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153-602: Liu Peng was born in 727, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong . His family was from You Prefecture (幽州, in modern Beijing ). According to the Gravestone Epitaph of his son Liu Ji, he was a 20th generation descendant of Liu Bei . His father Liu Gong ( 劉貢 ) at one point served as a commander of Dadou Army ( 大斗軍 ). In Liu Peng's youth, he served as an officer at Fanyang Circuit (范陽, headquartered in modern Beijing, later renamed Lulong Circuit), but left military service to care for his aging parents. When Li Huaixian served as

306-404: A chancellor as well. Meanwhile, by 722, Empress Wang, who had contributed to Emperor Xuanzong's reign by providing suggestions, had begun to lose favor to Consort Wu , a great-grandniece of Emperor Xuanzong's grandmother Wu Zetian. Emperor Xuanzong secretly discussed with Jiang Jiao the possibility of deposing her, but Jiang Jiao careless leaked the discussion. At the urging of Zhang Jiazhen, who

459-455: A close associate of Consort Wu, as a chancellor as well. Around the new year 735, Ketuhan was killed in an internal Khitan power struggle, and Khitan became a vassal again, although it would not stay so permanently. By 736, Emperor Xuanzong was described as having been tired of important affairs of state and beginning to become wasteful and exuberant in his lifestyle. Zhang tried to curb his behavior but thus began to lose favor, while Li Linfu

612-575: A friendship had developed between An Lushan and the Emperor. When An went to Chang'an later that year to pay homage to Emperor Xuanzong, he presented Emperor Xuanzong with 8,000 Xi captives. In 751, Xuanzong had a magnificent mansion built for An in Chang'an, sparing no expense, using jade, gold, and silver in many different places. On An's birthday, 20 February 751, Emperor Xuanzong and Consort Yang awarded him with clothing, treasures, and food. On 23 February, when An

765-492: A group of soldiers to examine the northern border. However, the group of conscripted soldiers was disbanded in spring 713, and the plan was never carried out. By summer 713, it was said that Princess Taiping, Dou, Cen, Xiao, Cui; along with other officials Xue Ji , Li Jin ( 李晉 ) the Prince of Xinxing (a grandson of Li Deliang ( 李德良 ), a cousin of Tang's founder Emperor Gaozu ), Li You ( 李猷 ), Jia Yingfu ( 賈膺福 ), Tang Jun ( 唐晙 );

918-511: A guard beheaded her. Li Guo'er, Wu Yanxiu, and Lady Helou were killed as well. Li Longji soon slaughtered a number of officials in Empress Dowager's faction as well as her clan, while displaying Empress Dowager Wei's body on the street. At the urging of Princess Taiping, Li Longji, and Li Longji's brother Li Chengqi, Li Dan soon took the throne from Li Chongmao and again became emperor (as Emperor Ruizong). Emperor Ruizong once again ascended to

1071-457: A large body and impressed by his plea, released him and had him serve as a police officer, along with Shi, and both of them were said to be capable at catching criminals. Later, Zhang promoted him to be a military officer. As Zhang believed that he was obese, he did not dare to eat too much while in Zhang's presence, and this drew Zhang's favor. Zhang took him in and treated him like a son. At a time that

1224-455: A major attack against the Khitan, advancing quickly to the heart of Khitan territory, but, hampered by rains, was defeated by the Khitan, and the general He Side ( 何思德 ) was killed. An himself was almost killed, and, after retreating, blamed the defeat on Ge Jie ( 哥解 ) and Yu Chengxian ( 魚承仙 ), executing them. He subsequently had Shi defend against the Khitan counterattack, and Shi was able to repel

1377-420: A meeting with his brothers Li Longfan the Prince of Qi and Li Longye the Prince of Xue (who had changed their names to Li Fan and Li Ye by this point to observe naming taboo for Emperor Xuanzong), Guo Yuanzhen , along with a number of his associates – the general Wang Maozhong ( 王毛仲 ), the officials Jiang Jiao ( 姜皎 ) and Li Lingwen ( 李令問 ), his brother-in-law Wang Shouyi ( 王守一 ), the eunuch Gao Lishi , and

1530-762: A member of her party.) As a result, the war between her and him continued more seriously. Liu Youqiu and the general Zhang Wei ( 張暐 ), with Emperor Xuanzong's approval, planned to mobilize the imperial guards to kill several of those chancellors – Dou Huaizhen , Cui Shi and Cen Xi . However, after Zhang told the plan to the imperial censor Deng Guangbin ( 鄧光賓 ), the news was leaked. At the request of Princess Taiping's, Emperor Ruizong issued an order to arrested Liu, and initially set to be executed. But Emperor Xuanzong interceded on his behalf with Emperor Ruizong, and Liu, Zhang, and Deng were spared but exiled. Later in 712, in one of Princess Taiping's plans to oust him, at her request, Emperor Ruizong decreed that Emperor Xuanzong lead

1683-640: A new state of Yan , making Zhang Tongru and the surrendered Tang official Daxi Xun ( 達奚珣 ) his chancellors. He created An Qingxu the Prince of Jin and another son, An Qinghe ( 安慶和 ), the Prince of Zheng. Meanwhile, Yan Zhenqing's cousin Yan Gaoqing ( 顏杲卿 ), who initially submitted to An, rose against An at Changshan Commandery (常山, roughly modern Baoding , Hebei ) but was quickly defeated and delivered to An in Luoyang; An executed him and sent An Qingxu to make an initial attack against Tong Pass, and Geshu Han repelled

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1836-416: A petition accusing Song and Yao of alienating him from his brothers Li Chengqi and Li Shouli (who was actually a cousin but was raised with Emperor Ruizong's sons) and aunt Princess Taiping, asking that the two be put to death. Emperor Ruizong, in response, demoted Song and Yao and recalled Princess Taiping, Li Chengqi, and Li Shouli to the capital. In the aftermaths, Li Longji submitted another request to yield

1989-575: A plan that they believed would end her plotting and influence. They proposed that the two princes who arguably had superior claims on the throne than Li Longji—Li Chengqi and Li Shouli (whose father Li Xian (note different character than Emperor Zhongzong) was an older brother to both Emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong)—be sent out of the capital Chang'an to serve as prefectural prefects, while Princess Taiping and Wu Youji be sent to live in Luoyang. They also proposed that Li Longji be put in charge of most affairs of state. Emperor Ruizong initially agreed and made

2142-426: A result, Wang Junchuo did not dare to counterattack, and subsequently blamed the defeat on a number of tribal chiefs in the area and had them exiles. In response, Yaoluoge Hushu ( 藥羅葛護輸 ), the nephew of one of the chiefs so exiled, Yaoluoge Chengzong ( 藥羅葛承宗 ), ambushed Wang Junchuo and killed him, and while Yaoluoge Hushu was forced to flee thereafter, for several years Tang did not engage in any offensive campaigns in

2295-428: A result, no one passed the first two levels of preliminary examinations, and Li Linfu subsequently submitted a note to Emperor Xuanzong congratulating him that no talent has been overlooked by the imperial administration. An Lushan An Lushan ( Chinese : 安祿山 ; pinyin : Ān Lùshān ; 20th day of the 1st month (19 February) 703 – 29 January 757 ) was a Chinese military general and rebel leader during

2448-420: A result, the deputy ministers of civil service, Song Yao ( 宋遙 ) and Miao Jinqing were demoted. An often pleased Emperor Xuanzong by offering Emperor Xuanzong tributes of rare items, such as rare animals or jewels. By this time, he was even more obese than before, and Emperor Xuanzong, on one occasion, jokingly asked him, "What does this barbaric belly contain?" He responded, "Other than a faithful heart, there

2601-509: A single military general. Eventually, the establishment of jiedushi would be extended to other parts of the empire. Also in 714, Emperor Xuanzong created Li Siqian , his second son and the son of his then-favorite concubine Consort Zhao, crown prince. (Emperor Xuanzong's wife Empress Wang was sonless.) Meanwhile, the Tang relationship with Qapaghan Qaghan of the Göktürks had fluctuated during

2754-456: A single sentence, and if the subject was undecided, it was changed or determined by a sentence from her, so most chancellors, forbidden troops, civil and military officials, regional warlords and senior servants of the Imperial palace were her associates. Initially, Princess Taiping agreed to Li Longji's ascension as crown prince despite the fact that Li Longji was not Emperor Ruizong's oldest son and

2907-544: A surprise attack on Zhu's army and then attacked north, hoping to capture Lulong's headquarters. However, with Li Baochen realizing that Liu had taken precautions, he stopped his attack. After Li Baochen died in 781, Li Baochen's son Li Weiyue requested imperial sanction to succeed him, but Emperor Daizong's son and successor Emperor Dezong refused, and subsequently, Li Weiyue, along with his allies Tian Yue (Tian Chengsi's nephew, who had succeeded Tian Chengsi in 779), Li Na , and Liang Chongyi , prepared to wage war against

