Introduction: Wu Zetian is the only orthodox queen in Chinese history. Wu Zetian was naturally smart, resourceful, and had an outstanding strategy. After assisting Li Zhi, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty for nearly 30 years, she ascended to the throne, changed the Tang Dynasty to the Great Zhou Dynasty, and became an unprecedented orthodox female emperor in Chinese feudal history. However, she left eight mysteries in her life that remain unsolved to this day.
1. The mystery of the face
Wu Ze was born in Wenshui County in central Shanxi Province in the seventh year of Wude. After Wu Zetian came to power, she changed the name to Wuxing County because she was born here. Following the example of Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, she exempted the people here from rent and taxes. After Wu Zetian abdicated, the name of Wenshui County was immediately restored.
His father, the warrior, asked Yuan Tiangang, a famous fortune teller in Yizhou, to tell the fortunes of his family, saying that they were all rich. Wu Zetian was still in her arms, wearing boy's clothes, being picked up by her nurse. Yuan Tiangang "raised his eyes" and said in shock, "Dzi beads have a phoenix neck and are extremely expensive." He also predicted that if she were a woman, she would be the master of the world in the future.
It is also said that Yuan Tiangang not only looked at Wu Zetian's face, but also asked her to take a few steps before deciding that "if she is a woman, she should be the emperor." The emperors in history books are either auspicious or supernatural, proving that "the king is given by God." Well, Wu Zetian is no exception.
2. The mystery of male doting
A calm analysis of Wu Zetian’s male doting problem can be viewed from two angles: First, from her physiology as a “person” and a “woman” needs, and the second is from her perspective as a politician and queen.
As a woman, she needs a man to satisfy her, but this need can never be satisfied.
In the first year of Tianshou, Wu Zetian officially ascended the throne, changed the country's name to Zhou, and became a veritable empress. Her needs as a woman are also aroused. Her favorite Xue Huaiyi was assassinated by her because she was tall and strong, but she did not "tame" her.
She favored Shen Nan La Liao, but was rejected because he was middle-aged. Her lucky brother Zhang Yizhi has a peach-shaped face and is very kind to her, which makes her spiritually satisfied. Chunqing stayed temporarily. She thanked Zhang Er for her dedication, awarded her a high-ranking official, entrusted her to manage the country, and became her most trusted person in her later years.
As a queen and a shrewd politician, Wu Zetian promoted her male favorite mainly to show the queen's authority. After Zhang became a waiter, Wu Zetian was 73 years old. Even if she lives a good life, maintains good health, and takes aphrodisiacs, it is difficult to make an old woman look young again. She was showing off to everyone: since a man can have a group of concubines when he is an emperor, a woman should also have a male favorite to serve her when she ascends the throne. When it comes to Chinese history, no other women have been emperors.
As a female politician, she wanted to remain invincible in the era of the autocratic male emperor. It can be said that "a big tree attracts wind" and faced the difficulty of fighting alone. In order to persuade our subjects, we must artificially and proactively establish our absolute authority and dignity. She should exercise the same power as the male emperor in all fields and enjoy the same benefits. So on the issue of "sex", she had to imitate the male emperor. Even if it is not for "sexual desire", she still wants to have a few young opposite sex to comfort her loneliness and relieve her old worries. This is understandable for her as the emperor.
In short, Wu Zetian's life was a great and unique life, and the second half of her life was full of "sexual blessings." In the company of many people, as a big woman, she calmly handled the huge work pressure of an empire leader, completing a woman's heavy and powerful fatal blow to masculinity.
3. The mystery of the name
According to historical records, Wu Ze was named Mei Niang and Chang before she was born. According to research by scholars in Taiwan Province, before she was called Mei Niang, she also had a name called "Yue".
"Taiping Guangji" contains the name of Mei Niang: "Taizong of the Tang Dynasty learned about the beauty of the woman and was called a gifted scholar. She was only fourteen years old." "When he met the emperor, he was given the name Mei Niang." All in all, Wu Zetian only used the name Mei Niang for about 20 years. Since she entered the palace twice since Ganye Temple, her identity has become Zhao Yi, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty. Continuing to call her "Meiniang" is obviously inappropriate from an ethical perspective and from a political system perspective. What is clear is that she immediately abandoned the name Mei Niang when she called her queen.
Kong Ming's name is included in "Tang Xinyu" in "Ganding Lu": "If I smell it again, everyone will be famous. I should take Kong Ming's name." Ming, in the world; empty, Buddhist terminology. Everything is empty.
Maybe he just took the throne and chose this slightly negative name in order to keep a low profile.
