Ferment of the Red Turban Movement

Timeline

1. 1341–1344Huai River basin · Huai River basinDisasters and famine spread in the early Zhizheng years; the White Lotus Society secretly propagated in the Huai River basin, calling on the people to resist Yuan rule through religious prophecy, with Han Shantong and others active among the populace.
2. 1345–1350Yingzhou and Runing · East ChinaLiu Futong and others secretly organized armed forces in Yingzhou and Runing, using red turbans as their insignia, contacting followers everywhere, and accumulating strength to await the moment to rise against the Yuan.
3. 1351Yellow River channel worksite · North ChinaIn the eleventh year of Zhizheng, Toghto oversaw the digging of a new river channel, conscripting hundreds of thousands of laborers. The harsh corvée and brutal overseers provoked revolt; Han Shantong and Liu Futong formally rose in Yingzhou, and the Red Turban movement passed from preparation to full-scale eruption.