There are many chinese folk cognitions about the customs of having children, most of which have been handed down by predecessors. For example, "sour and spicy girl", "boy with a tip of the stomach, girl with a round belly" and so on. Earlier, there were many calculations about the date of birth of a child, believing that a child born in a certain month was blessed, a child born in a certain month was ominous, and so on. Today I want to talk about a related historical story.
The protagonist of the story is an empress with the surname Xiao and an unknown name. Empress Xiao's growth process is a little different from other children, other children are generally raised by their parents, but When Empress Xiao was still in her infancy, she was sent away. Originally, Empress Xiao was born in 567 AD, during the period of confrontation between the Northern and Southern Dynasties, she was originally a princess, and her father was Xiao Yue, the Ming Emperor of Liang of Western Liang.
Xiao Yue married Zhang Shi, and after marriage, Zhang Gave birth to a baby girl for her husband. The palace people around Zhang shi congratulated Zhang Shi, and Zhang shi himself was very happy, at that time Xiao Yue was busy fighting, and when she returned to the palace, the baby girl had grown up. He asked Zhang, "This child was born in February?" Zhang Shi nodded. According to common sense, the father should be happy to love his daughter, right?
Who knew that Xiao Yue frowned and was a little unhappy. The reason is not that they gave birth to daughters and did not have sons, but that there was a custom in Jiangnan at that time that children born in February were unlucky - "those who give birth in February do not lift", so children should be sent away and abandoned, or thrown away. Of course, Zhang Shi understood what Xiao Yue was worried about, but after all, she was the child's biological mother, and she was always a little unbearable.
The couple discussed this matter for half a day, and finally decided to find a family to adopt. Who are you looking for? No matter what, the princess is also a golden branch and jade leaf, and cannot be given to the commoners to raise. In the end, Xiao Yue remembered his sixth brother Xiao Qian, the King of Dongping, and the couple was desolate under their knees, and sent the princess to them to raise, and everyone was very happy. Who knows, Xiao Qian and his wife adopted the princess less than 1 year ago, and both died.
Xiao Yue listened to the news and felt that her daughter was "unknown" and refused to let her return to her side. His wife Zhang Shi pleaded bitterly, but Xiao Yue still did not agree to welcome back her daughter and sent her to her uncle Zhang Ke to raise. Although Zhang Ke is also considered a relative of the emperor and the state, the official is not big, and the family conditions are general, so although Xiao Shi is a princess, she has been accustomed to doing work since she was a child, and she loves to read, and when she grows up, she is "intellectual and studious." ”
Xiao Shi had a separate small courtyard, which was a special arrangement made by her uncle for fear that she would hinder her. When she grew up, the world had undergone great changes, the Sui Wen Emperor Yang Jian established the Sui Dynasty, the Northern Zhou dynasty collapsed, and the Liang state, which had previously worshipped Northern Zhou as its suzerainty, was now changed to the Sui Dynasty. On the one hand, Emperor Wen of Sui wanted to appease the vassal states in the south, and on the other hand, Xiao Yue also wanted to build a good relationship with the new master of the Sui Dynasty.
The two sides almost immediately agreed, choosing to marry, and Emperor Wen of Sui planned to choose a princess of Liangguo for his second son Yang Guang as his wife. Who knew that Bu Gua Bu had been half a day, none of the princesses in the Liang Palace had been able to get along with Yang Guang, and Xiao Yue remembered that he still had a daughter who had been exiled, so he welcomed Xiao Shi back and let bu calculate the gua, and the result was "Daji", and the marriage between Xiao Shi and Yang Guang was confirmed.
After marrying Yang Guang, Xiao Shi became a major help to him. Yang Guang was initially only the King of Jin, and it was his brother Yang Yong who was crown prince. However, with the cooperation of xiao, Emperor Wen of Sui and his wife became more and more fond of Yang Guang, and Yang Guang also used Empress Xiao's influence (Lanling Xiao clan) to gain the support of the Jiangnan Shi clan, and eventually replaced Yang Yong as the crown prince, who was the later Sui Emperor.
Xiao became a princess of Jin at the age of 15, a crown princess at the age of 33, and an empress at the age of 37. It is worth mentioning that although the Sui Dynasty soon collapsed, because of the Xiao family's relationship, the Xiao family was very much used in the dynasty, and the Book of Sui records: "... The clan was above the hemp, and was promoted to use it with talent, so Zhu Xiao Kundi was in the imperial court. "Xiao Shi, who was born in February, did not harm her parents, but made the whole family glorious, so it can be seen that the birth of a child in February is not auspicious, and it is really not easy to believe."