Letter One ~755

My Dear Wife,

I am safe and sound, having begun my training with the rest of the troops. I still cannot believe An-Lushan has taken over and decided to ensue a revolt. He has captured Luoyang and claimed control of its land, allowing him to further gain power in his fight against Yang Guozhong. Since we resided north of the Yellow River, I had no choice but to join forces in An’s attack against the South, leaving you and our family in such a shock. I believe and hope some good will come from this, and so I have decided to fight honourably and dedicate my life for An-Lushan’s troops. I feel happy that we have a leader to look up to who is a member of our immediate commanders instead of the distant imperial court, and so I believe we will be fighting for our own say and hopefully for freedom. The loyal Tang forces have begun to travel down from Fanyang, with the hopes of capturing Chang-an and claiming An-Lushan’s enemy’s land, Yang Guozhong. 

It feels more like a personal rebellion, between An and Yang, as they were both devoted and favoured consorts to Emperor Xuanzong. If we capture Chang-an by surprise and conquer the land An will force its people to surrender, leaving An in total control. So, if we are able to make our way down and conquer the capital Xuanzong will be forced to flee, along with the rest of his chancellors. 

My heart is yours forever,
Chu

Ten thousand houses with stabbed hearts emit the smoke

of desolation.

When will officials again serve the Son of Heaven

in the court?

The scholar tree’s autumn leaves drop on the empty palace.

At Frozen Emerald Pond, a clamor of pipes and strings.

~Wang Wei

Letter Two ~756

My Dear Wife,

All I had predicted occurred. Chang-an has been captured, Xuanzong has fled, and Yang Guozhong has been murdered. I am still in a state of shock; shock at how I have ended up being a fighter and a warrior as opposed to a tradesman, a good man. I was lying on the dirt smelling the grass’s wind, and was reminding of the beautiful clay pots we used to make together. I remembered traveling to neighbouring towns selling them for fruits. I remember growing herbs and spices and trading them along the Silk Road, and oh how abundant and convenient that route was! Now, all of the tradesman are sent to war, like me, fighting rather than producing. 

When I left, the Tang Dynasty was at its peak in the arts, military, power, and intellect. The Silk Road was booming and this impressive trading system was integrating communities all across Asia. With thousands of men being called to war, the women are now forced solely to stay at home and watch the family, leaving the trading and agriculture to diminish. Chinese culture is slowly dissolving into power hungry revolters, and I am not sure where that leaves me. I do not think I am the only one with these thoughts, I have overheard other army men beginning to worry about An-Lushan’s plans. He has not even joined us here in Chang-an as he has remained stationed in Luoyang. Word is spreading that he has fallen ill and may even be going blind. If he dies, what then will happen to us? What will our next plan be? Yang Guozhong was unable to gather a strong enough military base, resulting in his defeat. That was his weakness, however An-lushan must have a weakness as well. Will his illness result in our downfall and the downfall of the powerful Tang Dynasty? 

I hope my letters have reached you and I hope you keep faith, as I am slowly losing mine. 

My heart is yours forever,

Chu

Letter Three ~758

My Dear Wife,

An-lushan has been assassinated, he is dead. He was murdered by an eunuch slave who was enticed by his own eldest son, An Qingxu. I was worried that his poor health wold be the cause of his death, never thinking he would be assassinated due to the motives of his own son and followers.  Loyalist troops have gathered together and recaptured Chang-an, leaving my fellow army men and I at a loss. It has been a few years since I have seen you and since I have left for war, and it seems that everything that we fought for has been seized from us and taken, leaving us with nothing. A new leader was instated upon An’s death, An Qingxu, and now another has taken his place by the name of Shi Siming.  

Since Shi Siming has been appointed to leader, we have been station in Ho-pei. I am hoping that with this new reign brings union among all rebel troops and that we will continue what we came out here to do. After An’s death, a huge cloud of doom hung over our heads, however I am hoping for new and resolute change with this new leader. The T’ang house has been preserved and hopefully the worst is over. Soon an Act of Grace will be issued in the attempt to heal and mend the divisions within the rebel empire. I only hope that this union will not form defections among the troops. Aside from that fear, I feel hopeful. 

