Eight Trigrams uprising of 1813

Led by Lin Qing (林清; 1770–1813) and Li Wencheng, the revolt occurred in the Zhili, Shandong, and Henan provinces of China.

In 1812, the leaders of the Eight Trigram Sect (Bagua jiao) also known as the Sect of Heavenly Order (Tianli jiao) announced that leader Li Wencheng was a 'true lord of the Ming' and declared 1813 as the year for rebellion,[1] while Lin Qing declared himself the reincarnation of Maitreya, the prophesied future Buddha in Buddhism, using banners with the inscription "Entrusted by Heaven to Prepare the Way", a reference to the popular novel Water Margin.

[2] They considered him sent by the Eternal Unborn Mother of esoteric Chinese religions,[3] to remove the Qing dynasty whom they regarded as having lost the Mandate of Heaven to rule.

[1] Leader Lin Qing (林清; 1770–1813) was a hustler who drifted between odd jobs before taking over a local White Lotus sect.

Dividing their followers into eight "trigrams", they told them that "when Li Wencheng has risen up, everyone who had given money or grain" to their enterprise "would be given land or official rank.

They were prompted by droughts and floods, as well as by sharp increases in the price of wheat, and set 15 September as an appropriate time for the rebellion to begin.

[1][2] Li Wencheng was to rise in Huaxian and march northward to gather more followers and converge with Lin Qing in Beijing.

Followers of the Eight Trigrams quickly took control of the towns of Huaxian, Caoxian, and Dingtao in southern Zhili and Shandong provinces.

Several thousand supporters continued besieging several cities from their headquarters in Huaxian, Henan province for several months until suppressed by Qing forces on 1 January 1814.