Feng Lijun
Most women have national colors, men follow, flowers have aromas, and bees and butterflies follow. --Queen Silla Seondeok (632)
The kingdom of Er is dominated by women and insulted by its neighbors. - Emperor Taizong of Tang (643)
Repeatedly banned human trafficking
In the first year of the Tang Dynasty (821 AD), Emperor Li Heng (Tang Muzong), who reigned for eight years and "had too much entertainment and too much travel", had not yet suffered a stroke from playing polo. In his current era, there are still so many personal or nominal affairs, as if the operation of the Tang Empire is tied to his own strength.
In the spring of March, Lu Longjie of Youzhou, that is, the sinister liu zong, who had killed his father and brother for the sake of power, showed weakness to the imperial court by offering fifteen thousand horses. This was a stressful response to the situation, and the imperial court had just pacified Huaixi. Later that year, he died violently after his ordination in Yizhou.
This March, the imperial court made a series of political moves throughout the country, such as appointing a number of emissaries, crowning a group of the emperor's sons as kings, and deposing the envoys of Jingxi, Jingbei, and Hebei.
Miniature model of Daming Palace National Heritage Park in Xi'an
Schematic diagram of the Tang Dynasty Yuan and Fanzhen
If you set your sights on the eastern part of the empire, the town of Pinglu Ziqing domain in the present-day Shandong Peninsula controlled the tribute road of Haidong, and Pinglu Jiedushi made him a long-time envoy to the two provinces of Silla and Bohai. At that time, the envoy of Jiedushi was Xue Ping (薛萍), and the Old Book of Tang Muzong Benji (長庆元年 March) records:
Pinglu Xue Ping: Pirates plunder and sell the Silla population in Yuanhai County, please strictly prohibit it, and be a stranger. From there. (pp. 486-487)
The reports of the highest officials of the Tang Dynasty clan towns are generally not trivial, and those recorded in this era are particularly important. Although there is only a simple sentence here, the population involved is quite large.
"Pirates plunder and sell Silla population in Yuanhai County", telling the event, the object, the location, that is, the pirates are the culprits, they plundered and trafficked human beings from Silla, and the destination was the counties along the coast of the Tang Dynasty. Xue Ping's suggestion, of course, was to "strictly prohibit it", hoping to achieve the purpose of "huai'en", that is, to make Silla, a friendly country of the Tang Dynasty, grateful to Dade. The emperor agreed.
In fact, more detailed texts and subsequent story progressions are preserved in Volume 86 of the Tang HuiJiao, The Slave Concubine. More details of things can be obtained from it. Xue Ping (薛苹) said in the above table:
There should be pirates who plunder Silla Liangkou and sell them to the borders of Dangguan Deng lai Prefecture and the various roads of the Yuanhai Sea as slaves. Although the kingdom of Silla was a foreign country, it was often a foreign country, and it paid tribute endlessly, and there was no difference with the interior. Its people are often plundered and sold by pirates, which is difficult to reason with. First there is a system of prohibition, and when the pipe is trapped in the thief for a long time, the law is not obeyed. Since the recovery has come, the road has been unimpeded, and the traffic has been handed over, and its drawbacks are particularly deep. After the beginning of the future, there should be thieves and good people who sell the Silla kingdom, and so on, and all things are forbidden. Please observe the place to make strict arrests, and if there is a violation, the law will be judged. (Zhonghua Bookstore, 1960 edition, p. 1571, re-punctuation by the introducer)
Xue Ping provides several important pieces of information here:
First, the cause of the matter is more serious, the pirates plundered and sold the population to the good mouth of the neighboring country Silla, who had always been humble to the Tang Dynasty, some sold to the borders of Dengzhou and Laizhou under his jurisdiction, and some sold to the coastal provinces as slaves. In the Tang Dynasty, slaves and good and lowly had different identity systems, which had always existed legally, but it was not allowed to sell good for cheap.
Second, the matter involves the subordinate country of Silla, and the situation is relatively serious. Xue Ping said that although Silla was a foreign yi, it was "often righteous and righteous, with endless tributes and no difference from the interior", which reflected the understanding of local officials in Shandong about the political conditions and culture of Haidong. Silla is a model of a tributary state, and it is really unreasonable for the people of such a gentleman's country to be plundered and sold by pirates.
