An Lushan (安禄山, 703-753), the Hapa general-turned-rebel who founded the (short lived) Yan Dynasty
It is all too common that modern people in their haughty, holier-than-thou ignorance carry far too many misconceptions about the past. They have deemed themselves to be living in the best time period in all of history, a "Golden Age" of humanity, a "peak" of civilizational achievement, and that the past was nothing but a dark, backwards world of endless war, poverty, disease and hatred. They proudly proclaim the intellectual superiority of their modern, materialist sciences over the "superstition and religious bigotry" of the ancients, condescendingly referring to their own forebears by such descriptors as "primitive", "uncivilized", and indeed, "barbarian".
One such misconception regards Eurasian/Hapa people, who are widely believed to be a purely modern conception, the result of racial integration in Western countries or the sexual adventures of White men. Indeed if you were to ask the likes of r/hapas about "Hapa History", the only things they would talk about would be "Western colonialism", or the numerous Hapas born to the Dutch, Spanish and Americans who came to Asia from time to time over the past few centuries. However, History, with its several millennia, tends to transcend the feeble boundaries of their overly-narrow worldview. In fact, I think it is safe to say that as long as European and Asian people have existed, there have Hapas born out of their interracial unions. For thousands of years, Central Asia has logically been ground zero for many such unions, and while they certainly were not common, there are a few cases where Hapas have risen through the ranks of society and etched their name into History.
Today, we will be looking at perhaps the most famous of those cases: An Lushan.
Though virtually unknown in the West, most Chinese know him as the man whose rebellion and the ten years of chaos that followed are considered among the (several) major dramas of the Tang dynasty. But what many don't pay attention to is the fact that he was a Hapa, perhaps the first Hapa to ever have his name and life story recorded in the history books. An Lushan is widely believed to have been born to a Gokturk mother and a Sogdian father in the year 703. Now the Gokturks, who just centuries early ruled the Gokturk Empire, were an Asiatic Altaic people, whereas the Sogdians were one of the eastern branches of the Iranic sub-family of Indo-European. This would make Lushan a Hapa. While there are doubts as to whether his father (who died early) truly was Sogdian, these can be put to rest definitively by analyzing his name. The surname An (安) was used by people from the Sogdian kingdom of Bukhara (安国, Anguo, non-Han people typically took the name of their homeland as a surname in Chinese), and his given name is without a doubt Iranic in origin. Lushan, or Roχšan as it would have been known in Iranic, means 'the Bright One', and was a common name in Sogdia. The name Roχšan is likely related to Roxana, which was the name of Alexander the Great's Sogdian wife. Centuries earlier, when Alexander and his Greek army conquered much of central Asia, he had his men take local wives, so it is possible An Lushan was even the descendant of Alexander or one of the Greeks in his army.
After An's father died, his mother married a Turkic general, but he eventually ended up in Ying Prefecture of the Tang Dynasty. For much of his earlier life, An was involved in the weapons dealing business, and this is likely where he met his lifelong friend and later fellow rebel, the Gokturk Shi Suguan. An is said to have known six languages in addition to Chinese, which would have proved invaluable in the weapons trade. He was an interpreter who helped the Tang government trade silk to foreigners in exchange for horses as part of the Silk Road. An's career as an official began in a rather unconventional fashion. Having been caught stealing sheep, he was sentenced to death by the local authorities, however, when they heard his plea to be spared, and saw his impressive strength, they gave him and Shi jobs as police officers. From here on out, he continued to rise through the military bureaucracy and eventually attained to the rank of general. However, after going against the orders of his superior, Zhang Shougui, he was sent to the capital, Chang'an, for punishment. The penalty for such an offense was typically death, however, Emperor Xuanzong (唐玄宗) was impressed with An and confident in his abilities. He was pardoned, but stripped of his rank and sent back to work for Zhang. Nonetheless, he began to reclimb the hierarchy.
Tang Xuanzong (685-762)
Later on in 741, he ingratiated himself with one of the Imperial Censors, who returned to Chang'an filled with words of praise for An. When Emperor Xuanzong heard of this, he promoted An further, making him the commander of the Pinglu Army and the commandant of Ying Prefecture. In 742, he was again promoted, this time to jiedushi, one of the highest military offices. The next year, he came to Chang'an to pay homage to the Emperor, and almost immediately began getting involved in court life and politics. To much of the court, An must have been viewed with a great deal of suspicion; he was not Chinese, but some "barbarian" warrior from one of the strange states of the western fringes of the Tang Empire. His half-Caucasoid appearance definitely would have seemed exotic. However, the Emperor continued to shower An with favor, taking him to be wholly loyal. Perhaps we might imagine that the Tang Emperor's belief in the superiority of Chinese civilization over the "barbarians" led him to underestimate An and the potential threat he posed. An continued to gain the trust of the Emperor; he was even allowed to enter and leave the palace as he pleased. Eventually he began to ingratiate himself with Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine, Yang Guifei (楊貴妃), one of the Four Beauties of ancient China. There were even rumors that he was carrying on an affair with Yang. To further show his dedication to the Emperor, he asked Yang to become her adopted son, taking the Emperor to be his "adoptive father".
