What is history: it is the echo of the past to the future, the reflection of the future on the past. - Hugo
Wu Zetian is the only orthodox female emperor in the history of our country, and she was indeed an amazing figure who was able to become an emperor as a woman in the feudal era. In addition to her legendary experience, the female emperor left behind countless mysteries, such as what was buried in the Qianling Tomb, which was never opened, and what kind of meaning the wordless monument was. The deepest cloud cover is probably the mystery of Wu Zetian's appearance.
As a former favorite concubine and emperor of Wu Zhou, Wu Zetian's appearance must be good, it is said that when she was still in her infancy, she received Yuan Tiangang's evaluation of "dragon pupil and phoenix neck, extremely expensive test also", and Tang Taizong was also particularly favored by Wu Zetian because of her beauty, and also gave her the title of "charming". The Old Book of Tang once recorded: "In the beginning, at the fourteenth hour of the heavenly year, Emperor Taizong heard of his beauty and stopped, summoned him to the palace, and established himself as a talented person. This proves that the beauty of Wu Zetian was recognized by many people at that time and passed on by word of mouth.
Later, Wu Zetian won the favor of Li Zhi with her beauty and wisdom, and even let Li Zhi create the title of "Concubine Chen" for her, "Chen" is the name of the emperor, and Wu Zetian's experience of favoring the harem is almost unmatched.
There are also many records about Wu Zetian's appearance in the history books, such as "the princess is fruitful, the square is broad, and the multi-power strategy is more powerful, then the heavens think of themselves", and the "Empress Dowager is good at whitewashing herself, although the descendants are on the side, do not feel old". However, no amount of text is as intuitive as the portrait, in the Tang Dynasty painter Zhang Xuan's "Tang Dynasty From the Line", we can get a glimpse of the style of a generation of female emperors.
"Tang Hou From the Line Map" depicts the situation of Wu Zetian's travels, and there are many characters in the painting, with different forms, but they all show the trend of arching and guarding, which makes the image of Wu Zetian in the center of the painting particularly eye-catching. In the painting, Wu Zetian wears a wide robe with large sleeves, a dragon wind crown on his head, and is richly dressed in intricate clothes. She was surrounded by more than a dozen jinwuwei, eunuchs and palace women, who held incense scents, peacock fans, golden spit pots, ritual knives and other travel utensils in their hands, making the whole picture luxurious and golden.
The height of Wu Zetian in this painting is also very interesting, and the painter may want to highlight his honorable status and paint Wu Zetian's height to match that of a man, and I don't know if it is true. However, the style and manners of a generation of empresses can indeed be well reflected in the paintings, although Wu Zetian was still only an empress at the time of painting, but the grace of the ten thousand people jumped on the paper.
In addition to this "Tang Dynasty From the Line", the Big Buddha of Luoyang Longmen Grottoes Lushena is also one of the clues to Wu Zetian's appearance, and it is said that this big Buddha was carved according to Wu Zetian's appearance. The Great Buddha was built in 672 AD, that is, in the third year of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, and historical records record that at that time, "Empress Wushi helped the fat powder to powder 20,000 yuan", and finally created this magnificent buddha statue with a solemn appearance and a kind eyebrow.
Legend has it that Li Zhi once praised Wu Zetian for his "good looks, graceful appearance, and bodhisattva demeanor", and seeing that Wuhou wept for his own red face and bones after a hundred years, he built this big Buddha for his beloved woman, so that the beautiful face of Wuhou could live and stay in the world. This big Buddha is indeed graceful and solemn, and is even praised by foreign tourists as the "Mona Lisa of the East".
From these materials, we can conclude that Wu Zetian's true appearance must be beautiful, but in her legendary experience, her achievements have long overshadowed her beautiful appearance. Perhaps when the future technology is developed and the secrets of Qianling are revealed, the true appearance of this empress will truly be revealed in front of the eyes of the world.