Anti-Qin Rebels
No Peasant Leaders Here
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6007729 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jack L Dull (University of Washington, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1983 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 285-318 |
| Publication date | 1983-07-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Modern China (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0097-7004 • E-ISSN: 1552-6836 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/009770048300900302 |
| OpenAlex | W2010219275 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 10 |
Was the Qin dynasty overthrown by peasant uprisings? The standard answer to that question conjures up a picture of Chen Sheng, an agricultural laborer who, without weapons, led the first of a swarm of uprisings that were to engulf the Qin regime and lead finally to the founding of the Han dynasty. Chen Sheng was of peasant origins and the followers of many leaders who took to the battlefields were undoubtedly peasants. We cannot prove the latter point, for we know next to nothing about the composition of the armies that opposed the Qin and then each other. But it seems reasonable to assume that the armies of a fundamentally agrarian society would have been made up of peasants. We do not know what motivated most of these peasants to enter rebel armies (assuming they were not simply dragooned into service); hence we cannot comment evidentially on peasant motivation. This article focuses on the leaders of the period about whom we do have some information. If the standard answer to the opening question were valid, there would be no need to reopen the case. A critical review of the
Agrarian society · Agriculture · Archaeology · Economic history · Epistemology · Nothing · Peasant · Political economy · Political science · Sociology · Chinese history and philosophy · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History · Law · Philosophy
| Citations per year | 0.17 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2014 - 2022 (9) |
| Highly cited | No |