The Tang Dynasty was an extremely open era. At that time, there was no prejudice, no discrimination, as long as a person had a little talent and ability, then he was not very bad in the Tang Dynasty, at least he would not starve to death.
In the Tang Dynasty, women and men were competitors on the same starting line, but in some places they were demanded better. According to the "Tang Huijiao", if a girl wants to become a Taoist, she must not only have a certain cultural connotation, but also understand Taoist classics, such as the Huangting Jing and so on.
But they were fortunate to live in that era, to pursue royal power and wealth, and to abide by the rules and precepts.
Quest for Power: Wu Zetian's Counterattack
Wu Zetian was the first orthodox female emperor in Chinese history.
She, because of her handsome appearance, entered the Tang Palace, and after Li Shimin's death, she became a monk at the Ganye Temple. So how did she return to the Tang Palace?
Some people say that at that time, Emperor Gaozong of Tang went to the Ganye Temple to burn incense, saw Wu Zetian, remembered the details of secretly communicating with Wu Zetian in the past, and recalled Wu Zetian to his side.
That's true, but not all. Before that, Wu Zetian wrote a love poem to show his miss for Li Zhi. The poem written by Wu Zetian is "Ruyi Niang":
Beth is full of haggard and fragmented for the memory of the king.
In disbelief, Bi Lai burst into tears and opened the box to check the pomegranate skirt.
Wu Zetian missed Li Zhi in the Ganye Temple, thought when he woke up in the morning, thought about sleeping at night, and missed Li Zhi all day long, so that he saw red as green, and his body was haggard, and he fell down as soon as the wind blew.
Afraid that Li Zhi would not believe it, she asked Li Zhi to go to the box to see the tear marks on the pomegranate skirt.
Later, Li Zhi saw this poem and did not go to find the pomegranate skirt, but went to the Ganye Temple. Li Zhi was in the deep palace, thinking that not far away, there was a woman with a good face and a graceful posture waiting for him.
Wu Zetian, who was at the Ganye Temple, finally waited for Li Zhi. Although she stayed in the temple for four years, her true temperament did not diminish at that time. It didn't take long for Li Zhi to summon Wu Zetian back to his side and worship him as Erpin Zhaoyi.
Wu Zetian, who returned to the palace, gave birth to his eldest daughter at the age of thirty. Helplessly, the daughter became the favored capital of Wu Zetian.
A month after the birth of the daughter, the empress came to see the child, and after the queen left, Wu Zetian had an idea, do you want to kill the child?
Li Zhi had the heart to straighten out Wu Zetian and make her his queen. However, the Minister of Korea did not answer, and the matter was delayed. If the empress had a stain and killed the child of Li Zhi's favorite concubine, then the empress's crime would naturally be established. Li Zhi would also be furious because of this, no longer caring about the imperial court ministers, and was sure of certainty and certain abolition!
Wu Zetian thought of this, and fiercely covered his daughter to death!
Next, she exerted her acting talents in front of Li Zhi, calling for heaven and earth, and wanted to blade the "enemy". Because of this, Li Zhi successfully deposed Empress Wang and corrected Wu Zetian.
Since then, it has been the starting point for Wu Zetian to ascend to the peak of power. Li Zhi's eyes were not good, she replaced Li Zhi to read the chapter and perform the power of the Son of Heaven; after Li Zhixian's death, she mobilized her own forces, deposed Li Xian, ascended to the throne herself, and opened her own era. Her quest for power ended here.
Survival: Shangguan Wan'er's struggle
In the era of Wu Zetian, there was a "lady chancellor", that is, the female minister Shangguan Wan'er.
Shangguan Wan'er has been bound to Wu Zetian all her life.
Shangguan Wan'er's grandfather Shangguan Yi and father Shangguan Tingzhi were given death by Wu Zetian because of the abolition of Wu Zetian. And Xiao Wan'er and her mother became slaves to the court, that is, to do some chores in the cold palace.
That said, if a woman enters the cold palace, she will basically be reimbursed in this life.
