The zhaijiao are informal Buddhist societies that became extremely popular in Taiwan under Japanese rule

Taiwan under Japanese rule

Between 1895 and 1945, Taiwan was a dependency of the Empire of Japan. The expansion into Taiwan was a part of Imperial Japan's general policy of southward expansion during the late 19th century....

, albeit prominent throughout the Qing dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

.. They were linked to the Ch'an and the White Lotus

White Lotus

White Lotus was a type of Buddhist sectarianism that appealed to many Han Chinese, who found solace in worship of the "Unborn or Eternal Venerable Mother" , who was to gather all her children at the millennium into one family....

 movement and taught the Triple Gem of Buddhism as well as vegetarianism

Vegetarianism

Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...

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In the 1890s, a Zhaijiao group assumed the functions of government in Gutian County

Gutian County

Gutian County , also known as Edible Mushroom County, is a county lying in the southwest of Ningde, Fujian province, China. It is also known as "the town of the former worthy", as Zhuxi, a famous Chinese scholar once lived there...

, leading to the Kucheng Massacre

Kucheng Massacre

The Kucheng Massacre was a massacre of Western Christians that took place at Gutian, Fujian, China on August 1, 1895. At dawn of that day, a Buddhist group, the Zhaijiao attacked British missionaries who were then taking summer holidays at Gutian Huashan, killing eleven people and destroying two...

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Further reading

• 胎中 千鶴. 日本統治期台湾の斎教に関する一視点. 2000.
• 在家佛教: 台灣彰化朝天堂所傳的龍華派齋教. 1994.