The Human Cost
12,750,000
disputed broad estimate
The famous fall from roughly 53 million to 17 million registered people primarily reflects the collapse of Tang census and tax administration, not counted deaths. The displayed total is a disputed modern reconstruction, not a census body count.
Each dot below represents 1,000 human lives. Scroll to watch the scale unfold.
Working allocation: 750,000 soldiers killed in combat, from wounds, or from disease. Each = 1,000 lives.
12,000,000 civilians killed — from violence, famine, disease, and displacement. Wars are not fought only by soldiers.
incl. 10,000 civilians
incl. 30,000 civilians
incl. 30,000 civilians
incl. 20,000 civilians
incl. 20,000 civilians
incl. 20,000 civilians
incl. 5,000 civilians
How An Lushan Rebellion's dead compare to other conflicts and events.
100,000 dead
Tang histories describe the loss of an enormous army at Tong Pass; the figure is reported, not independently verified.
750,000 dead
Even the military total is highly uncertain. The famous 53-to-17-million census decline chiefly reflects the collapse of registration and cannot be used as a death toll.