encyclopedia-amazonica:(Monument to Tang Sai’er, source)If you want to support me, please consider d
encyclopedia-amazonica:(Monument to Tang Sai’er, source)If you want to support me, please consider donating to: https://ko-fi.com/encyclopediaamazonicaTang Sai’er - Rebel commander of the White lotus societyTang Sai’er (1399- after 1420) was born in Putai, present-day Shandong Province, China. Her father was a martial arts practitioner and had high expectations of his daughter. Her name indeed meant “Surpassing boys”. By the age of fifteen, Sai’er had mastered several weapons as well as as archery.She married an itinerant named Lin San and then joined the White lotus society, a religious and political secret society practicing equality between the sexes. Sai’er’s impressive organization skills led her to be elected at the head of the society’s local branch. She then began calling herself “Mother of Buddha”. Legends started circulating about her, saying that she was able to see the past and future or that she could turn paper-cuts into a real army.People suffered because of the policies of the Yongle emperor, who imposed heavy taxes as well as corvée labor. Flood and drought further weakened the population and Sai’er lost her parents and husband. She thus decided to rebel against the government. Advocating equality, she recruited ten of thousands of followers through the White lotus society.It was in early 1420 that Sai’er led a military uprising in Xieshipeng village. She defeated the local imperial forces and killed their commander. She defeated two more armies sent against her and killed another Ming commander. Sai’er then took two more towns were she burnt the government’s offices and warehouses. Then, the tide turned. The imperial troops managed to inflict heavy losses on her peasant army. Sai’er could no longer fight. She disappeared completely and the government wasn’t able to catch her. Since it was said that she had disguised as a Daoist nun, Buddhist and Daoist nuns from the area were arrested, but to no avail. Sai’er had completely vanished and no one could find her. Though official histories label her as a “bandit” or a “witch”, local people remember her as a heroine. Xieshipeng village was even renamed “Tang Sai’er Village” in her honor.Bibliography:Altenburger Roland, The Sword Or the Needle: The Female Knight-errant (xia) in Traditional Chinese NarrativeLin Yanging, “Tang Sai’er”, in: Hong Lee Lily Xiao, Wiles Sue (ed.), Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Tang Through Ming, 618-1644 -- source link
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