The Huang Chao Rebellion was a rebellion that took place in China from 874 to 884. It was instigated by Huang Chao and Wang Xianzhi against the Tang dynasty. While both were eventually defeated, by the end of Emperor Xizong's reign, the Tang dynasty had virtually disintegrated into pieces ruled by individual warlords, rather than the imperial government, and would never recover, falling eventually in 907.
Rebellion
Origins
Late in the Xiantong era (860–874) of Emperor Yizong, there were severe droughts and floods that caused terrible famine. Despite this, the Tang imperial government largely ignored the victims of these natural disasters—instead of granting tax exemptions for affected areas, taxes were increased to fund Emperor Yizong's luxurious lifestyle and military campaigns. As a result, survivors grouped themselves into bands and rose to resist Tang rule.
In 874, Wang Xianzhi (who, like Huang Chao, was a salt privateer) and Shang Junzhang (尚君長) raised an army at Changyuan (長垣, in modern Xinxiang, Henan). By 875, he had repeatedly defeated Xue Chong (薛崇), the military governor of Tianping Circuit (天平, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong), in battle. Huang had by this point also raised several thousand men, and joined forces with Wang's now veteran troops. By this time Emperor Yizong had died and his young son Emperor Xizong ruled.
Late in 876, Wang was sought to parlay his victories into a peaceful submission to Tang authority, in which he would be generously treated by the throne. This was being mediated by Tang official Wang Liao (王鐐), a close relation to chancellor Wang Duo, and Pei Wo (裴偓) the prefect of Qi Prefecture (蘄州, in modern Huanggang, Hubei). Under Wang Duo's insistence, Emperor Xizong commissioned Wang Xianzhi as an officer of the imperial Left Shence Army (左神策軍) and delivered the commission to Qi Prefecture. However, Huang, who did not receive a commission as part of this arrangement, angrily stated:
"When we started the rebellion, we made a grand oath and we have marched through great distances with you. Now, you are going to accept this office and go to the Left Shence Army. What should these 5,000 men do?"
He battered Wang Xianzhi on the head, and the rebel soldiers also clamored against the arrangement. Wang Xianzhi, fearing the wrath of his own army, turned against Pei and pillaged Qi Prefecture. However, afterwards, the rebel army broke up into two groups, with one group following Wang Xianzhi and Shang Junzhang, and one group following Huang.
Rebellion
Huang Chao subsequently roamed throughout central China, and his campaign took him into many engagements with Tang forces:
- In the spring of 877, Huang captured Tianping's capital Yun Prefecture (鄆州), killing Xue Chong, and then captured Yi Prefecture (沂州, in modern Linyi, Shandong).
- In the summer of 877, he joined forces with Shang Junzhang's brother Shang Rang at Mount Chaya (查牙山, in modern Zhumadian, Henan). He and Wang Xianzhi then briefly joined forces again and put the Tang general Song Wei (宋威) under siege at Song Prefecture (宋州, in modern Shangqiu, Henan). However, the Tang general Zhang Zimian (張自勉) then arrived and defeated them, and they lifted the siege on Song Prefecture and scattered.
- In winter 877, he pillaged Qi and Huang (黃州, in modern Wuhan, Hubei) Prefectures. The Tang general Zeng Yuanyu (曾元裕) defeated him, however, and he fled. He soon captured Kuangcheng (匡城, in modern Xinxiang) and Pu Prefecture (濮州, in modern Heze).
