Chinese secret society founded during a time of pestilence (2nd century AD).
The rebels' yellow headdresses signified their association with the earth element, which they believed would succeed the (red) fire element that represented Han rule. The sect was Daoist in inspiration, like the contemporaneous Five Pecks of Rice sect. Its rebellion (AD 184 0441; 204) against the tyrannical eunuchs who influenced the emperor contributed to the fall of the Han dynasty . See also Daoism .