3060-580: A three-way tug of war for influence in the Xiyu (i.e., modern Xinjiang and former Soviet Central Asia ) region. In 715, for example, when the king of Bahanna ( 拔汗那 ) was expelled by a new king supported by the Tibetan Empire and the Umayyad Caliphate, Tang forces commanded by the general Zhang Xiaosong  [ zh ] ( 張孝嵩 ) attacked the new king and restored the old king. General Tang Jiahui led

3213-494: Is nothing else." On another occasion, when Emperor Xuanzong's son Li Heng the Crown Prince was in audience, he refused to bow to Li Heng, stating, "I am a barbarian, and I do not understand formal ceremony. What is a crown prince?" Emperor Xuanzong responded, "He is the reserve emperor. After my death, he will be your emperor ." An apologized, stating, "I am foolish. I had only known about Your Imperial Majesty, and not that there

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3366-476: Is such a thing as a reserve emperor." He bowed, but Emperor Xuanzong, believing him to be honest, favored him even more. As he was allowed to enter the palace, he asked that he become an adoptive son of Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine Consort Yang Guifei , and Emperor Xuanzong agreed. Thereafter, on one occasion, he bowed to Consort Yang first before bowing to Emperor Xuanzong, stating, "Barbarians bow to mothers first before fathers." Xuanzong, now believing An

3519-509: The An Lushan rebellion . Li Longji was born at the Tang dynasty eastern capital Luoyang in 685, during the first reign of his father Emperor Ruizong (Li Dan) – but at that time, Emperor Ruizong's mother Empress Dowager Wu (later known as Wu Zetian), not Emperor Ruizong, was in actual control of power as empress dowager and regent . Li Longji was the third son of Emperor Ruizong, and his mother

3672-571: The Bingmashi ( 兵馬使 ) of Pinglu Army. In 741, when the deputy chief imperial censor Zhang Lizhen ( 張利貞 ) was sent to survey the Hebei (河北, i.e., the region north of the Yellow River ) and visited Pinglu Army, An ingratiated himself with Zhang, so much so that he even bribed Zhang's servants. When Zhang returned to Chang'an and praised An, Emperor Xuanzong promoted An to be the commandant at Ying Prefecture and

3825-660: The Khitan and the Xi for having defeated Tang forces during Emperor Zhongzong's reign, commissioned the general Xue Ne to attack them, but Xue suffered another devastating loss to them, at the casualty rate of 80–90%. However, later in the year, when the Tibetan Empire attacked, Emperor Xuanzong again commissioned Xue to defend against the attack, and Xue was able to repel the Tibetan forces. Subsequently, though, although both sides tried to invoke

3978-677: The Tang dynasty and is primarily known for instigating the An Lushan Rebellion which devastated China and killed millions of people. An Lushan was of Sogdian and Göktürk origin, at least by adoption. He rose to prominence as a general by defending the northeastern Tang frontier from the Khitans and other threats. Through his frequent visits to Chang'an , the Tang capital, An Lushan managed to gain favour with Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and Chancellor Li Linfu . By 751, he had been appointed military governor over three prefectures. After

4131-603: The Xi , he was defeated. According to army regulations, he was supposed to be executed. Zhang then sent him to the capital, Chang'an ; by not executing An himself, Zhang was hoping that Emperor Xuanzong would pardon An. The chancellor Zhang Jiuling , arguing that An's death would be necessary to preserve military discipline and further believing that An had the appearance of a rebel, advocated An's death, but Emperor Xuanzong believed An to be able and did not want to execute him, and therefore spared him but stripped him of titles, returning him to serve under Zhang. In 740, An became

4284-563: The Yellow River , quickly capturing Chenliu (陳留, roughly modern Kaifeng , Henan ) and Yingyang (滎陽, roughly modern Zhengzhou , Henan ) Commanderies. He approached Luoyang, where he encountered an ill-prepared army commanded by Feng, defeating Feng quickly and forcing Feng to flee and concede Luoyang to him. Feng joined forces with Gao and urged a retreat to Tong Pass ; Gao agreed, and they took up defensive positions there, and An did not proceed quickly, but remained at Luoyang, planning to declare himself emperor there. (Soon, due to accusations of

4437-461: The eunuch Bian Lingcheng ( 邊令誠 ), Emperor Xuanzong executed Feng and Gao, and replaced Gao with Geshu Han.) Some Tang officials north of the Yellow River resisted An Lushan under the leadership of Yan Zhenqing , the governor of Pingyuan Commandery (平原, roughly modern Dezhou , Shandong ). On Lunar New Year 's day, 756 (5 February ), An Lushan declared himself Emperor at Luoyang, establishing

4590-456: The heqin policy, being executed in retaliation, and both groups rebelled in 745, though An defeated them. According to the Song dynasty historian Sima Guang , it was said that An was attempting to increase his own strength and planning a rebellion, and in 747, he claimed to be building Fort Xiongwu ( 雄武城 ) and asked fellow military governor Wang Zhongsi to contribute troops, hoping to hold onto

4743-498: The Abbasids. Meanwhile, the jiedushi (military governors), most of whom were non- Han took more and more regional power into their own hands. Some successful generals included Geshu Han , known for victories over the Tibetan Empire ; Gao Xianzhi , who conquered city states of the Xiyu region, eventually battling the Abbasids at Talas; and An Lushan who defeated and once again vassalized

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4896-654: The Chinese to defeat the following Arab-Tibetan attack in the Battle of Aksu (717) . The attack on Aksu was joined by Turgesh Khan Suluk . Both Uch Turfan and Aksu were attacked by the Turgesh, Arab, and Tibetan force on 15 August 717. Qarluqs serving under Chinese command, under Arsila Xian, a Western Turkic Qaghan serving under the Chinese Assistant Grand Protector General Tang Jiahui defeated

5049-600: The Göktürks, while remaining an important regional power, posed much less of a threat to China, although at times still capable of dealing serious defeats to Tang forces, as was the case in 720 when the Göktürk general Tonyukuk defeated the Tang garrison at Liang Prefecture (涼州, roughly modern Wuwei , Gansu ) and the Tang vassal Basmyl . Meanwhile, Tang, the Tibetan Empire, and the Umayyad Caliphate were constantly engaging in

5202-450: The Khitan, but meanwhile made peace with the Tibetan Empire. Initially, the campaign against the Khitan did not succeed, but in 732, with Li Hui in command, Tang forces dealt Ketugan a serious defeat and causing many of Ketugan's subordinates to defect and submit to Tang, although Ketugan was not captured. Meanwhile, Tang also began to have periodic conflicts with Balhae , and in 733 Emperor Xuanzong tried to commission Dae Mun-ye ( 大門藝 ),

5355-752: The Khitan. Eventually, in 755, An Lushan started the Anshi Rebellion at Fanyang . The rebels quickly seized the eastern capital Luoyang , and then the imperial capital Chang'an six months later. Emperor Xuanzong fled to Sichuan during the war and abdicated the throne to Li Yu (whose name had been changed to Li Heng at that point) (as Emperor Suzong). Meanwhile, at Li Linfu's encouragement, Emperor Xuanzong began to promote non- Han generals to command large border armies, believing Li Linfu's assertion that non-Han generals were more likely to be personally loyal to Emperor Xuanzong himself and would not have clan entanglements, even though Li Linfu's own personal motivation

5508-527: The Khitan. In 752, he wanted to launch a major counterattack against the Khitan, requesting that the ethnically Tujue general Li Xianzhong ( 李獻忠 ) accompany him. Li Xianzhong was afraid of An; when An ordered Li to attack the Khitan, Li rebelled, thus putting a halt to An's campaign. Later that year, when Emperor Xuanzong, seeing that both An Lushan and An Sishun (who by this point was the military governor of Shuofang Circuit (朔方, headquartered in modern Yinchuan , Ningxia )) had poor relations with Geshu Han ,

5661-435: The Prince of Ping [(i.e., Li Longji, whose title had been changed to Prince of Ping by this point)]. Li Chengqi wept and begged to yield for several days, and after further persuasion by the chancellor Liu Youqiu —who had been part of Li Longji's coup plans—Emperor Ruizong agreed and created Li Longji crown prince. Li Longji submitted a petition offering to yield to Li Chengqi, but Emperor Ruizong rejected it. After he came to