Third, the imperial court had previously promulgated a decree prohibiting this matter (see below for details), but because the Pinglu Ziqing area actually did not obey the central government and "did not abide by the law", after the Tang Dynasty defeated the divided Li Shidao (that is, the so-called recovery) in the fourteenth year of yuan and fourteen (819), traffic was no longer obstructed, and the matter of selling and reselling in many places was even more difficult to prohibit. Emperor Muzong of Tang replied that it was "Yiyi".
Here I would like to interject the previous prohibition of plundering and selling good mouths in the previous Tang Xianzong era. In the fourth year of Yuan He (809), Tang Xianzong had an edict: "The people of Lingnan, Qianzhong, Fujian, and other provinces, although they are in a state of great custom, can not be our people." ...... If the public privately plunders and sells slaves, it is advisable to order the chief official to catch and arrest them, and to examine and investigate the responsibilities in detail, and to inform the people who are not good people, but to allow them to pass the customs. Those who violate the law shall be punished by law. (Tang Huijiao, vol. 86, "Slaves", p. 1570) Here in view of the fact that the people of the good families in present-day Guizhou, Guangdong, and Fujian were plundered and sold as slaves, and the imperial court instructed the local officials to examine and interrogate in detail, "If you know that the people who are not good people, you are allowed to pass the customs" The phrase "if you know that the identity of the seller is not a good person, you are allowed to pass the customs. The object of protection is the good person (i.e. the good mouth).
In September of the eighth year of Yuan He (813), there was also an edict, which gave more specific instructions on the trafficking of human beings in the Lingnan region: "From the Lingnan provinces, it is forbidden to sell yi with good mouths, and to make it easy to sell in all places." And there are those who seek profit, and they are good at boma. He also ordered the chief official to strictly catch and punish, and the chief official did not do anything, and entrusted yu shitai to visit and observe the music. (Tang Huijiao, vol. 86, "Slave Concubines," p. 1571) It is strictly forbidden to buy and sell good people, and if local officials "do not do anything," they simply let the central government send an investigation team to do it, and "entrust Yu Shitai to visit and observe the music." The Emperor was furious.
Xue Ping's proposal in the first year of Changqing (821) to sell Silla slaves was probably even more serious than the above-mentioned areas. He proposed that the Emperor Mingfa decree that from now on all coastal provinces would not be allowed to sell good people from the Silla kingdom; At the same time, the observation envoy of the highest commander at the place where the crime occurred was responsible for strict supervision and handling, and if there was any violation, it was dealt with according to law.
How is the follow-up implementation of the Silla human trafficking incident, which has been heard all the time? According to a letter from the envoys of the Silla State to the Emperor three years later, the implementation of the imperial court ban created new problems.
In the first month of the third year of Changqing, the Silla kingdom made Jin Zhubi advance: "First receive the edict of grace, forbid the sale of good mouths, and make the obedience suitable." There are old and weak people who inhabit the homeless, and they are more likely to send them to the sea villages and villages, willing to return to nowhere. Every time there is a boat, it is given to the prefectures and counties, and the prefectures and counties are not restricted. Edict: "It is forbidden to sell Silla, and there is a right edict." If the words are drifted, they are fixed. The prefecture and county where the Committee is located, Chega Survey. The retribution is only when the people of their own country are willing to return to the country. (Tang Huijiao, p. 1571)
That is, the edict of the Tang Emperor made the trade in human beings prohibited, but these have been sold to China, especially the old and weak, homeless, with no way to return, "sent to the villages of Pinghai". The living conditions of the Silla people have been known to their own countries, and the closeness of exchanges between the two countries can be seen. The envoy Jin Zhubi asked the Tang court to send a letter to the states and counties of the coastal provinces, and once there was a ship, let these people return to China, and the prefectures and counties should not obstruct and restrain them.
The Tang Dynasty replied that the last sentence of the tang dynasty replied to this matter is noteworthy, that is, the local officials of the prefecture and county where they are located must be carefully investigated and screened, and indeed the people of the Silla country who have voluntarily returned to China can be released. The implication is that the abduction of Tang people into foreign countries is absolutely not allowed. In fact, the Tang Dynasty was tolerant and open to foreigners in China, and even allowed them to marry Chinese women, but one thing that is very striking is that when these foreigners returned to China, Chinese wives were not allowed to follow them abroad.
After all, for the country, people are the most important and fundamental.
