The Chinese rebel leader An Lu-shan (703-757) led a great rebellion that nearly overthrew the reigning T'ang dynasty.

An Lu-shan was probably born in Ying-chou on the northwest border of China. His father, a Sogdian, was an officer in the army of the Northern Turks; his mother was probably from a noble Turkish family. Very little is known about his childhood and early life. He eventually became a soldier and by the early 730s was a lieutenant in one of the Chinese garrisons protecting the northeastern border of China against invasion.

This was the beginning of An Lu-shan's career as a rising young officer in the regional army. He appears to have distinguished himself by personally leading raiding parties against threatening Khitan armies. Not all of his exploits were successful. Perhaps overconfident, he was severely defeated in one expedition in 737. He was disgraced, and barely avoided execution. For...