During the life of Emperor Wu of Han, he had entangled feelings with empress Chen, empress Wei, lady Li, and lady Hook Yi, but all ended in tragedy.
Empress Chen fell out of favor, was deposed, and ended up depressed; Empress Wei committed suicide as a result of the Witchcraft Incident; Mrs. Lee died prematurely due to illness; Lady Hook Yi was executed by Emperor Wu for potentially endangering imperial power. From this point of view, the emotional story of Emperor Wudi of Han and his concubines can be called a lamenting song.
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Empress Chen of the "Golden House Hidden Jiao"
Chen Ajiao was the first empress of Emperor Wu of Han, and her mother was Princess Liu Ofe, the aunt of Emperor Wu of Han.
Liu Yan is a scheming woman, and her daughter Ajiao is just a political chip for her. She first wanted to give her daughter Xu to the crown prince Liu Rong, but after being rejected by Liu Rong's mother Li Ji, she gave Ah Jiao to Liu Che, who was an ordinary prince at that time.
Later, Liu Yan designed for Emperor Jing of Han to depose the crown prince Liu Rong and put Liu Che on the emperor's throne.
After Liu Che ascended the throne, Chen Ajiao naturally became the empress of the Great Han Dynasty, and Emperor Wu of Han also fulfilled his promise of "Golden House Hidden Jiao" in his early years.
However, the good times did not last long, and within a few years, Emperor Wu of Han transferred his affection and fell in love with Wei Zifu, and Empress Chen fell out of favor because of this, and finally was deposed because she used witchcraft to curse Wei Zifu and was discovered by Emperor Wu, and the ending was very bleak.
The dethronement of Ah Jiao was largely due to her arrogance and willfulness, and her refusal to meet Emperor Wu's personality, which made Emperor Wu, who was the only one who respected her, become more and more dissatisfied with her after marriage.
Originally, the wife hoped that her husband would be a normal human feeling for herself, but in feudal society, this became a luxury. The wayward Empress Chen could not tolerate Emperor Wu's favor with Wei Zifu, but her jealousy could only deepen the gap between Emperor Wu and her.
Chen Ajiao had not had children since marriage, and she was several years older than Emperor Wu, which was another important reason why Emperor Wu of Han disliked her more and more.
In order to regain Emperor Wu's love, Chen Ajiao took a risk and cursed Wei Zifu with witchcraft, and after the matter was exposed, Emperor Wu of Han did not hesitate to depose Chen Ajiao.
The marriage between Emperor Wu of Han and Empress Chen had strong political overtones, and after being deposed by Emperor Wu of Han, poor Chen Ajiao waited for Emperor Wu to change his mind in Nagato Palace every day, but he could only walk to the end of his life with grief and loneliness in the company of lonely lights.
Empress Wei of "Garv de Jos"
Emperor Wu of Han's second empress, Wei Zifu, was originally a prostitute in the family of Emperor Wu's sister Princess Pingyang. After Emperor Wu saw Wei Zifu at his sister's house, he fell in love at first sight and took her into the palace. More than a year after entering the palace, Wei Zifu gave birth to the crown prince Liu Zhao for Emperor Wu of Han and was made empress.
After Wei Zifu gained favor, her younger brother Wei Qing also had the opportunity to emerge. Later, Wei Qing was made a marquis for his military merits, and became a great general, his three sons were all made marquises, and his nephew Huo Went ill became a general of the Hussars and was awarded the title of Champion Hou.
At that time, there was a saying that "Wei Zifu, dominate the world". It can be said that among all the concubines of Emperor Wu of Han, Wei Zifu was the one who was favored for the longest time.
Wei Zifu's beautiful appearance and supple personality are worlds apart from the domineering Chen Ajiao, which makes Emperor Wudi of Han, who has always liked to act arbitrarily and arbitrarily, very satisfied.
For a long time, the harem affairs of Emperor Wu of Han were all managed by Wei Zifu. Coupled with the two pillars of her son Liu Zhao and her mother's family, who has made great achievements in battle, it is said that her position as empress should be quite stable.
However, later, after Wei Zifu gradually grew old and declined, Emperor Wu of Han began to empathize with other concubines and spoil other young and beautiful concubines, and Wei Zifu did not escape the fate of losing favor.
Unfortunately, the gentle Wei Zifu did not get a good death. In the second year of Zhenghe, the powerful minister Jiang Chong framed the crown prince Liu Zhao, and Liu Zhao was forced to raise an army to kill Jiang Chong, and Emperor Wu of Han believed that Liu Zhao was going to rebel and ordered Liu Zhao to be hunted down.
Wei Zifu was also deposed by Emperor Wu for supporting his son, and ended his life with a white silk, and after his death, he was put into a small coffin and hastily buried. The Wei clan suffered the scourge of extinction.
