Muslim Rebellion of 1855–73

a rebellion of non-Chinese peoples in Yünnan Province against the rule of the Manchu Ch’ing dynasty, which was pursuing a policy of fomenting ethnic conflict and cruelly oppressing non-Chinese peoples. Shortly before the rebellion, the Ch’ing authorities increased illegal requisitions from the local Huei (Panthay) people, who practiced Islam. The rebellion began after the local authorities, taking advantage of religious clashes between Chinese (Han) and Huei in the vicinity of the Shih Yang Ch’ang mine, inflicted mass beatings on Muslims. During the rebellion, in which Yi, Pai, and other non-Chinese peoples took part, two main centers emerged: one headed by Ma Ju-lung, who operated in southern and eastern Yünnan, and one headed by Tu Wen-hsiu, who in 1856 created the state of P’ing-nan-Kuo (State of Pacification of the South) with its capital in Tali. After Ma Ju-lung went over to the Ch’ing authorities in 1862, the area controlled by Tu Wen-hsiu became the chief base. An unsuccessful siege by the rebels of the administrative center of Kunming Province in 1867–69 enabled Ch’ing troops to launch an offensive. After Tali was captured in 1872, the rebellion was brutally suppressed.