5814-412: The Prince of Xin'an (Emperor Xuanzong's second cousin) and was exiled, and subsequently died in exile. Still, it was said that it was starting from Yuwen's times that Emperor Xuanzong began to pay attention on taxes to replenish the imperial treasury, which traditional historians viewed as the start of his inflicting financial burdens on the people. Further, with Pei in charge of the civil service system, it

5967-412: The Prince of Yong'an (the sons of their uncle Li Xián , formerly crown prince but who had been forced by Wu Zetian to commit suicide in 684), were kept inside the palace and not allowed to have contact with outsiders until 699, when they were allowed to leave the palace and take up residences outside. In 705, Wu Zetian was overthrown in a coup, and Li Longji's uncle Li Xiǎn (note different person than

6120-409: The Prince of Zhong, in 738. Historians said that Emperor Xuanzong forced tens of thousands of beautiful women to live in his palace to please him, more than many other Tang emperors. And he did not allow many to be set free even when they were old. As Emperor Xuanzong turned his attention to pleasure-seeking with his favorite concubine Yang Guifei and her family, he paid less and less attention to

6273-417: The Tibetan Empire, and after a Tibetan incursion in late 726, Wang counterattacked and inflicted losses on Tibetan forces commanded by the general Xinuoluogonglu ( 悉諾邏恭祿 ). Later in the year, though, Xinuoluogonglu and another general, Zhulongmangbuzhi ( 燭龍莽布支 ) attacked and captured Wang's home prefecture Gua Prefecture (瓜州, roughly modern Jiuquan , Gansu ), taking Wang's father Wang Shou ( 王壽 ) captive. As

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6426-470: The Yan advance, the Yan forces were unable to capture either Emperor Xuanzong, who eventually reached Shu Commandery, or Li Heng, who fled to Lingwu and took the Tang imperial title there (as Emperor Suzong). (Xuanzong recognized Li Heng's actions and subsequently took the title Taishang Huang ( retired emperor ).) Hearing news of Chang'an's fall, Guo and Li Guangbi withdrew to Lingwu, allowing Shi to again pacify

6579-446: The abolition to be the root of Tang's later fracturing, but some others, such as the modern historian Bo Yang , argued that Zhang's actions not only were necessary to restore the supply of soldiers but saved many lives. ) In 723, Zhang Jiazhen was demoted on account of a corruption scandal involving his brother Zhang Jiayou ( 張嘉祐 ). His position was filled by Wang Jun , who was soon himself demoted over suspicions, never proven, that he

6732-591: The accounting to be complete. Emperor Ruizong moved to a secondary palace, Baifu Hall ( 百福殿 ) and would remain there until his death in 716. Emperor Xuanzong's Kaiyuan era is usually viewed as one of the golden ages of Chinese history – a period of political stability, peace in society, and economic prosperity, in addition to advances in education, literature, music, painting, sculpture, and religion. Meanwhile, Zhang Yue and Liu Youqiu served as chancellors, but they were soon displaced by Yao Yuanzhi (who then changed his name to Yao Chong ) and Lu Huaishen . Changing

6885-408: The accusations from Yang Guozhong were false. Emperor Xuanzong took no actions against either An or Yang Guozhong. The An Lushan Rebellion spanned from 16 December 755 to 17 February 763. This rebellion appears to have involved the death of some 13 million people, which would make it one of the deadliest wars in history. Many scholars attribute the loss of 36 million people in the Tang census after

7038-470: The advice of his sister, Princess Taiping. By winter 711 Princess Taiping had become even more powerful than before. Because of her recommendations, Emperor Ruizong carried out a major reorganization of his administration, relieving the chancellors Wei, Guo Yuanzhen , Dou, Li Rizhi , and Zhang Yue of their chancellor positions, instead commissioning a number of chancellors that she recommended — Liu Youqiu , Wei Zhigu , Cui Shi , and Lu Xiangxian . (Cui

7191-462: The attack. By this time, the Tang generals Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi had fought their way into Emperor An's territory north of the Yellow River, cutting off the communication between Luoyang and Fanyang, causing much fear in An's troops. An considered withdrawing north of the Yellow River to secure the territory, but meanwhile, suspicions had begun to rise between Yang Guozhong and Geshu, each believing that

7344-756: The attack. Al-Yashkuri, the Arab commander and his army fled to Tashkent after they were defeated. In and around 716, there was a major locust infestation in the central China region. At Yao's suggestion, Emperor Xuanzong ordered an extensive campaign of extermination, which was said to reduce the impact of the infestation and ward off a major famine . Later in 716, however, due a corruption scandal involving Yao's sons and his associate Zhao Hui ( 趙誨 ), Yao incurred displeasure from Emperor Xuanzong and offered to resign. He and Yuan Qianyao , who replaced Lu after Lu's death earlier in 716, were removed from their offices and replaced with Song Jing and Su Ting , with Song making more of

7497-498: The brother of Balhae's King Mu , to attack Balhae, along with forces from Silla , but the attack was not successful. Also in 733, Pei Guangting died, and at the recommendation of Xiao Song, he was replaced with Han Xiu , but soon, Song and Han were in repeated conflicts, and late in 733, both were removed and replaced with Pei Yaoqing , who became known for improving the food distribution system, and Zhang Jiuling , known for his integrity. In 734, Emperor Xuanzong added Li Linfu ,

7650-464: The campaign), with the lesser titles of military prefect (團練使, Tuanlianshi ). Emperor Dezong, on paper, gave Lulong two additional prefectures — De (德州, in modern Dezhou , Shandong ) and Di (棣州, in modern Binzhou , Shandong ) — both still then held by Li Na. Zhu was angered by Emperor Dezong's refusal to give him any part of Chengde territory (in particular, Shen Prefecture) and requiring him to capture two additional prefectures on his own, while Wang

7803-664: The change in the emperor's position could be accounted by an orderly transition, offered to pass the throne to Li Longji. Princess Taiping fervently opposed it, and Li Longji initially declined, but at Emperor Ruizong's insistence finally accepted and took the throne on 8 September (as Emperor Xuanzong). However, at Princess Taiping's suggestion, Emperor Ruizong retained much of the imperial power as Taishang Huang (retired emperor), and his edicts continued to carry greater force than Emperor Xuanzong's. Emperor Xuanzong made his wife Crown Princess Wang empress. Meanwhile, Princess Taiping continued to be listening to politics with curtains in

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7956-535: The comical situation and rewarded both Consort Yang and An greatly. Thereafter, whenever An visited the capital, he was allowed free admittance to the palace, and there were rumors that he and Consort Yang had an affair, but Emperor Xuanzong discounted the rumors. At An's request, Emperor Xuanzong also gave him the governorship of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan , Shanxi ), in addition to Pinglu and Fanyang. Two of his sons, An Qingzong and An Qingxu, were given ministerial level positions, and An Qingzong

8109-521: The commander of Pinglu Army, to defend against the Khitan, the Xi, Balhae , and the Heishui Mohe . In 742, Xuanzong further promoted Pinglu Army to be a military circuit, making An its military governor ( jiedushi ). In 743, An visited Chang'an to pay homage to Emperor Xuanzong. Emperor Xuanzong treated him well and allowed him to visit the palace at all times. He began to inject himself into court politics—as

8262-558: The conference, however, Geshu and An Lushan got into an argument, which only stopped after Gao gazed at Geshu, stopping him from responding to An Lushan's insults. In 753, with Li Linfu's death and replacement by Yang Guozhong, Yang Guozhong, intending to posthumously dishonor Li Linfu, had An Lushan corroborate his accusations that Li Linfu was involved in Li Xianzhong's rebellion. An agreed, and subsequently, with further corroboration from Li Linfu's son-in-law Yang Qixuan ( 楊齊宣 ), Li Linfu

8415-416: The court, highly extremely influential in governmental matters through Emperor Ruizong, the group of chancellors openly frequented her house and most chancellors, forbidden troops, officials and warlords were her associates. (Of the seven chancellors at the time, five – Dou Huaizhen, Xiao Zhizhong, Cen Xi, Cui Shi , and Lu Xiangxian – were made chancellors at her recommendation, although Lu was not considered

8568-670: The crown prince position to Li Chengqi, but Emperor Ruizong declined it. Also in 711, Emperor Ruizong posthumously honored both Empress Liu and Li Longji's mother Consort Dou as empresses and built a temple for them to be worshipped, but was unable to locate their bodies for reburial, and therefore had to give them a ceremonial reburial without the bodies. But this posthumous honor for Li Longji's mother further displeased Princess Taiping. Emperor Ruizong also ordered that all minor matters be decided by Li Longji, and with this, Emperor Ruizong established Li Longji as his sole successor, but diverted his participation in important matters and focused more on