Silla stone carvings
There was an ambassador from Xuzhou
The "Biography of Zhang Baogao", written by the great tang dynasty writer Du Mu, was later reprinted by Ouyang Xiu to the New Book of Tang, and the information revealed was that the Silla people were plundered to China and other places as slaves, and it seems that it was not completely banned by the emperor's edict, so Zhang Baogao asked the king of Silla to solve this problem by force. The Collected Works of Fan Chuan records that Zhang Baogao and his friend Zheng Nian somehow came from Silla to Xuzhou in the Tang Dynasty as a lieutenant general in the army:
The Silla people Zhang Baogao and Zheng Nian came to Xuzhou from their country and were junior generals in the army. ...... He is good at fighting, riding and swinging guns, and there is no capable enemy between his country and Xuzhou. (Wu Zaiqing's Annotation: "Notes on the Year of Du Muji", Zhonghua Bookstore, 2008, p. 672)
The two are excellent in martial arts, especially Zheng Nianshui is excellent. Later, Ouyang Xiu referred to this document at the end of the Dongyi Biography of the New Book of Tang for shorthand, and the History of the Three Kingdoms, written by Goryeo Kim Fushi, was also quoted again, and the text was slightly different.
There are Zhang Baogao and Zheng Nian, both of whom are good at fighting and using guns. ...... Since his country, he has been a young general of the Wuning Army. (New Book of Tang, vol. 220, "The Biography of Dongyi", Zhonghua Bookstore, 1975, p. 6206)
Zhang Baogao (Luo Ji as GongFu) and Zheng Nian were both Silla people. But I don't know the hometown, the father and grandfather. ...... The two, such as Tang, were young generals of the Wuning Army, riding and using guns, and were incompetent enemies. (History of the Three Kingdoms, vol. 44, Biography of Zhang Baogao, Jilin University Press, 2014, p. 633)
The so-called Wuning Army is the army stationed in Xuzhou, and the commander is also known as Xu SiJiedushi. There has been a lot of speculation among scholars about Zhang Baogao's presence in Xuzhou, and some even believe that Zhang Baogao was originally a Tang rather than a Silla. A more reasonable explanation might be that they were coastal islanders in Silla near China, who entered the Xuzhou region, which had a certain distribution of Silla people, to earn a living from martial arts when the eastern coastal towns of the Tang Dynasty were self-reliant and the people-to-people exchanges between the two countries were relaxed.
More importantly, his experience in Xuzhou enabled Zhang Baogao to witness first-hand the fact that Silla's plundered sellers were still slaves. After his return to China, he met with king Chen of Silla, and thus established the town of Cheonghae, which later became famous in East Asia.
After Baogao returned to Silla, he said to the king: "All over China, the Silla people are slaves, and they are willing to get the town of Qinghai, so that thieves cannot plunder people to the west." "Qinghai, the sea route is also important." The king and Baogao guarded it. Since the great peace, there are no Silla people on the sea. (New Book of Tang, vol. 220, Dongyi Biography, p. 6206; Wu Zaiqing's Annotations: Notes on the Du Mu Collection, p. 672, roughly the same)
The king gave him 10,000 men in order to let him clean up the illegal forces at sea and use his own strength to solve the problem of the Silla people being plundered and sold as slaves. Zhang Baogao lived up to his expectations and established the town of Cheonghae in Guandao, which is at the southern tip of today's South Jeolla Province, South Korea, and eliminated the sea between Tang and Silla, and the problem of trafficking in Silla slaves ceased to exist after the Yamato period. At this point, the problem of Silla Liangkou being sold to China as a slave was first solved by The First Pinglu Jiedushi made Xue Ping ask for instructions, and the Silla envoys requested again, Tang Muzong twice ordered it to be resolved, and finally the ambassador of Silla Cheonghae Town, Zhang Baogao, completely resolved it.
The Japanese monk Yuanren came to the Tang Dynasty with the last envoy to the Tang Dynasty in the third year of Kaicheng (838), and he studied and traveled in China for ten years, covering the present-day provinces of Su, Anhui, Lu, Ji, Jin, Qin, and Yu, and stayed in Chang'an for nearly five years. Yuanren's diary written in Chinese, "Entering the Tang Dynasty and Seeking the Law", is known as one of the three major travel records in the world, and his records of Tang Dynasty society, especially the bottom level, are of very high historical value. In addition to the Huichang Fa Difficulty, it should belong to the distribution and activities of the Silla people in the coastal areas of the Tang Dynasty.
He repeatedly mentioned the Silla people in Shandong and Jiangsu, as well as the Ambassador of Qinghai Town, Zhang Baogao, who played a great role in East Asian maritime shipping and trade, and his subordinates. They were fluent in Chinese and Japanese, and they were devout in worship of the Buddha, and Yuanren's final return to China and the ship itself were greatly helped by these Silla people.
