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 the Tang dynasty and is primarily known for instigating the An Lushan rebellion which devastated China and killed millions of Han Chinese. The rebellion caused the decline of the Tang dynasty and led to the sacking of Chang'an by the Tibetan Empire.
An Lushan was of 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 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 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 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 he fled to Tang with his stepson An Lushan and nephew An Sishun. An Lushan 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 the surname Kang or not: he took the name of An from his Göktürk 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 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 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 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 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 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.
Rise through the ranks (736–742)
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 was as submissive to him as a son to a father, showed him even greater favors.