"Zheng KaiYuan Zhi Hongzhen Guan, FangLiu Sword Pavilion Light by LiZhou"
This is Guo Moruo's inscription on both sides of the central hall of Guangyuan Huangze Temple, which is intended to praise the life merits of Wu Zetian, the empress of the ages.
In the first month of the first year of the Divine Dragon, After experiencing some ideological struggles, Zhang Kamzhi and others personally hand-picked by Wu Zetian resolutely led the warriors to break into Wu Zetian's hospital room, killed Wu Zetian's male favorite Zhang Yizhi's brother, and forced Wu Zetian to pass the throne to the crown prince. While Wu Zetian was angry at the rebellion of the "own people" he had pulled out, he could only helplessly lower his noble head.
In the following months, the banner of the Wuzhou Dynasty fell completely, and the wu kings were also removed from the power center of the Li Tang Dynasty. And Li Tangjunchen, who had been suppressed and purged, reappeared on the scene. Every once in a while, Li Xian and a number of ministers would greet Wu Zetian, and the content of his discussion gradually involved Wu Zetian's evaluation and funeral regulations.
In the end, Wu Zetian personally said what Li Xian and the ministers wanted to hear: "Erect a monument for me in front of the tomb of the former emperor, and there is no need to engrave words on the stele." ”
So, after Wu Zetian died, why did he erect a wordless monument?
There have always been many theories about the mystery, but what exactly it is, I am afraid that no one knows.
First, the theory of faceless inscription
After Wu Zetian's death, the Li Tang Dynasty, which had just been successfully restored, could not wait to promulgate Wu Zetian's "legacy system". Because Li Tangjunchen did not recognize the status of Emperor Wu Zetian, his "will" could only be called "will" by Li Tangjunchen. In the so-called "testament system", Wu Zetian left behind the last wishes of "going to the emperor and returning to the 'Zetian Dasheng Empress'", "the temple" and "returning to the tomb".
Li Tangjunchen soon buried his lingshu in Gaozong's Qianling tomb according to Wu Zetian's wishes, and at the same time erected a wordless monument for Wu Zetian on the east side of Sima Dao. Because Li Tangjunchen did not recognize the status of Emperor Wu Zetian, some people thought that Li Tangjunchen actually held a grudge against Wu Zetian, so they believed that the wordless monument erected by Wu Zetian was a manifestation of his "self-confession of guilt".
The basis for this statement is mostly from the perspective of Li Tangjunchen. Because Wu Zetian usurped Li Tang's Jiangshan and changed it to Wu Zhou Tianxia. Moreover, during the reign of Wu Zetian, in order to consolidate the Wu Dynasty, he wantonly suppressed and purged Li Tang's monarchs, brutally tortured and killed the descendants of the Tang clan, reused cool officials, and so on.
Not only that, during her reign, she lost the four towns of Anxi externally, and her internal life was also absurd and disgraceful.
Therefore, Li Tangjunchen erected a wordless monument to Wu Zetian, which means that wu Zetian's crimes during his reign are "difficult to write". What's more, in Wu Zetian's "last wish", she was going to return to the mausoleum and be buried with her husband Li Zhi.
However, Li Tangjun buried him together after Qianling, whether he was called emperor or returned to the empress since the emperor's title, it was bound to be difficult to write on the stele.
Therefore, Li Tangjun simply erected a monument to Wu Zetian without engraving words. Since then, it has been rumored that the reason for wu Zetian's death to erect a wordless monument is that she "thought" that she was guilty of a deep sin before her death, and expressed her repentance by erecting a wordless monument. Over time, the saying that Wu Zetian's wordless monument was "wordless inscription" spread.
However, in fact, whether it was After Wu Zetian's death, Li Tangjunchen "deliberately" erected a monument without engraving, we do not know. However, many people agree with the statement that "sins are too numerous to write" without words.
So, in addition to this statement, is there any other interpretation of the wordless stele after Wu Zetian's death?
In fact, in addition to the statement that there is no word to engrave, there is also a kind of boasting that "the merits are high, and the words cannot be described".
Second, self-aggrandizement
The former statement about Wu Zetian's wordless monument is mainly from the "fault" of her life, but in fact, after Wu Zetian ascended the throne, the series of achievements made are undeniable. For example, suppressing the power of the rich family and creating the martial arts and temple examination system, in this way, a large number of cold disciples entered the career path.
