A Study On The Relationship Between An-Shih Rebellion And The Sinicization Of The Sogdians

As the turning point of the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty,the sogdians of An Lushan and Shi Siming,the originators of the An-Shih Rebellion,have been paid attention to by the academic circles in recent years.An Lushan and Shi Siming paid too many attention to the identity of the sogdian nationality,which covered up the original appearance of the sinicization process of the sogdian nationality in the Tang Dynasty.Whether the Sogdians occupy the dominant position can not be simply judged by the fact that An Lushan and Shi Siming are sogdians,but the Sogdians are not the dominant force in the An-Shih rebels.It is questionable to deduce that the rebellion had a great influence on the Sinicization of the Sogdians in China from the sogdian identity of An Lushan and Shi Siming.The epitaphs of sogdian people in Tang Dynasty are the important material reflected in the identity of The Sogdians in China.This paper reanalyzes some existing epitaphs of sogdian in Tang Dynasty,and gets the time-dependent track of the identity of sogdian in Tang dynasty epitaphs.By summarizing the previous studies and analyzing the records of the Sogdians in the in the An-Shih Rebellion,this paper holds that the Social situation of the Hu was not comprehensively denied in the Tang Dynasty after the An-Shih Rebellion,and the thought of " exclusion Hu " in the Middle Tang Dynasty was not dominant.The Sinicization of sogdians has always been the mainstream evolution trend of this ethnic group.The accelerated process of Sinicization after the mid-8th century was caused by the sudden decrease of sogdians in China caused by the political turmoil in the Western Regions and the decline of Sogdians’ commerce.The long-span and gradual sinicization of the Sogdians in Tang Dynasty was not significantly affected by the An-Shih Rebellion.