24. The Red Eyebrow Revolt That Roiled Ancient China
The large-scale land consolidation of agricultural lands into large estates fell heavily upon China’s peasants. The former independent yeoman peasant owners whose small plots were seized and amalgamated into large estates were reduced to tenant farmers or serfs. They now had to till what had once been their own holdings on behalf of others – if they were lucky. Worse was the lot of those kicked off the land altogether and were reduced to a life of itinerant wanderers. In response to the turmoil and dangers, and to protect the interests of the peasantry, the peasants formed a secret society.
Its leader was a mystic who spoke through mediums and ordered the organization of bands of armed Chinese peasants known as the Red Eyebrows. They took their name from the color of the eyebrows of their members, who painted their faces to look like demons. In 15 AD, they initiated their first acts of armed resistance. The Red Eyebrows’ popularity steadily grew, and by 17 AD, their defiance had become a widespread peasant revolt. The rebellion had a collective leadership, in which a man named Fan Chong emerged as the most dominant figure.
