The An Lushan Rebellion in Tang China

The An Lushan Rebellion in Tang China The An Lushan Rebellion began in 755 as a revolt by a disgruntled general in the Tang Dynastys army, but it soon engulfed the country in unrest that lasted nearly a decade until its end in 763. Along the way, it nearly brought one of Chinas most glorious dynasties to an early and ignominious end. An almost unstoppable military force, the An Lushan Rebellion controlled both capitals of the Tang Dynasty for most of the rebellion, but internal conflicts eventually brought an end to the short-lived Yan Dynasty. Origins of Unrest In the middle of the 8th century, Tang China was embroiled in a number of wars around its borders. It lost the Battle of Talas, in what is now Kyrgyzstan, to an Arab army in 751. It also was unable to defeat the southern kingdom of Nanzhao - based in modern-day Yunnan - losing thousands of troops in an attempt to put down the rebellious kingdom. The only military bright spot for Tang was their limited success against Tibet. All of these wars were expensive and the Tang court was quickly running out of money. The Xuanzong Emperor looked to his favorite general to turn the tide - General An Lushan, a military man probably of Sogdian and Turkic origin. Xuangzong appointed An Lushan commander of three garrisons totaling more than 150,000 troops which were stationed along the upper Yellow River. A New Empire On December 16, 755, General An Lushan mobilized his army and marched against his Tang employers, using the excuse of insults from his rival at court, Yang Guozhong, moving from the area that is now Beijing along the Grand Canal, capturing the Tang eastern capital at Luoyang. There, An Lushan announced the formation of a new empire, called the Great Yan, with himself as the first emperor. He then pushed on toward the primary Tang capital at Changan - now Xian; along the way, the rebel army treated anyone who surrendered well, so numerous soldiers and officials joined the rebellion. An Lushan decided to seize southern China quickly, to cut off the Tang from reinforcements. However, it took his army more than two years to capture Henan, severely dampening their momentum. In the meantime, the Tang emperor hired 4,000 Arab mercenaries to help defend Changan against the rebels. Tang troops took up highly defensible positions in all of the mountain passes leading to the capital, completely blocking An Lushans progress. Turn of the Tide Just when it seemed that the Yan rebel army would have no chance to capture Changan, An Lushans old nemesis Yang Guozhong made a devastating mistake. He ordered the Tang troops to leave their posts in the mountains and attack An Lushans army on flat ground. General An crushed the Tang and their mercenary allies, laying the capital open to attack. Yang Guozhong and the 71-year-old Xuanzong Emperor fled south toward Sichuan as the rebel army entered Changan. The emperors troops demanded that he execute the incompetent Yang Guozhong or face a mutiny, so under intense pressure Xuanzong ordered his friend to commit suicide when they stopped in what is now Shaanxi. When the imperial refugees reached Sichuan, Xuanzong abdicated in favor of one of his younger sons, the 45-year-old Emperor Suzong. Tangs new emperor decided to hire reinforcements for his decimated army. He brought in an additional 22,000 Arab mercenaries and  a large number of Uighur soldiers - Muslim troops who intermarried with local women and helped form the Hui ethnolinguistic group in China. With these reinforcements, the Tang Army was able to retake both of the capitals at Changan and at Luoyang in 757. An Lushan and his army retreated east. End of the Rebellion Fortunately for the Tang Dynasty, An Lushans Yan Dynasty soon began to disintegrate from within. In January of 757, the Yan emperors son, An Qingxu, became upset by his fathers threats against the sons friends at court. An Qingxu killed his father An Lushan and then was killed in turn by An Lushans old friend Shi Siming. Shi Siming continued An Lushans program, retaking Luoyang from the Tang, but he also was killed by his own son in 761 - the son, Shi Chaoyi, proclaimed himself the new emperor of Yan, but quickly became quite unpopular. Meanwhile in Changan, the sickly Emperor Suzong abdicated in favor of his 35-year-old son, who became Emperor Daizong in May 762. Daizong took advantage of the turmoil and patricide in Yan, recapturing Luoyang in the winter of 762. By this time - sensing that Yan was doomed - a number of generals and officials had defected back to the Tang side. On February 17, 763, Tang troops cut off the self-proclaimed Yan emperor Shi Chaoyi. Rather than facing capture, Shi committed suicide, bringing the An Lushan Rebellion to a close. Consequences Although the Tang eventually defeated the An Lushan Rebellion, the effort left the empire weaker than ever. Later in 763, the Tibetan Empire retook its Central Asian holdings from Tang and even captured the Tang capital of Changan. The Tang had been forced to borrow not only troops but also money from the Uighurs - to pay those debts, the Chinese gave up control of the Tarim Basin. Internally, the Tang emperors lost significant political power to warlords all around the periphery of their lands. This problem would plague the Tang right up until its dissolution in 907, which marked Chinas descent into the chaotic Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period.