However, Xiao Wan'er did not recognize her fate, and her mother taught her poetry and song. And such a harsh living environment did not completely consume Xiao Wan'er's talent.
When Xiao Wan'er was 14 years old, Wu Zetian heard that there was a talented woman in the Cold Palace and was curious. So she found a time to drink afternoon tea, asked someone to call Shangguan Wan'er, and gave her a topic on the spot.
According to the "Jinglong Wenguan Record", at that time, Xiao Wan'er's help was erected, and it was like a su structure. In other words, the text is not inked, and it is done in one go.
Wu Zetian was a very talented person, and she liberated Shangguan Wan'er from the court and sealed her as a "talented person".
So, what was Shangguan Wan'er's heart thinking? Wu Zetian is her enemy and her benefactor, does she want to take revenge? This is a mystery.
Let's assume, she thought.
After Wu Zetian ascended the throne, Shangguan Wan'er became her confidant. Shangguan Wan'er had every chance to assassinate Wu Zetian.
If this is done, then Shangguan Wan'er will not only lose her glory and wealth, but also lose her life.
So, doesn't she want to?
First, let's briefly talk about a makeup - red plum makeup. This was invented by Shangguan Wan'er and was once popular in the Tang Dynasty.
And the origin of this red plum makeup, there is a saying. When Shangguan Wan'er was in the office, Wu Zetian's favorite minister Zhang Changzong used to tease her, and it just so happened that this scene was bumped into by Wu Zetian.
Wu Zetian was furious and wanted to put Shangguan Wan'er to death. But Wu Zetian hesitated, she was reluctant to kill this talented girl. Coupled with Zhang Changzong's intercession for Shangguan Wan'er, Wu Zetian suddenly softened his heart and changed the death penalty to appeasement, that is, a tattoo on Shangguan Wan'er's face.
Shangguan Wan'er was a beauty lover, and she changed the tattoo place slightly to look like a red plum. And this is the origin of red plum makeup.
From this incident, Shangguan Wan'er understood a truth, her life could not be in her own hands at all, and if she wanted to live to avenge her grandfather and father's reversal of the case, she would have to wait for Wu Zetian to grow old.
So it's not that she doesn't want revenge, it's that she can't. In the days to come, she can only live in struggle.
Therefore, in the Tang Palace, she can only make friends with some people who are helpful to her and can allow her to stabilize the position of "female phase", so that she can have the opportunity to avenge blood and hatred in the future.
The person who helped her was the former deposed emperor, Li Xian. Shangguan Wan'er's appearance, compared with Wu Zetian at that time, can be described as indistinguishable. Shangguan Wan'er, who had been living in the deep palace for a long time, often met with Li Xian, and gradually became affectionate.
Li Xian, on the other hand, was expelled from Chang'an and once wrote a love poem, "Color Book Complaints".
In the poem, there are two sentences: "At the beginning of the cave court under the leaves, the thoughts of the king are more than ten thousand miles." Even if Shangguan Wan'er has written one letter after another, what she wants to express is that "there is no other meaning in the book, but I have long been away." ”
It can be said that Shangguan Wan'er's affection for Li Xian was not reduced by his dethronement, but rather missed more.
After Li Xian's restoration, he favored Shangguan Wan'er, made her Zhaorong, and continued to perform the power of "prime minister".
Now Shangguan Wan'er, her life can be in her own hands, she is fully capable and powerful to overturn the case for the Shangguan family.
After Li Xian's death, Shangguan Wan'er died in the Jinglong coup and wailed under Li Longji's sword.
Shangguan Wan'er was known as a generation of talented women, and Li Longji also ordered the collection of Shangguan Wan'er's poems and compiled them into a collection of poems. But in the vast and long stream of history, the loss of works is normal. Most of the poems about her included in the Quan Tang Poems are also sung and composed.
However, Shangguan Wan'er and Wu Zetian, one because of his talent, had the opportunity to rebel against his fate; the other because of poetry, he had the opportunity to regain favor. I have to say that in the Tang Dynasty, if you want to ascend to the heavens one step at a time, there is a chance. As long as you have talent and works, there will be countless people who fall for it.
Author: Small A.