Emperor Taizong's reputation was put aside, but his memory was not very good, even forgetful.
As early as the pre-Qin period, it was circulated among the people that immortals who mastered the technique of "immortality" lived on the three sacred mountains of Penglai, Abbot and Yingzhou in the East China Sea. When Qin Shihuang was in power, a bold alchemist said that he had found a fairy. He has seen fairies on the mountain, and there are fairy medicines everywhere. This nonsense really catered to Qin Shihuang, who longed for the elixir of life day and night. In 2 15 BC, Qin Shihuang visited the place called Jieshi at that time, which is now Qinhuangdao. He climbed up Jieshi to see the sea, carved a stone gate, and sent alchemists Han Zhong, Hou Gong and Lu Sheng "with 800 boys and girls" to the sea to find the fairy medicine. However, these alchemists are either gone forever, or it is reported that the ship was blocked by wind and waves. Chui fook went to sea for several years, but it costs a lot of money to invite immortals. He was afraid that Qin Shihuang would denounce the crime of deceiving the monarch, so he lied: "Penglai has medicine, but it often suffers from mackerel, so it is not available." I hope you can shoot it with a crossbow when you see it. "Qin Shihuang longed for immortality and naturally believed it, so that everyone who went into the sea caught mackerel. As a result, the fairy medicine disappeared, but Qin Shihuang fell ill in Tianjin and the ancient capital plain.
Emperor Taizong dismissed the witchcraft superstition advocated by Taoism. When talking about Qin Shihuang's absurd behavior of seeking immortals, he sneered: "Immortals are all illusory and have names." After eleven years' observation, Emperor Taizong once again expressed his opposition to immortality: "Heaven and earth make a living with great virtue, but short life lasts forever." It is seven feet long and has a life span of only one hundred years. ""although the power to save the world is restored and the wisdom of the poor god is exhausted, life will end and no one can avoid it. "It means that no matter how high or low you are, you can't escape the natural laws of physical diseases.
It can be seen that in the early period of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong hated the curse of immortal magic on the country and himself. However, with the prosperity of Tang Taizong's achievements and the growth of his age, like many successful feudal emperors in history, he began to pursue immortality foolishly. Emperor Taizong made a 180 degree turn on the question of elixir. After 17 years' observation, the health of Emperor Taizong was sometimes good or bad. In addition to "airsickness" in his early years, he also suffered from carbuncle, stomach disease, cold, wind disease and other diseases. When the treatment didn't improve, the superstition of spiritual power came into being, and the alchemist's elixir was put on it, hoping that the elixir of life would work wonders. Therefore, Emperor Taizong began to take Dan medicine.
Emperor Taizong not only took Dan medicine refined by Taoist priests in his own country, but also looked around the world and introduced Dan medicine from foreign countries. In order to cater to the psychology of Emperor Taizong, ministers recommended a Tianzhu alchemist to him. Finally, the alchemist of ancient India buried Emperor Taizong. A generation of Emperor Taizong of the Ming Dynasty died in hatred on the Dan medicine he once opposed, and embarked on the old road of Qin Shihuang, which he once laughed at. It's really sad
If, on his deathbed, Emperor Taizong dares to tell him the absurd behavior of Qin Shihuang, I think that Emperor Taizong will be extremely ashamed. Unfortunately, under the "high-pressure" rule of Tang Taizong in the later period, absolute power has long been silent, and society is no longer the concept of chastity of "advice when most is least heeded". In this way, Emperor Taizong will inevitably become a laughing stock.