In recent years, the fire of an online game has led to a number of historical figures, such as Big Qiao, Sun Ce, Li Bai, Wu Zetian and so on. And one of the female characters who was not known to most people, and therefore the game was well known to more people, that is, the famous female official of the Tang Dynasty - Shangguan Wan'er.
As a favorite of empress Dowager Wu Zetian, Shangguan Wan'er can be described as a legendary figure during the Tang Dynasty, she was a female stream, but she was called "the only female prime minister in China for five thousand years" by historians (Note: There is no female prime minister in Chinese history). People can't help but sigh what she has experienced in her legendary life.
1. Family and origin
Shangguan Wan'er, whose name was Shangguan Zhaorong, was born in the first year of the Tang Dynasty, that is, in 664 AD. Her grandfather, Shangguan Yi, was a famous minister and poet of the Tang Dynasty, and was deeply loved by Emperor Gaozong during the reign of Emperor Gaozong. In the second year of Long Shuo, he became the chancellor of the dynasty, but later he was hated by Wu Zetian because he proposed to Emperor Gaozong of Tang to abolish Wu.
Finally, in the first year of Lin De, that is, the year shangguan wan'er was born, Shangguan Yi was killed, and his son Shangguan Tingzhi was also killed, and the Shangguan family was confiscated from the house and real estate to the population maid. Because of this, Shangguan Wan'er fell into the palace and became the maid of the inner court. Like most legends, she also had a tragic childhood.
Second, Shangguan Wan'er first grew up
Because of shangguan yi, who was a famous poet, the tutor of the Shangguan family was very good, which could be described as a scholarly door, and Shangguan Wan'er's mother, Zheng Shi, was also a talented daughter of a generation, and fell into the palace with Shangguan Wan'er.
Shangguan Wan'er, who has been reading poetry since childhood, knows that wenshi officials are rare in ancient times when the status of Chinese women was low, and in the praise of posterity, she is also considered to be the four talented women of ancient China together with Zhuo Wenjun, Cai Wenji, and Li Qingzhao.
It is precisely because of Shangguan Wan'er's extraordinary talent that she was coincidentally discovered by Wu Zetian, who was already called emperor, that this legendary female prime minister opened her own official road.
3. The affairs of the officialdom of the female prime minister
In the second year of Fengyi, Shangguan Wan'er was already fourteen years old, and Wu Zetian heard that among the maids of the Inner Palace, there was a Shangguan Wan'er, who was brilliant and talented, and Wu Zetian, as a woman, was very surprised to hear that there was such a capable and talented maid in the palace, so he summoned Shangguan Wan'er and examined her.
And Shangguan Wan'er's talent was not false, and she passed the test of Wu Zetian with a smooth standard answer, and Wu Zetian longyan was very happy, so she abolished her slave status and let her take charge of the palace edicts. And for Shangguan Wan'er, her legendary life has just begun.
As the person in charge of Wu Zetian's commandments, Shangguan Wan'er's talent and ability made many contributions to Wu Zetian's final title of emperor, especially Wu Zetian's edicts were almost all ghostwritten by her, and she was also known as Wu Zetian's "Inner Shepherd" by the world at that time. Shangguan Wan'er not only has outstanding literary talent, but also has a unique emotional intelligence for people to deal with the world. She once rebelled against Wu Zetian's holy will and committed a capital crime, but because of her excellent emotional intelligence and connections, she finally made Wu Zetian forgive her and change it to the punishment of face-piercing.
There are many opinions on the reason for her rebellion, some say that it is because her grandfather was originally opposed to Wu Zetian's killing, and after being a sinner, Shangguan Wan'er was obsessed with rehabilitating her grandfather, and even participated in the palace coup, and was eventually discovered by Wu Zetian, but she repented in time and showed loyalty before being forgiven.
There is also a saying that according to the history of Ye, Shangguan Wan'er had an affair with Wu Zetian's male favorite Zhang Zongchang, and Wu Zetian knew that Hou Longyan was furious and wanted to kill her, but in the end Zhang Zongchang's every request for forgiveness spared her. However, there is not much discussion of no shi here.