If our plan at further uniting the rebel troops and enhancing China’s power fails, I fear that Silk Road trade in and out of China will be impacted due to the fall of a centralized power. No one would feel comfortable trading with an individual who lives in a place of turmoil and war, because war-stricken territories are usually barren and desolate post war infractions. If this activity continues, our homes and jobs will be seized and our culture lost. All i can hope for is unity and peace as a result of all this violence. So many lives have been lost, and I fear mine will be next. 

I will write as soon as I can, however I am unsure when that will be. 

My heart is yours forever,

Chu

Letter Four ~760

My Dear Wife,

Oh how terrible the events of the past few months have been. Attacks have continued to ensure daily, resulting in the ambush of my tribe and our depart from Huang-ho. I was one of the few who survived the attack, as I escaped and fled to the nearest en cove. I had overheard the captain speak about the largest rebel army under An Chi’ing-hsu  and their successful journey to safety at Hsiang-chou. Upon hearing this, I was encouraged that all was not lost and that there still was hope for myself and so I fled. I left just in time, before Huang-ho was completely seized and its inhabitants destroyed. Since the attack lasted many months from autumn through to winter, the attackers fell weak to the conditions, resulting in thousands of deaths added to the hundreds of thousands prior. 

Revolts continue to escalate from the Han River Valley through to the middle Yangtze. We are at a point in our attacks where we do not know who to trust. Everyone is an enemy and yet at the same time, we continue to fight for unity and equality. If I make it through this revolt, I do not know if I will be able to look at myself the same or my fellow neighbours. I have witnessed sons turning their backs on their own fathers, friends murdering each other for power, and I am left here in a state of woe. Our livelihood depended on trust between neighbouring tribes in an attempt at flourishing our communities and sustaining our cultures. However, if and when I return home, what will be left for me?

I hope to see an end to this terrible fate in the near future.

My heart is yours forever,

Chu 

Letter Five ~763

My Dear Wife,

How long it has been since I have been able to write to you! I have lost track of the doomed hours, days, and years since I last saw your face. I write to you with news, lots of news. The rebellion is over, I am free. Shi Chaoyi, the son of Shi Siming and reining leader was defeated and killed. The Uighurs had remained as loyal Turk allies of Tang and they sent cohorts to defeat the rebel troops. Those who survived were spared and surrenders, allowed to stay in control of the territories they occupied in exchange for loyal and unwavering service to the Tang. 

I have decided to come home and leave this place not as a defeated man but as a man who has learned from the experiences of the past eight years. The An-lushan rebellion opened my eyes to the brutality and sabotage that comes with war, and how quickly an individual will break ties with a friend for personal gain. I have learned that in order to have a successful country, the unity of its inhabitants is vital and essential in its preservation. I have learned that power resides not only in brute military strength, but in the strength of relationships and assimilation within cultures. 

I do not leave here a defeated man, I leave here inspired.

My heart is yours forever,

Chu

Leaving the human world
Going toward the path to Heaven;
Upon Consummation through cultivation,
Then follow the clouds to Heaven,
Caves hidden under pine trees,
Deep and unseen among the peach blossoms;
–Li Bai

Bibliography

1) An Lushan. Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia  Britannica, 2011.    Web. 05 Apr. 2011. 

2) Chen, Zu-Yan. Li Bai & Du FU. Print.

3) Cowley, Robert, and Geoffrey Parker. The Reader's Companion to Military History. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1996. Print.

4) Laughing Lost in the Mountains: Poems of Wang Wei. Hanover, NH: University of New England, 1991. Print.1979. Print. 

5) The Cambridge History of China. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge UP,Wang, Wei, Tony Barnstone, Willis Barnstone, and Haixin Xu.