Lǚ Mǔ, whose name means "Mother of Lǚ", led a peasant uprising against the Xin Dynasty in ancient China, at the beginning of Imperial China.
Starvation
Lǚ Mǔ was born in China, at an unknown date during the Han Dynasty, in present-day Shandong Province (east coast of the country). She comes from a wealthy family. At this time, towards the end of the first century BC, Empress Dowager Wang Zhengjun had no heirs and her nephew, Prime Minister Wang Mang proclaims himself emperor, founding the Xin Dynasty.
The new emperor launched a policy of nationalization of forests, uncultivated land, and state monopoly of trade. He undertook a dismantling of the large estates but backed down in the face of resistance from the large landowners. His tax policy also weighed heavily on the peasantry. At the same time, the Yellow River overflows, causing rotting crops and famine, which exacerbates the discontent of landowners and farmers alike.
The insurrection
Lǚ Mǔ is then a wealthy widow. In AD 14, his son Lu Yu, who worked for the government of Haiqu prefecture, did not obey orders to punish citizens who did not pay their taxes. He was then executed for insubordination. Furious, Lǚ Mǔ sets out to avenge him. She sells her goods to recruit and arm peasants, to buy food and horses. She goes door to door to plead against the government's policy of taxation and conscription and wins over her sympathizers among an already disgruntled population. Soon, it finds itself strong with thousands of fighters whom it organizes and on whom it imposes a strict rule, in particular prohibiting them from stealing the land of the peasants. Assuming the title of general, she leads her troops against the capital of Haiqu Prefecture. The rebels are victorious and, on the orders of Lǚ Mǔ, the magistrate of the prefecture is executed.
Red Eyebrows
Following the fight, Wang Mang sends reinforcements to Haiqu, but Lǚ Mǔ's troops have already withdrawn. The victory greatly increases Lǚ Mǔ's fame and his army grows to over ten thousand people. The rebels continued their attacks on the government and Wang Mang, impressed by their numbers, tried in vain to send emissaries to negotiate a surrender.
In AD 18, Lǚ Mǔ died of illness. After his death, many of his men joined other rebel forces and this new army became known as the Red Eyebrows. It will be one of the main rebel organizations which will subsequently overthrow the regime of Wang Mang and allow the restoration of the Han dynasty.