8721-441: The crown prince title and the emperor's trust, Li Longji was active and powerful in the politics of Emperor Ruizong's reign, but, also, whenever Emperor Ruizong called a court meeting, Princess Taiping would listen to the courtiers' conversations with the emperor about the government behind a pearl curtain and had the government under her hands. Under her ample reputation in the previous reigns, her great achievements in two coups,

8874-478: The cruel secret police officials of Wu Zetian's reign, exiling the ones that were still alive and eventually barring their descendants from holding political offices. At the urging of Jiang Jiao's brother Jiang Hui ( 姜誨 ), he also exiled a number of chancellors – Wei Sili , Wei Anshi , Zhao Yanzhao , and Li Jiao – from Emperor Zhongzong's reign whom Jiang accused of being unable to curb Empress Wei's abuse of power. Also in 714, Emperor Xuanzong, wanting to punish

9027-495: The death of Li Linfu in 753, An Lushan's rivalry with General Geshu Han and Chancellor Yang Guozhong created military tensions within the empire. In late 755, An Lushan instigated open revolt and quickly captured Luoyang , the eastern capital, where in early 756 he proclaimed himself emperor of the new Yan dynasty. While his generals continued his campaigns, An Lushan remained in the Luoyang palace; his health failed and he became increasingly violent and paranoid. In early 757 he

9180-444: The edict was drafted, Xuanzong delayed and instead sent the eunuch Fu Qiulin ( 輔璆琳 ) to send fresh fruits to An and to observe him—upon which An was alleged to bribe Fu into submitting a favorable report. Yang, however, persisted in his reports against An. Yang then attacked some of An's staff and associates, including having the mayor of Jingzhao arrest An's friend Li Chao ( 李超 ) and others, and executing them secretly. An Qingzong, who

9333-470: The father of Li Guangshun, Li Shouli, and Li Shouyi), who was at that time crown prince (Li Dan having yielded that title to him in 698 and taken the title of Prince of Xiang), who had been briefly emperor prior to Li Dan, returned to the throne (as Emperor Zhongzong). Li Longji was made the deputy minister of military supplies (衛尉少卿, Weiwei Shaoqing ). In 708, he was made the secretary general of Lu Prefecture (潞州, roughly modern Changzhi , Shanxi ). In 710, he

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9486-538: The first few years of the Kaiyuan era, as minor hostilities occurred at the borders as well as contests over vassals' loyalty for the two states, but they were also at times friendly to each other, with Qapaghan requesting at times to marry a Tang princess and Emperor Xuanzong agreeing to the proposal. In 716, however, Qapaghan was killed in battle against the Bayegu ( 拔野古 ), and from that point on, lacking his efficient leadership,

9639-413: The former chancellor Chen Xilie and the key officials Zhang Jun ( 張均 ) and Zhang Ji ( 張垍 ), and An made Chen and Zhang Ji chancellors as well. Meanwhile, An had Emperor Xuanzong's sister, Princess of Huo, as well as a number of other imperial relatives, executed, and sacrificed their organs to An Qingzong. At this point, there was a new Tang Emperor: Li Heng , or Emperor Suzong. Due to the slowness of

9792-510: The future. Zhu did not accept his suggestion, but it was said that because he knew that Liu was faithful to him, he did not fear that Liu would turn against him. Subsequently, as he was turning against the imperial government but Zhang refused to join his alliance with Wang and Tian, he had Liu take up position to defend a potential attack by Zhang. By 784, Zhu's campaign had ended in utter failure after Wang and Tian Yue's cousin and successor Tian Xu turned against him and defeated him along with

9945-513: The generals Chang Yuankai ( 常元楷 ), Li Ci ( 李慈 ), and Li Qin ( 李欽 ); and the monk Huifan, were plotting to overthrow Emperor Xuanzong. It was further said that they discussed, with the lady-in-waiting Lady Yuan, to poison the gastrodia elata that Emperor Xuanzong routinely took as an aphrodisiac. When this alleged plot was reported to Emperor Xuanzong by Wei Zhigu , Emperor Xuanzong, who had already received advice from Wang Ju ( 王琚 ), Zhang Shuo , and Cui Riyong to act first, did so. He convened

10098-402: The government's talent pool, and so issued an edict ordering that the people who had unusual talents to come to Chang'an to be examined by himself. Li Linfu, fearing that these examinees might accuse him of improprieties when they get to meet the emperor, suggested that these examinees go through two levels of preliminary examinations – by the local governments, and then by the executive bureau. As

10251-488: The guards harshly, had alienated the guards, and the guard officers Ge Fushun ( 葛福順 ), Chen Xuanli ( 陳玄禮 ), and Li Xianfu ( 李仙鳧 ) thereafter also joined the plot. Without first informing Li Dan, the conspirators enacted their plan on July 21, 710, first killing Wei Bo, Gao, and Empress Wei's cousin Wei Gui ( 韋璿 ). They then began their attack on the palace, causing Empress Dowager Wei to flee to an imperial guard camp, where

10404-821: The heart of the empire was without defenses. He selected some 8,000 soldiers among the surrendered Khitan, Xi, and Tongluo ( 同羅 ) tribesmen, organizing them into an elite corps known as the Yeluohe ( 曵落河 ), which meant "the brave". He retained Gao Shang ( 高尚 ), Yan Zhuang ( 嚴莊 ), Zhang Tongru ( 張通儒 ), and Sun Xiaozhe ( 孫孝哲 ) as his strategists; and Shi Siming, An Shouzhong ( 安守忠 ), Li Guiren ( 李歸仁 ), Cai Xide ( 蔡希德 ), Niu Tingjie ( 牛廷玠 ), Xiang Runrong ( 向潤容 ), Li Tingwang ( 李庭望 ), Cui Qianyou ( 崔乾祐 ), Yin Ziqi ( 尹子奇 ), He Qiannian ( 何千年 ), Wu Lingxun ( 武令珣 ), Neng Yuanhao ( 能元皓 ), Tian Chengsi , Tian Qianzhen ( 田乾真 ), and Ashina Chengqing ( 阿史那承慶 ) as his generals. Late in 751, An launched

10557-454: The imperial general Li Baozhen . Zhu was forced to withdraw with his remaining troops back to Lulong. As he was arriving back in Lulong, he was filled with shames of defeat and feared that Liu might turn against him in light of his defeat. As he was arriving at the headquarters at You Prefecture, however, Liu mobilized the remaining troops and exited the city to welcome him in grand ceremony. Zhu

10710-445: The imperial government almost to the end of Emperor Xuanzong's reign. Li Linfu did all he could to stay in power, and carried out many dirty tricks against actual or potential threats to his power. He also severely discouraged criticism, ending the relative freedom that officials had to make proposals to Emperor Xuanzong. This was often viewed by traditional historians as the turning point of Emperor Xuanzong's reign, which up to that point

10863-638: The imperial government as the Situ Neighborhood of Taiwei Township. This is an eternal accomplishment for men. If you remain faithful and obedient to the emperor, nothing will go against you. Within our own times, An Lushan and Shi Siming were destroyed and their families slaughtered because they, in arrogance, waged war and not cared about whether they succeeded or not. I am your closest relative, and if I remain silent and do not let you know what I think, I would not be serving you properly. I hope you, Situ , will reconsider, so that you do not regret it in

11016-587: The imperial government, and in 774, he went to the Tang capital Chang'an and thereafter served as an imperial general around the capital, leaving his brother (also Liu's cousin) Zhu Tao in actual control of the circuit. Liu served under Zhu Tao, and through his accomplishments was made the commander of the Xiongwu Army (雄武軍, based on modern Chengde , Hebei ). Later, he was made the prefect of Zhuo Prefecture (涿州, in modern Baoding , Hebei ). In 775, Zhu Tao, per mandate of Emperor Daizong , attacked Tian Chengsi

11169-523: The imperial government, and the imperial government responded in kind. Emperor Dezong commissioned Zhu to attack Li Weiyue from the north, and Zhu did so; his victories eventually caused Li Weiyue's subordinate Wang Wujun to assassinate Li Weiyue and surrender. After the victory at Chengde, however, Emperor Dezong made a series of moves that simultaneously alienated Zhu and Wang. He refused to give Chengde's Shen Prefecture (深州, in modern Hengshui , Hebei ) to Lulong, as Zhu had requested. Rather, he divided

11322-430: The important decisions and Su assisting. Yao would not return to the chancellorship, but would remain influential as a key advisor for Emperor Xuanzong until Yao's death in 721. Contrary to the practical and flexible Yao, Song was more interested in emphasizing integrity and rule of law in governance, and it was said that while Yao's and Song's emphases were different, they were both regarded as instrumental in establishing

