| The work examines the development of two branches of White Lotus sectarianism and government efforts to control their spread during the 18th century. The main sources are palace memorials from the Qing archives in Beijing and Taibei. The introduction addresses the role of leadership, ideology and state responses to sectarianism between 1723 and 1796 in shaping sectarian behavior. Chapter one details the development of Return to the Origin (Shou Yuan) sects that can be traced to Chang-zi County, Shanxi. Chapter two details the development of Primal Chaos (Hun Yuan) sects centered in Lu-yi County, Henan. Chapter three focuses on the interaction of the two branches in western Hubei and the Han River Highlands and examines the activities of important leaders such as Liu Song, Liu Zhi-xie, and Song Zhi-qing. Chapter four examines the 1794-1796 investigations and the hunt for Liu Zhi-xie that are said to have precipitated the rebellion. The following general conclusions result from the research: (1) The two sectarian networks had very different styles of leadership and organization. The Primal Chaos sects were more routinized, oriented toward the patriarchal leadership of Wang Huai-yu, and less inclined to rebel, while the Return to the Origin sects that took hold in western Hubei and the Han River Highlands were more dependent on individual charismatic leaders, lacked a stabilizing center, and were much more theologically innovative and potentially volatile; (2) Qing authorities, at least until the 1774 Wang Lun uprising, took a flexible approach toward potentially disruptive religious sectarianism. Moreover, with the exception of western Hubei and the Han River Highlands, effective surveillance and control at the local level enabled the Qing to check the transformation of sects into a threat to social stability; (3) The form of sectarian leadership and effectiveness of government local control were important factors in determining whether a region revolted in 1796, for with the exception of western Hubei and the Han River Highlands, no other area affected by the investigations of 1794-96 rose up against the Qing. |
