The Taiping Dao (Way of Great Peace) 太平道

An important early folk Taoist sect.

It was founded during the Xiping era (172–178 CE) of Emperor Ling of the Eastern Han Dynasty by Zhang Jiao (?–184 CE), a native of Julu in Jizhou (present-day Pingxiang, Hebei). The sect revered Huang Tian (the Central Yellow Great One) along with Huangdi (the Yellow Emperor) and Laozi, and took The Scripture of Great Peace (Taiping Jing) as its primary classic. It was named "Taiping Dao" after its proclamation of "Huang Tian Tai Ping" (Yellow Heaven, Great Peace).

Zhang Jiao was the organizer and leader of the "Yellow Turban Rebellion." After the mid-Eastern Han Dynasty, state power was alternately held by imperial relatives and eunuchs, who engaged in mutual strife, leading to a dark political situation with increasingly exorbitant taxes and levies. Coupled with frequent floods, droughts, and epidemic diseases, peasants rose up in resistance everywhere. "All who understood prophetic texts declared that the fortune of the Han Dynasty was exhausted, and the Yellow Clan would rise" (Records of the Three Kingdoms·Book of Wei·Biography of Emperor Wu, annotated by Dian Lue).

At that time, Zhang Jiao styled himself "Great Virtuous and Good Teacher" (according to Li Xian’s annotation, "good" might be written as "lang," meaning a physician). His younger brothers, Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao, called themselves "great doctors," and all three brothers practiced medicine. "Teachers of Taiping Dao held nine-section staffs, created talismans and incantations, taught patients to kowtow and reflect on their faults, and gave them talisman-infused water to drink." "Many patients recovered, so common people believed in and turned to them." Zhang Jiao then sent eight disciples to travel the four directions, "preaching virtuous teachings to transform the world," propagating The Scripture of Great Peace’s ideas that "cherishing life" and "loving goodness" were innate qualities bestowed by heaven and earth upon all people. The sect denounced wealthy elites who "amassed billions in wealth yet refused to help the poor or relieve emergencies, letting people starve, freeze, and die—crimes that cannot be expunged." It advocated for a peaceful world where people worked for their own sustenance and everyone had the right to share society’s resources, winning widespread support from peasants.

Historical records note: Within over a decade, the sect had hundreds of thousands of followers, spread across eight provinces—Qing, Xu, You, Ji, Jing, Yang, Yan, and Yu. Disciples were organized into units called "fang" (regiments), with large "fang" numbering over 10,000 and small ones 6,000–7,000; there were 36 "fang" in total. Each "fang" had a leader, and all were under the command of Zhang Jiao (self-styled "Heavenly Duke General"), Zhang Liang ("Earthly Duke General"), and Zhang Bao ("Human Duke General"), forming a wartime system integrating religious and military structures.

They proclaimed, "The Blue Heaven is dead; the Yellow Heaven will rise. In the year of Jiazi, all under heaven will be fortunate." They used white clay to write the characters "Jiazi" on the gates of temples in the capital and government offices in provinces and commanderies, creating public opinion that the Jiazi year would see the replacement of the Han Dynasty.

In the first year of Zhongping (184 CE), the Jiazi year, they began deploying troops. Ma Yuanyi, leader of a large "fang," traveled several times to the capital to collude with eunuchs Feng Xu and Xu Feng as internal allies, "planning to rise up simultaneously inside and outside on the fifth day of the third lunar month." However, Zhang Jiao’s disciple Tang Zhou betrayed them and informed the authorities. Emperor Ling ordered Ma Yuanyi to be torn apart by chariots in Luoyang, searched out and killed over a thousand Taiping Dao followers in the capital, and ordered Jizhou to hunt down Zhang Jiao and others. Forced to act early, Zhang Jiao and his followers launched the uprising in the second lunar month. "Seven provinces and twenty-eight commanderies rose up at the same time," and "within ten days, the whole country responded, shaking the capital."

Rebels all wore yellow turbans as their symbol, hence the name "Yellow Turban Rebellion." After ten months of fighting, Zhang Jiao died of illness, and Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao were killed in battle one after another. Taiping Dao’s leadership of peasants in resisting the Eastern Han Dynasty ultimately failed under the heavy suppression of government troops. However, it accelerated the downfall of the Eastern Han Dynasty and exerted a significant influence on later peasants’ use of religious forms to organize resistance against feudal rule.