Chishan Fahua Temple, built by Zhang Baogao, Yuanren stayed here
Zhang Baogao was a heroic legend, and later he established greater merits by virtue of the armed forces he had established at sea to support the ascension of Silla Jin Yuzheng (King shenwu). At that time (838), Jin Youfu fled to the town of Qinghai for refuge, and when he heard that Jin Ming had usurped the throne in the capital, he said to Zhang Baogao:
Jin Mingjun stood on his own, and Li Hong killed his father in vain, and he could not wear Tianye together. May the soldiers of the generals repay the king's father. (History of the Three Kingdoms, vol. 10)
Zhang Baogao said with great righteousness: "The ancients had words, but they did not act when they saw righteousness, and they had no courage. Although I am mediocre, I obey my destiny. "(Ibid.) He may have had more than 10,000 men in total, but he divided his troops into 5,000 men and gave them to Jin Youzheng, which is consistent with his words and deeds, which shows sincerity. As a result, Jin Youzheng won the victory and ascended the throne, and immediately appointed Zhang Baogao (Gong Fu), the ambassador of Qinghai Town, as an "envoy of the sense of righteousness", and sealed 2,000 households.
King Shenwu died shortly after his reign, and after King Wenxuan ascended the throne, he crowned Ambassador Zhang to a higher status:
The teachings said: "The ambassador of Qinghai Town, Bow Fu, tried to help the gods with soldiers, and destroyed the giant thieves of the previous dynasty." Can its merits be forgotten? "Naibai is the general of Zhenhai and is also given a chapter suit. (History of the Three Kingdoms, vol. 11)
It is very clear that the emphasis on "the soldiers of the generals" and "assisting with soldiers" are that the key to Zhang Baogao's help to the Shenwu King to defeat the forces in the capital is "bing", that is, the force of The Town of Qinghai established because of the Silla slave problem.
Later, Ambassador Zhang's story and Sillanu were getting farther and farther away, and the king was originally going to marry his daughter as a second concubine, but unfortunately, the minister of the DPRK who was jealous of the power of Qinghai Town said, "Now the bow Fuhai Island people are also, and their daughters can be matched with the royal family." "Reasons against. In the eighth year of King Wenxuan's reign (846), Zhang Baogao (Bow Fu) complained that the king did not take his daughter, and according to the town of Qinghai, he launched a rebellion. At that time, the Silla king's court hesitated, "if you will ask for it, you will be afraid of unforeseen trouble, and if you will ignore it, you will be unforgivable, and you will not know what you are trying." In the end, the resolution of the contradiction ended in the form of the assassin's assassination of Zhang Baogao.
Five years later (851), the Silla court finally deposed the town of Cheonghae and "migrated to Bikkegun". Located in the city of Gimjeong near jeonju in present-day North Jeolla Province, Bikokgun was offshore but inland, and the legend of Silla's maritime military power, which arose to eliminate the illegal slave trade at sea, was eventually completely destroyed by the traditional royal power.
The ones who gave away and those who were forcibly plundered
King Jin Youzheng of Shenwu, the king of Silla who Zhang Baogao helped ascend the throne, reigned for just over a year, and it is strange that he immediately (in 839) sent an envoy to the Tang Dynasty after he ascended the throne.
In the autumn and July, envoys such as Tang were sent, and ziqing festivals were left to make slaves. The emperor heard of it, and the people who were far away, ordered them to return to the country. (History of the Three Kingdoms, vol. 10)
It is the initiative to send the slave as a gift. Obviously, what Zhang Baogao was determined to eliminate was this phenomenon of "slaves to Silla people all over China", but the king sent slaves to the door. Fortunately, Emperor Wenzong of Tang at that time, out of pity for distant people, did not accept it.
Historically, there have been many examples of women as tributes or as booty or appendages. Silla, Goguryeo and other countries on the Korean Peninsula often took the initiative to send beautiful women, slaves, etc. to China or to Chinese envoys.
