Friends who have watched the movie "The Legend of the Cat Demon" must know that the storyline of the whole movie revolves around the "death of Yang Guifei", in fact, as interpreted in the movie, "the death of Yang Guifei" is indeed a major mystery in history, even Chinese and foreign historians, for how Yang Guifei died, whether it is really dead, can not give an accurate answer.
As one of the four beauties of ancient China, Yang Guifei was definitely "a collection of thousands of favors in one" in the harem of Tang Xuanzong, but all this ended with the "Anshi Rebellion". In the fourteenth year of Tianbao (755), An Lushan, who was also the envoy of the three towns of Yang, Pinglu, and Hedong, launched a rebellion under the name of "Qing Jun's Side, Yang Guozhong", and the soldiers pointed directly at Chang'an, and Tang Xuanzong, seeing that the capital division was not safe, fled to Sichuan with Yang Guifei and Yang Guozhong and others.
However, when the fleeing troops marched to Ma Songyi, the forbidden general Chen Xuanli and the crown prince Li Heng launched a mutiny to kill Yang Guozhong's father and son, and Tang Xuanzong had no choice but to admit that Yang Guozhong was in disarray and intended to pardon Yang Guifei on the grounds that Yang Guifei was innocent, but Chen Xuanli and the forbidden army generals did not think so, and under their persecution, Tang Xuanzong could only order Yang Guifei to die.
So, how did Yang Guifei die? Historical data do not give us a clear answer, and there are mainly the following statements:
1. The theory of being hanged. This statement is the most widely circulated, and it is supported by a large number of historical materials, such as the "Old Book of Tang, The Biography of Yang Guifei", which says, "The Forbidden Army General Chen Xuanli is the Prince of Miqi, and the father and son of Guozhong are loyal." Since the four armies were not dispersed, Emperor Xuanzong sent a soldier to ask, "The thief is still there", and Gai refers to the noble concubine. Lux repeats, the emperor does not get it, and the concubine zhao, sui hanged and died in the Buddhist chamber"; Another example is the "New Book of Tang Dynasty And the Biography of the Later Concubines", which records that "the emperor had no choice but to go with the concubines, and led them away, and under the ancestral hall of the Han Road, the body was wrapped in purple yin, and the side of the road was paralyzed"; For example, the "Zizhi Tongjian" also has "Shang Nai Feng Lu Shi lures noble concubines to the Buddhist hall and hangs them"; There are also "Xuanzong Xingshu, to Ma Songyi" in the "Supplement to the History of the Tang Kingdom", and ordered Gaolishi to be a noble concubine under the pear tree in front of the Buddhist hall" and so on. These historical sources all show that Yang Guifei was hanged at Ma Songyi.
2. Death in the rebellion. This statement is mainly found in some Tang poems, such as Du Fu's "The Head of the Sorrowful River", which has the words "Where are the bright eyes and teeth now, and the blood-stained wandering soul cannot return"; Another example is Li Yi's "Passing the Horse Ridge" and "Passing the Horse Ridge Two Songs", which also have sentences such as "Tuojun Xiu washes the lotus blood" and "Tai Zhen Blood Stains the Horse's Hoof"; For example, Du Mu's "Thirty Rhymes of Huaqing Palace" has the sentence "Shouting ma song blood, zero falling feather gun", while Zhang Youzhong's "Huaqing Palace and Shesheren" has a sentence of "blood buried concubine Ziyan", and Wen Tingjun's "Ma Songyi" has "returning to the soul without testing the table and smoking, burying blood empty and green grass sorrow". These descriptions undoubtedly imply that Yang Guifei died in the rebellion of Ma Songyi, after all, being hanged would not meet with blood.
3. The theory of swallowing gold and dying. This statement is mainly derived from Liu Yuxi's "Ma Song Xing", which reads, "The Green Field Fufeng Road, the Yellow Dust Horse Ridge Line, the roadside Yang Guiren, the grave is three or four feet high." Nai asked Li Zhong'er, all said that when they were lucky, the military family cursed Yu Xing, and the heavenly son shed the demon Ji. The group of officials prostrate the door screen, the nobles lead the emperor's clothes, turn the beautiful eyes low, and the wind and day are the sky. Noble people drink gold shavings, you are humble, you are alive and serve apricots, and the color is really the same." Among them, "noble people drinking gold shavings" obviously refers to suicide by swallowing gold.
In the above three statements, "dying in the rebel army" is obviously not in line with reality, whether Yang Guifei is guilty or not, whether she deserves to die, she is still a noble concubine after all, even if it is a mutiny, the rebel army wants to get close to Yang Guifei, I am afraid it is very difficult, and How can Tang Xuanzong allow Yang Guifei to be killed by the rebel army? What's more, this statement is only found in Tang poetry and not in historical materials.
Regarding the "theory of swallowing gold", the modern historian Chen Yanke once examined this, believing that the phrase "noble people drinking gold crumbs" in Liu Yuxi's poem came from "Li Zhong'er", but whether what "Li Zhong'er" said was true or false, no one could know.
Therefore, the most credible of the three statements is actually the theory of "hanging". However, although it is also "hanging killing", due to the different records of the Old Book of Tang, the New Book of Tang, the Zizhi Tongjian and the Supplement to the History of the Tang Kingdom, the details of the killing are still difficult to determine.
First of all, did Yang Guifei hang herself or was she hanged by others? The Old Book of Tang only says that "Sui Han died in the Buddhist chamber", and the New Book of Tang only says "Under the Ancestral Hall of the Han Road", but neither of them specifies whether he hanged himself or killed him. In the Zizhi Tongjian, it is said that "Shang Nai Ming Lu Shi led gui concubines to the Buddhist hall", but it is still impossible to determine whether Yang Guifei hanged herself or was hanged by Gao Lishi. However, in the "Supplement to the History of the Tang Kingdom", it is said that "(Tang Xuanzong) ordered Gaolishi to hang guifei under the pear tree in front of the Buddhist hall", and here it is clearly recorded that Yang Guifei was hanged by Gaolishi.
Secondly, where did Yang Guifei die? As mentioned in the previous record, both the Old Book of Tang and the Zizhi Tongjian record that Yang Guifei died in the Buddhist hall, the New Book of Tang says that she died in the ancestral hall, and the "Supplement to the History of the Tang Kingdom" says that she died under the pear tree of the Buddha's hall.
In summary, because the historical records are too simple and different, and there is no other direct or lateral evidence, the question of how Yang Guifei died and whether she really died can only stay at the guess level and cannot give an accurate answer.