It is worth noting that in subsequent dynasties, revolts had been based on the Taoist idea of equality and had strong religious flavour. This is true especially with uprisings led by religious women such as the White Lotus Sect. In the Ming dynasty, a woman named Tang Sai’er of the White Lotus Society led an army strong enough to threaten the capital Beijing. (See Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: Tang through Ming, Sharpe, 2014.)
Professor Kleeman says,”The only “Buddhists” were Buddhist monks and the only “Taoists” were Taoist priests. “ Is he including Buddhists nuns in “Buddhist monks”? And including Taoist priestesses in ‘”Taoist priests”? If not, he is ignoring a sizeable number of Buddhists and Taoists in China.
Lily Lee <l.lee@sydney.edu.au>