An Shi Revolt

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• published: 09 Mar 2012
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[Disclaimer] The majority of the videos used in this video are not mine, but rather belong to various organizations. Script Throughout China's tumultuous dynastic history one catastrophic event reduced China's population by more than half. Caused by the instigator's greed, political tensions, and the society's cultural background, evoking a massive political upheaval and existing as the largest massacre in the world until the second World War is the An Shi Rebellion. Around the legendary date of the founding of Rome, This single conflict killed 33 million people, equivalent to a sixth of the global population and two thirds of china's population at the time. So let's have this figure represent a single person. That would make this 100 people and this 800 people. Multiply that by 62 and suddenly we've got 50,000 people Multiply that by four again, again, again, and again and this shows 13 million people. Less than half the casualties. In the Autumn of China, 712, we have Xuanzhong of the Tang dynasty being crowned emperor. For the next 43 years, he rules as a diligent and astute ruler with capable advisors. Xuanzhong ushers a China under the Tang dynasty into its golden age and as China enjoys wealth and prosperity, he lets down his guard. In an attempt to woo back his favorite wife Yang Gufei, he gives their favorite general a hundred sixty thousand troops. This was An Lushan, future instigator of an eight year rebellion. Due to a land dispute with Yang Guozhong, In 755 An Lushan declares war. Leading the very troops gifted to him by the emperor, An Lushan sweeps from the city of Fanyang towards the Tang western capital of Chang'an. Xuanzhong pulls troops away from the border to deal with this internal turmoil, a tactic which ends up failing. Reducing border patrols also allows neighboring countries and tribes to attack and loot border villages and towns. Within 2 years, Xuanzhong is forced to flee to a mountain sanctuary. The emperor's personal army demands the deaths of both Yang Gufei and Yang Guozhong, blaming them for the uprising. With the army on the verge of mutiny, Xuanzhong is forced to agree, ordering the suicide of Yuang Guozhong and the suffocation of Yang Gufei. By 756, An Lushan had declared himself emperor and taken over the capital city. If he had survived, the revolt may have succeeded but An is murdered by his son in the following year due to his own paranoia and violent persona. However, that son was then killed by general Shi Siming, An Lushan's childhood friend and follower. This new general is ALSO killed by his own son Shi Chaoyi who proceeds to declare himself emperor although he fails to get full support from the other generals. A series of defeats has rebellious generals defecting back to the Tang forces and in the spring of 763, Shi Chaoyi committed suicide, ending eight years of rebellion. If Xuanzhong hadn't unintentionally given General Lushan the power needed to perform a coup, 30 million lives and the Tang dynasty would be saved. The key cause of this massacre is the psychological factor embodied in An Lushan's mentality and Xuanzong's easy-going attitude. An Lushan was adopted and rose to prominence by defending the border and gaining the Emperor's favor. He grew up under the influence of multiple generals, experiencing battle while still in his youth. This created a man fueled by an eternal quest for more power which led to the uprising. A secondary cause was a political factor. Tense relationships with nearby provinces forced Xuanzhong to spread out his troops leaving few in the vital cities. This lack of strong forces in centralized areas was what prompted An Lushan to begin his revolt in the first place. Easing An Lushan's ascent to power was a cultural factor. As Lushan marched his forces towards the capital they met with little resistance, infact some people were even joining the revolt. A series of natural disasters and the tensions with bordering countries had many people convinced the emperor had lost his mandate of heaven. A similar situation was presented in the early 1990s when America gave Iraq strains of all the germs Iraq used to make weapons. This gift ended up head-starting Iraq's biological weapons department in making weapons which were inevitably used against US troops. We can learn from this to keep our friends close and our enemies closer so they aren't able to simply conspire an 8 year rebellion.