Yang Guifei (719-756), painting by Hosoda Eishi (1756–1829)
It seems that trust of An Lushan eventually began to extend beyond the Emperor. In 744, the result of praise from chancellor Li Linfu, An was made the military governor of Fanyang Circuit, situated on the northern border of the empire. With proximity to the numerous Altaic tribes that live to the north of China, An regularly led campaigns against them in order to exhibit his military might. He continued to receive promotions and titles from the Emperor. In 747, An was given the title Yushi Daifu (a high ranking censorial position). A further illustration of just how central he had become in the Tang state is that his wife, named Duan, was promoted to Lady, a title shared by none less than the sisters of Yang Guifei. Finally, in 750, he was created the Prince of Dongping, becoming the first general who did not belong to the Imperial Li family--not to mention the first non-Chinese--to receive the honor of being created a prince. An now enjoyed not only a life of luxury and favor in the capital, but also the valuable privilege of proximity to the Emperor and Yang Guifei.
That an outsider to the Imperial court, and indeed, to China, could reach such heights certainly inspired jealousy and wrath in the other officials. Rivalries began to brew with An, most notably between Yang Guozhong, the second cousin of Yang Guifei. Despite occasionally butting heads with various ministers and generals, An remained loyal to the Emperor on account of their deep friendship. However, because others treated him with suspicion or even contempt while only the Emperor and a handful of ministers showed him favor, it is likely the An felt alienated and found it hard to be loyal towards anybody else. This is where many historians believe An began ideating rebellion. Knowing that the Emperor would die eventually, An was, not unreasonably, apprehensive to accept whoever his successor would be; indeed, his loyalty seemed directed towards the Emperor alone. Things did not get better. In 753, Li Linfu, the chancellor with whom An had a good relationship, died, and was replaced with Yang Guozhong. Yang, knowing that even with his position as chancellor he could not control An, began to perceive him as an even greater threat. Hoping to nip the problem in the bud, Yang repeatedly memorialized the Emperor saying that An was actively plotting rebellion. Yang convinced the Emperor that if he summoned An to the capital, he would not come, proving his theory. However, when the Emperor summoned An to test this out, An came immediately. The Emperor's trust in An remained strong, although Yang and his allies, who never fell out of the Emperor's favor, continued to heap accusations upon him.
Come 755, Yang was still convinced An was plotting a rebellion, and began ramping up his anti-An activities, this time with more force. He targeted many of An's friends, staff and associates, raiding An's mansion in Chang'an and having them arrested and executed. An was not pleased. Thereafter, the official relationship between An and the Tang government began to decline. He ceased attending official functions and submitting gifts into the capital, and finally began to ignore the Emperor's summons. In winter of the same year, An Lushan formally launched his rebellion, and set out with intention of capturing the capital to depose Yang. He first attacked and succeeded in capturing the eastern capital of Luoyang and routing the Tang generals who were tasked with defending it. The Imperial court at Chang'an was in complete turmoil.
The next year, in Luoyang An formally declared himself the Emperor of the new Yan dynasty. The Tang government's initial reaction cannot be said to have been an effective one. Geshu Han, a powerful general and former rival of An, was having his own disputes with Yang Guozhong. Hoping to dispatch a powerful adversary at the expense of national defense, Yang persuaded the Emperor, against the advice of many strategists, to have Geshu immediately attack the Yan general Cui Qianyou. With no choice, Geshu attacked and was, as expected, quickly defeated and captured. Meanwhile, Yan forces were already encroaching on Chang'an. The Emperor, in a state of panic, fled with Yang Guifei and troops commanded by general Chen Xuanli toward Shu Commandery. However, along the way Chen had his men assassinate Yang Guozhong, whom he believed was responsible for provoking An to rebel. Chen ensured the Emperor that he was still loyal to him, but only if he allowed them to execute Yang Guifei as well. With great reluctance, the Emperor agreed. Because it was not known where the Emperor had fled to, the remaining Tang constituents were forced to declare Crown Prince Li Heng the new Emperor, and he became Emperor Suzong. When Xuanzong found out about this, he yielded to his son and retired from the throne.
