introduction
Wang Anshi wrote in "Climbing the Flying Peak": "I am not afraid of floating clouds to cover my eyes, and I am at the highest level. "However, like Wang Anshi, who can climb to the highest level and remove the floating clouds to cover his eyes and see the whole picture of things is a minority after all." Many times, we are blinded by the appearance of things, so we cannot see the essence of things, which is why public opinion often reverses on the Internet. Sometimes not only do new things that we don't know much about obscure our essence with performance, but even things we are familiar with are not necessarily what they seem to be.
01
As we all know, the Taj Mahal is a world-famous building, well known both in India and in various other countries, known as the "New Seven Wonders of the World". This beautiful building, which is made entire in pure white marble and dotted with glass and agate, is hailed as the most perfect gem for Indian Muslims. In addition to the beautiful shape, the love story of the Taj Mahal is also attractive to people. Its owner was given the name "Taj Mahal", which means "leader of the court", which shows how much the ruler at that time, Shah Jahan, loved her.
▲ Taj Mahal
It is said that after her death, Shah Jahan was so devastated that he spent 22 years building the Taj Mahal for his beloved wife. More than 20,000 people participated in the construction of the Taj Mahal, a magnificent and romantic building that was finally completed in 1653 (and it is said that it was in 1654) and has been regarded as a witness of love for more than 300 years. At the beginning of its construction, Shah Jahan once said: "If there is a paradise and paradise on earth, it is the Taj Mahal." "The building's grandeur is no longer at all like a mausoleum, and its somber atmosphere is far less than the solemn atmosphere.
Portrait of Shah Jahan
However, the tragedy and desolation hidden behind the Taj Mahal are little known. Ajiman Banu, a beautiful woman who came to India from Persia at the age of 19, gave birth to 14 children in the 18 years of living in the Indian royal palace, a burden far more than the human body can bear, and she has already been hollowed out of all the nutrients in her body due to frequent production. Born into an aristocratic family in 1593, Ajman Banu married 21-year-old Shah Jahan at the age of 19, becoming his second wife. The two were originally in love at first sight, and they were talented and female, and their lives after marriage were also very harmonious.
Shah Jahan, whose original name was Kulam, took the name "Sha Jahan" for himself after he ascended the throne, which means "King of the World". He was also a tyrant in the history of the Mughal Empire, who plotted to seize his father's throne in 1622, and after his defeat, he was exiled for seven years, and he did not claim the title of emperor in Arag until his father's death in 1628. During his reign, he expanded India several times and quelled rebellions in the principalities within the empire.
02
After their marriage, Ajman Banu shared the hardships with Shah Jahan and accompanied him to the battlefield many times. In 1628, Shah Jahan succeeded to the throne as the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, while Ajman Banu died in a delivery bed due to puerperal fever when his body was hollowed out while giving birth to his 14th child. In ancient times, especially for kings, proliferating was an extremely important thing, but giving birth to 14 children in 18 years was still an extremely frightening number, which meant that Ajman Banu had little time to recuperate. What's even more unfortunate is that not all of these children survived.
▲ Ajman Banu
Only 7 of Shah Jahan's entire children eventually survived. It is said that Shah Jahan washed his face in tears after the death of Ajman Banu and did not think about the government, so that the power was left to several sons to compete. In fact, in 1631, the year of Ajman Banu's death, Shah Jahan sent people to suppress the Portuguese in Bengal, and annexed several towns around India in the decade from 1636 to 1646. It was not until 1657 that he became seriously ill and several sons had the opportunity to compete for power.
▲ Taj Mahal architectural details
Eventually, his second son, Aurangzeb, defeated the crown prince, who had the support of his father, and put his father under house arrest in a room in Agra Fort where the Taj Mahal could be seen for a full 5 years until his death. During this time, only his eldest daughter accompanied him, and according to legend, even if Shah Jahan took the initiative to drink water, Aurangzeb only gave him ink. When Shah Jahan died in 1666, Aurangzeb eventually buried him with his mother, Ajman Banu, in the Taj Mahal.
▲ Portrait of Aurangzebu
In ancient China, there was often a saying that "red face and bad water", it seems that every emperor must have a demon concubine around him, such as Mei xi is considered to be the main supporter of Xia Jie's tyranny; the favored concubine of the King of Qiu appears in literary works in the form of a fox spirit; the story of the king of Zhou You's laughter and the fire play princes also makes the prince of the song crowned with the name of "evil water"; Tang Xuanzong's Yang Guifei was forced to commit suicide under the slope of Ma Song. The story of Ajman Banu and Shah Jahan is not historically romantic except for the Taj Mahal, and Shah Jahan was not imprisoned because of her influence.
epilogue
On May 31, 2020, Indian officials said that the Taj Mahal was partially damaged during thunderstorms, which also made many people who were touched by this poignant love story regret. It is true that the Taj Mahal is indeed an important achievement in the history of architecture, but whether it contains sincere love cannot be concluded, after all, most women are unwilling to bear the pain of having 14 children in 19 years, let alone the name of "making their husbands sad and never thinking about politics" after their deaths. After understanding the whole picture of the matter, looking at the Taj Mahal, there will always be some different feelings.
Resources:
"Climbing the Flying Peak"