New biography recasts the An Lushan rebellion as a court-made tragedy

By AI, Created 5:09 PM UTC, May 18, 2026, /AGP/ – Lingshui Hermit’s forthcoming historical biography reinterprets the An-Shi Rebellion as a disaster driven by palace intrigue, imperial indulgence and factional power at the Tang court. The book blends historical research and literary reconstruction to revisit An Lushan’s rise, the fall of Yang Guifei and the collapse that followed.

Why it matters: - The book argues that the Tang Dynasty’s near-collapse was not only the result of rebellion from the frontier, but also of internal decay inside the imperial court. - Its central claim reframes the An-Shi Rebellion as a warning about unchecked desire, factional politics and corruption. - The story connects a 8th-century crisis to a broader pattern of how courts can help create the disasters they later try to contain.

What happened: - Lingshui Hermit has written an unofficial biography of An Lushan that retells the rebel general’s life and the An-Shi Rebellion. - The book presents An Lushan as a Sogdian-Turkic commander who rose from marginal status to become a trusted foster son of General Zhang Shougui and later the self-proclaimed ruler of the Great Yan state. - The book is forthcoming in 2025. - The author is the pen name of a scholar born in mainland China in 1945 who later lived abroad and wrote on Chinese history and culture.

The details: - The narrative begins with An Lushan’s birth, which the book links to omens, shamanism and a violent conception at a sacred mountain spring. - The author traces An Lushan’s rise through multilingual ability, military skill, deception and court flattery. - Emperor Xuanzong’s infatuation with Yang Guifei and the influence of her cousin, Chancellor Yang Guozhong, are presented as the internal forces that weakened the dynasty. - The book argues the rebellion should be remembered as the “Rebellion of the Two Yangs that Brought Ruin to the City and the Nation,” not only as An Lushan’s revolt. - The book includes scenes around Yang Guifei’s Rainbow Robe and Feathered Garment Dance, An Lushan’s ginseng mishap, the mutiny at Mawei Slope, Yang Guifei’s reported execution and survival in legend, and An Lushan’s descent into paranoia, blindness and madness. - An Lushan was assassinated by his son and confidants in 757 AD. - The book ends with reflections on desire and includes an appendix on Japanese legends that Yang Guifei escaped to Nara and Yamaguchi.

Between the lines: - The book mixes historical sources, folklore and imaginative reconstruction, so it reads as literary history rather than a strict academic biography. - That approach lets the author turn a well-known dynastic collapse into a moral tale about personal passions and political vulnerability. - The emphasis on ethnic tensions and court favoritism suggests the rebellion was shaped as much by Tang elite choices as by battlefield events.

What’s next: - Publication details for print and digital editions will be announced later. - The publicity team is accepting requests for review copies and interviews. - The book is expected to reach readers as a forthcoming title in 2025.