Wu Zetian claimed that the emperor faced the deep obstacles of the Central Plains tradition, but she cleverly used the various international forces at that time to create a momentum for him, one was to build the Tianshu Giant Pagoda, and the other was for the Hu monks to attach Buddhist scriptures to answer the orders, and at the same time to engage in the rule of cool officials. Among the many forces that supported Wu Zetian's claim to the throne, there was a very special person, this person was named Aro xie, probably a Jew, that is, he and a group of Xihu people paid for the Tianshu Giant Tower.
Alohi's epitaph rubbings
When Wu Zetian became emperor, the Jewish abraham led many Xihu people to build the Tianshu Giant Pagoda for him, which cost hundreds of millions of dollars
In 1909, the famous collector and late Qing dynasty minister Duan Fang published an epitaph in the "Tao Yuan Tibetan Stone Record", that is, the very famous "Epitaph of the Great Chieftain of the Tang Persian Kingdom, Arohi". As soon as Tuowen was released, it attracted in-depth research by many world-class scholars. Mr. Lin Meicun believes that Arohi is likely to be the Jews left in Persia by the "Babylonian prisoner", the so-called Aroche and his son Juro, the well-known Hebrew names Abraham and Kara.
Screenshot from the Eurasian Studies website
During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, this Aro came to the Tang Dynasty with the Belusi exile government of Sassanid Persia, and the official worshiped the general of right tun wei and the shangzhu state, and was the founding duke of Jincheng County. He was given a high-ranking official and a high-ranking knighthood because of his meritorious mission to Byzantium. This move may have been a tang dynasty strategy to pinch the Arabs. However, Ah Luo Xie's greater merit was to create a momentum for Wu Zetian to become emperor and raise funds for the Tianshu Giant Tower.
"Epitaph of Arothy": He also summoned the kings of the Heavenly Saints to build the Heavenly Hub, and the armies to make meritorious contributions. This is forever titled Lin Ge, which is at the end of its knowledge. Square painting gimbal, no need to record.
Stills of Di Renjie's Heavenly Empire
Arohi was a prominent figure in the international ethnic group who immigrated to the Tang Dynasty at that time, one of the great chiefs of Persia, and the legend is that he was also a Master of Jingjiao, who was familiar with various diplomatic affairs on the Asia-Europe Silk Road, and even sent an envoy to Byzantium to run for the restoration of Persia for a long time, so he had a high prestige.
Wu Zetian chose him to preside over the financing of the "Tianshu" project. Tianshu was a project initiated by Wu Zetian's nephew Wu Sansi, which was extremely majestic and breathtaking, and as one of the symbols of Wu Zetian's title of emperor, it made great achievements. The tower was cast in copper and iron, and the cost was extremely huge, and the Persian princes and nobles and Sihu merchants raised millions of dollars.
"Zizhi Tongjian": Wu Sansi Shuai Siyi Chieftain please cast copper and iron as the Heavenly Hub, standing outside the Duanmen, Ming Ji Merit, Deposed Tang Song Zhou; with Yao Xuan as the governor. Zhu Hu gathered tens of billions of dollars, and he could not buy copper and iron enough, and gave folk agricultural tools enough.
New Book of Tang: Extended for two years, Wu Sansi led the chiefs and elders of The Elder To be the Heavenly Hub, empress Dowager Ji's merit, and to depose Tang Xingzhou. Make Na Yan Yao Xuan protect the work. It is the great copper and iron smelting, signed "Great Zhou Wanguo Song De Tianshu", placed outside the end door. Its system is like a pillar, the degree is one hundred and five feet high, eight sides, the face is five feet, the iron is like a mountain for the toe, the bearer is a copper dragon, and the stone and stirrup monster rings. The pillar is covered with clouds, out of the big beads, high in height, around the three. Make four jiao, two feet in length, to carry the beads. Its toe mountain circumference is one hundred and seventy feet, and the degree is two zhang. No worries about using two million pounds of copper and iron. It is the name of the Chieftain of the Si Dynasty and the Chieftain of the Clan.
Sogdian murals were then the capital of Persia in the Tang Dynasty
It is easy to understand that the amount of international trade on the Tang Silk Road was amazing, and the Xihu merchants in the Persian-River lived in China for many years, such as Taiyuan, Chang'an, Luoyang and other big cities. These people are always rich and powerful, and the "Youyang Miscellaneous" often mentions the story of persian old beards and jewelry, suggesting that they lived a legendary life of luxury. However, according to the provisions of the Tang Law, these people only have the right to religious and community autonomy, and have no special status in politics.
In order to break through the conceptual barriers, Wu Zetian co-opted these forces. These Xihu forces also took active action and came up with astronomical amounts of real money and silver. The reason for this may be mainly to follow the Persian exile royal family to restore the country, and the need to vigorously cater to the powerful rulers of the Central Plains Empire.
