As we all know, the status of men and women in China has undergone three developments and changes. When human society first took shape, it was a matrilineal clan society, and the "family" was formed around a female elder. At that time, women generally had a higher status than men.
With the gradual development of society, men gradually grasped the social economy and status by virtue of their physical advantages, and Chinese society gradually transitioned to a patrilineal clan society. The social structure of male superiority over female inferiority was gradually formed and perfected, and it was not until the collapse of feudal rule that equality between men and women began to be advocated
In the era of feudal thought, women were generally inferior to men and had long been oppressed and discriminated against. In such a big environment, even if you are a royal princess, you cannot escape such persecution.
There was such a princess, as the emperor's first child, who received a unique favor, was made an exception and was named the eldest princess, and there was no record of her after the second marriage. Rumor has it that she was tortured and humiliated and eventually beheaded to death
The eldest princess of Emperor Wu of Han, whose name and characters are not recorded, is also known as Princess Dangli, and is the sister of the crown prince Liu Zhao. It is generally believed that she was the eldest daughter of Emperor Wu of Han Liu Che, and her biological mother was Empress Xiaowuwei, also known as Wei Zifu. Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty was made crown prince with the help of Princess Guantao, and at the age of sixteen he was called emperor, and according to the agreement, he married Chen Ajiao, the daughter of Princess Guantao, and the two could be called a good couple, but unfortunately the two had been married for many years without children.
For many years without children, not only were the ministers panicked, the imperial family knocked on the side many times, and Emperor Wu of Han was also very anxious in his heart. It was not until Wei Zifu entered the palace for the first time and gave birth to a daughter that he broke the suspicion that Emperor Wu of Han could not have children
This was the emperor's first child, and although she was born with special significance, although she was only a girl, Emperor Wudi of Han was also very fond of her. Even if there were other children later, in the emperor's heart, the eldest daughter has always been the most special existence
This child was very popular with Emperor Wu of Han and was given the title of eldest princess when he first came of age. There are not many records of her in history, but the most widely circulated are two marriages. Her two successive husbands are both talented people.
When she was married for the first time, Emperor Wu of Han and Wei Zifu carefully selected a husband for her, Cao Xiang, the Marquis of Pingyang. Cao Xiang's title was inherited from his father, who was young and promising, and had followed Wei Qing to fight against the Xiongnu, and later married Princess Wei Chang. Although Cao Xiang did not receive any rewards, from the evaluation of later generations, he could be regarded as a fairly good nobleman.
The two lived a very happy life after marriage, and being able to get such a good person shows that Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty was very attentive to his daughter's marriage, which was rare among ancient emperors. Unfortunately, the good times did not last long, and in the third year of Yuan Ding (114 BC), Cao Xiang died, and the cause of death is not recorded. Princess Weichang had a son, Cao Zong, who inherited his father's title.
When she was married, Emperor Wu of Han gave the place of Dangli to Princess Weichang as a fief, so Princess Weichang was also known as Princess Dangli. Dangli, which was the name of a salt producing area at that time. What's so special about the salt producing areas? In the book "Guan Zi", it is said that "Guan Shan Hai", which means that the government monopolizes the property of Shan Hai. The mountains and seas here refer to iron ore and salt.
Emperors of the Han Dynasty before Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty recuperated and did not control salt, resulting in some salt merchants having more money than the imperial family. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, salt and iron official camps began to be implemented. According to the regulations of the Han Dynasty, Princess Weichang could extract a certain proportion of the tax from the salt producing area of Dangli, which shows that Emperor Wu was fond of this daughter.
After Cao Xiang's death, Emperor Wu of Han could not bear to be alone with his daughter, so he pointed out to her that when she was married for four years, Queen Kang, in order to please Emperor Wu of Han, through her younger brother Le Chenghou, promoted Luan Da to the emperor, luan Da, who was tall and handsome in appearance, had studied alchemy with his teacher, and had also been the Shang Fang of jiaodong king, who was alert and changeable, and how clever he was. Bold, he dared to speak frankly in front of the emperor.
He told the emperor that I could practice gold, I could block the river from breaking its banks, I could have eternal life, and I could ask the gods. Under the pretext of lamenting the early death of General Wencheng, he expressed his concern about the prospects of the other party's skills and deceived Emperor Wu of Han into opening the door for him
At that time, Emperor Wu of Han was troubled by the failure of the estuary to break the embankment and the long-term failure of alchemy to bear fruit, and after listening to Luan Da's words, he hurriedly asked how to invite the immortals like grasping the life-saving straw. Luan Da said that if Emperor Wudi of Han wanted to invite the immortals to come, he would give him the high-ranking official Houlu, and also implied that Emperor Wudi of Han would marry a princess to him and make him a relative of the emperor.
Emperor Wu of Han married Princess Weichang to him as his wife. Worried that Luan Da's identity was not worthy of his daughter, he also made him a general. Later, Luan Da relied on the ability to make people colorful, and the emperor's favor was even more prosperous. However, due to the delay and ineffectuality, it aroused the suspicion of Emperor Wu of Han. Emperor Wu of Han was deeply aware that he had been tricked into executing Luan Da to the death of his waist
At the time of the second marriage, although Luan Da's status was average, Emperor Wu of Han sent Princess Weichang to marry her according to the standard of a courtesy empress. After Luan's death, Emperor Wu of Han also gave his daughter Wanjin as compensation. It was also because of the pain of his daughter, although Luan Da died of deception, Emperor Wu of Han also generously gave him a generous burial
In the second year of Zhenghe (91 BC), a yushi named Jiang Chong had some contradictions with Liu Zhao, the prince of Wei, and thus offended the Wei clan. Fearing that the crown prince would retaliate against him after he ascended the throne, he set up a trap to frame the prince for secretly using witchcraft to harm Emperor Wu for a long time
Prince Wei had a hard time arguing, was forced to rebel and died, two imperial grandsons were killed, Empress Wei committed suicide in despair, and Wei shi was beheaded by the door, and since then the momentum has not returned. This was the case of Prince Wei's witchcraft that emperor Wu of Han regretted infinitely in his later years. Princess Shichuan and her only son Cao Zong were also sentenced to death for their involvement in the case.
The death of Princess Wei Chang has always been a mystery in history, and since luan Da's death, Princess Wei Chang's name has disappeared from the records of the history books, and the only historical materials related to it are two records in the Book of Han: during the scourge of the Wu Dynasty, Princess Zhuyi and Princess Yangshi both died because of this incident; in the second year of Zhenghe, the wu clan disaster arose, and Cao Zong convicted him of adultery with the Middle, and broke into the palace gate without permission...
Some people speculate that Princess Wei chang actually died before the zhenghe two-year witchcraft case, after all, with her status, if she is alive, she will inevitably be implicated, and there will be corresponding records in the history books. Therefore, there are many opinions about the cause of Princess Wei's death, which is still a mystery. If it were not for the tragic ending, her life would have been a smooth one.