Characteristics and Historical Role of Peasant Wars in the Early and Middle Yuan Dynasty

From the destruction of the Southern Song Dynasty in 1279 and the unification of the whole country until the outbreak of the peasant revolt at the end of the Yuan Dynasty in 1351, these seventy years were a period of relative stability for the Yuan Dynasty, but the struggle of the people against the Yuan Dynasty did not stop even for a single day. Due to the characteristics of the times and the Yuan Dynasty rule itself, the peasant revolts in this period showed some characteristics different from the previous peasant revolts; these peasant revolts were suppressed, but they were important to the Yuan Dynasty's ruling policy and the development of the Yuan Dynasty's society. > > First, the uprising characteristics > > (a) the number of peasant revolts, wide geographical > > dynasties established at the beginning, regardless of the length of time, there is a period of relatively stable unification of the lifting of the period, but the Yuan Dynasty is different, from the very beginning of its establishment, there are people's armed resistance. 1279 years after the destruction of the Southern Song Dynasty united the country, the people's resistance is still rising and falling. The reign of Yuan Shizu, known as the Yuan Dynasty "to rule" era, but the people's armed revolts are also one after another, according to incomplete statistics, after the destruction of the Song Dynasty, the reign of Yuan Shizu within fifteen years, the record of the larger-scale revolts there are more than a hundred times. Subsequent Chengzong, Wuzong, Renzong, Yingzong, Taiding Emperor, Wenzong reign, peasant revolts are also no year, and Yuan Shundei reign of the first period, around the world is "a group of thieves across the ...... rampant banditry," the number of peasant revolts in the Yuan Dynasty, in the history of the number of peasant revolts, it is rare. The number of peasant revolts in the Yuan Dynasty is rare in history. From the scope of the uprising, not only Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei, Jiangxi, Yunnan and other provinces, that is, the original Southern Song Dynasty ruled the center of the region, people's uprisings are also one after another, and Shandong, Hebei, Shanxi and other centers of the Yuan Dynasty ruled the center, that is, directly under the Yuan central hinterland, the people's armed resistance is also occurring, even if it is located in the extreme north of the Kuril Islands of Liaoyang Province and the Mongolian plateau of the north of the ridge Province, also occurred, including the Mongolian people. Even on the Kuril Islands in Liaoyang Province in the far north and on the Mongolian plateau in Lingbei Province, there were armed revolts by people of various ethnic groups, including Mongols, and the geographical area of the revolts was rare in history. During the reign of the Yuan Dynasty, the feudal landlords, led by the Mongolian nobles, cruelly oppressed and exploited the people of all ethnic groups. Class conflicts in various regions were never eased, and the people's resistance struggles never ceased, so the peasant revolts in the Yuan Dynasty were characterized by a large number of revolts and a wide range of territories. > > (b) minority revolts in particular > > in the early and middle of the yuan dynasty peasant revolts, minority revolts in particular, and some of the revolts or the upper echelons of the landlord or the minority of the people initiated and led, which is another feature of peasant revolts during this period, the yuan dynasty is a united multi-ethnic state, in the vast territory of the yuan dynasty, inhabited by a number of ethnic groups, ethnic groups, complex composition, their social development and the development of the people. The Yuan Dynasty was a unified multi-ethnic state, and within the vast territory of the Yuan Dynasty, there were many ethnic groups living in the country, with complex composition and different levels of social development, but many of them held armed uprisings successively to resist the rule of the Yuan Dynasty. In April of the thirteenth year of the reign of Yuan (1276), shortly after the Mongol army captured Lin'an, the She ethnic group living in the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang organized a She army under the leadership of Lady Xu to fight against the Yuan and supported Zhang Shijie, who was fighting against the Yuan in Fujian. In the fifteenth year of the reign of Yuan (1278), Mrs. Xu also contacted the Huanghua Uprising Army in Jianning (present-day Jian'ou, Fujian), and the people of She and Han **** carried out the anti-Yuan struggle together. To the Yuan 20 years (1283) > > in Guangdong uprising Lide, is a "hole fang", also recorded as "landlord", see he is a minority leader. To Yuan twenty-third year (1286) in July, Yunnan Umeng Yi people under the leadership of its chief A Meng, launched an uprising, armed opposition to the Yuan Dynasty *** transfer Sichuan, Yunnan line Privy Council of the army will be suppressed ****. In the 24th year of the Yuan Dynasty (1287), Zhong Mingliang's rebel army, which was active in the area of Fujian and Guangdong, was also mainly composed of the She nationality. > > After the 26th year of the reign of the first Emperor (12s9), the Yao people in Hunan launched an armed uprising, whose leaders were Zeng Dafang, Liao Dafang, Xiao Dafang, Chen Dafang, etc., all of them were also Yao chiefs in various places. > > Dade five years (1301 afternoon) Yunnan native official Song Longji led the Yao people's uprising against the Yuan Dynasty *** of the requisitioning and dispatching, another female leader of the Yao people's uprising folding festival (snake festival), is a native official's wife. Pan Bao, who revolted in Guangxi in the second year of Tai Ding (1325), was also a "Yao chief". In