If medieval peasants had such shitty lives why didn't they revolt more often?

Plague only helped because it significantly cleansed non-whites (read: Italians) from Europe.

There was no obvious alternative.

>peasants didn't revolt

they did they just thought the king was on their side and when mollified were promptly massacred

this must be bait

>falling for the "le mid EVIL times was literally the dark ages" meme

Rural people in medieval times had the same living standards as during R*man """""civilization"""""

Everyone sucks peasant cock until they learn about the anti-immigrant pogroms, at which point they discover that there are two sides to every argument.

because they had sticks and stones and the lord has well paid and fed behemoths with full plate and weapons of war

The Jacquerie and the Peasants War took out a few, desu.

Nope. Middle and high medieval ages were some of the most prosperous in European history. Population was on the rise for nearly 600 years since the fall of Rome, and agricultural yields, the main source of wealth, were higher than any time beforehand, and only surpassed in the industrial revolution.
The middle ages were shat on by enlightenment thinkers because it proved that political entities which did not grant equal rights to all members and were not based on geography, culture, or faith could succeed. The philosophy that they created infects every Western government and intellectual institution in the world, and because of that, we've listened to them and have turned our backs on one of the best periods of European history

I would say it was a mix of complacency, fear, and a bit of a "slave mentality" where it's generally accepted as important to respect "your betters" and know your place. The latter a more pronounced in Asian cultures probably. In central and Western societies, the church also kind of had an influence on the latter too though with the whole divine right and "God puts people in authority for a reason blah, blah." Also you will get a better life/your reward in heaven.

Ah, so contrarian backlash it is, then.

>The latter a more pronounced in Asian cultures probably.
Chinese peasants have taken down more governments than any European peasant.

Their philosophies weren't friendly to failing governments. Confucianism outlines ruler-subject relations in which subjects should learn their place, but also rulers should rule and rule well. If ruler fails on doing so = it was moral to replace him with a better one. Even by arms.

In addition there was the older belief in the Mandate of Heaven, in which a dynasty only has heaven's approval if it rules well, the land is prosperous, barbarians kept at bay, no strife, etc. If not then again it was the moral obligation of subjects to rebel.

>ad hominem
what an argument user

I guess I was thinking more of other Asian cultures. My bad thanks for the info though.
I gotta admit, though; while it's great that they kept rulers accountable, I feel kind of bad that things that are our of anyone's control like bad weather, bad harvests, or random barbarians coming out of no where could be blamed on on the government.

Why were Chink peasants able to BTFO soldiers while Euronigs cant?

European peasant = your defense came from your lord and his knights.

Chink peasant = lol ur on your own.

No seriously. China had no police force. Law enforcement was entirely up to the abilities of the Government Officials assigned in a jurisdiction. Officials in cities enjoyed having the army around to as Legal Muscle. Rural officials however rarely had army help because the army did not go far from their main garrisons in fear of overstretching.

So instead, rural officials encouraged peasants to own weapons (sans prohibited military weapons like crossbows and the firearms, but there were loopholes) and police themselves. As such peasant posses were the ones battling bandit bands which occured frequently in remote china. Of course, all militia actions must be overseen by the county magistrate, who often commands militia actions since he was judge-jury-executioner of his county jurisdiction. Think Wild West Sheriff.

There were points in Chinese history - particularly in long periods of peace- where they made better soldiers than the soldiers.

addendum: civilian self-defense got particularly competent when Chinese monks of various faiths were involved.

As people living in remote regions, Monasteries are prime targets for bandit gangs considering they're stocked with money, food, and precious items. So like their peasant counterparts, Monks similarly armed up.

Difference is: Monks have all the time in the world between meditations and study. Time spent on physical exercise such as: martial arts. What emerged from Buddhist and Taoist monasteries were paramilitary forces that no bandit would mess with.

The most famous of these are of course, the Shaolin Monastery of the Buddhist monks, and Mt. Wudang Monastery among the Taoists. The Shaolin have been recruited in wars even, such as Li Yuan's revolt vs. the Sui, and more famously as part of Qi Jiguang's anti-pirate army in 1560s.