The Tang Dynasty was one of the most prosperous dynasties in Chinese history, and it was also the peak of poetry, and the literati and rioters wrote countless famous passages of the ancient population, and it was the lifelong pursuit of the talents at that time to be able to leave a name in the literary world and become an official. There is one person who not only achieved these two achievements, but also achieved excellence, she is Shangguan Wan'er, the first talented woman and the first female official of the Tang Dynasty.
Shangguan Wan'er was born into a family of official eunuchs, and her grandfather Shangguan Yi was high in Zaifu, but later because she offended Wu Zetian, she was falsely accused of rebellion and was imprisoned and executed, and Shangguan Wan'er was also implicated in following her mother into the imperial court as a maid. However, Shangguan Wan'er was very intelligent and loved poetry, and during her slavery, her mother insisted on carefully cultivating her.
In the second year of Yifeng (677), Wu Zetian summoned Shangguan Wan'er, who was only 14 years old, and asked her to write poetry, shangguan Wan'er's text was not added, it was written in one go, and the words were gorgeous, which made Wu Zetian very happy after reading it, and he was relieved of his status as a slave and named her "Neishe Ren" to let her take charge of the drafting of the edict in the palace. After that, Shangguan Wan'er gradually became Wu Zetian's most trusted confidant, and from the first year of Tongtian (696), Wu Zetian let Shangguan Wan'er handle the performance of various departments of the imperial court, participate in government affairs, and become a veritable "prime minister".
Shangguan Wan'er also commented on the poetry of the world on behalf of the imperial court, "weighing the corporal of the world". Her own poetic attainment is second to none among women, she inherited the "Shangguan Body" form technique of her grandfather Shangguan Yi, and her poetry was evaluated as "absolutely beautiful" by the Dragon City Record. And as Wu Zetian's "imperial literati", he often substituted Wu Zetian and the imperial princess to write poems, which could be "written in many pieces and collected beauty and new".
After Wu Zetian abdicated, he was also in power with Li Shi, Tang Zhongzong was restored, and Shangguan Wan'er was still responsible for drafting edicts, and was also given the title of "Zhaorong". Shangguan Wan'er not only won the trust of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang and Empress Wei, but also had great prestige among the ministers, and many people competed to curry favor with Shangguan Wan'er, which showed the cleverness of her political means.
After Wu Zetian's daughter Princess Taiping grew in power, Shangguan Wan'er, who had a keen sense of politics, attached herself to Princess Taiping in time. In the fourth year of Jinglong (710), Emperor Zhongzong of Tang died, and Empress Wei took control of the imperial government. Princess Taiping and Shangguan Wan'er drafted a will and testament, making Li Chongmao crown prince and preparing to launch a coup d'état.
In the first year of Tang Long (710), Li Longji and Princess Taiping launched the "Tang Long Rebellion" and led the forbidden army into the palace, sweeping away Empress Wei's party. Shangguan Wan'er led the palace people to welcome Li Longji into the palace, and also took out a testament drafted with Princess Taiping to prove that he was loyal to Li Tangzong's room, but after Li Longji read the edict, he said, This, who is adulterous and desecrated the palace, is not condemned today, and regrets are too late, and then he disregarded the persuasion of everyone and executed Shangguan Wan'er, and a generation of talented women fell.
Shangguan Wan'er's death was actually caused by her political short-sightedness the only time, and she was mistaken by smart, and he did not see Li Longji's ambition. This edict was the meaning of Princess Taiping, who made Li Chongmao emperor, but Li Longji wanted to make his father Li Dan ascend the throne as emperor, so that he would succeed him in the future. In order to curb the power of Princess Taiping, Li Longji had to destroy this will, and Shangguan Wan'er took out this will at this time, directly pushing herself into the fire pit and becoming a victim of politics.
Although Li Longji killed Shangguan Wan'er fiercely, he also felt very sorry, and later ordered someone to collect Shangguan Wan'er's poems, compile them into a book, and restore Shangguan Wan'er's reputation. It can only be said that politics does not talk about human feelings and talents, but the fate of a generation of talented women is to make people sigh.