yellow Turban Army

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