The White Lotus Rebellion, a Chinese anti-Manchu uprising that occurs during the Qing dynasty, breaks out in 1794 among impoverished settlers in the mountainous region that separates Sichuan province from Hubei and Shaanxi provinces.

It apparently begins as a tax protest led by the White Lotus Society, a secret religious society that forecasts the advent of Maitreya, advocates restoration of the native Chinese Ming dynasty, and promises personal salvation to its followers.