Now if you go to Qianling, there are two famous attractions that you have to see, the first is a headless stone statue, and the other is a wordless monument. This wordless stele is said to be Wu Zetian's tombstone, and we all know that the top is to be written, whether it is a song of merit and praise, or a brief biography, at least some content must be left for posterity. But Wu Zetian's tombstone was a blank.
The New Book of Tang records that a generation of empresses, female emperors of thousands of years, no one before and after the ancients, Wu Zetian is one of the most famous women in Chinese history. Shortly after the Shenlong coup, Wu Zetian passed away, from once having power to the opposition, calling himself Emperor Kai Dynasty, to finally dissipating his power and leaving miserably. Eventually, Wu Zetian was buried by Tang ministers with Emperor Gaozong of Tang. Such a historical figure, why did not write an inscription on the tombstone?
Of course, whether the so-called wordless monument is the meaning of Wu Zetian's will or not, this is actually impossible to examine, perhaps it is what she herself wants to express, or it may be the idea of the person who presided over the monument. From her experience, there may be the following reasons.
The first reason was that Wu Zetian thought that he had too much merit and there was no need to flaunt anything anymore.
Although this woman's ascension to power violated the "rules" of the times, judging from the specific political achievements, the empire was more prosperous under her management. Some people call this period a "Zhenguan Relic", comparing her administrative ability with Taizong, which is enough to see the prominence of her administrative ability.
Since he already has such brilliant achievements, there is no need to bother to write inscriptions on the tombstone, as a special existence in history, or is it more prudent to keep a low profile.?
The second reason was that she thought her sins were too deep.
This statement is completely opposite to the first concept, Wu Zetian as a woman, it is undoubtedly a very difficult thing to ascend to the throne in the context of that era, although she eventually seized the power, but the "price" she paid for it was also very huge.
In the Zizhi Tongjian, it is recorded that "there are 900 people in Guangye and 700 people in Deshou".
Getting rid of many disobedient courtiers, killing their own young daughters, and committing incest in the palace can make people feel strong self-blame in their hearts. When Emperor Wu died, she was also well aware of her unforgivable sins, so she expressed her repentance with a wordless monument.
The third reason is influenced by religion.
According to the old Book of Tang, from the early Tang Dynasty's "Tao before The Buddha" became "Buddha before the Tao". During the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism was more prevalent, from ordinary people to emperors and generals, and many people in the whole country believed in Buddhism, and Emperor Wu was also a person who sincerely revered Buddhism. She spent several years of Buddhist life in a nunnery when she was down, and the inner comfort of Buddhism was the basis for her perseverance, so after successfully taking power, Emperor Wu was still trying to study Buddhism.
In the Buddhist theory, "emptiness" is a very worthy realm to understand, without the ultimate tolerance of all things in the world, the limited body will never reach the state of "emptiness", the so-called "everything is empty", that is, there is no concern for the world's glory and humiliation of rivers, flowers and plants, because the heart has been obtained, the mountains and rivers are also in the heart. It was based on this understanding that Emperor Wu turned his tombstone into the theme of "emptiness".
The fourth reason is that she leaves the right to evaluate to future generations.
Taking Emperor Wu's life as an example, no one can give her a suitable positioning. From the perspective of relationships, she first married Taizong and then married her son, and finally became a great cause, simply developing the "trilogy", which made three complete transformations of her identity and behavior, and it was not easy to find common ground in it.
Although Wu Zetian is a special symbol of the times, but her own ability is undeniable, as an excellent politician, she does not lack the most is self-knowledge, she knows very well in her heart, her own years are coming to an end, whether it is merit or sin, no matter how she writes, she can not convince everyone, so it is better to hand over the evaluation of things to future generations, such a "dashing" behavior can only be done by her.
Of course, in fact, there is also a possibility, that is, this tombstone has nothing to do with Wu Zetian, because the tombstone was erected by posterity, and after his death, the power has returned to Li Tang. And these descendants of Li Tang could not make a correct evaluation of Wu Zetian, saying that she was good but usurped the Li Tang Dynasty. Say that she is not good, after all, she is a grandmother, and there is a legacy of chastity under the rule, and her political achievements are OK. It is reasonable that neither can be treated as a usurper. In particular, her identity is very embarrassing, is it emperor Wu zhou or empress of the Tang Dynasty? From the perspective of the ruler of Li Tang, it is difficult to define, so I simply do not write.
summary:
In summary, the wordless tombstone contains a lot of meaning, which is also an act of Emperor Wu full of wisdom, as a very unique emperor in history, she can not only continue to maintain her "heat", but also leave herself with a lot of positive images.
bibliography:
1. New Book of Tang
2. Old Book of Tang
3. Zizhi Tongjian