Who is the Equivalent of Judas Iscariot in Daoist History?

Who is the equivalent of Judas Iscariot in the world of Daoism?

In Daoist history, the equivalent character to Judas Iscariot, (sometimes interpreted to be a variation of Sicarius, meaning “dagger-man”), is the figure of Tang Zhou from Jinan, a city of Shandong province in Eastern China.

Tang Zhou was the betrayer of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, a movement led by Zhang Jue, a charismatic faith healer who is analogous to SGF Brandon’s hypothetical “rebel Jesus” described in his work “Jesus and the Zealots.” Early sources describe him thus:

“At the beginning, Zhang Jue from Julu proclaimed himself the Master of Great Virtue and revered the way of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi. He gained followers, who had to worship on their knees and admit their faults. He used spells and water talismans, saying they were for the purpose of curing illness. The sick recovered, and the common people had faith in him.”

“Zhang Jue dispatched eight of his followers as messengers in all directions. They taught the empire that their way was virtuous, all of them deluding and confusing the people. Within ten years their numbers were over 100,000. They were connected throughout the kingdom. From the eight prefectures of Qing, Xu, You, Ji, Jing, Yang, Yan, and Yu there was not a person who did not respond. Zhang Jue then established 36 divisions, each one like a division under a general. Thelarge divisions were over ten thousand men, the smaller ones about six to seven thousand, and each was appointed a leader.”

Like Jesus and his followers in the Gospels, the Yellow Turban Rebellion was betrayed at a crucial moment in it’s development, leading to the majority of the movement being stamped out by the authorities in 185 CE, although some rebel factions fought on until 205 CE. The betrayal of is here described:

“Before they could stage the rebellion, Zhang Jue’s follower Tang Zhou from Jinan wrote a memorial to inform the authorities. Consequently, Ma Yuanyi was drawn and quartered at Luoyang. Zhang Jue and his followers knew that their plan had already been revealed, so they quickly sent out orders before dawn in all directions, and at the same time they all rebelled. At this time they burned the government offices, raided and plundered the towns and villages, and seized the counties and prefectures. Many of the high officials fled. Within ten days the empire sided with them, and the capital was quaking.”