The An Lushan rebellion probably did not wipe out 15% of the world's population. This number comes from comparing before and after census numbers, which is har

The An Lushan rebellion probably did not wipe out 15% of the world's population. This number comes from comparing before and after census numbers, which is hard because (a) the census was vastly disrupted by the war, and (b) the size of the empire was decreased by the war, so former provinces weren't counted in the later censuses. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Lushan_Rebellion#Death_toll https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Lushan_Rebellion#Death_toll