Awa Special Mural
Wu Zetian's life: not from the cold door, but from the Taiyuan local tycoon family, after successive generations of business, the family atmosphere is open
Luo Binwang's "Discussion of Wu Shuo" writes that "those who are pseudo-adventist wu clans, sexual non-harmony, and the first real cold and weak", which is actually not accurate. Wu Zetian's "Panlongtai Stele" erected by his father Wu Shiyan once inscribed that "six generations of zuqia, Shi Wei, sealed in Jinyang, food caiwei, descendants because of the family", his ancestors were once the northern Wei sub-feudal nobles. Both the old and new Tang Dynasties record that the Wushiyan family was a wealthy family that had been running business in the Taiyuan area for a long time, and Li Yuan had a history with the family.
"New Book of Tang Dynasty: Tale of the Samurai": Samurai Letter, ShiZhuang, Happy Knot. Gao Zu tried to lead Tun Fen and Jin, and Hugh Qi's family, because he was taken care of.
Old Book of Tang : Tale of the Samurai (武士彟傳), and The Tale of the State Wenshui Ren (文水人也). The family is rich and good at making friends. Gao Zu initially marched to Fen and Jin, resting his home, but because of his favor and staying behind for Taiyuan, he was cited as the marching division.
Tower of Silence
In recent years, tomb archaeology and other materials have been frequently published, showing that taiyuan bafu since the Northern Qi Dynasty is tantamount to a large eurasian international city. There were many Western Hu merchants in Taiyuan City, and coupled with the close relationship between the Gao Huan royal family and Rouran, and taking the initiative to accept Central Asian merchants, Taiyuan almost became the second hometown of the Western Hu people. There is even a Zoroastrian burial place (a quiet place) in the city, which is called "Yellow Pit" in Taiyuan folk, and there are often corpse-chewing wild dogs that injure women and children. Many tombs of Great Northern Qi figures have found Zoroastrian cultural elements, Portraits of The Xihu people, Byzantine gold coins and other items.
The Samurai Family had a colony in Taiyuan, an international metropolis, when more with these Xihu merchants. Therefore, Wu Zetian was born into a very wealthy family, and his concepts and vision were relatively open or more Huhua. The family may have believed in Buddhism.
"Old Book of Tang , Biography of Li Kuan ": In the old customs of Taiyuan, there are monks who practice Zen as their profession, and they are not buried in death, but they send corpses to the suburbs to feed birds and animals. If it is accumulated over the years, the natives call it "Yellow Pit". There are thousands of hungry dogs on the side, eating the flesh of the dead, and because of the infringement of the young and weak, they are suffering from near and far, and the officials before and after cannot prohibit it. He went to the official, affirmed the constitution, and did not commit the crime again, and sent troops to hunt down and kill the dogs, and his style was changed.
Northern Qi murals
In addition, the second wife of the samurai after the loss of his wife belonged to the Hongnong Yang clan (daughter of Sui Yangda), and li Yuan assigned the princess to marry herself. This is because the martial family once vigorously supported the Taiyuan army and made considerable merit. Therefore, the wu family was not a cold door, but belonged to the Taiyuan giant merchants, and very early turned to the Li family belonging to the Guanlong group, and married the Hongnong Yang clan. The fact that a woman of this family has done such a shocking thing as calling herself emperor is closely related to her family atmosphere, the Eurasian situation, and even the powerful infighting, not as some people in later generations say that she is a representative of the Hanmen Group.
"Yuan Gui vol. 8530 General Record Department , Marriage Good": Tang Wushi Yan, WuDe Zhongjian Colonel Right Wing Su Wei, both widowed, Gao Zu Shi Yan Yue: 朕自為卿更 choose Jia Mate, Sui Yue: You Na Yan Sui Ning Gong Yang Da, Brilliant Champion, Yi Ye Qinxian, now have a female ZhiXing Xianming, can assist virtue, so that Princess Gui Yang and the Yang family as the marriage master, descend to the throne, Shu Shi official to give.
Ganling Fanchen
Wu Zetian's claim to the emperor seems inconceivable in later generations, but it is not difficult to understand in the Tang Dynasty. Because the powerful ruling force "Guanlong Clique" had long been weakened by Emperor Gaozong's continuous blows, and disappeared with the death of the eldest son Wuji, the Kanto Hanshi continued to enter the temple through the imperial examination. Wu Zetian had basically controlled the imperial court through Lai Junchen.
What she lacked was the theory and public opinion of women's answers, and in addition to Xue Huaiyi's gathering of Buddhist monks and the use of the Great Cloud Sutra to create momentum and provide theoretical basis, it was also an important measure for the Jewish Aro to gather Zhuhu and raise huge sums of money to build a heavenly hub for him. The deep pockets of the Xihu people must have played a huge role in this matter. The only thing that puzzled me was that the problem of Jews liking chaotic government could not be changed, and it even happened once in the Tang Dynasty.