The Red Turban Rebellion of 1854–1856 was a rebellion by members of the Tiandihui (Heaven and Earth Society) in the Guangdong province of South China. The initial core of the rebels were Tiandihui secret societies that were involved in both revolutionary activity and organised crime, such as prostitution, piracy, and opium smuggling. Many lodges were formed originally for self-defence in feuds between locals and migrants from neighboring provinces. They were organized into scattered local lodges, each under a lodge-master and in October 1854 elected Li Wenmao and Chen Kai as joint alliance-masters.

In Summer 1854, 50,000 outlaws, proclaiming a restoration of the Ming dynasty, captured Qingyuan. That roused the Tiandihui to revolt in the city of Conghua, forty miles northeast of the provincial capital. The Red Turbans were formed by religious members from Tiandihui, such as Qiu Ersao, who joined the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom with thousands more. In September, forces commanded by Taiping-affiliated Ling Shiba captured Luoding and made it their headquarters. Ling Shiba was connected to the Taiping Rebels, as he was also a member of the Taiping God-Worshipping Society. The Red Turbans did not succeed in taking the city of Guangzhou but fought through much of the country round it for more than a year.