An Shi Rebellion
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The An Shi Rebellion (Template:Zh-cp) occurred in China, during the Tang Dynasty, from 756 to 763. It is also known as the Tianbao Rebellion (天寶之亂), because An Lushan started it in the 14th year of the namesake era. The alternative term An Lushan Rebellion neglected the participation of Shi Siming, a subordinate of An Lushan and later leader of the rebellion after murdering An Lushan's son An Qingxu.
An Lushan was originally a general of Mongolian ancestry. He was appointed by Tang Xuanzhong to be the commander (Traditional Chinese: 節度使) of three garrisons in the north, Pinglu, Fanyang and Hedong, in effect giving An Lushan control over the entire area north of the lower reaches of the Yellow River. With such power and land in his control (the total military power of An Lushan in those three garrisons alone was about 164 thousand strong), An Lushan planned for a revolt, taking advantage of the decaying Tang bureaucracy to achieve his aims. In fact, he also avoided suspicion by pleasing the Emperor in as many ways as possible, even calling himself the adopted son of Xuanzhong's favorite concubine, Yang Guifei. In this way he was protected from criticism, even when the Prime Minister, Yang Guozong, requested his dismissal.
In 755, An Lushan revolted under the pretense of punishing Yang Guozong. His army moved down from Fanyang in modern Hebei province, moving down the Grand Canal and captured the city of Luoyang. There An Lushan declared himself the Emperor of the Great Yan (Traditional Chinese: 大燕皇帝). Seeing that the imperial capital, Changan, was under imminent threat,Xuanzong fled to Sichuan. On the way at Mawei Inn in Shaanxi, Xuanzong's army demanded the death of the much-hated Yang Guozhong, and his cousin, Lady Yang. With the army on the verge of rebellion, the Emperor had no choice but to agree, ordering the execution of Yang Guozong and the suicide of Lady Yang. The prince, the eventual emperor, fled the other direction to Lingwu in modern-day Ningxia province. After reaching Sichuan, Xuanzong abdicated in favour of his son.
Suzong, (3rd or 4th) son of Xuanzong, was then proclaimed emperor while another group of local officials and Confucian literati proclaimed another prince at Jinling (modern-day Nanjing). One of Suzong's first acts as emperor was to appoint the generals Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi to deal with the rebellion. The generals, after much discussion, decided to borrow troops from an offshoot of the Turkish Tujue Tribe, the Huihe tribe (ancestors of the modern-day Uighurs) to suppress the rebellion. In this way the Imperial forces recaptured Changan and Luoyang.
Meanwhile the imperial forces were helped by the internal dissent in the newly-formed kingdom. An Lushan was killed by his son, An Qingxu not soon after his ascent to the throne. His son was then killed by his subordinate Shi Siming, a companion of An Lushan during the rebellion, and re-captured the city of Luoyang soon after. However Shi Siming again was killed by his son, Si Chaoyi. By this time it was clear that the new kingdom would not last long, and generals and soldiers alike started to defect to the Tang army. Finally after Luoyang was taken by the Tang forces again, Si Chaoyi committed suicide in 763, thus ending the 8 year long rebellion.
The rebellion spanned the reigns of three emperors,starting during the reign of Xuanzong and was suppressed during the reign of Daizong. The death toll of the rebellion according to various sources, including suppression and famine, is estimated to be about 36 million, which was the highest death toll for any event for nearly 1200 years, until World War II surpassed it with over 62 million deaths. The Tang Dynasty's desire for peace after the turbulent period also resulted in the pardoning of many revolters. Indeed, some were even given their own garrisons to command. This effectively ended rule from the imperial government with the emperor being only a puppet of sorts, set to do the strongest garrison's bidding. In addition, by borrowing troops from neighbouring tribes, the Tang Dynasty greatly lowered its standing in the eyes of the tribes, who eventually began raiding Tang Dynasty settlements.
Thus, the Anshi Rebellion is regarded by most Chinese historians to be the turning point in the Tang Dynasty's fortunes. For the next 144 years the Tang ceased to exist in all but name, a far cry from the glory days of Taizong and Xuanzong.
External links and references
- Tang (618 - 907) " The An Lushan Rebellion had its roots in the behavior of one of the great emperors of Chinese history, Xuanzong. Until he fell in love with a young concubine named Yang Guifei, he had been a great ruler, and had brought the Tang to its height of prosperity and grandeur. He was so infatuated with Yang that the administration of the government soon fell into decay, which was not made any better by the fact that Yang took advantage of her power to stuff high administrative positions with her corrupt cronies. She also took under her wing a general named An Lushan, who quickly accumulated power."
- chinaknowledge.de "From the first years of the reign period Tianbao 天寶 "Heavenly jewels" (741-757) on Li Linfu 李林甫 served as chancellor. After Li Linfu's death in 752, his opponent Yang Guozhong 楊國忠 became counsellor-in-chief and dominated the court until the rebellion of An Lushan. An Lushan himself, half of Turkish origin, had been installed as military commissioner of Pinglu 平盧, Fanyang 范陽 (around modern Beijing) and Hebei 河北, three regions in the northeast, where he was responsible of the military and civil administration of one of the most important economic zones in Tang China."it:Ribellione di An Lushan