Han Shantong (Chinese: 韓山童; pinyin: Hán Shāntóng; died 1351), born in Luancheng, Hebei, was one of the early leaders of the Red Turban Rebellions.
The Yellow River flood of 1344 caused heavy casualties, displacement, hunger, epidemics, and the crisis in Dadu, the Yuan capital.
The popular discontent with the ruling Yuan dynasty was triggered by the major construction project of the Yellow River rerouting 1351.
Historical sources on the power transition predating foundation of the Ming dynasty were destroyed or heavily censored in order to hide the base origin of the founding emperor and his relation to the rebels.
The single extant historical reference to Han Shantong's grandfather being a member of a "White Lotus gathering" developed into a stereotype that his teaching belonged to some clandestine tradition of long standing.