White Lotus Buddhism originated from the Pure Land Sect of Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty. Initially, development was slow, and the members were generally monks. There were several small-scale riots, but they did not attract the attention of the imperial court.
In the Song Dynasty, it began to develop into a commoner class, becoming a mixed society of monks and laymen, and formed a considerable scale. The Song government saw that this force was getting stronger and began to suppress it. During this period, there were five famous peasant uprisings in Yifang La, Zhong Xiang, Lü Shi Nang, Wang Nianjing, and Yu Wubo. Due to the relentless suppression of the government, the White Lotus Sect began to go underground.
During the Yuan Dynasty, the White Lotus Sect was used by the government and was commended for its remarkable achievements. Its power expanded rapidly, and at that time it could be said to be on par with the imperial army. The government felt bad and began to suppress it. During this period, the Jianghuai Uprising, headed by Han Shantong, broke out.
Zhu Yuanzhang used the power of the Ming Sect (that is, the White Lotus Sect) to step onto the stage of history. In order to consolidate its national strength, the Ming Dynasty also began to suppress the White Lotus Sect. During this period, there were three vigorous peasant uprisings, namely the Tang Sai'er and Xu Hongru uprisings in Shandong and the Cai Boguan uprising in Sichuan. Due to the encirclement and suppression of the Ming army, the White Lotus Sect at this time had to move underground again.
In the Qing Dynasty, the White Lotus Sect became a community organization believed by ordinary people, and its strength was even stronger. Especially during the Years of Qianlong and Jiaqing, several large-scale uprisings broke out. At that time, there was an uprising of Zhang Zhengmo and Nie Jie in Zhijiang, Hubei Province, Yidu. Yao Zhifu and Wang Cong'er of Xiangyang Huanglong rebelled. The Wang Lun Uprising in Shandong is the most famous. The Qing government spent 120 million silver taels to eliminate it.
Eventually, however, many remnants secretly joined the Boxers.