In the spring of 878, Huang was besieging Bo Prefecture (亳州, in modern Bozhou, Anhui), when Wang Xianzhi was crushed by Zeng at Huangmei (黃梅, in modern Huanggang, Hubei) and killed. Shang Rang took the remnants of Wang's army and joined Huang at Bo Prefecture, and he offered the title of king to Huang. Huang, instead, claimed the title of Chongtian Dajiangjun (衝天大將軍, "Generalissimo Who Charges to the Heavens") and changed the era name to Wangba, to show independence from the Tang regime. He then captured Yi and Pu Prefectures again, but then suffered several defeats by Tang forces. He thus wrote the new military governor of Tianping, Zhang Xi (張裼), asking Zhang to ask for a Tang commission on his behalf. At Zhang's request, Emperor Xizong commissioned Huang as a general of the imperial guards, but ordered him to report to Yun Prefecture to disarm before he would report to the capital Chang'an. Faced with those conditions, Huang refused the offer. Instead, he attacked Song and Bian (汴州, in modern Kaifeng, Henan) Prefectures, and then attacked Weinan (衞南, in modern Puyang, Henan), and then Ye (葉縣, in modern Pingdingshan, Henan) and Yangzhai (陽翟, in modern Xuchang, Henan). Emperor Xizong thus commissioned troops from three circuits to defend the eastern capital Luoyang, and further ordered Zeng to head to Luoyang as well. With the Tang forces concentrating on defending Luoyang, Huang marched south instead.
March to Lingnan
Huang Chao crossed the Yangzi River southwards and captured several prefectures south of the Yangzi—Qian (虔州, in modern Ganzhou, Jiangxi), Ji (吉州, in modern Ji'an, Jiangxi), Rao (饒州, in modern Shangrao, Jiangxi), and Xin (信州, in modern Shangrao). In fall 878, he then headed northeast and attacked Xuan Prefecture (宣州, in modern Xuancheng, Anhui), defeating Wang Ning (王凝), the governor of Xuanshe Circuit (宣歙, headquartered at Xuan Prefecture), at Nanling (南陵, in modern Wuhu, Anhui), but could not capture Xuan Prefecture, and therefore further headed southeast to attack Zhedong Circuit (浙東, headquartered in modern Shaoxing, Zhejiang), and then, via a mountainous route, Fujian Circuit (福建, headquartered in modern Fuzhou, Fujian) in winter 878. However, during this march, he was attacked by the Tang officers Zhang Lin (張璘) and Liang Zuan (梁纘), who were subordinates of Gao Pian, the military governor of Zhenhai Circuit (鎭海, headquartered in modern Zhenjiang, Jiangsu), and was defeated several times. As a result of these battles, a number of Huang's followers, including Qin Yan, Bi Shiduo, Li Hanzhi, and Xu Qing (許勍), surrendered to the Zhenhai troops. As a result, Huang decided to turn further south, toward the Lingnan region.
By this point, Wang Duo had volunteered to oversee the operations against Huang, and Wang was thus made the overall commander of the operations as well as the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (荊南, headquartered in modern Jingzhou, Hubei). In reaction to Huang's movement, he commissioned Li Xi (李係) to be his deputy commander, as well as the governor of Hunan Circuit (湖南, headquartered in modern Changsha, Hunan), in order to block a potential northerly return route for Huang. Meanwhile, Huang wrote Cui Qiu (崔璆), the governor of Zhedong Circuit, and Li Tiao (李迢), the military governor of Lingnan East Circuit (嶺南東道, headquartered in modern Guangzhou, Guangdong), to ask them to intercede for him, offering to submit to Tang imperial authority if he were made the military governor of Tianping. Cui and Li Tiao relayed his request, but Emperor Xizong refused. Huang then directly made an offer to Emperor Xizong, requesting to be the military governor of Lingnan East. Under the opposition of the senior official Yu Cong, however, Emperor Xizong also refused. Instead, at the chancellors' advice, he offered to make Huang an imperial guard general. Huang, receiving the offer, was incensed by what he perceived to be an insult. In fall 879, he attacked Lingnan East's capital Guang Prefecture, capturing it after a one-day siege and taking Li Tiao captive. He ordered Li Tiao to submit a petition to Emperor Xizong on his behalf again, but this time, Li Tiao refused, so he executed Li Tiao. Arab and Persian pirates had previously sacked Guangzhou; the port was subsequently closed for fifty years. As subsequent relations were rather strained, their presence came to an end during Huang Chao's revenge.
