Learning Asian History through Avatar: the Last Airbender - The White Lotus
[Image: A Screenshot from A:TLA - Iroh is standing in the foreground, with Jeong Jeong, Bumi, Pakku, and Piandao in the background, all dressed in ‘Order of the White Lotus Robes’]
While in the Show, Avatar: The Last Airbender, the Order of the White Lotus (or White Lotus Society) is a secretive all male “Master” group come to help restore balance to the world, that isn’t so far from the real history of the group known as “White Lotus.”
The actual White Lotus Society is (or was) a real Secret Society that led more than one rebellion in China. Obviously being a secret society leaves us with no comparison pictures, but we can paint a pretty interesting picture with what we do know.
The White Lotus is a type of Buddhist sectarianism that took root in China:
The first signs of the White Lotus Society came during the late thirteenth century. Mongol rule over China, known also by its dynastic name, the Yuan dynasty, prompted small, yet popular demonstrations against its rule. The White Lotus Society took part in some of these protests as they grew into widespread dissent.[1]
The Mongols considered the White Lotus society a heterodox religious sect and banned it, forcing its members to go underground. Now a secret society, the White Lotus became an instrument of quasi-national resistance and religious organization.
From then on, the White Lotus was known to have participated in several different rebellions, one “revolution inspired by the White Lotus society, took shape in 1352” which was part of the Red Turban Revolt,
The 1352 Red Turban revolt, for example, was also linked to the White Lotus Society and drew upon Maitreya Buddhism as well as a mixture of Daoist and Confucian symbols and ideas. This rebellion came to be led by Zhu Yuanzhang, who is perhaps better known by his imperial name Taizu, the first Ming Emperor. Taizu rose through the ranks of the Red Turban forces and, after its leader died while a guest of Taizu, he himself took command. The Red Turban rebellion received widespread public support because it was aimed at the Mongol Yuan dynasty, through which China was governed by the heirs of Genghis and Kublai Khan. In the Yuan dynasty, high positions were mostly denied to ethnic Chinese and reserved for Mongols and others considered to be foreigners. Taizu seized Nanjing and made it his capital and, from there, was able to grasp control over the whole country. The Ming dynasty was vigorous and effective in many ways and certainly appeared to return the country to the will of heaven.
and another known directly as the White Lotus Rebellion:
The White Lotus Rebellion (Chinese: 川楚白莲教起义; pinyin: Chuān chŭ bái lián jiào qǐ yì, 1796–1804) was a rebellion that occurred during the Qing Dynasty of China. It broke out in 1796 among impoverished settlers in the mountainous region that separates Sichuan province from Hubei and Shaanxi provinces. It apparently began as a tax protest led by the White Lotus Society, a secret religious society that forecast the advent of Maitreya, advocated restoration of the native Chinese Ming Dynasty, and promised personal salvation to its followers.
At first the Qing administration, under the control of Heshen, sent inadequate and inefficient imperial forces to suppress the ill-organized rebels. On assuming effective power in 1799, however, the Jiaqing Emperor (reigned 1796–1820) overthrew the Heshen clique and gave support to the efforts of the more vigorous Manchu commanders as a way of restoring discipline and morale. A systematic program of pacification followed in which the populace was resettled in hundreds of stockaded villages and organized into militia. In its last stage, the Qing suppression policy combined pursuit and extermination of rebel guerrilla bands with a program of amnesty for deserters. Although the rebellion was finally crushed by the Qing government in 1804, it marked a turning point in the history of the Qing dynasty. Qing control weakened and prosperity diminished by the 19th century.
The Rebellion caused the deaths of some 16 million people.
As for the White Lotus Society of today, it has been suggested that a more modern incarnation of the White Lotus is taking place through the Falun Gong movement/religion, which is currently banned within China, although they do not appear to be directly related.
Texts via Wikipedia 'White Lotus' and 'White Lotus Rebellion'; and The White Lotus Society Suite 101
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