11475-427: The marriage between Li Shouli's daughter Princess Jincheng and Me Agtsom , emperor of the Tibetan Empire, in seeking peace, the two sides could not reach an agreement and remained in border conflict yearly. In response, Emperor Xuanzong established the office of jiedushi (military governor) of Longyou Circuit ( 隴右 , headquartered in what is now Haidong , Qinghai ), with a centralized command of 12 prefectures under

11628-408: The military governor of Hexi (河西, headquartered in modern Wuwei , Gansu ) and Longxi (隴西, headquartered in modern Haidong prefecture, Qinghai ) Circuits, and wanted to improve relations between these three key border troop commanders, he summoned all three to the capital and had the powerful eunuch Gao Lishi host a feast for the three of them, trying to get them to resolve their unpleasantries. At

11781-460: The military governor of Lulong Circuit, he tried to recall Liu back to military service, but Liu declined. In 772, after Li Huaixian's successor Zhu Xicai was assassinated, Liu Peng's cousin Zhu Ci (a son of Liu's mother's brother) became military governor. Contrary to the prior independent stand that Li and Zhu Xicai took as to the imperial government, Zhu Ci was more reconciliatory and submissive to

11934-408: The military governor of Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern Handan , Hebei ), along with Li Baochen the military governor of Chengde Circuit (成德, headquartered in modern Shijiazhuang , Hebei ). Because Liu was loved by the army, Zhu put him in command of headquarters before launching his campaign. Tian, however, persuaded Li Baochen to turn against Zhu, and late in 775, Li Baochen launched

12087-424: The military officer Li Shoude ( 李守德 ) – and decided to act first. On 29 July, Emperor Xuanzong had Wang Maozhong take 300 soldiers to the imperial guard camp to behead Chang and Li Ci. Then, Jia, Li You, Xiao, and Cen were arrested and executed as well. Dou fled into a canyon and committed suicide by hanging. Xue Ji was forced to commit suicide. When Emperor Ruizong heard about this, he quickly ascended

12240-417: The mountains, only appearing three days later. Emperor Ruizong asked Emperor Xuanzong for her pardon, but he refused. Emperor Xuanzong ordered her to commit suicide at home, and put to death her sons and associates, except for Xue Chongjian. Princess Taiping's assets were confiscated, and it was said that there was so much treasure, livestock, and real estate that it took several years: more than thirty years for

12393-436: The official Su Xiaoyun ( 蘇孝韞 ) complained to him that the imperial examinations that year was unfair and that Zhang Shi ( 張奭 ), the son of the deputy chief imperial censor Zhang Yi ( 張倚 ), had been given top grade despite having no abilities. An reported this to Emperor Xuanzong, who ordered a retesting before him personally. Zhang Shi was not able to even write one character in response to Emperor Xuanzong's reexamination. As

12546-457: The orders as Song and Yao suggested, except that he believed that Luoyang was too far and therefore sent Princess Taiping and Wu Youji only to Pu Prefecture (蒲州, roughly modern Yuncheng , Shanxi ). After Princess Taiping found out that the plan was conceived by Song and Yao, however, she was incensed and let Li Longji know her anger, and she mobilized her group to attack Song and Yao and oppose Emperor Ruizong's decision. In fear, Li Longji submitted

12699-418: The other had designs on himself. Yang therefore persuaded Emperor Xuanzong to order Geshu to attack the Yan general Cui Qianyou, who was then stationed at Shan Commandery. (This order was against the advice of Geshu, Guo, and Li Guangbi that the proper strategy was to secure Tong Pass and let Guo and Li Guangbi capture the Yan territory to the north.) Geshu, with Emperor Xuanzong repeatedly ordering him to attack,

12852-429: The palace after Wu Zetian's lady-in-waiting Wei Tuan'er ( 韋團兒 ) falsely accused them of using witchcraft against Wu Zetian – and not even their bodies were recovered. Subsequently, all of Li Dan's sons were reduced in title, and Li Longji's title was reduced to Prince of Linzi. He and his brothers, along with their cousins Li Guangshun ( 李光順 ) the Prince of Yifeng, Li Shouli the Prince of Yong, and Li Shouyi ( 李守義 )

13005-429: The palace and attacked An Lushan. An tried to fight back, but could not locate a sword that he had put under his bed. Li Zhu'er attacked his stomach and abdomen. As his intestines were coming out of his body, An screamed "this is a thief of my own household" and died. The next morning, Yan announced to the Yan officials that An Lushan was seriously ill, and that he had appointed An Qingxu crown prince. Then, after taking

13158-522: The palace and was treated inside the palace like an empress would be. Still, in 726, when Emperor Xuanzong considered creating her empress, he encountered oppositions from officials on two grounds – that her Wu clan was hated by the people and that as she had her own sons, the position of Li Siqian the Crown Prince (whose name had been changed to Li Hong by this point) would be threatened. As a result, Emperor Xuanzong never created her empress. But Consort Wu's

13311-474: The palace as "the Lady" and treated like an empress (as was consort Wu until her death). He abducted more than 40000 women in his palace. Some were not set free even after they were over 60 years old. Meanwhile, Li Linfu was beginning to conflict with Li Shizhi and Wei Jian, who were allies. Li Linfu, who engaged a group of secret police officials to investigate and manufacture evidence against political enemies,

13464-571: The rebellion to a breakdown in Tang taxation and census gathering. In the spring of 755, matters were coming to a head. An Lushan submitted a petition to Emperor Xuanzong to replace 32 Han generals under his command with non-Han generals. Xuanzong accepted An's request despite opposition from chancellors Yang Guozhong and Wei Jiansu , who took An's request as a sign of impending rebellion. Yang and Wei then suggested that An be promoted chancellor, and that his three commands be divided between his three deputies. Emperor Xuanzong initially agreed, but after

13617-525: The region north of the Yellow River and east of the Taihang Mountains with exception of pockets held by Yan Zhenqing and other Tang officials under his command. Once he had assumed the imperial title, An Lushan spent most of his time inside the Luoyang palace. His generals rarely saw him, and most important matters were handled through Yan Zhuang (嚴莊). An Lushan suffered from chronic eye problems that eventually led to blindness; he had ulcers ; and he

13770-555: The region. Around the same time, Emperor Xuanzong began to build a residential complex in the palace for imperial clan members, known as the Mansion of the Ten Princes ( 十王院 ), to centralize their residence. Thereafter, imperial princes, including the crown prince, would rarely live outside the palace complex. On 6 December 728, Emperor Xuanzong added the general Xiao Song as a chancellor. Subsequently, in 729, with Yuan, even though he

13923-423: The rule of Kaiyuan and that subsequent chancellors could not compare to them. Meanwhile, Song and Su had carried out a stern campaign against the use of coins that were not officially forged by the government, which brought popular resentment that Emperor Xuanzong found problematic. In 720, he removed Song and Su from chancellor offices and replaced them with Yuan and Zhang Jiazhen , and in 721 added Zhang Yue as

14076-616: The running of his empire, and much of his power fell into the hands of the corrupt Li Linfu (who was succeeded by Lady Yang's dissolute cousin Yang Guozhong ) and the eunuch Gao Lishi . At the same time, 751 saw the loss of the Battle of Talas against the Abbasid Caliphate. As a consequence, the Tang dynasty temporarily lost some of its influence in Central Asia to the emerging Abbasid Caliphate, as several Tang tributaries turned to

14229-473: The same request, and Emperor Xuanzong granted this privilege to Geshu.) Later, in 754, An defeated Xi forces, capturing their chieftain Li Riyue ( 李日越 ). Meanwhile, Yang Guozhong viewed the official Wei Zhi ( 韋陟 ) as a threat and accused Wei of corruption. Yang Guozhong later accused Wei of bribing An's associate Ji Wen ( 吉溫 ), and Wei and Ji were both demoted. An submitted a petition on their behalf, claiming that

14382-524: The seven prefectures of Chengde into three smaller circuits, making Zhang Xiaozhong , the first major Chengde officer to submit to Zhu and join Zhu's operations against Li Weiyue, the military governor of a newly created Yidingcang Circuit (易定滄, headquartered in modern Baoding, soon renamed to Yiwu ( 義武) ), consisting of three prefectures, while giving two prefectures each to Wang and Kang Rizhi (康日知, another Chengde general who had submitted to imperial authority during

14535-505: The summons. In winter 755, An launched his rebellion on 16 December, claiming he had received a secret edict from Emperor Xuanzong to advance on Chang'an to remove Yang. The imperial officials were all apprehensive, because An had the strongest troops of the realm at the time, except for Yang, who believed that An could be suppressed easily. Emperor Xuanzong commissioned the general Feng Changqing as military governor of Fanyang and Pinglu, intending to have him replace An after An's rebellion