Zhu Zihao was a Confucian who was "elegant and observant", and in the early years of Zhenguan, Goguryeo and Baekje attacked Silla for many years, and Silla sent envoys to be anxious. The Tai Sect sent him on an envoy, hoping to "relieve the regrets of the Three Kingdoms." Sure enough, his style was extraordinary, "Dongyi Great Admiration, the three kings all expressed their sins, and the gifts were very generous", and the effect of the mission was excellent. However, when he went on an envoy, he "accepted the gift of beautiful women", that is, he accepted the gifts of the other party. Therefore, when he returned to Chang'an, he was reprimanded by Emperor Taizong for violating his will, but fortunately Emperor Taizong spared him and did not punish him. (Old Book of Tang, vol. 189, "Zhu Zi Luxury Biography", p. 4948)
When Emperor Taizong of Tang conquered Goguryeo in the twentieth year (646), Goguryeo sent envoys to apologize for their sins by "offering two beautiful women". Emperor Taizong said to the Goguryeo envoys: "Return to the Lord, the one who is beautiful, and the weight of man." What is given is the faith of beauty. I do not take it if I have compassion for his parents and brothers in his own country, forgetting his relatives, and for loving his color and breaking his heart. (Old Book of Tang, vol. 199, "Dongyi Biography", p. 5326) Beautiful women are indeed very beautiful, but unfortunately they are far away from their relatives and motherland, making them depressed and unhappy, not the emperor's heart. As a result, the emperor ordered a retreat.
In the fifth year of Jeongkan (631), Lin Yiguo offered five-colored parrots, and Silla Kingdom offered beautiful women. Wei Zheng believed that it should not be accepted. At that time, Tang Taizong, who had heard of Zexi, said happily: "Lin Yi Parrot can still talk about being bitter and cold, thinking of returning to his country, and the second daughter is far away from relatives!" "Beauty and parrot, both handed over to the messenger to return separately. (Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 193, Zhonghua Bookstore, 1956 edition, pp. 6089-6090) The Old Book of Tang and the Biography of Dongyi records its events in more detail, "Zhenguan five years, sent envoys to offer female music to the two, both hair and beauty." The meaning of what Emperor Taizong said to the people around him was also more complete: "It is better to be entertained than to be virtuous." And the mountains and rivers are far away, and the soil can be known. Recently, Lin Yi offered a white parrot, still homesick, and appealed to return to the country. Birds are like this, and people are human! When he comes from afar, he will think of his relatives, and it is advisable to pay the messengers and listen to the dispatches to return home. (p. 5335) Later, on another occasion, he said: "Lin Yigong can speak birds, Silla offers female music, and has compassion for his departure from the country. (Shōfu Wong-kame, vol. 35, "Imperial Ministry Fengzen") Turned out to be the same rejection of Silla's stunning beauty.
In fact, the record of Silla's first envoy to China (381), which can be found in the historical records, is the sacrifice of beautiful women, which was the pre-Qin era of the Sixteen Kingdoms:
The Book of Qin says: In the eighteenth year of Jianjian's reign, King Lou Han of Silla sent Wei Tou to offer beautiful women. The country is in Baekje East, and its people have many haircuts and long hair. (Taiping Imperial Records, vol. 781 Dongyi)
It seems that the long-haired Silla beauties have long been famous in China.
In the Tang Dynasty and the next five dynasties, in addition to the Silla and Goguryeo in the east, the Khitan and Bohai states in the northeast, the Kangguo, Miguo, Shiguo, and Bone Ru in the western region also have records of offering Hu Xuannu and female music (see "Yuangui of the Book of The Imperial Household", vol. 971-vol. 972, "Foreign Ministers, Tribute"):
In May of the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (727), Kang Guo offered Hu Xuan women and leopards, and Shi Guo offered Hu Xuan women and Pu Tao wine; In July, King Akubido sent envoys to sacrifice the Huxuan woman and the leopard. In the first month of the seventeenth year of the new century (729), the Envoy of the United States offered three women and one leopard and one lion; In February of the twenty-first year of the new century (733), King Jieli of the Bone Ju sent an envoy to sacrifice horses and enjoy women's music.
It is worth noting that in the first month of the twelfth year of the Tang Dynasty (777), "Bohai sent envoys to the dynasty and offered eleven Japanese dancers and objects." "The account of the "Yuangui of the Book" is quite puzzling, why did the Bohai State offer the Japanese dancers? Looking at the Old Book of Tang, the Daizong Ji and the Bohai Biography, both of which appear consistent with the record, and the Bohai Biography provides a certain background for understanding:
From the second to the tenth year of the Gregorian calendar, or frequent envoys are sent to the dynasty, or they arrive in the intergenerational years, or they are two or three years old. In the first month of the twelfth year, the envoys were sent to present eleven Japanese dancers and fang objects. April, December, make a comeback. (Old Book of Tang, vol. 199, "Biography of Beidi", p. 5362)
Bohai envoys were sent to Chang'an from present-day northeast China (at this time the capital was in Shangjing Longquan Province, present-day Ning'an, Heilongjiang), and although there is no comparable record in Japanese historical materials, eight years after the dispatch of the Bohai State, the capital of the Bohai State was moved to Tokyo Longyuan Province (present-day Hunchun City, Jilin Province) near the Sea of Japan, and scholars generally believe that it was to strengthen ties and exchanges with Japan. Therefore, it is difficult to deny the authenticity of this historical material. The reasonable explanation is that the Bohai State played a role as a bridge between the Tang Dynasty and Japan and the Eastern countries.
