An Lushan was born in Yingzhou (now Liaoning Chaoyang), initially without a surname, and named Yaluo Shan. His mother was a witch of the Turkic tribe, and his father died early, so he struggled to survive with his mother in the Turkic tribe. Later, he became brothers with An Shishun and others, and took the surname An. An Lushan was very fat since childhood, looking dull, but he was very meticulous and talented in languages. After growing up, he could speak six languages and became a trader's broker.

When An Lushan was caught stealing sheep and wanted to avoid punishment, he persuaded Zhang Shouwei to release him and let him capture prisoners. An Lushan was very brave, and every time he could capture dozens of prisoners. Zhang Shouwei then promoted him to a sub-commander and adopted him as his adopted son. Since then, An Lushan began to struggle in the officialdom.

When serving in local positions, An Lushan paid great attention to making friends with court officials, and gave gifts and bribes during the festivals, asking these people to speak well of him in front of the emperor. After doing this for a long time, An Lushan naturally gained a good impression in Li Longji's heart, and his promotion was also faster. He soon became the governor of Yingzhou and also served as the commander of the Four Prefectures. Finally, An Lushan became the governor of Pinglu, Fanyang, and Hedong, commanding 150,000 troops, and was given the title of Dongping Prince, becoming a bona fide "local emperor".

In November 755 AD, An Lushan was ready and rebelled from Fanyang, claiming that he was "acting on secret orders to punish the traitor Yang Guozhong." He led 150,000 troops to attack cities and seize territory day and night. The court's troops were all lack of combat effectiveness and could not resist the fierce rebels. The capital of the East, Luoyang, was quickly captured, and An Lushan proclaimed himself the emperor of Great Yan in Luoyang. At this time, the Tang capital Chang'an only had Tongguan as a natural barrier. Unfortunately, Yang Guozhong, motivated by self-interest, strongly urged the emperor to order Tongguan's defenders to attack, resulting in nearly 200,000 troops led by the court's veteran general Ge Shuhan being trapped and almost annihilated. Tongguan was lost, and Li Longji fled in panic to Shu for refuge. In the 15th year of Tianbao, An Lushan occupied Chang'an, and the "An-Shi Rebellion" reached its peak.

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