The Fall of a Golden Age

The year 762 marked a pivotal moment in Tang Dynasty history. On the jia-yin day of the fourth month (known as “Jian-Si” under a short-lived calendar reform), Emperor Xuanzong—once the architect of China’s glittering Kaiyuan Golden Age—died in political exile. His passing symbolized more than just the end of a life; it represented the collapse of an era.

Xuanzong’s final years were steeped in sorrow. After the An Lushan Rebellion shattered his reign, his son Emperor Suzong sidelined him, stripping away his influence. The emperor who once presided over dazzling cultural achievements now lived as a prisoner in his own palace, abandoned by the court he had built. His most loyal confidant, the eunuch Gao Lishi, was exiled—a cruel fate for the man who had stood by Xuanzong for decades.

The Rise of Eunuch Dominance

The power vacuum left by Xuanzong’s decline created opportunities for new players. Chief among them was Li Fuguo, the eunuch who had persuaded Suzong to establish a resistance base in Lingwu during the rebellion. By 762, Li Fuguo had become the shadow ruler of the Tang court. His ascent marked a dangerous turning point: never before had a eunuch held such unchecked authority.

The traditional rivalry between eunuchs and imperial consorts reached a bloody climax when Li Fuguo murdered Empress Zhang—Suzong’s ambitious wife—during the emperor’s final illness. This act demonstrated that eunuchs could now eliminate even the highest-ranking nobility with impunity.

A Hollow Victory Over Rebellion

The Tang government’s reliance on foreign Uighur troops to suppress the An Lushan Rebellion came at a terrible cost. While the rebels were eventually defeated, the Uighurs looted Chang’an as payment, further eroding Tang prestige. More ominously, former rebel generals like Li Huaixian, Tian Chengsi, and Li Baochen were appointed as military governors (jiedushi) in Hebei. These appointments created autonomous warlord states that would plague the Tang for over a century.

These “Three Hebei Provinces” operated as independent kingdoms, collecting taxes and appointing officials without imperial oversight. The Tang court’s desperate compromise—granting legitimacy to former rebels—set a dangerous precedent that would ultimately contribute to the dynasty’s collapse.

The Eunuch Kingmaker

Li Fuguo’s power reached its zenith when he orchestrated the succession of Emperor Daizong. After eliminating potential rivals—including the talented Prince Li Tan—Li Fuguo essentially handpicked the new emperor. His audacity knew no bounds; he demanded the title “Shangfu” (Elder Statesman), comparing himself to the legendary Duke of Zhou.

For the first time in Chinese history, a eunuch held the highest civil and military positions simultaneously. Li Fuguo’s unprecedented dominance represented a complete inversion of traditional Confucian governance.

The Cobra and the Mongoose

Daizong, though initially compliant, soon turned against his creator. Using another eunuch, Cheng Yuanzhen, as his instrument, the emperor systematically stripped Li Fuguo of power. The once-mighty eunuch was gradually isolated—removed from the palace, deprived of military command, and finally assassinated in a suspicious “robbery” that conveniently removed his head and right arm.

This brutal end, however, solved nothing. Cheng Yuanzhen proved even more corrupt than his predecessor, demonstrating that the system—not individual actors—was the true problem.

Legacy of the Crisis

The events of 762 established patterns that would define late Tang politics:
– Eunuch control of the military: The institutionalization of eunuch-led armies
– Warlord autonomy: The Hebei model spread to other regions
– Imperial weakness: Emperors became puppets of either eunuchs or warlords

The tragic fates of Xuanzong, Gao Lishi, and even Li Fuguo himself revealed a fundamental truth: in this new era, no one—not even the most powerful—could escape the whirlpool of court intrigue and violence. The glorious Tang Dynasty had entered its irreversible decline, its institutions hollowed out by the very measures taken to save it from rebellion.

The deaths of these key figures in 762 didn’t just close a chapter—they set the stage for the chaotic late Tang period, where eunuchs would dominate the palace while warlords ruled the provinces, until the dynasty’s final collapse in 907. The lessons about the dangers of military decentralization and court factionalism would resonate throughout Chinese imperial history.