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Disputes between the landed gentry and the peasants continued to cause problems for the government as exemplified in the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion. “The prevalence of peasant rebellions in Chinese history is evidence against the view that unification promoted human welfare.”-3 In spite of advances in every area of civilization and culture, the age-old strife between wealthy landowners and the peasants who worked that land continued throughout the following centuries. Periodic peasant revolts were crushed as quickly as possible but no remedies for the people’s grievances were ever offered and each military action continued to deal with the symptom of the problem instead of the problem itself. The rebels enjoyed success in defeating the forces of the government. Wang Man, a government official aid, had many failed attempts to amend the land owning structure, which triggered a full-scale peasant rebellion. They were known as the ‘Red Eyebrows’ because they smeared red paint across their foreheads. Their revolts were very successful until Liu Bang took back control of the empire. The Yellow Turban Rebellion contributed to the fall of the Han dynasty. The rebellion, which got its name from the color of the cloths that the rebels wore on their heads, marked an important point in the history of Taoism due to the rebels' association with secret Taoist societies. "This was a clear dynastic challenge to the Eastern Han, which ruled by the power of Fire and used red regalia in ceremonies; in Five Phase theory, Fire produces Earth, whose color is yellow."-4
3. Victoria Tin-bor Hui, How China Was Ruled, (Notre Dame, Indiana, 2008)
4. John S. Major and Constance A. Cook, Ancient China a History, (New York, NY, 2007)
3. Victoria Tin-bor Hui, How China Was Ruled, (Notre Dame, Indiana, 2008)
4. John S. Major and Constance A. Cook, Ancient China a History, (New York, NY, 2007)