short, in the middle of the Yuan Dynasty, the armed resistance of the ethnic minorities in the mountainous areas of Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi and Fujian rose one after another, one after another. Minority revolts are so frequent, mainly due to the Mongolian aristocracy to increase the oppression and exploitation of the minority people, when the minority areas less tax, less labor, and the Yuan Dynasty is different, it not only strengthens the rule of the Han Chinese people and searches, but also on the minorities do not spare, the chiefs of the local government also suffered losses, so some of the chiefs of the characters also rose up to rebel against the rule of the Yuan Dynasty. > > (C) uprising with the color of national struggle > > Yuan dynasty peasants revolt, often the main attack on the Mongolian aristocracy and the Yuan dynasty at all levels of civil and military officials, while the Southern Song dynasty's resistance to the Yuan remnants of the power to give support. In the 14th year of the Yuan Dynasty (1277), after the revolt of Chen Hang-ye and the She woman, Mrs. Xu, there were 100,000 people who had supported Zhang Shijie's struggle against the Yuan. Fu Gao, who led the uprising in Hubei, also supported Chen Yizhong and Wen Tianxiang in their fight against the Yuan, so "many of the big names in E are connected with Fu Gao". After the Battle of Mount Lu Xiufu negative Zhao cast into the sea, some of the peasant insurgents are still under the banner of Zhao Song, such as to the 20th year of the Yuan Dynasty (1283), Xichuan Zhao and Shang uprising, and even claimed to be after the Zhao Song clan; Dongguan County, Zhang Qiang uprising, but also to restore the Song Dynasty called for. Therefore, many Han officials and landowners in the Yuan Dynasty also sympathized with or supported the peasant revolts. In December of the twentieth year of the reign of the Yuan Dynasty (1283), "Wu Tidian lived in the cormorant of Qingtian, and the political and thieves (Huang) Hua Tong, and plotted to rebel again." This Wu Tijin was a Han landowner. To the Yuan thirty years (1293), carry the western province of peasant revolt, February 26, "Jiangxi line court official month of the lost words:" Jiangnan more hide thieves "due to the Han landlords who secretly support the insurgents, so the Yuan dynasty rulers "Shen strict Jiangnan Weapons ban", strictly prohibit *** hold weapons. "Meng claimed to be the marshal of the great yuan, fugong, rich people and minor officials of the Jiexiao all authorized pseudo-officials", set up a new official institutions, and the Yuan Dynasty rule against. Although this uprising failed, it dealt a great blow to the Yuan rule. Peasants' anti-Yuan struggle was supported or sympathized by some Han landlords, the main reason is that in the Yuan society, Han landlords and Mongolian landlords have always existed between the ethnic conflicts, the Mongolian aristocrats in order to ensure their dominance, the rights of Han landlords carried out all kinds of restrictions, the Mongolian rulers are not allowed to *** when the high-ranking officials, are not allowed to *** to hold weapons, are not allowed to *** to take the power of the military, and there are only a small number of Han landlords The upper class of Han landlords are the main way to become an official; the Yuan dynasty abolished the imperial examinations for a long time, and then restored them for a time, but in terms of the content of the examination, the number of names and the number of admissions, the *** and put all kinds of restrictions on the ***, which blocked their career paths; in the face of the law, the Mongols and the Han Chinese are also unequal, and the punishment of the *** for committing the same crime was much heavier than that of the Mongols; even if they become officials, the Han Palace in the political power and Even when the official, the Han Palace in the political power and descendants of the shade narrative and so on, also than the Mongolians much lower. Therefore, there is always a contradiction between the Mongolian and Han landlords, some of the Han landlords sympathize with the peasant revolt, support, and local minor officials to start the anti-Yuan revolt, is a reflection of this contradiction. > > Second, the role of history > > (a) peasant revolts against the feudal rule > > Yuan Dynasty, the early, middle peasant revolts, although most of the scale is not large, adhere to the struggle when the time to wait for a long time, but also a heavy blow to the feudal rule. After the outbreak of the peasant revolt, the spearhead first pointed to the usual riding on their heads as a blessing of the various levels of officials, they "plundered counties, burned the government treasury, kill the county officials", where "chopping and mowing the plagiarism of the enemy, floating vibration raging ...... noble ministers and heavy generals, the school of soldiers and horses, because of the The peasants killed civil and military officials, confiscated the treasury property, in order to fill the military pay, to help the poor, some also sent a small unit of troops, "burst into the rich, counting the family capital," and swept away. The peasants' armies were "in Qi and in Zhao, the court could not control them", and the states and counties could do nothing about it. Some local officials are unable to fight, then to the peasant army to beg for mercy, such as Fengqiu County Yin Xu Yifu, "heard the bandits to the near border, is a single horse out of the suburbs of ten miles to meet, see hundreds of thieves, Yifu force: "Fengqiu County, a small people are poor, all have been terrified to flee, fortunately, not into my territory'", the farmers army Laughing at its incompetence, is to avoid and go to him, under the strike of the peasant army, Fengqiu bureaucrats can be imagined in a sorry state.