English Teaching Abbreviations Explained

English Teaching Abbreviations Explained You might be a bit confused by the all the English teaching abbreviations that are used in the profession. Here is a list of the most common English teaching abbreviations that are used in the profession with an emphasis on ESL / EFL teaching. ELT - English Language TeachingESL - English as a Second LanguageEFL - English as a Foreign Language The main difference between these is that ESL is English taught to foreign language speakers living in an English speaking country like the United States, Canada, England, Australia, etc. English as a foreign language, on the other hand, is taught to those wishing to learn English for their study/ work / hobby needs but who live in countries where English is not the first language. Teaching Abbreviations to Know Here are some more important abbreviations related to teaching, teaching certificates, and English exams: AAAL - American Association for Applied Linguistics ACTFL - American Council on the teaching of Foreign Languages AE - American English BAAL - British Association of Applied Linguistics BC - British Council BEC - Business English Certificate - Cambridge business English exam certificate BrE - British English BVT - Bilingual Vocational Training CAE - Certificate in Advanced English - the fourth Cambridge Exam Cambridge Exams - The standard in English examination throughout the world outside of the USA (where the TOEFL is preferred). CALI - Computer-Assisted Language Instruction CALL - Computer-Assisted Language Learning CanE - Canadian English CAT - Computer Adaptive Testing CBT - Computer-Based Teaching CEELT - Cambridge Examination in English for Language Teachers. Tests the English competency of non-native teachers of English. CEIBT - Certificate in English for International Business and Trade for advanced levels. CPE - Certificate of Proficiency in English - the fifth and the most advanced of Cambridges series of exams (roughly comparable to a score of 600-650 on the TOEFL). CELTA - Certificate in English language teaching to adults (Cambridge/RSA Teaching Certificate also known as C-TEFLA) DELTA - Diploma in English language teaching (Cambridge/RSA Language Teaching Scheme) EAP - English for Academic Purposes ECCE - Exam for the Certificate of Competency in English (Michigan University) - lower level. ECPE - Exam for the Certificate of Proficiency in English (Michigan University) - higher level. EFL - English as a Foreign Language EGP - English for general purposes EIP - English as an International Language ELICOS - English Language Intensive Courses to Overseas Students. Government registered centers teaching English to overseas students in Australia. ELT - English Language Teaching ESL - English as a Second Language. ESOL - English for Speakers of Other Languages ESP -English for Specific Purposes (business English, English for tourism, etc.) ETS - Educational Testing Service FCE - First Certificate in English - the third of Cambridges series of exams (comparable to a score of 500 on the TOEFL and 5.7 on the IELTS). GMAT - Graduate Management Admission Test. The GMAT measures general verbal, mathematical, and analytical writing skills. GPA - Grade Point Average GRE - Graduate Record Examination - an evaluation test for graduate admission to colleges and universities in the U.S. IATEFL - International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language IPA - International Phonetic Association K12 - Kindergarten - 12th grade. KET - Key English Test - The most elementary of Cambridges series of exams L1 - Language 1 - native language L2 - Language 2 - the language you are learning LEP - Limited English Proficient LL - Language Learning MT - Mother Tongue NATECLA - National Association for Teaching English and other Community Languages to Adults (UK) NATESOL - National Association of Teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages NCTE - National Council of Teachers of English NLP - Neurolinguistic Programming NNEST - Non-Native English Speaking Teacher NNL - Non-Native Language MTELP - Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency OE - Old English OED - Oxford English Dictionary PET - Preliminary English Test - The second of Cambridges series of exams. RP - Received Pronunciation - standard British pronunciation RSA/Cambridge C-TEFLA - Certificate of Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Adults. A professional qualification for prospective EFL teachers. RSA/Cambridge D-TEFLA - Diploma of Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Advanced qualification for EFL teachers who have already completed the C-TEFLA. SAE - Standard American English SAT - Scholastic Assessment (Aptitude) Test - pre-university entrance exam in the USA TEFL - Teaching English as a Foreign Language TEFLA - Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Adults TEIL - Teaching English as an International Language TESL - Teaching English as a Second Language TESOL - Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages TOEFL - Test of English as a Foreign Language - the most common English proficiency exam for North American universities and colleges, also accepted by some British universities and employers as proof of English proficiency. TOEIC - The TOEIC (pronounced toe-ick) is a Test of English for International Communication. VE - Vocational English VESL - Vocational English as a Second Language YLE - Young Learners English Tests - Cambridge Examinations for young learners