Chang's name is recorded in the "New Tang Shu Biography of Empress Wu": "The Queen Mother changed Chang to imperial edict." It is possible that Wu Zetian changed her name to "Chang" soon after being called "Kongming". The word "明" and the word "empty" form the word "qi", which is pronounced as "Zhao", highlighting the brightness. Among her original twelve words, the first one was the word "bang". In order to avoid taboos, he changed the imperial edict into a written order, and his grandson Li had to change his name to Li Zhongrun. From then on, Wu Zetian became famous until her death.
According to the research of scholars in Taiwan Province, Wu Zetian also had another name called "Yue". This is mainly based on the conclusion of the "Tang Dazhao Ling Ji" that "Sun Chuyue" was born because he "avoided the taboo in the palace". Name him Mao Dao and cite circumstantial evidence. Because there is no evidence, we can only say that it is so. But it stands to reason that she had a name before she was called Mei Niang, that is, she was fourteen years old.
4. The mystery of "sudden female death at birth"
Wu Zetian gave birth to four sons and two daughters for Tang Gaozong. Among them, the eldest daughter died in infancy. Regarding the baby's death, both Wu Zetian and Queen Wang were charged with "homicide." However, opinions differ as to the truth. Sima Guang, a poet of the Song Dynasty, once asserted from the ethical nature of "a tiger's poison will not eat its offspring" that "I'm afraid Wuhou would not be so shallow", but most people would rather believe in its existence than its non-existence.
This incident is not recorded in the biography and biographies of "Gai Yuan Zai Chu Edict", but in Mitchell, there is a mention of "a son whose throat vibrates in an infant". The specific circumstances are unknown. Records: "Zhao Yi's daughter died suddenly and was killed by Queen Wang."
Made detailed records: "Zhao Yi gave birth to a daughter, then took care of her, and went away. Zhao Yi dived into the water and killed her and waited for the emperor. Yang laughed and looked at her. I asked around again in surprise, and they all said, "Come back later." The emperor couldn't see him. Say, "After killing my daughter, I was greedy for my wife and now I am evil! "
There is a brief record of this, and it has been recorded in Yonghui for five years. In short, it is a fact that Wu Zetian's daughter "suddenly died", whether it was due to unknown reasons, accidental suffocation, or it was really Wu Zetian" Sudden death", this incident indeed became Wu Zetian's weapon against Queen Wang.
5. The mystery of "killing sister and killing brother"
Wang Luobin wrote "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" to criticize Wu Zetian "killed her sister and killed her brother". "Kill my sister" should be untrue, because there is no clear record of the death of her eldest sister, Mrs. Han, but the two daughters of Han's wife were killed by Wu Zetian, one of whom was He. It is a fact that the death of the Lan family is directly related to Wu Zetian's "brother slaughter".
Wu Zetian's "brother slaughter" was established, but there are some differences in the plot, such as the poisoning of the Helan family. According to the "Old Book of Tang", it was at the residence of Wu Zetian's mother; according to the "Old Book of Tang", "Tang Huiyao" was held at a banquet to commemorate the closing of Taishan.
Mrs. Wu Zetian's sister Guo. After Wei's death, her daughter Helan was named Mrs. Guo Wei and lived in the palace to serve Tang Gaozong. Helan was only in her twenties at that time, and Wu Zetian was already 47 years old. Therefore, she was jealous of her young niece.
So, at the banquet where officials presented food to the emperor and queen after the Taishan sealing ceremony, she poisoned the food and asked Wu Weiliang, the governor of the first state, and Wu Huaiyun, the governor of the second state, to present food to Mrs. Wei. As a result, Mrs. Wei died suddenly after eating. Later, he blamed the Wu Weiliang brothers, killed them, and changed their beliefs. Wu Liang and Wu Huaiyun were Wu Zetian's cousins, according to new and old records in "The Biography of Empress Wu of the New Tang Dynasty". , Wu Zetian's father "disrespected" Yang, Wu Zetian's mother. The meaning of "discourteous" is unclear.
When Wu Zetian first entered politics, she needed help from her relatives, regardless of her own hatred. Wu Weiliang's brother was promoted to an official position. But their brother did not appreciate it and even threatened that if it was because of the queen's promotion, he would be "uncomfortable". So Wu Zetian killed two birds with one stone and killed his niece. < /p>
6. The mystery of the tomb
If the emperor’s tomb is the most difficult to dig in the world, then there is no doubt that it is Wu Zetian’s “Ten Thousand Years Guard” Gan Tomb. It was split by the swords of the cold weapon age and bombarded by the machine guns and heavy artillery of the hot weapon age. However, over the long period of more than 1,200 years, Ganling became independent.
