Emperor should be the best profession in ancient social life. What they eat, live in, and use, including health care, are all far beyond the reach of ordinary people. But even so, the average life expectancy of the emperor is not long, and it is already a high life expectancy to live to the age of seventy. In Chinese history, there are only a few emperors who have lived longer than eighty years.
There was a founding emperor who not only lived to be eighty-six years old, but also did not enter the harem for forty years during his reign as emperor, living a simple life, eating only one meal a day. He was the founding emperor of Southern Liang during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Emperor Xiao Yan of Liangwu.
When it comes to Xiao Yan, many people's first reaction is that of a Buddhist emperor. Xiao Yan was the first emperor of China to become a monk during his reign, and he devoted his life to Buddhism and made great contributions to the promotion and promotion of Buddhism in China.
An emperor of the Ninth Five, but intoxicated with the pure-hearted Buddhism, with countless beautiful women, did not enter the harem for forty years. Is It Shaw's derivative kindness, or is he in poor health?
The kind and benevolent emperors in Chinese history, such as Zhao Zhen of Song Renzong, Liu Heng of The Han Dynasty, Zhu Youfan of Ming Xiaozong, and Zhao Kuangyin of Song Taizu, as long as you are good to your ministers and ordinary people, you can't become a monk.
When it comes to emperors who are not in good health, there are more in Chinese history. But their harem is still as beautiful as a cloud, drinking, dancing, and hugging. It's really not okay, I'd rather eat big pills and the like than quit color. Emperor Wu of Liang was able to not enter the female color for forty years, which was also a different kind of emperor.
The emperors who were known as Wu in history were actually not good stubble, such as Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao of the Emperor Wu of Wei, Li Yan of the Emperor Wuzong of Tang, and Yuwen Yong of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. And Xiao Yan, known as Emperor Wu of Liang, was certainly not a mediocre person who did nothing.
Xiao Yan was brilliant, fond of reading, and erudite since childhood, and he was born in the Lanling Xiao clan, one of the four noble families at that time, which played a great role in his future development.
After Xiao Yan grew up, he entered the State of Qi in the Southern Dynasty. The Emperor of the State of Qi was a member of the Xiao clan, and Xiao Yan himself was outstanding in talent, so his career was smooth. Later, the Qi Ming Emperor Xiao Luan fell ill and died, and his son Xiao Baojuan succeeded to the throne. Xiao Baojuan fainted, and Xiao Yan, who had a lot of prestige in the court, killed Xiao Baojuan, and Xiao Baorong, Xiao Luan's eighth son, ascended to the throne.
Xiao Yan was in power, and through coercion, he let Xiao Baorong take the throne to himself, changed the name of the country to Liang, and Xiao Yan became the founding emperor of Southern Liang. After sitting on the dragon chair, Xiao Yan did not do anything and did not stop, forcing Xiao Baorong, who had already abdicated, to swallow gold and commit suicide. After Xiao Baorong's death, Xiao Yan publicized that Xiao Baorong died of a violent illness and held a funeral for him according to the emperor's specifications.
Although Xiao Yan's political achievements were remarkable in the early days of his ascension to the throne, he had his hands stained with the blood of the enemy in the Eastern Expedition and the Western Expedition, killed countless people, and forced Qi and Emperor Xiao Baorong to die, and often had nightmares at night. In order to get rid of the fear in his leisure time, Emperor Wu of Liang began to seek spiritual comfort and liberation from Buddhism.
Xiao Yan's simple life is famous in history, he can cover a quilt for two years, a hat can wear for three years, and he only eats one meal a day. Such simplicity, as an emperor, is very precious.
To believe in Buddhism is to abstain from color, and Xiao Yan can do not enter the harem for forty years, which is also the only one in Chinese history. At that time, there was a senior monk named Baozhi Zen Master, who was a mysterious and strange man with long hair and bare feet. Legend has it that Xiao Yan once discussed the issue of women with Zen master Baozhi and was inspired by it.
One day, Emperor Wu of Liang asked Baozhi: Male and female love is the instinctive nature of people, can a person control his desires?
Zen Master Baozhi replied: Yes, if you don't believe it, you can find a few prisoners to come over, and we will do an experiment on the spot.
When the prisoners arrived, Baozhi asked them to each hold a cup full of water, circled around the palace, and stipulated that whoever spilled the water from the cup would be executed immediately. Then Baozhi asked Emperor Wu of Liang to summon a group of gorgeous beauties to dance in front of the prisoners to the sound of music.
The prisoners turned around, and the water in the cup never spilled out.
At this time, Baozhi said to Emperor Wu of Liang: It is indeed human nature for men to love women, but these prisoners are afraid of death, so no matter what kind of beauty they use to seduce them, they turn a blind eye; how can people control their desires? As long as you always have a fear of death, you will naturally no longer covet beauty.
It is said that Emperor Wu of Liang was inspired by this and never touched women again.
Emperor Wu of Liang sacrificed himself several times in his life to become a monk in the temple, and each time it was the ministers who spent a huge amount of money to redeem him. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang, Buddhism flourished in Southern Liang. Xiao Yan spent a lot of money to build thousands of splendid temples throughout the country, and kept more than 100,000 monks in captivity, resulting in an empty treasury and a decline in national strength.
Despite Emperor Wu of Liang's devout worship of the Buddha, the Lord did not bless him. Emperor Wu of Liang's bodhisattva heart eventually sowed the root cause for himself, leading to the Hou Jing Rebellion in the country, and Xiao Yan was starved to death at the age of eighty-six.