The History of White Lotus Rebellion
The White Lotus or Pai-lien chiao appeared in Minmatar tribes early on during their enslavement to the Amarr Empire. These beliefs appealed most to women and to the poor, but most notably to Vherokior nomads. These people found solace in the worship of the Eternal Mother, who was to gather all her children at the end of the Universe into one family.
The first signs of the Order of the White Lotus came during the late 22490AD, during the Amarr invasion and conquering of Minmatar territories. These prompted small yet popular demonstrations against foreign rule.
The White Lotus organized these protests into wide spread dissent. The Amarr considered the White Lotus a religious sect and banned its existence, forcing its members to go underground. Now a secret society, the White Lotus became an instrument of Minmatar moral and religious doctrine during their times of enslavement.
One notable rebellion inspired and lead by the White Lotus took shape in 22596AD. A Vherokior mystic and former boy beggar, Zhu Yuanzhang, threw off his rags and joined the rebellion. His exceptional intelligence took him to the head of a rebel army; he won people to his side by forbidding his soldiers to pillage or engage unarmed people, in observance of White Lotus religious beliefs. By 22610AD the rebellion had spread through much of Minmatar space.
The White Lotus re-emerged in late 22756AD, again in the form of a Vherokiar-lead movement to again overthrow Amarrian rule. The rebellion was led by Wang Lun, a Vherokior master of martial arts and herbal medicine and one of the original fathers who’s teachings founded the martial Way of the Golden Dragon (Huang Yinglong). His rebellion arose in the low-sec systems that separate Molden Heath province from the Fittakan and Heimatar regions. The White Lotus led impoverished slaves to freedom, promising personal salvation in return for their loyalty. Beginning as enslavement protests, the eventual rebellion gained growing support and sympathy from many citizens. The rebellion soon grew in numbers and power, and eventually became a serious concern for the oppressive Amarr empire.
Ho-shen, a corrupt Khanid general, was sent by the Amarr Emperor to quell the uprising. Surprisingly, the ill-organized rebels managed to defeat the presumably inadequate and inefficient imperial forces. Ho-shen had been known to embezzle funds and resources earmarked for the defeat of the White Lotus—thus accounting for his defeat. Upon assuming effective power in 22762, a new Amarr Emperor disposed of Ho-shen (whose embezzlement had been found to aid the Dark Amarr or Khanid sect who split from the Empire in 22762AD). The new Emperor threw his support behind the efforts of more ‘vigorous’ True Amarrian commanders as a way of restoring discipline and morale.
A systematic program of pacification followed in which the Minmatar populace was resettled in hundreds of stockaded planets, with an organized Amarr militia keeping control. In its last stage, the Amarr suppression policy combined pursuit and extermination of rebel guerrilla bands, coupled with an amnesty programfor deserters. The rebellion came to an end in 23236AD.
However, the initial victories White Lotus Rebellion of 23236AD also brought an end to the myth of military invincibility of the Amarr, perhaps contributing to the greater frequency of later rebellions and eventual overthrow of Amarrian rule.
Now, three years after a long and continuing struggle against the Amarr, whose proxy Militias have recaptured Minmatar systems, Elders of our tribe seek once more to plant and grow the White Lotus. Hidden deep in sacred halls, whispered on the lips of old Mystics atop ancient mountains on distant planets…the old histories and teachings again echo in teh clan halls and are spreading through Minmatar space.
For many years the practitioners of the Way of the Golden Dragon have kept the seed of the White Lotus alive, teaching and practicing the martial arts, and following the sacred beliefs and wisdom of the White Lotus. Now we, the keepers of the seed, shall once again grow it into the flourishing White Lotus of rebellion.