Don’t you think there are still people digging up ancient tombs? No, from the moment Wu Zetian lay in Ganling, Liangshan never stopped. Huang Chao, the leader of the rebel army in the late Tang Dynasty, was the first to arrive at Ganling. He led an army of 400,000 peasant rebels and leveled almost half of Liangshan, but achieved nothing because he misjudged the direction.
The second person who extended a sinful hand to Ganling was our Yaozhou envoy Tao Wen in the Five Dynasties. Before the Qianling Tomb, this person had excavated 17 Tang tombs, and only the Qianling Tomb remained. When Huang Like took a shortcut, he also led tens of thousands of people to dig Ganling in broad daylight, only to find that the mountain had been attacked by wind and rain three times. The weather cleared immediately as the troops retreated. Tao Wen really didn't understand what was going on, so he gave up the idea. Ling escaped the second robbery at this time.
The most dangerous thing is the third time. Sun Lianzhong, a Kuomintang general during the Republic of China, dispatched a modern reorganization division and used military exercises as a cover to blast open the third layer of the tomb passage with black powder and erect stone bars. Just as he was about to enter, a plume of thick smoke suddenly appeared, spiraled up, and turned into a tornado, destroying the entire army into pieces. In this way, Gan Ling finally dodged the last bullet.
7. The secret of longevity
Entering the palace at the age of fourteen is the reference year and event for determining Wu Zetian’s birthday. The author has special research on this: from the end of the 11th year to the beginning of the 12th year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty toured today's Henan and Shanxi provinces.
In February 2012, he left Luoyang, the eastern capital, and took a bus back to the west. At this time, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty "changed his expression upon hearing this" and brought Wu Zetian into the harem as a talent. Therefore, Wu Ze was born in the seventh year of Wude and died in the first year of Shenlong. According to the traditional Chinese calculation of virtual age, she was eighty-one years old.
8. The mystery of the "Wordless Monument"
On November 26, the first year of Shenlong, Wu Zetian died in Xianju Hall in Luoyang, the eastern capital. Tang Zhongzong and his ministers discussed burying his mother in his father's Qianling Mausoleum, but Yanshan Temple opposed it. Citing Feng Shui theory and the ethics of male superiority and female inferiority, he advocated "choose a good place next to the Gan Mausoleum to take the tomb of fate, and do not build another tomb", that is, build another tomb. Tang Zhongzong ordered all officials to discuss it in detail, and finally followed Wu Zetian's edict of "returning to the mausoleum" and buried her in Ganling.
Ling, in Beiliang Mountain, Qian County, Shaanxi Province. There are two 6.3-meter-high stone tablets in front of the mausoleum. One is "Chronicles of the Tang Dynasty", which was erected by Wu Zetian for Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty. The other one was built for Wu Zetian in the Tang Dynasty. It was called the "Wordless Monument" by later generations because it had no characters. Monuments have never been erected in the tombs of Chinese empresses.
However, Wu Zetian's mausoleum made an exception by erecting a monument, but did not leave any words on the monument, which aroused a lot of discussion from future generations. Generally speaking, this means that Wu Zetian's life's merits and demerits are all leftist
Another theory is that Wu Zetian's life experience as the daughter-in-law of the Li family who was overthrown by the Zhou Dynasty and later became the daughter-in-law of the Li family , difficult to describe. This is not the case, but has been defended by Tongji. According to the stipulation that the two monuments in front of the Qianling Mausoleum are 6.3 meters high, the author made the following guess: When Wu Zetian buried Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, she prepared two monuments, one was "Tang Nian Xiao Lu" and the other was erected for herself. A hundred years from now, she will be engraving.
Unexpectedly, Wu Zetian was abdicated and died soon after. Since the monarchs and ministers of Tang Zhongzong fulfilled her wish to be buried in Ganling, the monument she prepared during her lifetime was erected in Ganling. At that time it was the "Holy Luck Picture". Write it on paper and read it. This may be a stopgap measure. If similar words were engraved on a stone tablet to make her immortal, that would be a different matter.
Obviously, no one would propose such a memorial at the time. Then, before the deceased is buried in peace and the monument prepared by the deceased is erected in front of the jade spirit, the funeral must be called "complete merit and virtue".
Thus, we have to admire Wu Zetian's intelligence and wit. She entered the palace at the age of 14, became the queen at the age of 18, and became the emperor at the age of 35. After her death, it took 1,200 years to prove the sturdiness and charm of her tomb. It can be said that Wu Ze conquered the world before her birth and conquered history after her death.