When it comes to famous women in ancient politics, Wu Zetian is one that must be mentioned, because she is the only female emperor. Before her, Lü Yan was also the one who had to be mentioned, she was the first woman to rule after Qin Shi Huang unified China. She was also the first recorded empress (Qin Shi Huang did not have an empress) and empress dowager, and she opened the precedent of the dictatorship of foreign relatives in the Han Dynasty. However, it is such a woman, the cause of death is somewhat embarrassing, and historians dare not describe it positively.
In 241 BC, Lü Yan was born, and perhaps many people in later generations scolded her for being sinister and vicious. But she was not a person with a vicious nature, and the reason why she would become like that in the end was also forced by Liu Bang. At the beginning, Lü Yan was young and beautiful, and she was born as a young lady with ten fingers that did not stick to the spring water of the yang, and naturally many people came to the door to propose to her. However, at her father's insistence, she married Liu Bang, a little. This is not only poor, but also has a son Liu Fei who was born out of wedlock, who is also 15 years older than her.
The two of them obviously did not match well, but because of his father's insistence, Lü Yan could only marry. After marriage, she did not complain, she was called a very virtuous woman, gave birth to a son and a daughter, and did not have any harsh behavior towards her non-biological son Liu Fei. The family life is not rich, and her husband does not see anyone at both ends for three days, so she takes her children to knit and filial piety to her parents. Later, Liu Bang drunkenly let the prisoner go, and he died himself, and it was Lü Yan who traveled a long way to bring him clothes and food.
If Lü Yan was not virtuous at that time, I am afraid that few people under the heavens could be regarded as virtuous, but what she got was the disgust of her husband and the arrogance of her love enemy. She could bear to take her husband, and if she wanted to take the throne that should have belonged to her son, she couldn't bear it. Lü Yan was fortunate that she had a strong enough mother and a clever brain, so even Liu Bang, who became emperor, could not do anything about her. When Lü Yan gained power, she naturally wanted to take revenge on those who had embarrassed her, especially Lady Qi who kicked her nose in the face.
In addition to these, Lü Yan's political behavior is still quite talented, otherwise future generations would not have called her and Wu Zetian lü wu. During her fifteen years on the throne, she maintained social stability and gave the people a chance to breathe. Later, wenjingzhizhi implemented the technique of Huang Laozhi and ruled by inaction, in fact, it began from her, and corrected Liu Bang's late suppression of business, lifted the merchants' economic burden and social discrimination against merchants.
However, Lu Yan actually died relatively early, she was only 61 years old when she died, due to an illness. Her body has always been tough, and this illness seems a bit strange, so it has become a mystery in the future generations. At that time, because Lü Yan died too suddenly, there were rumors that she was cursed to die. Of course, modern people do not believe in such a statement, if it is really cursed to die, then why are those who are even more evil in history not cursed to death.
Some experts consulted countless historical materials, combined with modern medical research, and finally discovered the true cause of Death of Lü Hou. Historical records have recorded that one day in March 180 BC, Lü Hou was bitten by a black mastiff on his way out. The wound was not large, and Lü Yan naturally did not care after being treated, but unexpectedly, it did not take long to start to fear water and wind. This kind of symptom believes that modern people are not unfamiliar, that is, rabies, modern people are bitten by dogs to prevent this disease is to get rabies vaccine.
Although this disease is not all the disease, the probability is not large, but there is also a possibility of onset. Unfortunately, Lü Hou is one of the people with a smaller chance of illness, and symptoms such as fear of water and wind can be explained. Five months later, Lü Hou, who was in power, died of illness, which was still a bit embarrassing. At that time, the ancients did not understand this symptom, so historians did not dare to describe it positively, but only passed away with illness.
Perhaps in the eyes of some people, regardless of the rise and fall of the dynasty, the women of the harem are dispensable supporting roles. But in fact, these women played an extremely important role in their own historical era. Just like Saying Lü Yan, can we say that she was not important to the development of the Han Dynasty? That is obviously not possible, in the early Han Dynasty, Lü Yan was an extremely important figure who influenced the direction of history.
References: "History of Empress Lü Benji", "Hanshu Gaohouji"