Han Lin'er

Han Lin'er (died 1367) was one of the leaders of the Red Turban Rebellion during the late Yuan dynasty of China. Proclaimed emperor in 1355, he reigned in name only, as real power was initially held by his minister Liu Futong and later by Zhu Yuanzhang. After the fall of the Song dynasty in 1279, China came under Mongol Yuan rule. Many Han people resisted, especially the White Lotus sect led by Han's father Han Shantong, who claimed descent from Emperor Huizong of Song and as an incarnation of Maitreya. He launched an uprising in 1351 but was executed in 1355. With Han Shantong's death, Liu Futong became the de facto leader of the rebellion and supported Han Lin'er, who was proclaimed emperor of the restored Song in Bozhou. In 1357–58, Song forces occupied large parts of the North China Plain and shifted their court to Kaifeng, but were expelled by the Mongols in 1359, leaving only Jiangnan, ruled by Zhu Yuanzhang who was formally subordinate to Han, and a small base at Anfeng. In 1363, the army of another rebel state, Wu, attacked Anfeng and killed Liu Futong; Zhu rescued Han Lin'er and settled him near Nanjing. In 1367, Han drowned in the Yangtze. The following year Zhu declared himself emperor, and by 1371 he had unified most of China.