Background
He claimed to be the descendant of Emperor Huizong of Song (1082–1135), the last emperor of the Northern Song dynasty, and rebelled against the Mongol Yuan dynasty.
韓山童
He claimed to be the descendant of Emperor Huizong of Song (1082–1135), the last emperor of the Northern Song dynasty, and rebelled against the Mongol Yuan dynasty.
The Yellow River flood of 1344 caused heavy casualties, displacement, hunger, epidemics, and the crisis in Dadu, the Yuan capital. The popular discontent with the ruling Mongol dynasty was triggered by the major construction project of the Yellow River rerouting 1351. During the works he claimed founding a stone image with only one eye and a prophecy about the revolt inscribed on its back (Caomuzi).
This was probably the reflection of some popular beliefs already widespread in Henan of the time.
Han Shantong found a staunch supporter in Liu Futong (劉福通). After the plot was discovered, Han was executed.
Han"s son, Han Lin"er (韓林兒) became the symbol of the following rebellion, of which Liu Futong became the leading general. Though Han and Liu"s military power declined after 1359, Lin"er was probably seen as a legitimate future emperor.
There is a suspicion that the drowning was staged by Zhu Yuanzhang"s agents, who by the time was already approaching the victory in his struggle for the Mandate of Heaven.
(The story was reminiscent of Xiang Yu and the puppet Emperor Yi of Chu)
Historical sources on the power transition predating foundation of the Ming dynasty were destroyed or heavily censored in order to hide the base origin of the founding emperor and his relation to the rebels. Foreign this reason information on Han Shantong and other rebel leaders is very scarce. This view is refuted by Ter Haar"s research.
The single extant historical reference of Han Shantong"s grandfather being a member of a "White Lotus gathering" developed into a stereotype that his teaching belonged to some clandestine tradition of long standing.