Liu Zhi later hanged himself, leaving only a infant grandson, Liu Yi, who was imprisoned.
Later, Emperor Wu of Han finally found out the truth of the matter and knew that Wei Zifu and the crown prince had been wronged, so he killed all the people who framed the prince, and built a womb and a wangsitai in the place where the prince committed suicide to express his thoughts about the prince.
But for Wei Zifu, who committed suicide, and Emperor Wudi of Han, who had been married to her for more than forty years, he was quite desperate, and did not make any expression of regret and understanding at all, which was really chilling.
Wei Zifu had a very high reputation at that time, although she did not interfere in political affairs, but her family made great contributions in the war against the Xiongnu. Sima Qian praised her as "Jiafu Deros", saying that her brilliance far obscured all the women of this contemporaneous era.
Lady Lee, who fell into the country
After Wei Zifu's death, the Zhonggong Pepper Room Hall behind the Changqiu Gate did not take long to usher in a new owner, Lady Li.
Mrs. Li is a native of Dingzhou, Hebei Province, proficient in music and good at singing and dancing. Her older brother, Li Yannian, was an outstanding musician in history. Her younger brother, Li Guangli, was a mediocre man. After her discovery, Li Guangli became the general of emperor Wu of Han's second division through nepotism, and was given the title of Marquis of Haixi.
Li Yannian served as emperor of the Han Dynasty. One day, Li Yannian sang his new song for Emperor Wu of Han: "There are beautiful people in the north, unique and independent." One look at the city of the people, and then look at the country of the people. Ning does not know the fall of the city and the fall of the country, and it is difficult for beautiful people to get it again. ”
This song was sung by Li Yannian like a cry, very mournful, after Emperor Wu of Han listened, he could not help but ask Li Yannian: "Is there really such a beautiful lady in the world?" ”
Li Yannian told Emperor Wu of Han that his sister was a "beautiful person" as the song sang. So Emperor Wu of Han summoned Lady Li, and when he saw it, he loved ruobao and included her in the harem.
A year later, Lady Li bore a son for Emperor Wu of Han, and Emperor Wu of Han was greatly pleased. However, Mrs. Li became increasingly emaciated because of the confinement disease of giving birth to a child.
She knew that once she lost her beauty, she was very likely to fall out of favor, and in order not to destroy the image of the "goddess" in the heart of Emperor Wudi of Han, she had always refused to visit Emperor Wudi of Han.
Once, Emperor Wu of Han could not help but come to visit her, but Lady Li covered her head with a quilt and said: "As a lady, her appearance is not repaired, the decoration is not neat, it is not enough to see the emperor's father, and now she is disheveled, and she really dare not meet her majesty."
Emperor Wu of Han had no choice but to leave. After Emperor Wu of Han left, the palace ladies who served Lady Li asked her why she did this, and Lady Li said: "Whoever pleases people with his appearance, and loves to relax, if he meets the emperor with a haggard appearance, those good impressions of the past will be swept away, can you still expect him to take care of my sons and brothers with great care?" ”
Sure enough, as Lady Li expected, after Lady Li's death, Emperor Wu of Han was heartbroken, buried her with the courtesy of an empress, and by his own impression, let people paint a portrait of Lady Li and hang it in the Ganquan Palace, and every day they had to look at the portrait for a long time.
Under the guidance of this mentality of "loving the house and Wu", Li Yannian and Li Guangli were constantly promoted to the rank of knight, especially for Li Guangli, who was particularly conniving.
According to historical records, after Lady Li's death, Emperor Wu of Han invited an alchemist named Shaoweng, hoping to recall Lady Li's soul and meet him again. It is said that after the Alchemist's practice, Emperor Wu of Han did indeed meet the haunted Lady Li. Afterwards, Emperor Wu of Han wrote a poem: Yes! Phyah! Standing still, it is too late!
Among the women of Emperor Wu of Han, Lady Li was the most intelligent. She could see through the ruthlessness of the emperor, see through a man's lust for beauty, and understand that once her beauty disappeared, Emperor Wudi of Han's love for herself would also disappear.
It is regrettable that although Lady Li was well-intentioned, after her death, the wealth of the Li family did not last long. Later, the Li family was exterminated because of the incident, and Li Guangli, who was leading troops abroad, surrendered to the Xiongnu, and was killed by the Xiongnu, and the Li family never died.
Lady Hook Yi whose palm cannot be opened
Lady Hook Yi was the most wronged of all the women of Emperor Wu of Han, and her acquaintance with Emperor Wu of Han was also very legendary.
When Emperor Wu of Han once patrolled through the hejian state of WuyuanCheng (present-day Wancheng South Village, Wobei Township, Suning County, Hebei), his officials in charge of Guan Tianxiang told Emperor Wudi that there were strange women in this area, and Emperor Wudi of Han immediately sent someone to look for them.