Arab sources claim that the foreign Arab and Persian Muslim, Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian victims numbered tens of thousands. However, Chinese sources do not mention the event at all. Mulberry groves in south China were ruined by his army, leading to a decline in silk exports along the Maritime Silk Road.
Return to the North
However, as Huang Chao's army was in the Lingnan region, his soldiers were stricken by illnesses, and some 3–40% died. His key subordinates suggested that he march back north, and he agreed. He thus made rafts at Gui Prefecture (桂州, in modern Guilin, Guangxi) and took them down the Xiang River, reaching Hunan's capital Tan Prefecture (in modern Changsha, Hunan) in winter 879. He attacked Tan Prefecture and captured it in a day, and Li Xi fled to Lang Prefecture (朗州, in modern Changde, Hunan). Shang Rang then attacked Jingnan's capital Jiangling Municipality, where Wang Duo was. Wang panicked and fled as well, leaving the city to be defended by his officer Liu Hanhong, but as soon as Wang left the city, Liu mutinied, pillaged the city, and took his soldiers to become bandits.
Huang himself followed Xiang's advance and went through Jiangling to attack Xiangyang, the capital of Shannan East Circuit (山南東道). He was, however, defeated by the joint forces of Shannan East's military governor Liu Jurong (劉巨容) and the imperial general Cao Quanzhen (曹全晸), who further pursued him all the way to Jiangling. However, Liu, concerned that if he captured Huang, the imperial government would no longer value him, called off the pursuit, and Cao also broke off his pursuit. Huang then headed east and attacked E Prefecture (鄂州, in modern Wuhan), and pillaged the 15 surrounding prefectures. As he did so, however, he was repeatedly repelled by Zhang Lin. As a result of Zhang's successes, the imperial government put Zhang's superior Gao Pian, who had by that point been transferred to Huainan Circuit (淮南, headquartered in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu), in charge of the overall operations against Huang, replacing Wang. Many circuits thus sent troops to Huainan
With his forces repeatedly defeated by Zhang and also suffering from plagues, Huang, then stationed at Xin Prefecture (信州, in modern Shangrao), decided to try to bribe his way out of his predicament. He thus submitted much gold to Zhang and wrote letters to plead with Gao, offering to submit to Tang imperial authority. Gao, who also wanted to use trickery himself to capture Huang, offered to recommend Huang as a military governor. Further, Gao, in order to monopolize the achievement, decided to return the supplementary troops from Zhaoyi (昭義, headquartered in modern Changzhi, Shanxi), Ganhua (感化, headquartered in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu), and Yiwu (義武, headquartered in modern Baoding, Hebei) Circuits. As soon as he returned those troops, however, Huang broke off negotiations and challenged Zhang to a battle. Gao, in anger, ordered Zhang to engage, but this time, Huang decisively defeated Zhang in spring 880 and killed him in battle, throwing Gao into a panic.
Huang, after defeating Zhang, then captured Xuan Prefecture, then, in summer 880, crossed the Yangtze River north at Caishi (采石, in modern Ma'anshan, Anhui), and put the Huainan defense outposts Tianchang (天長, in modern Chuzhou, Anhui) and Liuhe (六合, in modern Nanjing, Jiangsu) under siege, not far from Gao's headquarters at Yang Prefecture (揚州). Bi Shiduo, who was then serving as an officer under Gao, suggested that Gao engage Huang, but Gao was terrified of engaging Huang after Zhang's death, and instead sent urgent requests for aid to the imperial government. The imperial government, which had hoped that Gao would be successful in stopping Huang, was very disappointed and thrown into a panic itself. Emperor Xizong ordered the circuits south of the Yellow River to send troops to Yin River (溵水, a major branch of the Shaying River) to block off Huang's further advance, and also sent Cao and Qi Kerang, the military governor of Taining Circuit (泰寧, headquartered in modern Jining, Shandong), to intercept Huang. However, Cao was only given 6,000 men, and although he fought hard, he was ultimately unable to stop Huang's 150,000 men.