14688-526: The surname Kang or not: he took the name of An from his stepfather An Yanyan. The surnames Kang and An suggest that they were respectively from the Sogdian kingdoms of Samarkand (康國; cf. Kangju ) and Bukhara ( 安國 ). The An are not to be confused with Anxi, which had been established as a prefecture by the Chinese in 661. On his side, Matsui Hitoshi, noting that nothing in the historical records provides hard evidence of Sogdian origin and that An Lushan

14841-438: The system of having a large group of chancellors simultaneous, as had been the case throughout Tang, Emperor Xuanzong reduced the numbers to two (or sometimes three) for the rest of his reign. Yao was considered a highly capable administrator, and with him ruling on most important matters and Lu assisting, the government was said to be highly efficient. In 714, Emperor Xuanzong carried out a series of political reprisals against

14994-521: The throne and inherited an empire still in its golden age. He was initially assisted by capable chancellors like Yao Chong , Song Jing and Zhang Yue who were already serving as government officials before Xuanzong ascended the throne. However, under Emperor Xuanzong, the empire reached its turning point and went into sharp decline and near collapse, due to numerous political missteps throughout his long reign, such as over-trusting Li Linfu , Yang Guozhong and An Lushan , with Tang's golden age ending in

15147-489: The throne to her, and she took the throne as empress regnant of a new Zhou dynasty , interrupting Tang. She imposed upon Ruizong and his family the surname Wu ( 武 ) to match hers. In 692, Li Longji and his brothers were allowed to have residences outside the palace and were given staffs at their mansions. In 693, both his mother Consort Dou and Li Dan's wife Crown Princess Liu (Li Dan's having been reduced to crown prince rank at that point) were killed by Wu Zetian inside

15300-436: The throne, whenever the chancellors and officials discussed political affairs with him, the first sentence he asked was: "Have you ever discussed with Princess Taiping? "If the answer is yes, he will continue to ask: "Have you ever discussed with Li Longji?" If both people have clear opinions, he will make a decision based on this, as a result, he relies heavily on Princess Taiping and Li Longji. Because of his achievements, having

15453-437: The throne, which is different from the first time he was a puppet. This time he truly mastered the power and quickly used it handily. Emperor Ruizong was immediately faced with the issue of whom to make crown prince—as Li Chengqi, as the oldest son overall and the oldest son of his wife, was the appropriate heir under Confucian principles of succession, but Li Longji had been the one whose accomplishments had allowed him to retake

15606-423: The throne. He hesitated. Li Chengqi declined consideration to be crown prince—stating to his father: If the state were secure, then consideration should be first given to the oldest son of the wife. If the state were in danger, then consideration should be first given for achievement. If you did not follow this principle, the people of the entire empire will be disappointed. I would rather die than to be placed above

15759-979: The time being, Emperor Zhongzong's son by a concubine, Li Chongmao the Prince of Wen, was named emperor (as Emperor Shang), but Empress Wei retained actual power as empress dowager and regent. Originally, Empress Dowager Wei's clan members, along with Zong, Li Guo'er's husband Wu Yanxiu, and other officials Zhao Lüwen ( 趙履溫 ) and Ye Jingneng ( 葉靜能 ) were advising her to take the throne, like Wu Zetian did, and they also advised her to eliminate Li Dan and Princess Taiping . The official Cui Riyong leaked their plan to Li Longji. Li Longji responded by conspiring with Princess Taiping, Princess Taiping's son Xue Chongjian ( 薛崇簡 ), as well as several low-level officials close to him— Zhong Shaojing , Wang Chongye ( 王崇曄 ), Liu Youqiu , and Ma Sizong ( 麻嗣宗 )—to act first. Meanwhile, Empress Wei's nephews Wei Bo ( 韋播 ) and Gao Song ( 高嵩 ), who had recently been put in command of imperial guards and who had tried to establish their authority by dealing with

15912-423: The time, was near a collapse, as the soldiers were forced into long tours of duty but their families were not exempt from taxes, thus causing great numbers of desertions, Zhang suggested a switch to a recruitment-based system where soldiers were paid salaries. This allowed, for a time, Tang's soldier supply to be replenished. (Some later historians condemned Zhang for the abolition of the conscription system, believing

16065-405: The tower at Chengtian Gate ( 承天門 ) to ascertain what was happening. Guo reported to him Emperor Xuanzong's intentions, and Emperor Ruizong felt compelled to affirm Emperor Xuanzong's actions in an edict. The next day, on July 30, Emperor Ruizong issued an edict transferring all authorities to Emperor Xuanzong. Meanwhile, Princess Taiping, hearing what happened to her associates, fled into a temple in

16218-495: The troops that Wang would send and not return them. Wang, instead, led the troops himself to Xiongwu in advance of the rendezvous date and, after participating in the building project, returned with the soldiers, and submitted reports to Emperor Xuanzong that he believed An was planning treason. Li Linfu, who was at this point apprehensive of Wang as a potential rival, used this as one of the reasons to indict Wang, and Wang was, later in 747, removed from his post. Also in 747, An Lushan

16371-409: The trust of Emperor Ruizong's, the vast privileges, attention, independence and wealth that Emperor Ruizong bestowed on her, and having countless allies, Princess Taiping has decision-making power on many serious events in the court and the country matters and was so powerful that she even surpassed Emperor Ruizong. She could often decide the promotion or demotion, deportation or summons of officials with

16524-451: The use of magic would allow her to have a son. Empress Wang was deposed and reduced to commoner rank, while Wang Shouyi was exiled and subsequently ordered to commit suicide in exile. Empress Wang died later in the year, and it was said that the eunuchs and the ladies in waiting mourned her bitterly and Emperor Xuanzong much regretted his treatment of her. Still, after Empress Wang's removal and death, Consort Wu became undisputed mistress of

16677-477: The way, at a small village, Mawei Station, prompted by general Chen Xuanli who believed that Yang Guozhong had provoked this rebellion, the imperial guards assassinated Yang Guozhong, and demanded the death of Yang Guifei, to which the Emperor reluctantly consented. An, caught by surprise of the Emperor's retreat, had Cui advance slowly into Chang'an, even though the Tang mayor of Chang'an, Cui Guangyuan ( 崔光遠 ), offered to surrender. Also surrendering to Yan forces were

16830-405: Was posthumously named Prince La of Yan ( 燕剌王 ) by his deputy Shi Siming . It was said that An Lushan knew six non-Chinese languages, and, after he grew older, served as an interpreter in one of the military markets, which were set up by the Chinese government largely to obtain horses in exchange for silk through foreign trade. Serving with him was Shi Sugan (later named Shi Siming), who

16983-668: Was Emperor Ruizong's concubine Consort Dou, who was highly ranked in the bureaucracy. In 687, as the emperor's son, he was created the Prince of Chu. It was said that he was handsome, with an appearance that was "majestic and beautiful", and was talented in music. He had two older brothers – Li Chengqi , born of Emperor Ruizong's wife Empress Liu , and Li Chengyi ( 李成義 ), as well as three younger brothers – Li Longfan ( 李隆範 ), Li Longye ( 李隆業 ), and Li Longti ( 李隆悌 ). He had two full younger sisters, Princess Jinxian ( 金仙公主 ) and Princess Yuzhen ( 玉真公主 ), who later became Taoist nuns. In 690, Empress Dowager Wu had her son Emperor Ruizong yield

17136-623: Was a brother of general An Bozhi ( 安波至 ). An Lushan, therefore, took the surname An. Early in Emperor Xuanzong of Tang 's Kaiyuan era, 713–741, there was a disturbance among the Göktürk tribe that An Yanyan belonged to, and An Lushan fled to Tang with An Yanyan and An Yanyan's nephew, An Sishun . He later settled in Ying Prefecture (營州, roughly modern Chaoyang, Liaoning ). Sources conflict about An Lushan's biological father's origin and surname; for example, whether An Lushan's father had

17289-432: Was a chief favorite of the emperor and undisputed mistress of the palace until her death and had political power. In winter 725, Emperor Xuanzong, at Zhang Yue's urging, carried out a magnificent ceremony at Mount Tai to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth. On 11 May 726, Zhang Yue was accused of corruption by several officials that he had blocked the advances of – Cui Yinfu ( 崔隱甫 ), Yuwen Rong , and Li Linfu – and

17442-438: Was a lover of Princess Taiping, and when she offered to recommend him as chancellor, because he admired Lu, he requested to be made chancellor along with Lu, even though Lu was not an associate of Princess Taiping. It was said that Emperor Ruizong, however, was initially unwilling to make Cui chancellor, but relented after Princess Taiping begged in tears, although the account may be somewhat discountable in that neither Liu nor Wei