In addition, during his reign, Wu Zetian also implemented a large number of policies to encourage Nongsang, and made outstanding achievements in building water conservancy and reducing servitude. In terms of employing people, Wu Zetian has achieved meritocracy, and all talents recommended by local governments have been humbly accepted and hired in an exceptional manner.
What's more, she was able to ascend to the throne of the emperor as a woman, and the identity of the only empress in the ages, no matter how it is, is the greatest "merit" since ancient times. By doing this alone, Wu Zetian was qualified enough to "boast about himself." Therefore, even if Li Tang's Jiangshan was usurped, a strange woman like her would never be ashamed of it, but would be proud of it.
What's more, the merits she made during her reign also made people speechless, she did not defeat Li Tang's Jiangshan, but also achieved the degree of "political enlightenment and enlightenment, rule Hongzhenguan". Therefore, wu Zetian erected a wordless monument after his death, which is not without the self-aggrandizement of "the merits are too great, and the words are not enough to express".
It is precisely because of this that this kind of boasting has spread. Similarly, this statement has also been endorsed by some people, who believe that the reason why Wu Zetian erected the wordless monument is a kind of "boasting".
So, in addition to the above two positive and negative statements, is there any other statement?
In fact, in addition to this, there is really a saying that "right and wrong are left to be commented on by future generations", which may be a bit "helpless" for Wu Zetian himself, but for future generations, this statement may appear "objective".
3. Helpless or objective statements
One of the reasons for the erection of the wordless monument after Wu Zetian's death is that it is widely spread and is widely recognized, that is, "the right and wrong deeds are left to posterity to comment on". Because the angle of the wordless inscription is obviously biased toward Li Tangjunchen, and the boastful theory is obviously biased toward Wu Zetian, this statement of "leaving the right and wrong deeds and commenting on it with posterity" is slightly "reliable".
Because this kind of statement can be justified from the perspective of Wu Zetian. After all, she was able to become emperor at the age of sixty-seven, and she was the first female emperor in the ancient world, and her merits were far beyond that of ordinary emperors, and she really made a meritorious achievement during her reign. Perhaps, she also realized that she did do some ridiculous things that only a "faint prince" could do in her later years.
Therefore, under the "helplessness", the act of erecting a monument without engraving words is not without the idea of "leaving the merits and commenting on the merits of future generations".
From the perspective of Li Tangjunchen, this statement is obviously justified. Because Li Tang junchen did not recognize Wu Zetian's identity as emperor after Wu Zetian's death, after all, Wu Zetian usurped Li Tang's Jiangshan.
However, after Wu Zetian's death, he asked to be reinstated as empress and buried with Emperor Gaozong, and because he did have some merits during his reign, Li Tangjunchen was not obviously praised or criticized. Therefore, Wu Zetian's "legacy" of the wordless monument is not in line with Li Tangjunchen's wishes.
Therefore, no matter which side you stand on, the statement that "it is right or wrong to be left behind and commented on by future generations" is defensible. Therefore, whether Wu Zetian was "deliberate" or a move under "helplessness", as the only female emperor in the ancient world, after "having to" return the Wuzhou Dynasty to Li Tang's descendants, erecting a wordless monument may really be her most appropriate choice.
It is precisely because of this that this kind of statement is the most widely circulated and has been universally endorsed. Of course, whether the specifics of it are really as people think, whether the mystery of the wordless monument is really like this, then we really can't know.
epilogue:
There is such a record in the "History of Dai" and the "Tongzhi of Shandong", saying that Qin Shi Huang once erected a wordless monument after he ascended mounted Mount Tai to indicate the great cause of unifying the six kingdoms throughout the ages. Qin Shi Huang believed that his deeds were unmatched and that words were difficult to express, so he only erected a monument and did not engrave words.
Then from this point of view, wu Zetian's wordless monument may really have this meaning. After all, Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor to unify the world, while Wu Zetian was the first female emperor in history. From this point of view, Wu Zetian compares himself to Qin Shi Huang, but it is also reasonable.
So, what do you think about Wu Zetian's statement that wu Zetian has no words?
References: Dai Shi, Shandong Tongzhi
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