Looking through the contents of Chinese history books, ninety percent of them are about the battle of wits and courage between men, who either made meritorious achievements or fought bravely to kill the enemy. All in all, they have written their own chapters of life. On the other hand, there are not many women who have left their names in history, and some of them still exist in the image of the country and the people, and the red face is a disaster, which has almost become a well-known fact.
However, this view is only prejudice. The character I want to introduce today is also a beautiful woman, but she has not misunderstood the country at all, but instead exists in people's minds in an extremely positive image, she is the Empress Wei Zifu. So, how did she climb from the bottom of society to the peak of power in her life step by step, and sit firmly on the throne of the empress for decades? What can we learn from her life experience?
Wei Zifu was born at the bottom of society and was a singing and dancing slave girl in the family of Princess Pingyang. However, her face is beautiful and her eyes are clean and clear. Once Emperor Wudi of Han went out on a parade, passing by the Princess of Pingyang Palace, he went in to see his sister, princess Pingyang saw the arrival of her brother, naturally overjoyed, immediately set up a feast to entertain Emperor Wu of Han, and then summoned a group of singers and girls to sing and dance, a joyful atmosphere.
And Wei Zifu, as a dancer, is also in this group of people without suspense. Because of his outstanding appearance, he was taken in by Emperor Wu of Han at a glance. Therefore, Emperor Wu of Han begged his sister Princess Pingyang, and finally brought Wei Zifu back to the palace. In this way, Princess Pingyang is still a big matchmaker between Wei Zifu and Emperor Wu of Han! Emperor Wu of Han favored Wei Zifu after he entered the palace, until he finally secured the position of empress.
Some people may wonder, is it possible that with beauty alone, Wei Zifu can sit firmly in the back seat? Of course, it is not only based on beauty, her beauty is only one of the conditions. So harem beauty three thousand, how did she stand firm? The first point is her empathetic, generous and benevolent character.
Everyone knows that before Wei Zifu there was an empress Chen Ajiao, and her mother was Princess Guantao, who was born into a noble family. In addition, her mother had helped Emperor Wu of Han to ascend the throne smoothly, so she was willful and indulgent, and treated some palace eunuchs with either beating or scolding. As the days went on, Emperor Wudi of Han was naturally tired of it. At this time, the appearance of Wei Zifu was in stark contrast to Chen Ajiao, and her empathetic personality was exactly what Emperor Wu was now longing for, so Emperor Wu's favor to him was getting better by the day.
In addition to personality, there is also the reason for the heirs. Although Emperor Wu's succession was not too late, his former empress Chen Ajiao had never been able to give birth to a son and a half daughter for him, which was also an important reason for the increasingly rigid relationship between Emperor Wu and Chen Ajiao. Wei Zifu was different, she gave birth to a prince for Emperor Wu of Han in 128 BC, and at this time Emperor Wu of Han was almost the year of his establishment.
In our present view, this is nothing, but in ancient times, it was very late to have a son at this age. Therefore, Liu Che was naturally ecstatic. As a result, the favor for Wei Zifu is also increasing, and Wei Zifu's position is becoming more and more stable. When the eldest son, Liu Zhao, was made crown prince by Emperor Wu at the age of seven, it can be seen how much he attached to this child.
With both a beautiful appearance and an empathetic personality, coupled with the birth of his son, Wei Zifu can be said to have all the characteristics of being an empress. So after becoming empress, what made her sit firmly in the back seat for decades? In the author's opinion, the first is the reason for Wei Qing and Huo's illness. I don't need to say more about who these two figures are, they have opened up territory for the Han Dynasty, but they have made great contributions. One is Wei Zifu's younger brother, the other is her nephew, with these two close relatives helping to support, Emperor Wu of Han naturally attaches great importance to Wei Zifu.
The second reason is because of Wei Zifu himself. She was born poor but had a generous and benevolent temperament, and in the decades of her reign in the harem, she never conspired with other concubines to kill others, nor did she think of dictatorship and support her mother's family like Empress Lü and Empress Dou before her. All she had in mind was to serve Emperor Wu of Han wholeheartedly, to educate her son well, and to have such a virtuous assistant in managing the affairs of the harem, Emperor Wu of Han was too late to be happy, so what heart did she have to abolish her throne?
If it were not for Emperor Wu of Han in her later years, who listened to rumors, executed the crown prince, and forced Wei Zifu to commit suicide, then she would also be a great empress in Chinese history who died. Fortunately, however, by the time her grandson Liu Yi had succeeded to the throne, she had regained her name and returned her innocence, and Wei Zifu finally had a good ending.
And we can also learn a lot from Wei Zifu: appearance will have a certain impact on success, but it is not a necessary condition, more importantly, he must have real talent and practical learning, and single-minded dedication, only for his own interests, and do some side-door things will never succeed, what do you think?