List of Rebellions in China - Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion

Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion

The Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion (五斗米道 pinyin: Wudoumidao wg: Wu-Tou-Mi-Tao) was a religious rebellion at the end of the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) instigated by Taoist leader Zhang Daoling's grandson Zhang Lu. The name of the rebellion refers to the five pecks that were paid to the Taoist church for either cures (Zhang Daoling was a faith healer) or church dues. The rebellion became an example for the popular rebellions later instigated against dynastic governments.

Early in the 2nd century CE, Zhang Daoling, the progenitor of the Taoist Church, used his popularity as a faith healer and religious leader to organize a theological movement against the Han Dynasty from the widespread poverty and corruption that oppressed the peasants under the Han. He gathered many followers from the Sichuan area by not only providing a source of hope for the disparaged, but also by reforming religious practices into a more acceptable format. This created one of the first organized religious movements in China.

In 184 CE, his grandson and the successor of his son Zhang Heng, Zhang Lu, revolted against the Han Dynasty and created his own state, Zhang Han. This state continued for over 30 years until Zhang Lu's defeat and surrender to the general Cao Cao. After Zhang Lus's surrender, he relocated to the Han court where he continued to live until the Han Dynasty changed to the Wei. Zhang Lu then used his own popularity as a religious leader to lend legitimacy to the new Wei court, proclaiming that the Wei court had inherited divine authority from the Tao church, as well as from Confucian laws.