The Heaven and Earth Society and the Red Turban Rebellion in ...

The cost of the rebellion was appalling in terms of lives, property damage, and funds required for
suppression. Reliable figures are difficult to find. But, more than 26,000 people in Fanyu and Shunde
counties and 10,000 people in Zhaoqing county were executed by the Qing government. 195 According to one
scholar’s estimate, there were about 400,000 people who died out in Guangdong province because of this
White terror by the Qing court. 196
In sum, the Red Turban Rebellion was composed of many ingredients, including adverse ecological
conditions, which led to increased competition for resources; government abuses and mal-administration;
communal frictions; and the activities of the Tiandihui. The Taiping rebellion also played an important role in
the timing of the Red Turban Rebellion. Without it, unrest in the Pearl River Delta would probably not have
exploded with such intensity. It was the coming together of a number of different socioeconomic and
historical rhythms at a particular time that brought about a rebellion, or series of rebellions, of such massive
dimensions. The revolt was the result of interactions between the basic structures of local society in the
Pearl River Delta.
References
Primary Sources
Cao Fengzhen 曹 凤 贞 ed., “Yahu Caoshi zupu 雅 湖 曹 氏 族 谱 ,” In Guangdong hongbing qiyi shiliao 廣 東 洪 兵
起 義 史 料 / Guangdong sheng wenshi yanjiuguan, Zhongshan daxue lishi xibian. Guangzhou : Guangdong
renmin chubanshe, 1992: 851-852.
“Chen Song shiyou 陈 松 事 由 .” In Guangdong hongbing qiyi shiliao 廣 東 洪 兵 起 義 史 料 / Guangdong sheng
wenshi yanjiuguan, Zhongshan daxue lishi xibian. Guangzhou: Guangdong renmin chubanshe, 1992.
China Mail 10 (May 1855), 22 (May 1856), 27 (October 1853).
China Repository, Vol. 4 (1835-6), and Vol. 20 (1851).
Cooke, George W. China and Lower Bengal: Being the Times Special Correspondence from China. London:
Warne & Routledge, 1858.
---------------------. China: being “The Times” special correspondent from China in the Years 1857-1858.
London, 1858.
“Daming Douyuanshuai xiwen 大 明明 都 元 帥 檄 文 .” In Guangdong hongbing qiyi shiliao 廣 東 洪 兵 起 義 史 料 /
Guangdong sheng wenshi yanjiuguan, Zhongshan daxue lishi xibian. Guangzhou : Guangdong renmin
chubanshe, 1992.
Daqing Lichao shilu, Xianfeng period 大 淸 歷 朝 實 錄 , 咸 豊 朝 . Taibei, 1964.
Da Qing Renzong Rui (Jiaqing) huangdi shilu 大 清 仁 宗 睿 ( 嘉 慶 ) 皇 帝 實 錄 . Taibei: Faxingzhe Huawen
shuju, 1968.
Deqing Zhouzhi 德 慶 州 志 . Taibei,1909 Reprint
Dongguan Xianzhi 東 莞莞 縣 志 . Taibei, 1969 Reprint.
Enping Xianzhi 恩 平 縣 志 . 1934 Reprint.
pillage, rape, and death. As reiterated in account after account, Qing troops were responsible for much of
the wrack and ruin in Guangdong, to the point that, as one gentryman lamented “the people fear the Qing
soldiers, but not the Red Turban rebels.” See F.O. 931.1461 A letter advising against the demolition of
civilian house as a method of defense. (July 9, 1854).
195 Luo Baoshan 駱 寶 善 , ‘Taiping tianguo shiji Guangdong Tiandihui qiyi shulue 太 平 天 國 時時 期 廣 東
天 地 會 起 義 述 略 ,’ Zhongshan Daxue xuebao 中 山 大 學 學 報 , 4-1 (1981), 58-59.
196 Xu Xu, Ling’nan, 244.
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