In addition to the official and literary circles, Shangguan Wan'er's intelligence is also reflected in other aspects, for example, because she was tortured by the face, her eyebrows were engraved with ugly black characters. But Shangguan Wan'er did not regard it as a stain, but used red makeup,
Painting the place of the inscription into a delicate red plum blossom not only covers the ugly inscription, but also makes itself more shy, which is absolutely perfect.
Fourth, the female prime minister has just grown up
In fact, when Shangguan Wan'er gave Wu Zetian the commandments, she was already extremely powerful, and from the first year of Tongtian, Shangguan Wan'er was given the responsibility of handling the Hundred Divisions and voting on government affairs, and at this time, Shangguan Wan'er's power grew day by day.
But what could make her power reach the extreme was not Wu Zetian, who had the grace of knowing and meeting, but the man, Tang Zhongzong.
In 705, that is, the first year of the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Kamzhi supported li tangzong ministers to launch a coup d'état to force Wu Zetian to abdicate, known in history as the "Shenlong coup". However, this coup did not affect the former "female prime minister". The so-called saying that one heavenly son and one courtier did not work in her.
On the contrary, the restoration of Tang Zhongzong made her more important, and she was even named the Inner Palace Zhaorong by Tang Zhongzong, grasping the dual rights of the former dynasty and the inner court, and became the right and left arm of Tang Zhongzong, with monstrous power and power in the opposition.
At this time, she was already forty-two years old, her age was gone, and her proud appearance had been corroded by the years, but she still became Li Xian's imperial concubine by her own ability, and was actually the prime minister of the dynasty at that time. In addition to her status, she also had many political achievements, for example, Zeng Shangshang suggested that Li Xian expand the library and add bachelors, providing a lot of talents for the Tang Dynasty. And at this time, she also presided over the national affairs of culture and elegance, commented on the world's poetry books for the imperial court, and made great contributions to the poetry circle at that time.
Fifth, the decline of the female prime minister
As a close subordinate of Wu Zetian, Wu Zetian's thoughts and his title of emperor had a great shock to Shangguan Wan'er's heart. And along with her intelligence and talent, there is also her ambition.
According to historical records, after becoming Zhaorong, she had a close personal relationship with Princess Anle and Empress Wei, and gave Empress Wei a lot of advice, hoping that Empress Wei would gain the hearts of the people, with the intention of helping Empress Wei seize power.
In addition, she also introduced Wu Sansi to Empress Wei as a capable person to assist Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, and her idea was realized, and Wu Sansi successfully pinned down Zhang Kamzhi's Li Tang Laochen and slowly killed Zhang Kamzhi, Huan Yanfan, Jinghui, Yuan Shuji, and Cui Xuanwei, five people who obstructed his plans.
Plans can not change quickly. In 707, in the first year of the Tang Dynasty Jinglong, the grand prince Li Chongjun and the general Li Duozuo ordered more than 300 people in Yulin's army, killed Wu Sansi and more than 10 of his cronies, and continued to arrest Shangguan Wan'er.
This was Shangguan Wan'er's cleverness again, she fled to Tang Zhongzong's side, and told Tang Zhongzong that Li Chongjun intended to rebel, which made Tang Zhongzong Li Xian furious and led an army to surround and kill Li Chongjun, and finally Li Chongjun was defeated and died.
At this time, for Shangguan Wan'er, it seemed that everything was calm again. But at this time, another coup d'état put Deguan Wan'er in danger. In 710, Li Longji and Princess Taiping launched the Tanglong coup d'état, and Empress Wei, Princess Anle, and their subordinates were all killed. At this time, Shangguan Wan'er was already powerless to return to heaven, and was finally beheaded by Li Longji.
summary
A generation of female prime ministers who were in power rose to the peak of power by one coup after another, but in the end, they died because of one coup after another. However, his legendary life and talent that are difficult to match are worth remembering in history as a generation of talented women, a generation of powerful ministers - Shangguan Wan'er.