1: An Lushan

I know I was going to write about Taoism today, but after mentioning Zhang Jiuling's biography two days ago and chatting about it with Matt, I realized that there's some more historical context to this poem (and to the Tang dynasty in general) that will help set the stage for the rest of the Tang poetry we'll encounter on this project.

The Tang, which lasted from 618 to 907 CE, was a Chinese cultural high point, a cosmopolitan and outward-facing dynasty which traded liberally with Central Asian and Turkic peoples. Innovations in art, design, architecture, technology, and cuisine rose out of these three hundred years of prosperity. The Tang reached its peak under Emperor Xuanzong in the 8th century CE, and then, toward the end of his life, started to fall apart.

Everything begins going south with the rise to power of a general named An Lushan, the half-Tujue, half-Turkic son of a sorceress (I swear) who rose to become a general of the Tang armies and rebelled against the dynasty, capturing the capital of Chang'an and setting off a chain of rebellion and riot that destabilized the dynasty and led to its fall in the next century. Many poets in the 300 Tang Poems were exiled or killed or scattered in An Lushan's wake.

Thing is, before An Lushan became a revolutionary, he was a military official, who failed to follow the orders of his superior in battle. Zhang Jiuling, who was the Emperor's counselor at the time, advised the Emperor to execute An Lushan.

Of course, the Emperor pardoned An instead, and listened to a number of pro-war advisors (including a guy named Li Linfu) who claimed An would be more useful alive and terrorizing the central steppe than dead. The rise of this military faction was Zhang Jiuling's undoing, and led to his exile into Hubei, where he ultimately died.

When An Lushan rebelled, captured the capital city, and nearly toppled the dynasty sixteen years later, I'm sure Li Linfu and all the rest involved in Zhang's exile were very pleased with themselves.