An Qingxu

In thisChinese name,thefamily nameisAn.

An Qingxu(An Khánh tự) (730s – 10 April 759), néAn Renzhi(An Nhân chấp), was a son ofAn Lushan,a general of theChineseTang dynastywho rebelled and took the imperial title, and then established his own state ofYan.An Qingxu served as the Prince of Jin in 756–757, and later killed his father and took the imperial title for himself. He was eventually defeated by Tang forces and cornered atYechengin present-dayHebei.After An Lushan's generalShi Siminglifted the siege, An Qingxu met Shi to thank him, but Shi arrested and executed him.

An Qingxu An Khánh tự
Emperor of the Yan dynasty
Reign	30 January 757– 10 April 759
Predecessor	An Lushan
Successor	Shi Siming
Born	730s
Died	10 April 759
Full name Family name: Ān(An) Given name: Originally Rénzhí (Nhân chấp), later Qìngxù (Khánh tự) Era name and dates Tiānchéng (Thiên thành): 30 January 757 – 10 April 759 Posthumous name Prince La of Jin (Tấn lạt vương)
Dynasty	Yan(Yến)

Under Tang rule

An Renzhi was physically strong and capable in mounted archery.It is not known when An was born, although he was said to be not yet 20 whenEmperor Xuanzonggave him the mostly honorary title of minister of vassal affairs,likely in 751.He was An Lushan's second son, and his mother was An Lushan's first wife Lady Kang. At some point, Emperor Xuanzong gave him the name of Qingxu. The first definitive historical references to him were in 752, when, in a defeat that An Lushan suffered against theXi,An Lushan was said to have fallen into a hole and was only saved through the effort of An Qingxu and others. Also that year, when An Lushan's close associate Ji Wen (Cát ôn) went to meet An Lushan before departing for the Tang capitalChang'an,it was An Qingxu that An Lushan sent to accompany Ji to the borders of his territory.

Under An Lushan's rule

In 755, when An Lushan rebelled at his post at Fanyang Circuit (Phạm dương,headquartered in modernBeijing), An Qingxu was apparently with his father and accompanied his father south. In response to An Lushan's rebellion, An Qingxu's mother Lady Kang and older brother An Qingzong (An Khánh tông), then at Chang'an, were executed, and after An Lushan captured Chenliu Commandery (Trần Lưu,roughly modernKaifeng,Henan), it was An Qingxu who realized that An Qingzong had been executed and who tearfully informed his father, sending his father into a rage in which he executed the Tang soldiers who surrendered to him at Chenliu.

Map of An-Shi rebellion

In 756, after An Lushan declared himself emperor of a new state ofYanatLuoyang,he created An Qingxu the Prince of Jin. He subsequently sent An Qingxu to make a preliminary attack againstTong Pass,then defended by the Tang generalGeshu Han,and Geshu repelled An Qingxu's attack.

By early 757, when Yan forces had captured Chang'an and forced both Emperor Xuanzong and his crown princeLi Hengto flee, it was said that An Lushan was having eye problems and had become blind, and was also suffering from ulcers on his body. As a result, his temper became terrible, and his servants, if they had caused him any ill will, would often be whipped or caned, and sometimes even executed. Once he declared imperial title, he spent most of his time inside the Luoyang palace, and his generals rarely saw him, with most important matters going through his official Yan Zhuang (Nghiêm trang)—but even Yan and a favorite eunuch of An's, Li Zhu'er (Lý heo nhi), were being frequently battered. Meanwhile, An Lushan favored another son An Qing'en (An Khánh ân), the son of his second wifeLady Duan(who might have carried the title ofempressby this point). An considered letting An Qing'en be his crown prince, instead of An Qingxu, who was otherwise in line to receive that honor (as Qingxu was now Lushan's eldest surviving son; Lushan's eldest son Qingzong had already been executed in 756). An Qingxu often feared that An Lushan would put him to death. He, Yan, and Li Zhu'er therefore plotted. On the night of 29 January 757,with Yan and An Qingxu watching outside, Li Zhu'er took a sword into the palace and attacked An Lushan; An Lushan tried to fight back, but could not locate a sword that he usually put under his bed, and Li Zhu'er killed him. The next morning, Yan first announced to the Yan officials that An Lushan was seriously ill and was creating An Qingxu crown prince, and then An Qingxu took the throne, before announcing An Lushan's death.

As emperor

It was said that An Qingxu was an introvert who couldn't speak to others properly. As a result, Yan Zhuang advised him not to meet officials frequently, and he entrusted most of affairs of state to Yan and created Yan the Prince of Fengyi. He tried to ingratiate his generals by promoting their positions. Meanwhile, with the major generalShi Simingbesieging the Tang generalLi GuangbiatTaiyuan,An Qingxu ordered Shi to return to his base of Fanyang and leave the general Cai Xide (Thái hi đức) at Taiyuan to watch Li Guangbi's actions. He also sent the general Yin Ziqi (Doãn tử kỳ) to attack the city ofSuiyang,then under the defense by the Tang generalsZhang Xunand Xu Yuan (Hứa xa), intending to capture Suiyang first and then send Yin south to capture Tang territory south of theHuai River(Yin, however, was locked into asiege of Suiyangthat would last until winter 757, stopping any possibility of Yan's advancing south). To show favor to Shi, he created Shi the Prince of Guichuan and made him the military governor (jiedushi) of Fanyang Circuit; instead, Shi, hoarding the supplies that An Lushan had previously shipped to Fanyang, began to disobey An Qingxu's orders, and An Qingxu could not keep him in check. When the Tang generalGuo Ziyiattacked Tong Pass, intending to recapture Chang'an, however, An was able to send forces to repel Guo's attack.

However, the Tang princeLi Chuthe Prince of Guangping (the son of Li Heng, who by this point had taken imperial title as Emperor Suzong), with aid fromHuige,was able to recapture Chang'an in summer 757. Tang forces under Li Chu and Huige forces then advanced east, toward Luoyang. In winter 757, An put together his forces and sent them, under Yan Zhuang's command, to defend Shan Commandery (Thiểm quận,roughly modernSanmenxia,Henan). When Yan forces engaged Tang forces, however, they saw that Huige forces were on Tang's side, and, in fear, they collapsed. Yan Zhuang and Zhang Tongru (Trương thông nho) fled back to Luoyang to inform An, and An, after executing some 30 Tang generals who had been captured, abandoned Luoyang and fled north, toYecheng,which he converted to Ancheng Municipality.

At the time that An arrived at Yecheng, he had only 1,000 infantry soldiers and 300 cavalry soldiers. Soon, however, Yan generals Ashina Chengqing (A sử kia thừa khánh), Cai Xide,Tian Chengsi,and Wu Lingxun (Võ lệnh tuần), who had been attacking other Tang cities, headed to Yecheng and coalesced there, allowing An to have over 60,000 soldiers under his disposal and thus regaining some measure of strength. Meanwhile, apprehensive of Shi, he sent Ashina and An Shouzhong (An thủ trung) to Fanyang to order Shi to contribute troops, but was intending to have Ashina and An Shouzhong take over Shi's command if possible. Instead, Shi arrested Ashina and An Shouzhong and submitted to Tang. Many other cities previously under Yan's control also submitted to Tang, and An Qingxu's territory shrank to just Yecheng and the surrounding area. It was said that An Qingxu became cruel and paranoid in light of these military losses, and that if generals submitted to Tang, he would slaughter their families if they wereHanand their tribes if they were non-Han. Meanwhile, believing accusations that Zhang made against Cai, he killed Cai, which further led to dissension among his soldiers, particularly since he then put Cui Qianyou (Thôi càn hữu) in command of his army, and the soldiers resented Cui for his harshness.

By winter 758, the Tang generalsGuo Ziyi,Lu Jiong (Lỗ quỳnh), Li Huan (Lý hoán), Xu Shuji (Hứa thúc ký),Li Siye,Ji Guangchen (Quý quảng sâm), Cui Guangyuan (Thôi quang xa), Dong Qin (Đổng Tần),Li Guangbi,and Wang Sili (Vương tư lễ), were gathering at Yecheng and putting it under siege. An Qingxu tried to fight out of the siege, but was defeated by Tang forces, and his brother An Qinghe (An Khánh cùng) was killed. Meanwhile, with Shi recently having again rebelled against Tang, An sent the generalXue Songto Fanyang to seek aid from Shi, offering the throne to him. Shi thus advanced south toward Yecheng. Meanwhile, Tang forces, under the command of nine generals (with Li Siye having died during the siege), were uncoordinated. On 7 April 759,Shi engaged Tang forces—and, when a storm suddenly arrived, both armies panicked; Shi's forces fled north, and Tang forces fled south, lifting the siege on Yecheng. An Qingxu's forces gathered the food and supplies abandoned by Tang forces, and An thereafter considered, with Sun Xiaozhe (Tôn hiếu triết) and Cui, the possibility of refusing Shi, who gathered his troops and again approached Yecheng, admittance. Shi himself was not communicating with An, but was feasting his soldiers and watching Yecheng. Zhang and Gao Shang (Cao thượng) requested permission to meet Shi, and An agreed; Shi gave them gifts and let them return to Yecheng. An, unsure what to do, again offered the throne to Shi, which Shi declined. Shi instead suggested to him that perhaps they could both be emperors of independent, allied states. An, pleased, exited Yecheng and met with Shi to swear to the alliance.

When An met Shi, he knelt down to thank Shi for his help, stating:

I did not have the abilities to uphold the empire; I lost the two capitals and was put under siege. I did not know that Your Royal Highness would, on account of theTaishang Huang[i.e., An Lushan], arrive from afar to save me from death. I have no way to repay your kindness.

Shi suddenly changed his expression and rebuked An:

Losing the two capitals is nothing worthy to be mentioned. You were a son, and you killed your father and usurped his throne. Heaven, earth, and the gods cannot tolerate you. I am attacking the bandits on behalf of theTaishang Huang,and I will not listen to your flattery.

Shi then executed An Qingxu, his four brothers, Gao, Sun, and Cui. He took over An's territory and troops and soon claimed for himself the title of emperor of Yan.

Personal

Son toAn Lushanand Lady Kang (executed in 755), An Lushan's first wife.

Popular culture

• Portrayed byMao Zijunin the 2017 Chinese television seriesThe Glory of Tang Dynasty

Further reading

• Old Book of Tang,vol. 200, part 1.
• New Book of Tang,vol. 225, part 1.
• Zizhi Tong gian,vols.216,217,219,220,221.