An Lushan Rebellion
An Lushan raises rebellion at Fanyang
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Original prompt & settings (JSON) ↗An launched the revolt with a forged imperial order, telling his officers the emperor wanted Yang Guozhong punished.
A forged edict at Fanyang
On the jiazi day of the eleventh month of Tianbao year 14 — usually rendered 16 December 755 — An Lushan mobilized his own troops together with Tongluo, Xi, Khitan and Shiwei forces and openly rebelled at Fanyang, near modern Beijing.
He displayed a forged imperial order claiming that Emperor Xuanzong had commanded him to march against the chancellor Yang Guozhong. His assembled officers did not openly object.
Marching by night
An left deputies to hold Fanyang, Pinglu and Datong while his field commanders led the rebel columns out during the night. The Old Book of Tang says the mixed cavalry and infantry force travelled at night, stopped for food near dawn, and covered 60 li a day.
The Zizhi Tongjian puts the army at 150,000 troops while An’s side claimed 200,000 — medieval chronicle reports, not audited headcounts.
A court caught unready
When the news reached the Tang court, officials improvised recruitment, opened the treasury to issue silk and cloth, and appointed generals including Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi to organize resistance. The Old Book of Tang says peace had lasted so long that some palace guards were marketplace merchants.
The Chinese date is secure as the jiazi day, eleventh month, Tianbao 14. Its usual modern rendering is 16 December 755, though some scholarship gives 20 December, because pre-1582 Julian and proleptic-Gregorian conventions differ.
Sources
Researched 23 Aug 2026 6 sources 2 audit passes Traditional date
How this was checked
Researched from the web into a fact sheet, rewritten from that sheet, then audited against it by a different model. How the pipeline works →
Traditional date. This date is the conventional one, not one fixed by a contemporary record.
What the sources leave uncertain
- The Chinese date is secure as the jiazi day, eleventh month, Tianbao 14. Its usual modern rendering is 16 December 755, but some scholarship gives 20 December because pre-1582 Julian and proleptic-Gregorian conventions differ.
- The figures of 150,000 and a claimed 200,000 are medieval chronicle reports, not modern audited headcounts.
- The sources reveal An’s public pretext and later actions, but cannot prove that every soldier understood from the first night that the objective was dynastic overthrow.