After a while, the accompanying officer found a young and beautiful woman. But this woman was born with a disability, that is, her hands were clenched into fists and could not be extended.
Strangely enough, Emperor Wudi of Han reached out and gently broke the woman's hand, and the girl's hand was separated, revealing a small jade hook tightly held in the palm of his hand. Emperor Wu of Han was overjoyed, named the woman "Lady of the Fist", and brought her back to the palace.
This woman is Lady Zhao of the Hook Yi. In the third year of the Tai dynasty (94 BC), the Zhao clan gave birth to a son for Emperor Wu of Han and named him Liu Fuling. After the scourge of the Wu Dynasty in the second year of Zhenghe, Empress Wei Zifu and Crown Prince Liu Committed Suicide one after another, and Emperor Wu of Han never made another crown prince.
As the youngest son of Emperor Wudi of Han, Liu Fuling had a particularly high IQ, much like when Emperor Wudi of Han was a teenager, so he was particularly favored by Emperor Wudi of Han.
Emperor Wu of Han wanted to make Liu Fuling crown prince, but he was worried that after his death, Liu Fuling would become emperor, and the young Lady Hook Yi would arbitrarily disrupt the country. Therefore, Emperor Wu of Han summoned a painter and drew a picture of the Zhou Gongcheng Dynasty seeing the princes, and indicated to the left and right courtiers that he wanted to make Liu Fuling the prince.
A few days later, Emperor Wu of Han, who was lying on a hospital bed, took one last look at the beautiful Lady Hook Yi and ordered her to be executed.
According to the "Chronicle of the Foreign Relatives", "The Emperor condemned Lady Hook Yi. Madame shed her head and prostrated her head. The emperor said: 'Lead and send to the court of prison!' Madame Gu, the emperor said: "Fun, women must not live!" 'Lady Died yunyang Palace. ”
When Lady Hook Yi was taken away, she did not expect that Emperor Wudi of Han was going to execute her, and thought that Emperor Wudi of Han was only angry with himself, and when his anger subsided, he would forgive himself.
Therefore, when she was taken away, she also frequently looked back, hoping that Emperor Wu of Han would change her mind and let herself have a way to live. But Emperor Wu of Han shouted at the guards with absolute emotion, "Take her away!" Can't let this woman live! This scene fully shows the absolute love of Emperor Wudi of Han as a politician.
After Lady Hook Yi's death, Emperor Wu of Han not only did not have the slightest sense of guilt, but also said with vigor and eloquence: "In the ancient country, it was chaotic, and the lord and the young mother were strong." The female protagonist lives alone and is arrogant, sexually promiscuous, and cannot be forbidden. Female does not smell The Evil Of The Queen? ”
It is said that when Lady Hook Yi was executed, a storm blew in the sky, blowing all over the sky with dust, and the people all sighed and mourned, believing that Lady Hook Yi had been wrongfully killed.
After the death of Lady Hook Yi, Emperor Wu of han made Liu Fuling crown prince in the spring of the second year of the later era, and appointed Huo Guang as the Grand Sima and Grand General, assisting Liu Fuling. Four days later, Emperor Wu of Han died, and Liu Fuling, who was only eight years old, took the throne as Emperor Zhao of Han.
After Emperor Han Zhao ascended the throne, he posthumously named his mother Lady Hook Yi as empress dowager, and also used 20,000 people to build a cloud tomb for Lady Hook Yi. But what's the use of that? Even if the mausoleum is repaired ornately, can it be exchanged for the life of Lady Hook Yi?
Is the saying that "a son kills a mother" valid?
In his later years, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty experienced the "scourge of witchcraft" and a serious crisis occurred in the succession of the throne.
Among Emperor Wu's sons, "King Dan of Yan and King Xu of Guangling were more than negligent, and the wife of King Ji of Qihuai and the lady of Li were all fleas", so Emperor Wu wanted to establish his youngest son Liu Fuling, but he was only worried about "his young mother and little mother, afraid that the heroine would wantonly mess with the country", so after executing Liu Fuling's mother, Lady Hook Yi, he made Liu Fuling the crown prince and entrusted him with Huo Guang's auxiliary government.
Emperor Wu of Han's method of "setting up a son to kill his mother" can be described as shocking. However, at that time, it was approved by many people. For example, Chu Shaosun, a famous scribe and historian of the Western Han Dynasty, believed: "Those who have children under Emperor Wu have no men or women, and their mothers will not condemn them to death. Clear foresight, for the sake of future generations, is not the reach of ignorance and confucianism. It's called "martial", isn't it vain! ”
Calling this move of Emperor Wu of Han "virtuous", and also saying that it is for the sake of political ecology after death, is not something that ordinary people can understand, it is simply a faceless.