17595-648: Was able to get Wei and Li Shizhi demoted and exiled in 746. (Li Shizhi was replaced by Chen Xilie , who gained favor from Emperor Xuanzong for his knowledge in Taoism and sorcery.) In 747, Li Linfu further carried out a campaign of terror against exiled officials, and among the officials executed were Wei, Li Yong ( 李邕 ) and Pei Dunfu ( 裴敦復 ). Li Shizhi and Wang Ju, who had been instrumental in Emperor Xuanzong's initial actions against Princess Taiping, committed suicide. Meanwhile, in 747, Emperor Xuanzong wanted to expand

17748-454: Was an associate of Princess Taiping either, and both were close associates of Li Longji.) In 712, Princess Taiping had astrologers warn Emperor Ruizong that the constellation that symbolized the imperial throne, Dizuo ( 帝座 ), showed that there would be a change in the emperor's position—believing that Emperor Ruizong would suspect Li Longji of plotting a coup and that she could remove Li Longji this way. Instead, Emperor Ruizong, reasoning that

17901-491: Was an improper crown prince . She even spread rumors throughout the empire and tried to cause discontent among the common people, saying: Li Longji is not the eldest son of the emperor, so he should not become the crown prince. She further often paid Li Longji's staff members to spy on him to try to find faults with him. She associated with a group of officials, including the chancellors Dou Huaizhen , Xiao Zhizhong , and Cen Xi , intending to find some way to remove Li Longji, but

18054-615: Was angered that contrary to Emperor Dezong's implicit promises to give whoever killed Li Weiyue Li Weiyue's offices, he not only received a lesser title, but was in a position where he could easily be destroyed. Tian, who was then still under imperial attack, thus persuaded Zhu and Wang to join him in an alliance to defend against imperial forces. When Liu heard that Zhu was planning to turn against imperial forces, he wrote an earnest letter to Zhu trying to change his mind: Our old home village in Changping [(昌平, in modern Beijing)] has been named by

18207-467: Was as submissive to him as a son to a father, showed him even greater favors. In 744, with further praises from the powerful chancellor Li Linfu and Pei Kuan, An was, in addition to Pinglu, made the military governor of Fanyang Circuit (范陽, headquartered in modern Beijing). Wanting to show his military abilities, he often pillaged the Khitan and the Xi. His actions led to two princesses of the royal clan, who were married to Khitan and Xi leaders as part of

18360-577: Was back in Chang'an, he spent time to cultivate relationships with imperial guard commanders, as he believed that Emperor Zhongzong's powerful wife Empress Wei , who was in charge of government affairs, would bring harm to the Tang dynasty. In summer 710, Emperor Zhongzong died suddenly—a death that traditional historians believed to be a poisoning by Empress Wei and her daughter Li Guo'er the Princess Anle so that Empress Wei could become "emperor" like Wu Zetian and Li Guo'er could become crown princess. For

18513-569: Was considered a golden age in Chinese history, toward a path of degeneration. The Song dynasty historian Sima Guang , in his Zizhi Tongjian , for example, commented: Of the chancellors that the Emperor commissioned after he took the throne, Yao Chong emphasized flexibility, Song Jing emphasized the rule of law, Zhang Jiazhen emphasized administrative abilities, Zhang Shuo emphasized literary talent, Li Yuanhong and Du Xian emphasized frugality, and Han Xiu and Zhang Jiuling emphasized honesty. All of them had their different talents. After Zhang Jiuling

18666-400: Was considering appointing An Qing'en to be crown prince (instead of An Qingxu, who otherwise was in line to receive that title). Knowing that he was out of favor, and fearing that An Lushan was planning to kill him, An Qingxu, along with He, Yan, and Li Zhu'er, decided to assassinate An Lushan. On the night of 29 January 757, with Yan and An Qingxu watching outside, Li Zhu'er took a sword into

18819-412: Was defeated. The Emperor also sent Feng to the eastern capital, Luoyang , to build up the defense there; another general, Gao Xianzhi , was ordered to command a secondary defense at Shan Commandery (陝郡, roughly modern Sanmenxia , Henan ). He executed An Qingzong and An's first wife Lady Kang, and forced An Qingzong's present wife, Lady Rongyi, to take her own life. On 8 January 756, An Lushan crossed

18972-452: Was demoted, however, the officials were all concerned about keeping their positions, and honest words no longer had a place in government. In 737, with Zhang no longer in the government to protect him, Li Ying was deposed and subsequently forced to commit suicide. However, with Consort Wu dying later in the year, Emperor Xuanzong did not immediately accept Li Linfu's proposal to have Li Mao made crown prince. Rather, he chose an older son, Li Yu

19125-557: Was extremely obese. His sheer weight once crushed to death a horse and he needed three servants to help him to put on and take off his clothes when he visited Huaqing Pool . An Lushan had a highly-trusted Khitan eunuch named Li Zhu'er ( 李豬兒 ). But in his sickness and blindness An became ill-tempered and paranoid, and would flog or even murder his servants if they had caused him any displeasure. Even Yan Zhuang and Li Zhu'er were said to be hit frequently. An Lushan favored his son An Qing'en ( 安慶恩 ) (the son of his second wife, Lady Duan) and

19278-424: Was forced to do so, and was defeated by Cui. Geshu's subordinate Huoba Guiren ( 火拔歸仁 ) seized him and surrendered to Yan forces. Subsequently, An induced Geshu to write letters to several Tang generals, urging them to surrender, but they all refused. When Yan forces captured Tong Pass, Emperor Xuanzong and Yang, in panic, abandoned Chang'an and fled toward Shu Commandery (蜀郡, roughly modern Chengdu , Sichuan ). On

19431-433: Was found to have committed corruption. At the intercession of Gao Lishi , however, Zhang Yue was removed only from his chancellor post on 18 May and permitted to maintain his title and a number of other posts. He was replaced by Li Yuanhong on 15 May, and subsequently, Du Xian was also added as a chancellor. In 727, at the suggestion of the general Wang Junchuo (王君㚟), Emperor Xuanzong commissioned Wang Junchuo to attack

19584-414: Was friendly with Empress Wang's brother Wang Shouyi ( 王守一 ), advocated that Jiang Jiao be punished and exiled, and Jiang died in exile. Meanwhile, at Zhang Yue's suggestion, the Tang northern border defense forces, which had about 600,000 men at that time, was reduced by 200,000 men to allow the soldiers to return home. Further, seeing that the Tang conscription system, due to abuses against the soldiers at

19737-559: Was gaining power due to his association with Consort Wu. Further, Zhang supported Li Hong (whose name had been changed to Li Ying by this point), while Li Linfu and Consort Wu supported her son Li Mao ( 李瑁 ) the Prince of Shou and tried to have Li Mao made crown prince. In 736, due to Li Linfu's machinations that made Emperor Xuanzong believed that Zhang and Pei Yaoqing were improperly engaging in factionalism, Zhang and Pei Yaoqing were removed and replaced by Niu Xianke , who closely followed Li Linfu's will, and thereafter, Li Linfu would dominate

19890-559: Was given an imperial clan member's daughter, the Lady Rongyi, in marriage. An was arrogant toward other officials, including Consort Yang's second cousin Yang Guozhong . However, carrying the honorary title of deputy chief imperial censor ( 御史大夫 ) at this point, he was respectful of his colleague Wang Hong ( 王鉷 ), an associate of Li Linfu's, although initially not Li Linfu—and therefore, on one occasion, Li Linfu intentionally summoned Wang Hong in An's presence, and when Wang Hong arrived, he

20043-423: Was given posthumous honors, and Emperor Dezong made Liu Ji military governor to succeed him. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Emperor Xuanzong of Tang ( [ɕwàn.tsʊ́ŋ] ; 8 September 685 – 3 May 762 ), personal name Li Longji , was an emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, reigning from 712 to 756. His reign of 44 years was the longest during the Tang dynasty. Through two palace coups, he seized

20196-457: Was given the honorary title as chief deputy imperial censor (御史大夫, Yùshǐ Dàfū ), and Lady Duan , now described as his wife, although Lady Kang was still alive, was created a lady. In 748, Emperor Xuanzong awarded An Lushan an iron certificate promising that he would not be executed, except for treason, and in 750, he created A Prince of Dongping , setting a precedent for generals not of the imperial Li clan to be created princes. By this point,

20349-421: Was infatuated with her, and he had her become a Taoist nun and gave Li Mao the wife of the general Wei Zhaoxun ( 韋昭訓 ) as his new wife and princess. Meanwhile, he secretly took the nun, Yang, into the palace. She became his senior-ranking concubine ( guifei ) , known as Yang Guifei, and soon became so powerful that officials were bribing her family members to get preferential treatment. She was referred to inside

