The Chinese religious and revolutionary leader Chang Chüeh (died 184) founded a Taoist religious movement which, as a political force known as the Yellow Turbans, shook the Later Han dynasty, 25-220, to its foundations and contributed to its final collapse.

The conditions of the time facilitated the rise of the religious rebel movements of Chang Chüeh and others. A large number of eunuchs at the court controlled the Emperor and many of the local officials. More and more officials held office not through merit but because they had bribed the powerful eunuchs. Government taxes were increasing at the same time that local officials were levying exorbitant exactions. Northeastern China, where Chang developed his following, suffered from other problems as well. During the 170s and early 180s the area was hit by a series of droughts, famines, and widespread epidemics. Furthermore, at the Han court, a...