An Lushan

Military governor of three commands at once, he rebelled against the Tang and proclaimed himself Emperor of Great Yan.

Life

Foreign Trader and Border General

An Lushan was a non-Han man of mixed Sogdian and Turkic descent from Liucheng in Yingzhou. Fluent in several languages, he started out as a trade broker and later joined the army. He was adept at flattering his superiors and court envoys, won the deep favor of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, and took Consort Yang as his adoptive mother.

Holding Three Commands

He came to serve concurrently as military governor of Pinglu, Fanyang and Hedong, commanding about 150,000 troops, more than a third of the frontier armies at the time. In the 11th month of 755 he rose in revolt at Fanyang on the pretext of punishing Yang Guozhong, captured Luoyang in little more than a month, proclaimed himself Emperor of Great Yan at Luoyang in the first month of the next year, broke through Tong Pass in the sixth month and entered Chang'an.

Uprising at Fanyang

In his later years An Lushan was obese, lost his sight to illness and grew violent, often flogging his attendants. In the first month of 757 he was killed by his son An Qingxu and the eunuch Li Zhu'er. The rebellion lasted another six years before it was put down.

Legacy

The An Lushan Rebellion was the turning point at which the Tang dynasty went from glory to decline, and An Lushan became the cautionary example of a Jiedushi (military governor) growing too powerful with his own army. Modern research focuses more on his Sogdian background and the problems of the Tang frontier military system.

Major works & achievements

• Launched the An Lushan Rebellion

Did you know? The line "War drums from Yuyang come shaking the earth" in Bai Juyi's "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" refers to his uprising.

Key dates

• 742Became military governor of Pinglu
• 744Also became military governor of Fanyang
• 751Also became military governor of Hedong
• 755Uprising at Fanyang
• 756Proclaimed himself emperor at Luoyang; captured Tong Pass and Chang'an
• 757Killed by An Qingxu