In the Yangzhou massacre, Chinese forces under Tian Shengong killed thousands of foreign merchants in

Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, ...

in 760 CE during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

. Yangzhou, at the junction of the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

and the Grand Canal, was a center of commerce, finance and industry, and one of the wealthiest cities in Tang China, with a large population of foreign merchants. In 760 CE, the Jiedu envoy of

Huainan Huainan () is a prefecture-level city with 3,033,528 inhabitants as of the 2020 census in north-central Anhui province, China. It is named for the Han-era Principality of Huainan. It borders the provincial capital of Hefei to the south, Lu'an ...

, Liu Zhan (劉展), started a mutiny with his brother Liu Yin. Their army initially defeated the army of the governor, Deng Jingshan (鄧景山), at Xucheng County (modern Sihong, Jiangsu), before crossing the Yangtze River and defeating Li Yao, who fled to

Xuancheng Xuancheng () is a city in the southeast of Anhui province. Archeological digs suggest that the city has been settled for over 4,000 years, and has been under formal administration since the Qin dynasty. Located in the lower Yangtze River drainage ...

. On the advice of famed general

Guo Ziyi Guo Ziyi (Kuo Tzu-i; Traditional Chinese: 郭子儀, Simplified Chinese: 郭子仪, Hanyu Pinyin: Guō Zǐyí, Wade-Giles: Kuo1 Tzu3-i2) (697 – July 9, 781), posthumously Prince Zhōngwǔ of Fényáng (), was a Chinese military general and po ...

, Deng recruited a general from Pinglu, Tian Shengong (田神功), to suppress the revolt. Tian and his army landed at Jinshan on Hangzhou Bay, and despite initial losses he defeated Liu's army of 8000 elite soldiers at Guangling. Liu Zhan himself was shot through the eye with an arrow and beheaded. Since Tian had previously fought for the An Shi Rebellion, he was interested in reingratiating himself with the Tang Emperor. He chose Yangzhou as the ideal target from which to loot gifts for the Emperor. When Tian's forces arrived, they robbed the inhabitants, killing thousands of Arab and Persian merchants. Tian then travelled to the Tang capital,

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...

, and presented looted gold and silver to the emperor. In the Guangzhou massacre in 879, up to 120,000 Muslim Arabs, Persians, Jews, Zoroastrians, and Christians were killed by the Chinese rebel leader

Huang Chao Huang Chao (835 – July 13, 884) was a Chinese smuggler, soldier, and rebel, and is most well known for being the leader of a major rebellion that severely weakened the Tang dynasty. Huang was a salt smuggler before joining Wang Xianzhi's ...

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* {{coord missing, Jiangsu 760s conflicts 8th-century massacres Battles involving the Tang dynasty Yangzhou 8th century in China History of Jiangsu Massacres in China 760 War crimes in China

See also

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