My son keeps pointing this stuff out to me. It's well engrained in Chinese historical consciousness that dynasties fall when they lose the Mandate of Heaven, and one of the signs a dynasty has lost the Mandate of Heaven is the rise of an occult/martial arts movement in opposition.
For example the Yellow Turbans:
"Taxation increased so much in the north, that many people migrated south to avoid it. Unrest increased among the impoverished peasants, until the revolt of the 'Yellow Turbans' broke out in AD 184. The rebels wore yellow headpieces in a shade that symbolized the soil. The 'Yellow Turbans' were secret societies, backed by Taoist theories. The revolt was suppressed but the landlords who united to suppress the peasant rebellion joined with provincial governors in creating a threat to the government and the Han dynasty fell in AD 220."
(
http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/civil_n2/histscript3_n2/yellowturban.html)
Or the Fists of Righteous Harmony:
"In northern Shandong province, a devastating drought was pushing people to the edge of starvation. Few people there were thinking about making peace. A secret society, known as the Fists of Righteous Harmony, attracted thousands of followers. Foreigners called members of this society 'Boxers' because they practiced martial arts. The Boxers also believed that they had a magical power, and that foreign bullets could not harm them. Millions of 'spirit soldiers,' they said, would soon rise from the dead and join their cause.
"Their cause, at first, was to overthrow the imperial Ch'ing government and expel all 'foreign devils' from China.
<snip>
"After a month of no news from their diplomats, the foreign powers had grown worried. They assembled an international relief force of soldiers and sailors from eight countries. The United States, eager to rescue its ministers and to assert its presence in China, sent a contingent of 2,500 sailors and marines. After rescuing another besieged delegation in Tientsin, the international force marched to Beijing, fighting Boxers and imperial soldiers along the way.
"The international troops looted the capital and even ransacked the Forbidden City. Disguised as a peasant, the empress dowager escaped the city in a cart. She returned to the Forbidden City a year later, but the power of the Ch'ing dynasty was destroyed forever."
http://www.smplanet.com/imperialism/fists.htmlThe current Maoist dynasty knows they're no different than the Han or the Ch'ing ... and they're getting very nervous about the Falun Gong.
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