ABSTRACT
Liu T'ang was a person who in 1858 spent two months with the Nien Army in Kuo-yang, Anhwei. He was therefore relatively familiar with the situation of the Nien and his record is more reliable and detailed than other sources. The Nien Army emerged in this same area where the White Lotus Society had formerly initiated uprisings and other activities. People therefore are naturally inclined to think that there was a close relationship between the Nien and the White Lotus Society, presuming that the Nien Army performed sacred rituals and was a religious organization. After the defeat of the White Lotus uprising in Szeehwar. and Shensi in the early Chia-ch'ing period, some followers fled to the border area between Honan and Anhwei, where they hid and awaited an opportunity to take action. Liu Kou was a native of T'eng County in Shantung.