A map showing the major troop movements of An's rebellion
However, by now An Lushan was facing declining health. He suffered from a number of ailments, including eye issues and ulcers. Further, he was greatly bereaved, and no less angered, by the death of his son An Qingzong, who was executed along with his family by the Tang authorities after An rebelled. As a result, he spent most of the day inside the palace at Luoyang. There were also problems with selecting a successor. An favored letting his son Qing'en become the Crown Prince, but another son, Qingxu, believed he deserved to be in line for the succession instead of his brother. An Qingxu's lust for the throne would lead to what can only described as an inexcusably shameful and unfilial act. On January 29th, 757, Qingxu and his associates broke into his father's palace and assassinated him. In order to disguise the coup, Qingxu made up the lie that his father was terminally ill, and had appointed him as the Crown Prince. It was then announced that An Lushan had died, and Qingxu swiftly ascended to the throne of Yan. Karma came quick. In 759, An Lushan was avenged by his lifelong friend and co-rebel, Shi Suguan (now renamed Shi Siming), who executed Qingxu, declared himself Emperor and rehabilitated Lushan.
After An's death, the rebellion, aptly named the "Chaos of An and Shi" (安史之亂), would continue until 763, with the Shi family heading the Yan dynasty instead of the An. Although the Hapa Emperor was unsuccessful in completing his conquest of China, his campaign sent ripples through the Empire that would long outlive him. After the rebellion, the Tang dynasty never returned to its prior level of splendor and wealth, which goes to show, as the Romans found out centuries early, it is exceedingly unwise to underestimate so-called "barbarians". Equally unwise is it, in the inverse, to overestimate those who are considered by the predominant paradigm of the time period to be the bearers of civilization. In such a case, one's level of civilization and cultural achievement is completely irrelevant: though one's palaces may be filled with riches, libraries filled with books and paintings and ranks upon ranks of talented scholars may be standing at the ready, but if one cannot defend the borders of the Empire and protect it from reckless and preventable disaster, they are completely meaningless! The pen and the sword must be equally cultivated. A book on strategy is equally as valuable as a volume of poetry. It is absolutely fitting to laud the Tang dynasty for its immeasurable cultural achievements--that Tang culture spread as far as Vietnam and Japan is no accident, and we are not foolish to treasure the works of Li Bai--but, administratively and militarily, the dynasty underwent many episodes of embarrassing failure (I think the incident involving Wu Zetian decades early can also speak to this).
In the final analysis, I think it is unfair for anyone involved in the situation to truly be labeled as in the wrong besides Yang Guozhong. An Lushan was loyal to the Emperor from the beginning; in spite of others' suspicions, his loyalty never waned until Yang repeatedly provoked him. Yang being the chancellor, An could have only perceived these as attacks against him by the entire Tang nation. His loyalty for the Emperor besides, how could he not rebel? An more than likely felt betrayed long before the Emperor did. Emperor Xuanzong certainly was not a wicked ruler, and he was wise in perceiving and employing the talents of An. However, he was not as tough as he should have been when it came to Yang Guozhong. Had the Emperor removed Yang from the government early on, the entire rebellion likely would have been prevented. His inappropriate favor towards Yang can most likely be ascribed to the fact that he was related to Yang Guifei, who was the love of his life. So, although he was not wicked, he was not a strong ruler, allowing his heart to be swayed by ministers and confounded by love for a girl. Like many rulers, he was simply born at the wrong time in History. Yang Guozhong (ironically, his name means 'loyal to the nation'), in contrast, harbored great jealousy and greed, and was not ashamed to resort to deceit, murder and treason to destroy others. Though he claimed to support the Tang dynasty, he showed on at least two occasions that his own personal desires were more important to him than his country: first, when he carelessly provoked An into rebelling; second, when he convinced the Emperor to send Geshu Han into battle despite knowing he would be defeated. These two caused untold preventable suffering on both sides, not to mention the personal grief felt by Lushan for his son Qingzong, and Xuanzong for his beloved Yang Guifei.
Artist's depiction of An Lushan
Besides all that, this episode of history is also important in the history of Eurasianism because, as we said earlier, An Lushan is perhaps the first Hapa who ever became a major player on the world stage. That he was able to rise through the ranks and eventually carry the title of Emperor, even if short-lived, is remarkable, and speaks much to his genius and strength. Hapas even today can be inspired by him, because he was living proof that even in a world where mixed Eurasians are rare, it is not impossible for us to 'go against the current', so to speak, and attain high distinction. One might be able to make the argument An was a bad man, but it is impossible to say that he did not leave his mark on history, for better or for worse. It is, in my view, a bit of a shame more people, especially mixed-race Eurasians, do not know An's story. This, conveniently, exposes two truths: one, we owe it to ourselves to expand our view of history beyond the past handful of centuries; two, applying this wisdom, we ought to view with suspicion anyone from our own time period who claims, as did the Tang, that we live in the best time period in history. That history repeats itself is not a choice; it is a law.
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