Wu Zetian is the first female emperor in Chinese history, she is also a legendary woman in China, her legendary story, in the picture of history, can be regarded as a relatively colorful stroke, Wu Zetian's life ups and downs, a lifetime of marriage to two kings, but also gave birth to a pair of brothers who became emperors, and at the same time he is also a monarch.
About Wu Zetian, the legendary woman, it has become a topic of discussion after dinner. Most people, in addition to focusing their attention on Wu Zetian's emotional entanglements and political career, will pay more attention to her mausoleum.
The whole Qianling tomb is still full of many secrets, there are many unsolved stories, and the 61 headless stone people standing outside the mausoleum are even one, but they are unexpectedly unwrapped by two farmers.
01 Born noble, he could not get the favor of Li Shimin, but he became the love of Li Zhi of Tang Gaozong's life
Wu Zetian's mother was born noble, her ancestors were high-ranking officials of the Sui Dynasty, her father was a shrewd and capable businessman, and the rule of the Sui Dynasty in the last years of the Great Cause was in turmoil, and Wu Zetian's father joined the camp of Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang, and became the founding hero of the country. At the age of fourteen, Wu Zetian entered the palace and became a talented person of Tang Taizong.
Although Wu Zetian was extraordinary in appearance, she was not favored by Li Shimin. At that time, Li Shimin had 121 concubines, and Wu Zetian, as a talented person, ranked very low, and the number of times she saw Li Shimin in her best youth was also limited, but compared with other favored concubines, Wu Zetian was also lucky.
Because not long after, Li Shimin died of illness and went to hexi, his son Li Zhi succeeded to the throne and became Emperor Gaozong of Tang, and Wu Zetian also began to rise officially.
After the death of the father, the concubine became her own woman, which was against morality and ethics in any dynasty, but in the Tang society at that time, people could accept the practices of Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, allowing us to see that the Tang Dynasty was an open dynasty.
Emperor Gaozong of Tang was a man of great affection and righteousness, but at the same time he was also a man without political ideals, and he chose Wu Zetian as his empress, first, Li Zhi could completely let go of power, and all the major and minor affairs in the court were managed by Wu Zetian, and second, he was able to cultivate himself, would not be deeply involved in the struggle between the political forces in the DPRK, and could get Li Zhi's favor.
It can be seen that Wu Zetian, whether it is emotional intelligence or IQ, is not to be underestimated.
02 Built a wordless monument for himself, and after 61 headless stone statues became a mystery, they were revealed by two farmers
Wu Zetian drove the crane west when she was nearly eighty years old, and after her death, she was buried with Li Zhi, and the whole Qianling Tomb was magnificent and full of magical colors, and there were 61 headless stone statues on the east and west sides of the Shinto outside the Suzaku Gate in the Qianling Tomb, and many people did not know what the meaning of this was, even historians and archaeologists did not know the reason.
Over time, until the 1970s, two farmers inadvertently revealed the secret of the stone statue.
At that time, farming was not replaced by mechanization, still maintaining the traditional way of farming, these two farmers in Xianyang, as usual, were farming in their own fields, they inadvertently found something relatively hard when hoeing the field, and as they slowly threw it out and peeled off the soil, the two farmers were surprised, and the whole shape of these stones was like a human head.
The stone statues are extremely exquisitely carved, although there is not much culture, but the two farmers believe that this thing must be antiquity, in any case should belong to the state, in order not to let the stone statues be destroyed, they immediately contacted the local cultural relics department.
After hearing the news, the experts came to the scene non-stop, and after preliminary identification, the experts determined that this was a cultural relic from the Tang Dynasty period. With so many heads, why don't they have bodies?
After continuous in-depth research, experts found that the human heads made of these stones matched the 61 headless stone figures in front of Wu Zetian's tomb. So why are the stone bodies separated from the human heads? Who are these stone men?
Based on the characteristics of the head of the stone statue, archaeologists determined that it was a Turkic. When Emperor Gaozong of Tang died, the surrounding countries and ethnic minorities sent princes, officials, envoys and other people to attend his funeral, and in order to express their gratitude to the envoys of various countries, Wu Zetian ordered the people to carve 61 stone statues of these vassals and stand in front of the mausoleum.
The stone man is well-carved, similar to a real person, the body and head are separated, archaeologists speculate that this may be related to the earthquake, during which the Ming Dynasty also had a serious Guanzhong earthquake, the head of the stone statue changed, may be caused by natural disasters.
After the secrets of the 61 headless stones standing outside the mausoleum are revealed, I believe that it will not be long before more secrets about the Qianling tomb will be revealed, and the truth will be presented in people's vision sooner or later.
As the first female emperor of China, Wu Zetian attached great importance to the prosperity of agriculture, the people living and working in peace and contentment, and a stable life, she made indelible contributions to the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty!