Guo Ziyi
Put down the An Lushan Rebellion and turned back the Uyghurs alone on horseback, remaking the Tang.
Life
Raising Troops in Shuofang
Guo Ziyi came up through the military examination. When the An Lushan Rebellion broke out he was military governor of Shuofang; with Li Guangbi he advanced through the Jingxing Pass and dealt Shi Siming a crushing defeat at Jiashan.
Recapture of the two capitals
In 757 he led Tang troops and Uyghur soldiers to defeat the rebels at Xiangji Temple, recapturing Chang'an and Luoyang; Emperor Suzong of Tang said, "My house and my state have been remade by you." Afterward he was repeatedly pushed aside and stripped of command by the eunuchs Yu Chao'en and Cheng Yuanzhen, yet he never complained, and set out at once whenever he received an imperial summons.
Repelling the Enemy Alone on Horseback
In 765 Pugu Huai'en led hundreds of thousands of Tibetan and Uyghur troops in an invasion. Guo Ziyi rode alone into the Uyghur camp and persuaded the Uyghurs to launch a counteroffensive against the Tibetans, defusing the crisis. He served four emperors, Xuanzong, Suzong, Daizong and Dezong; though his power was unrivaled, the court never doubted him, and he died peacefully at 85 surrounded by children and grandchildren.
Legacy
Guo Ziyi is regarded as the model of a meritorious official in imperial China who died peacefully: "His power filled the realm yet the court did not resent him; his merit outshone his age yet the ruler did not suspect him." Folk operas such as Beating the Golden Branch also take his family as their subject.
Major works & achievements
- Put down the An Lushan Rebellion
- Recaptured Chang'an and Luoyang
- Rode alone to persuade the Uyghurs to withdraw
Did you know? All eight of his sons and seven of his sons-in-law held office at court, which is the origin of the allusion "a bed piled with court tablets."
Key dates
- 755Became military governor of Shuofang
- 756Routed Shi Siming at the Battle of Jiashan
- 757Recaptured Chang'an and Luoyang
- 763Recaptured Chang'an again after the Tibetans entered it
- 765Rode alone to meet the Uyghurs
- 781Died