The Roots of Rural Rebellion in Late Imperial China

The late Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) witnessed a dramatic escalation of tensions between China’s landowning elite and the peasantry. As the imperial government grew increasingly corrupt, landlords across southern provinces like Fujian, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, and Anhui intensified their exploitation through creative and brutal methods.

Historical records reveal systematic oppression: landlords in Fujian’s Shaxian County bribed local officials to ignore excessive rent collection, while others demanded “winter tributes” of livestock and forced tenants to personally deliver harvests to landlord granaries. In Ninghua County, Fujian, landlords manipulated measurement standards—using a 20-liter “rent bucket” for collections but a 16-liter “market bucket” for sales—effectively stealing 25% of the harvest. Jiangxi landlords similarly used oversized grain measures and imposed arbitrary fees like the “bucket surface” surcharge of an extra peck per bushel.

These practices created a powder keg of resentment. As Ming central authority collapsed in the 1640s, two distinct but related movements emerged: the nubian (servant uprisings) in Jiangsu-Anhui and the dianbian (tenant revolts) in Fujian-Jiangxi.

The Firestorm of Tenant Revolts (1644–1650)

Following the fall of Beijing to Li Zicheng in 1644 and the Ming court’s retreat south, tenant uprisings erupted with unprecedented coordination. Three major rebellions exemplified this movement:

### The Ninghua Uprising (Fujian)
Led by Huang Tong in 1646, this revolt targeted measurement fraud. Tong organized tenants across dozens of villages into a “Long Pass” militia network with “thousand-commander” leaders. Their demands:
– Standardized 16-liter measurement buckets
– Abolition of winter tributes and forced delivery
– Creation of tianbing (peasant-soldiers) as enforcement

The movement briefly captured Ninghua’s county seat and even arrested a Ming minister before Qing forces crushed it.

### The Shicheng Rebellion (Jiangxi)
Under Wu Wanqian’s leadership (1645–1647), tenants:
– Eliminated the “bucket surface” surcharge
– Reduced rents by 20–30%
– Demanded permanent tenancy rights
Wu’s “Jixian Society” allied with rebels across three counties, besieging Shicheng repeatedly until Qing troops massacred the movement.

### The Ruijin Revolt (Jiangxi)
This 1647 uprising saw tenants led by He Zhiyuan raise the radical banner of “Equal Tenancy Across Eight Villages,” demanding:
– Land redistribution (1/3 to tenants as permanent holdings)
– Abolition of ceremonial landlord privileges
– Occupation of county offices to force official recognition

A coalition with Ninghua and Shicheng rebels created a regional uprising before Qing forces killed 5,000–6,000 rebels in 1648.

The Radical Vision of the “Leveling Kings”

In Jiangxi’s Ji’an prefecture, the most ideologically radical movement emerged—the Chanping Wang (Leveling Kings) revolt. From 1644–1645, landless laborers and servants:
– Seized landlord estates and redistributed grain
– Publicly humiliated landlords (forcing them to kneel while servants drank)
– Adopted the slogan: “Level masters and servants, rich and poor!”

This movement, originating in Anfu and Luling before spreading to Yongxin, explicitly challenged the Confucian social hierarchy—a revolutionary act in feudal China.

Why These Revolts Mattered

### Short-Term Impacts
– Temporary rent reductions in some areas
– Exposure of landlord abuses to wider society
– Forced Qing authorities to intervene in rural disputes

### Long-Term Legacy
1. Precedent for Collective Action
The tianbing organizational model influenced later peasant movements, including the Taiping Rebellion’s militia systems.

2. Early Land Reform Concepts
The Ruijin demand for permanent tenancy (later called yongdianquan) became a feature of Chinese land law by the 18th century.

3. Challenge to Feudal Ideology
The Leveling Kings’ egalitarian rhetoric, though crushed, planted seeds for anti-feudal thought that resurfaced in modern revolutions.

Modern Reflections

These 17th-century uprisings reveal timeless truths about oppression and resistance. While ultimately suppressed, the rebels’ demands for fair measurements, rent control, and dignity anticipated modern labor and land rights movements. Their tragic fate under Qing repression also illustrates the brutal cost of challenging entrenched power—a historical lesson with enduring relevance.

The tenant revolts stand as a forgotten chapter of China’s long struggle for economic justice, demonstrating how ordinary farmers, when pushed beyond endurance, could momentarily shake the foundations of feudalism itself.