"A branch of shadow, alone against severe frost and cold; morning and evening scattered incense, incense drifting ten miles long." This poem is said to be the beloved Concubine Mei of Tang Xuanzong, when she was enjoying plum blossoms with Tang Xuanzong. Many people said that the concubine that Tang Xuanzong cherished should not be Yang Guifei? Who is this Princess Mei?
In fact, this MeiFei is somewhat mysterious, and the information about her is clearly recorded in a book called "The Biography of MeiFei". Inside, she was Tang Xuanzong's beloved concubine, and after Wu Huifei's death, Yang Guifei counted her as the most favored before entering the palace. However, according to the research of historians, it was found that this meifei may not really exist.
To this day, there is still a great controversy about whether the question of whether Princess Mei, whom Tang Xuanzong cherished, really existed in history. People who believe that this character is false have the following evidence.
First, the most direct evidence is that Mei Fei has never appeared in the main history, whether it is the New Book of Tang, the Old Book of Tang or the Zizhi Tongjian, there is no trace of Mei Fei.
Second, Mr. Lu Xun once proposed that there was a person named Ye Shaoyun mentioned in the biography of Princess Mei, who was from the end of the Northern Song Dynasty. It can be seen that this book was written by the Song Dynasty people, who were away from Tang Xuanzong for a period of time, and it was difficult to clearly understand the details of Tang Xuanzong's life.
Third, in the "Biography of Concubine Mei", it is said that after the death of Concubine Wu Huifei, Tang Xuanzong could not be calmed down for a long time, and Gao Lishi saw the situation and personally went to Mindi to select beautiful women. By chance, I heard that the daughter of the Jiang family, Cai Ping, was extremely talented, so Colliers spent a lot of money to hire her. However, looking through the Old and New Book of Tang, I could not find any record of Gao Lishi's envoys, indicating that this matter was false.
These three points are all justified, and people can't help but wonder if Princess Mei may really not exist. However, there are still friends who disagree, these people believe that Princess Mei is real, and they also put forward a rebuttal to the three reasons mentioned above.
First, Tang Xuanzong's harem concubines were numerous, and he was a heavenly son of the wind, and among so many favored concubines, it was impossible to record all of them in the history. The reason why Wu Huifei and Yang Guifei are so famous is because they are related to the course of history.
Concubine Wu framed the Three Kings, causing the Tang Dynasty's crown prince to change. However, Yang Guifei had close ties with An Lushan, and the change of Ma Songpo was an important turning point for Tang Xuanzong. On the other hand, Princess Mei, she was only a spoiled concubine and did not participate in any major historical events, perhaps because of this, the history is not recorded.
Second, who the characters in the text are and whether Princess Mei exists or not is not directly related. Besides, even if the "Biography of Princess Mei" was written by the Song Dynasty, compared to us now, they are very close to Tang Xuanzong. Just like the "History of Ming" was revised by the Qing Dynasty, people also use it as a reference for the correct history. Perhaps at that time, the song dynasty people still knew that there was a concubine Mei, but she was not very famous and was gradually forgotten by future generations.
Third, Princess Mei's family is prominent, and she is extremely talented, even if there is no Gao Lishi going to Mindi, she can be elected to the palace as a concubine.
In this way, both sides seem to have a point. Therefore, the author will say that Princess Mei is indeed a mysterious person, so does she exist or not? I think she may not exist, my reason is very direct, and it has to do with time.
In the Biography of Concubine Mei, it is recorded: "In the Kaiyuan Dynasty, Gao Lishi made Min Yue, concubine. See its shaoli, elected, serve the emperor, and see the favor. It shows that Princess Mei was sent to the palace by Gao Lishi after the death of Concubine Wu Huifei, and according to the book, she entered the palace nearly 10 years earlier than Yang Guifei.
However, the New Book of Tang records that "in the twenty-fourth year of the new century, Wu Huifei Was a Concubine, and the Later Court was not the emperor's will." Or the concubine posture is heavenly, it is advisable to fill the court, so it is called in the internal prohibition. It shows that as soon as Concubine Wu Huifei died, someone recommended Yang Guifei to Tang Xuanzong, and in the same year Yang Guifei entered the palace.
Later, in order to pray for his mother's blessing, Tang Xuanzong sent Yang Guifei to become a female Taoist priest, and then took her back to the palace and was promoted to a noble concubine, which took only eight years. If it is true as the "Biography of Concubine Mei" says, then Yang Guifei at this time has not even entered the palace.
Such a time conflict makes me have to doubt the authenticity of the existence of Princess Mei. In fact, in my opinion, the Mei Concubine in "The Biography of Concubine Mei" may not really be her own person, but the embodiment of a certain concubine of Tang Xuanzong. Her deeds are true and false, and with the spread and embellishment of later generations, the performance has become more and more exaggerated, and it is impossible to distinguish between true and false. The so-called "true is true when false is true, and false is also true when it is false."
(References "New Book of Tang", "Old Book of Tang", "Zizhi Tongjian", "Biography of Concubine Mei")