Five generations later, in the second year of Liang Kaiping (908), the Khitan king Abaoji sent ten horses, golden flower saddles, mink skins, crowns and furs, and also offered "male mouth one, name Su, ten years old, female mouth one, name example, twelve years old". This is again the official slave offering. There are also two clear records of the Bohai state equating female mouths and children's mouths with specialties as contributions: in the third year of Kaiping (909), the king of Bohai paid tribute to the emperor and entered the mouths of children and things, mink rat skins, bear skins, etc.; In April of the first year (926) of emperor Mingzong of The Later Tang Dynasty, the Great Emperor sent envoys to pay tribute, three people each from the mouth of the child and three people from the female mouth, ginseng, kelp, white appendage, and tiger skin.
Since the Huxuan women, dancers, beauties, and female music can all become gifts between countries, it is natural that the "female mouth" will become a tribute to the big countries. Later historians paid more attention to the Han and Tang dynasties and the Wang Zhaojun in the pro-story, while these ordinary women who did not even leave their names (except for the girl named "Qiu" from the Khitan) were more thoroughly forgotten by history, in fact, they were all women who were "sent out". (Toshiichi Horiki, "China と古東アジア世界: The World of China と諸民族", Iwanami Shonkan, 1993, Chapter 4)
During the war, many women were also taken captive by the army. In the historical records, together with the conquered cities and captured cattle and horses, they only had the meaning of trophy. Fortunately, tang and Song notes left their stories, not a single line, but unusually stubborn and hard.
"Goryeo Maid" is one such woman. Tang Dynasty Zhang Que 's "Chao Ye You Zai" Volume 5 records:
Guo Zheng, a zhongshu she, broke through Pyongyang and obtained a Goryeo concubine, named Yusu, ji Shuyan, and lingzhi zhizhi's treasury. It is necessary to have a porridge of water overnight, and it is indispensable to cook it. Yu Su was poisoned and entered, and Zheng Yi was anxious: "This's medicine me!" "The pulp and licorice are dissolved, and it is stopped for a long time."
Guo Zhengyi was supposed to accompany Li Ji's army in the first year of Emperor Gojong's reign (668) to attack the Goguryeo capital of Pyongyang, and he obtained a very beautiful Goryeo maid Yusu. Yu Su was in charge of the treasury, and guo Zhengyi was a person who was dependent on in his life, so he took the opportunity to poison himself while cooking porridge and ran away with the money. The plot behind the story is how to skillfully solve the case and find Yusu in Chang'an City, there are no more spoilers here, and readers are interested in reading it themselves.
Even better, Robert Hans van Gulik, in his famous book The Golden Case of Di Gong, portrayed the Goryeo woman Yusu as a character with a rather personal and impressive personality. Gao Luopei borrowed the eyes of Qiao Tai to portray the image of Yusu:
I saw Yusu standing by the railing, wearing a Goryeo printed white silk long skirt, tied with ribbons under the breasts into a beautiful large bow, the ends of the fluttering, black hair coiled into a high bun, behind the ears with a white flower. (Translated by Zhang Ling, Shanghai Translation Publishing House, 2019, p. 163)
In the story, although Yusu sacrificed herself, she chose the path of life for some purpose.
Gao Luopei's "Di Gong Case" book shadow
The image of Yusu in the TV series
Looking back at history, whether it is the vast number of women in Sillanu or the women who have entered (passed) China as tributes and booty, there is no way to say that they have suffered the misery of being at the mercy of fate.
The grand history leaves them almost no space...
We can't help but ask:
What role and status do women in Silla play in their home country?
Silla was the only country in ancient Korea to have a queen, what did a queen mean to Silla?
Or what kind of legacy does Silla culture leave to korean women today?
Editor-in-Charge: Shanshan Peng
Proofreader: Yan Zhang