This Week in China's History: The Prince of Anhua Rebellion

May 12, 1510

   Listen to the narration by Kaiser Kuo

Unrest had been simmering beneath the surface for some time. It was an open secret that the family ties holding together the leadership of the realm were strained. The throne had made some unorthodox moves recently, and rival clans were busily making public and private alliances as they strove to maintain some security. Treason and treachery were the order of the day; trust was in short supply, and with good reason. 

But there were glimmers of hope. A prince of the realm offered an olive branch in the form of a banquet that would bring together local dignitaries. Custom dictated that differences would be put aside during the meal, an opportunity to establish new alliances over food and drink. 

When the guests arrived, their host “presented them with a cup of wine. As they sat drinking,... several dozen armed men gathered in front of the prince’s residence. They then burst into the court, brandishing spears and swords. Unprepared and completely overwhelmed, the prince’s guests had no time to react.” 

The scene was not Game of Thrones’s Red Wedding, and the setting was not Westeros, but rather arid Ningxia, in China’s northwest, and the date was May 12, 1510. The banquet, described by historian David M. Robinson, was the beginning of the Prince of Anhua’s rebellion.