Can "lizi kill the mother" really effectively remove the monopoly of foreign relatives? Not necessarily.
Xie Caibo of the Song Dynasty once denied the role of Emperor Wu of Han in killing Lady Hook Yi with the matter of Wang Mang, saying: "However, the Han Dynasty took the change of Wang Mang after the Yuan Dynasty, and the Tang Emperor Gaozong summoned the disaster of heaven. The sage's first words of cultivation are changed by heaven, and he has not heard of killing people to prevent future troubles! ”
In history, there are many people who question the effect of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty in "killing their mothers".
Throughout history, there have been many wise people among the female rulers of the past generations, such as denghou of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Fenghou of northern Wei, Liu Hou and Gaohou of the Northern Song Dynasty, all of whom are outstanding representatives of these female politicians, and their ability to govern is not inferior to that of men.
As for the statement that the dictatorship of the female protagonist is easy to use foreign relations, it cannot be generalized. Mrs. Hook Yi's father was a man who had been "tortured by the palace", and Lady Hook Yi herself did not have any brothers, so why worry about the dictatorship of foreign relatives?
However, in the view of Emperor Wu of Han, the female protagonist's reign would definitely threaten the stability of the old Liu family's imperial power. At the time of the patriarchal system, this was undoubtedly a serious hidden danger. But what is interesting is that after the death of Emperor Wu of Han, the Han Dynasty became the dynasty with the most serious dictatorship of foreign relatives, and there was no one.
In the late Western Han Dynasty, foreign relatives were even regarded as a matter of natural righteousness: "Since ancient times, the emperor and the prince who has been appointed to keep the text of the successor, not only Nei De Maoye, but also gai also has the help of foreign relatives." "It's a great irony.
Even in the Eastern Han Dynasty, when the emperor was young, it was extremely common for the female protagonist to assist the government, but no emperor "set up a son to kill the mother" like Emperor Wu of Han. Even in the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties, when "Cheng Zhu Lixue" was prevalent and the inferiority of men and women was extremely serious, the young lord took the throne and let the empress dowager assist the government, and many empresses were called "female Yao Shun" by later generations.
The Ming and Qing dynasties were the times when the status of Chinese women was the lowest, and there were also Wanli who took the throne and Li Hou came to power; the story of Tongzhi taking the throne, Ci'an and Cixi bowing to the government shows that when most of the young lords took the throne, his mother's auxiliary government in the dynasty became almost inevitable.
The essence of the female auxiliary government is the inevitable result of the monarchical succession system in feudal society. At the young age of the incumbent, the most loyal auxiliary ruler, whether in terms of unrelated or patriarchal relations, was the emperor's mother, because no one was closer than the relationship between mother and son.
The matter of "Lü Hou's dictatorship" is only a rare exception in the long river of history, but it was regarded as the norm by Emperor Wu of Han, and therefore killed the innocent Lady Hook Yi, which can only be said to be a man-made tragedy.
epilogue
In any case, Lady Hook Yi was killed by Emperor Wu of Han, who ostensibly loved her deeply, and this was something that could not be changed. Throughout the life of Emperor Wudi of Han, the four women who had been entangled with him and had warm and beautiful times, their endings were all tragic, and none of them could grow old with Emperor Wudi of Han.
Women in feudal society, even if they are empresses, are also subordinate to the imperial power, and they cannot control their own destiny, but the male emperor directly determines their demise and life and death.
The Emperor would never tolerate anyone endangering the Imperial Power, not even his own wife or son. Therefore, when Emperor Wu of Han thought that the crown prince Liu Zhao was rebelling, he immediately brutally suppressed his son, and when he felt that Lady Hook Yi might endanger the imperial power, he was also ruthless.
For the women around the emperor, the life of ordinary couples who are white-headed and old and look at each other can only be an unattainable dream. Mrs. Hook is not the first victim, much less the last.
The Song Dynasty poet Xu Jun once wrote a poem in mourning Lady Hook Yi, which is excerpted as follows, and is shared with you: "The famous Yao mother will pass on the heirs, and take advantage of Emperor Lü's pre-death." Yan Yiyi should have a way, how to know righteousness and do not know benevolence. ”
At the end of the article, tell the reader a legendary story. It is said that after Lady Hook Yi was given by Emperor Wu of Han, a strange fragrance came from her grave, which people could smell more than ten miles away.
Emperor Wu of Han suspected that she had become an immortal, so he ordered someone to dig up Lady Hook Yi's grave to check it, only to find that the coffin was empty, and Lady Hook Yi's body was missing, leaving only a pair of silk shoes.
Resources:
Chen Jinhua: The Emotional Lament of Emperor Wu of Han and his Empress Dowager
An Ziyu: "Political Doubts at the Time of The Western Han Dynasty"