The An Lushan Rebellion and the Shattering of Tang Unity
The An Lushan Rebellion (755-763 CE) marked a pivotal turning point in Tang dynasty history, exposing the fatal weaknesses in Emperor Xuanzong’s once-glorious reign while unleashing forces of regional militarization that would permanently alter China’s political landscape. This cataclysmic event not only nearly destroyed the Tang empire but set in motion patterns of provincial autonomy that foreshadowed the Five Dynasties period.
The Gathering Storm: Origins of Rebellion
The rebellion’s roots lay in the systemic flaws of Emperor Xuanzong’s later reign. After creating the golden Kaiyuan era (713-741), the aging emperor increasingly delegated authority to corrupt ministers like Li Linfu while indulging in pleasures with his beloved Consort Yang. The empire’s military structure had become dangerously unbalanced – of the ten frontier commands containing 490,000 troops, the northeastern provinces under An Lushan alone controlled 180,000 soldiers, nearly 40% of Tang forces.
An Lushan’s rise reflected Xuanzong’s misplaced trust in foreign generals. This Sogdian-Turkic military governor skillfully played the buffoon at court while secretly building his power base. By 751, he commanded three critical northeastern provinces (Fanyang, Pinglu and Hedong) with his elite “Yeluohe” troops drawn from Khitan, Xi and other northern tribes. When Chancellor Yang Guozhong, fearing An’s influence, attempted to provoke him into rebellion, the stage was set for catastrophe.
The Rebellion Erupts: From Prosperity to Chaos
On December 16, 755, An Lushan mobilized his 150,000 troops at Fanyang (modern Beijing), declaring he had orders to “purge the court of evil ministers.” The rebel army swept south with terrifying speed, taking Luoyang within 34 days despite token resistance from hastily recruited militias. Tang defenses crumbled as An’s veterans exploited the empire’s interior weakness – the prosperous Central Plains had known no war for generations.
The Tang court’s initial response proved disastrous. Emperor Xuanzong, refusing to believe his “loyal son” An could rebel, delayed crucial decisions. When veteran generals Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing recommended defending the impregnable Tong Pass, the emperor ordered them executed after minor setbacks. Their replacements fared no better against An’s battle-hardened troops.
By summer 756, the rebels took Chang’an, forcing Xuanzong to flee to Sichuan. The dramatic Mawei Incident en route saw the emperor compelled to order Consort Yang’s execution to appease mutinous troops, while Crown Prince Li Heng broke away to organize resistance in the northwest. This political rupture mirrored the empire’s physical fragmentation.
The Tide Turns: Loyalist Resistance and Strategic Errors
Despite early rebel successes, loyalist forces gradually regrouped. In Hebei, Yan Zhenqing and his cousin Yan Gaoqing organized local resistance, temporarily severing rebel communications between Luoyang and Fanyang. The brilliant tacticians Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi won key victories in Shanxi, while Zhang Xun’s epic 10-month defense of Suiyang blocked rebel advance into the wealthy Jiangnan region.
Critical mistakes by both sides prolonged the conflict. Emperor Suzong (Li Heng) ignored Li Bi’s advice to strike at the rebel base in Fanyang, instead fixating on recapturing the symbolic capitals. Meanwhile, rebel leadership disintegrated after An Lushan’s 757 assassination by his own son Qingxu. The opportunistic Shi Siming first “surrendered” to the Tang, then turned against both Qingxu and the dynasty.
The Pyrrhic Victory and Its Consequences
Tang forces finally recaptured Chang’an and Luoyang in late 757 with crucial Uighur assistance, but at terrible cost. The Uighurs looted Luoyang brutally as “payment,” while the government’s finances lay in ruins. Most devastatingly, the court had empowered provincial military governors (jiedushi) to organize resistance, creating the very warlordism the rebellion had exposed.
By the rebellion’s official end in 763, the Tang imperial center never regained its former authority. Regional commanders like Shi Siming’s successors and the Hebei warlords operated with growing autonomy, withholding taxes and maintaining personal armies. The empire’s demographic and economic heartland lay devastated – census records show the population plummeted from 52 million pre-rebellion to just 16 million in 764.
Legacy: The Tang’s Permanent Transformation
The An Lushan Rebellion fundamentally reshaped Tang governance. The equal-field system and centralized military never recovered, replaced by semi-autonomous provinces and private armies. Culturally, the cosmopolitan confidence of early Tang gave way to inward-looking conservatism. The rebellion’s legacy extended beyond the Tang’s 907 collapse – the pattern of regional militarization foreshadowed the Five Dynasties period and influenced the Song dynasty’s centralized military reforms.
Perhaps most significantly, the rebellion demonstrated how an overextended empire’s internal contradictions – frontier militarization, court factionalism, and disconnected leadership – could unleash forces capable of nearly destroying it. In this sense, the An Lushan Rebellion stands as one of Chinese history’s most consequential upheavals, marking the end of medieval China’s most brilliant era and the beginning of its protracted decline.