20502-646: Was living at Yingzhou, a settlement of Kumo Xi and Khitan people , suggests that "Perhaps [An Lushan's father] might have been of Khitan origin." Edward H. Schafer, however, maintains that An Lushan is probably the Sinicized version of a name derived from Anxi (安息 " Parthia (n)") and the common Sogdian name ܪܘܚܫܐܢ Roxshan "the Bright" related to the Sogdian female name Roxana , also borne by Alexander 's Sogdian wife, Roxana . His name has also been transcribed as Āluòshān ( 阿犖山 ) or Yàluòshān ( 軋犖山 ), and he

20655-480: Was making false accusations. After that, Emperor Xuanzong refused to believe any suggestions that An was plotting rebellion despite Li Heng agreeing with Yang's assessment on this issue. The Emperor even considered promoting An to be chancellor; however, Yang opposed this, and the promotion did not occur. An returned to Fanyang. At An's request, Emperor Xuanzong allowed him to award his soldiers high ranks without first receiving imperial approval. (Geshu, hearing this, made

20808-570: Was murdered by a eunuch with the support of his son, An Qingxu . An Lushan's mother was a Göktürk of the Ashide clan and served as a sorceress. According to historical sources, his original name might have been Aluoshan or Yaluoshan, the latter stated in the Old Book of Tang to mean "war" in Old Turkic . His father died early, and his mother Lady Ashide married a Turkic general An Yanyan ( 安延偃 ), who

20961-462: Was not born of Emperor Ruizong's wife Empress Liu (Li Chengqi was both—and therefore pursuant to Confucian principles of succession should have been crown prince) as she believed that Li Longji was young (25 at the time he was made crown prince) and would be easy to control. However, once she began to see that Li Longji was strong-willed and criticized her influences, she became apprehensive and often had officials close to her publicly opine that Li Longji

21114-454: Was not recorded in history, he married a Lady Kang as his first wife; they had at least one son, An Qingxu , who, however, was not his oldest son. By 736, An Lushan carried a general title and was serving under Zhang Shougui as an officer of the Pinglu Army (平盧軍, based in modern Chaoyang). In 736, after An disobeyed Zhang's orders and made an overly aggressive attack against the Khitan and

21267-445: Was one day older than he was and who became a good friend of his. In 732, when the general Zhang Shougui ( 張守珪 ) was governing You Prefecture (幽州, roughly modern Beijing ), it was discovered that An Lushan had stolen sheep . Zhang was set to execute An Lushan by caning, when An Lushan yelled out, "Is it that you, Lord, do not wish to destroy the two barbarian tribes? Why do you want to cane An Lushan to death?" Zhang, seeing that he had

21420-426: Was paying Li Linfu great respect, causing An to be surprised and apprehensive, and thereafter An carefully cultivated his relationship with Li Linfu as well. It was also said that, by this point, An began to be apprehensive of what would happen once Emperor Xuanzong died—as he remembered how he had refused to bow to Li Heng—and he began to plan an eventual rebellion, which was further encouraged by his observation that

21573-455: Was plotting a rebellion, but Emperor Xuanzong dismissed the accusations. Yang Guozhong, instead, allied with Geshu against An. In spring 754, Yang asserted to the Emperor that An was set on rebelling, an accusation Yang had made before. Yang predicted that if Emperor Xuanzong summoned An to Chang'an, he would surely not come. However, when Emperor Xuanzong tested Yang's hypothesis by summoning An, he immediately appeared in Chang'an and claimed Yang

21726-532: Was plotting treason. With Zhang Yue thus effectively being the senior chancellor, Zhang Yue promoted literary studies, which Emperor Xuanzong also favored. In 724, he also commissioned the chief imperial astronomer Nangong Shuo ( 南宮說 ) to carry out a major astronomical survey to observe the sun and the North Star at various points of the empire. Also in 724, it was discovered that Wang Shouyi had engaged sorcerers to make amulets for Empress Wang to wear, hoping that

21879-511: Was posthumously dishonored, and his family members were exiled. Also in 753, Li Xianzhong's troops were defeated by the Uyghur Khaganate , and they surrendered to An, further enhancing his strength. Despite their cooperation posthumously accusing Li Linfu, a rivalry soon developed between An and Yang Guozhong, as An did not fear Yang Guozhong the way he did Li Linfu. Yang Guozhong made repeated accusations against An to Emperor Xuanzong that he

22032-428: Was recalled to the capital Chang'an to attend to Emperor Zhongzong when Emperor Zhongzong was sacrificing to heaven and earth. Meanwhile, sorcerers engaged by Emperor Zhongzong believed that there was an aura of an emperor at the area of Chang'an where the mansions Li Longji and his uncles were, and Emperor Zhongzong tried to fulfill the vision by visiting Li Longji's mansion and attending a feast there. While Li Longji

22185-460: Was replaced by Li Shizhi . In 744, Eastern Tujue, after a series of internal turmoil and rebellions from its vassals, finally collapsed. Its vassal Huige rose and became the dominant power of the region, but formally submitted to Tang as a vassal. Meanwhile, after Consort Wu's death, Emperor Xuanzong had been depressed. When he saw his son Prince of Shou Li Mao's wife (his daughter-in-law) Yang Yuhuan (Princess of Shou, by virtue of marriage), he

22338-503: Was said that Emperor Xuanzong had paid less attention to increasing revenues after Yuwen Rong's fall, but by 742 he was again interested in doing so, and such officials as Wei Jian (韋堅, a brother-in-law of Li Yu, whose name was changed by this point to Li Heng), Wang Hong ( 王鉷 ), and Yang Shenjin ( 楊慎矜 ) became favored, and often, matters having to do with finances were stripped out of other officials' responsibilities and given to them as special commissions. Late in 742, Niu Xianke died and

22491-406: Was said that due to Pei's strict adherence to seniority, the Tang civil service system began to lose its ability to find talented people to serve in offices. In 730, the Khitan general Ketugan ( 可突干 ) killed the king Li Shaogu ( 李邵固 ) and took over the reign of the Khitan and the Xi personally, forcing the king of the Xi, Li Lusu ( 李魯蘇 ) to flee to Tang for protection. Tang sent an army to attack

22644-468: Was senior chancellor, unable to curb the disputes between Li Yuanhong and Du, Emperor Xuanzong removed all three from chancellor positions, promoting Yuwen and Pei Guangting to be chancellors in their stead – in Yuwen's case, for his abilities to find ways to add to the imperial treasury by imposing special taxes and levies. Later in the year, though, Yuwen made false accusations against the general Li Hui ( 李褘 )

22797-407: Was summoned to the palace, Consort Yang, in order to please Emperor Xuanzong, had an extra-large infant wrapping made, and wrapped An in it, causing much explosion of laughter among the ladies-in-waiting and eunuchs. When Emperor Xuanzong asked what was going on, Consort Yang's attendants joked that Consort Yang gave birth three days ago and was washing her baby Lushan. Emperor Xuanzong was pleased by

22950-493: Was then at Chang'an, reported Yang's attack to An Lushan, causing considerable concern to An Lushan, who, thereafter, refused to attend the funeral of an imperial prince in summer 755, and did not offer to send a large number of horses to Chang'an that autumn, which aroused the suspicions of Emperor Xuanzong. Allegations of An's bribes to Fu also reached the Emperor, who then had Fu executed, and sent another eunuch, Feng Shenwei ( 馮神威 ) to Fanyang to again summon An Lushan, who ignored

23103-471: Was to prevent Han officials from going through the border command route to become chancellors, thus threatening him. Such generals who rose in ranks included An Lushan , An Sishun , Geshu Han , and Gao Xianzhi . By 742, the main Tang forces were all concentrated on the border, at nine different military circuits and one special military district (Lingnan), as well as three special coast defense districts ( Changle , Donglai , and Dongmou): Meanwhile, it

23256-606: Was touched in both sadness and joy when seeing Liu, and the popular opinion at the time credited Liu for his faithfulness. Zhu died in summer 785, and the soldiers supported Liu to succeed him. Emperor Dezong made Liu the military governor and also created him the Duke of Pengcheng. Liu Peng himself, however, soon fell ill, and Emperor Dezong had his son Liu Ji serve as acting military governor in Liu Peng's illness. Liu Peng only served for three months before he himself died, in fall 785. He

23409-451: Was unable to get two other chancellors— Wei Anshi and Song Jing —to join her group. When Princess Taiping tried to depose Li Longji in two actions, one with Emperor Ruizong himself and another time by summoning the chancellors at Xuanwu Gate and publicly accusing Li Longji of treason or incompetence, but it did not achieve the desired result. In 711, Song and another chancellor, Yao Yuanzhi , tried to persuade Emperor Ruizong to carry out

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