In 2015, Xiaowangligou of Duolun County, Xilingol League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, discovered the tomb of a noble concubine of the Liao Dynasty, unearthed many national treasure-level precious cultural relics, and was rated as the top ten archaeological discoveries of the year, and the tomb of The Marquis of Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, was collectively known as "North and South Shuangjiao".
This tomb that has only entered people's sight because of the stolen tomb thieves, with the excavation of the epitaph, unveiled the mysterious harem veil of Liao Shengzong, because the owner of the tomb is Xiao Guifei, the favorite concubine of emperor Yelü Longxu in the early days of the reign of Emperor Shengzong.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" >01, a prominent family of noble concubines</h1>
The great Khitan concubine Lanling Xiaoshi (970-993), was a noble concubine of the Liao Shengzong Yelü Longxu, and her father was the loyal hero of Wu Yi of the Great Liao State, the envoy of the German army jiedu guan to observe and dispose of the situation, the special jin, the inspection school master, the tongzheng menxia Pingzhangshi, the envoy of the Song Prefecture military, the song prefecture assassin history, the imperial history of the imperial history, the Shangzhu state, and the founding marquis Xiao Ning of Lanling County.
Xiao Ning, also known as Xiao Yuening, Khitan name Xiao Pai, also translated as Xiao Paiya, Xiao Yuanye, Xiao Boye, the character Han Yin, was a well-known general in the Liao State, and later served as a privy councillor, the prime minister of The Northern Province, the king of Fenglanling County, and his stepwife was Princess Wei, the beloved daughter of Emperor Jingzong Yelüxian and Empress Xiao Of the Chengtian Empress.
That is to say, Xiao Pai was both the brother-in-law of Emperor Shengzong and the father-in-law of Emperor Shengzong, and he also had two daughters married to Yelü Longqing, the king of Qin and Jin, and it can be said that his family was the top nobleman of the Khitan Liao State.
Xiao Guifei's grandfather, Xiao Pai's father, was Xiao Jielie, the commander of Yanjing Ya Neidu and the commander of the Horse Capital, also translated as Xiao Zhenlie, the Chinese name Xiao Xinning, and the Princess Xianhe of Shangyonghui (i.e., Princess Yongping, I don't know who her father was).
Guifei's great-grandfather was the great general Mikude of the Great Power's uncle Pi Room, also translated as Migu ning, Miguli, Shululie, Yan Wulu, An Tuan, and Channu, and was suspected to be the same person as the Han name Xiao Haizhen and the Khitan mingmei Gude. Guifei's great-grandfather was Empress Dowager Yingtian's younger brother Agu, xiao sala.
Combining the history of Liao and the excavated epitaph data, it can be seen that Xiao Guifei and her husband Xiao Yunjin, the favored concubine of the late Shengzong Dynasty, are sisters of the same clan, and both are the granddaughters of Agu.
Xiao Hengde, who married another sister of Shengzong, Princess Yanshou of Yueguo, and Xiao Han, who married Han Derang's sister, were both Xiao Guifei's uncles.
Therefore, Xiao Hengde's son Xiao Hengde's son Xiao Ma Du Wei Xiao Pi (Han name Xiao Chang), Xiao Han's son Xiao Hui, Xiao Wei, Xiao Han's son Xiao Hui, Xiao Han, Xiao Zhong, Xiao Shanning, Xiao Wangba, and so on, were all cousins of Xiao Guifei.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="51" >2, Xiao Guifei is not Xiao Wasted</h1>
Xiao Guifei's father was Xiao Ning Xiao Pai, but her mother did not know who it was, and there were many articles on the Internet saying that Xiao Guifei's mother was the longevity daughter of Princess Wei of Wei, the daughter of Empress Xiao Of the Chengtian Empress, and Xiao Guifei was the deposed empress dowager of the Original Emperor shengzong who was short-lived in the history of Liao.
This statement is obviously wrong, first, Xiao Guifei is not a queen of the Holy Emperor Xiao's abolition; second, Guifei's birth mother is not a long-lived daughter of a Princess of Wei, of course, she is not a granddaughter of Empress Xiao Of Chengtian in blood.
Why? Because Xiao Guifei's epitaph clearly states her year of death and age, Guifei was born in June of the eleventh year of Tonghe (993) at the age of 24, which is backwards that she was born in the second year of Boryeong (970).
After Emperor Shengzong's original constituency was deposed, in March of the nineteenth year of reunification (1001), he was demoted to a noble concubine for his sins, and on the same day, he gave the name of Dechang to han dechang, and in May, he made han de's niece Xiao Bodhisattvage empress dowager.
If Xiao Guifei was deposed by Xiao Guifei, how could she be demoted to a noble concubine after being deposed for her sins eight years after her death as a noble concubine? From this, it can be seen that Saint Sect Xiao Guifei is not the original match of Saint Sect Xiao, they are two people, not one person.
At the same time, Xiao Guifei's mother is not a Princess of Wei, because the longevity of princesses of Wei is in The seventh year of Baoning (975), 5 years younger than Xiao Guifei, when Xiao Guifei was born, she was thought by netizens to be her mother-in-law Princess of Wei Guo, and she was not born until five years later, how can an unborn person be the birth mother of a person who has been born?
Therefore, Xiao Guifei is Xiao Guifei, after Xiao Guifei is Xiao Guifei, Xiao Guifei's birth mother is not a Princess of Wei, don't confuse it.
Although Xiao Guifei's mother was not a Princess of wei, from the fact that the tombstone of The Noble Concubine said that she "obeyed her mother's instructions, moved the Book of Rites, and Ci Hui Ji", her mother was also a noble daughter from a famous family, because she died early, so Xiao Pai was detained at the time of her second marriage, and married Princess Wei Guo, the beloved daughter of Empress Xiao Yanyan of Chengtian, as her stepwife.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="52" >03, the ephemeral life of a noble concubine</h1>
Princess Xiao Guifei, the eldest daughter of Emperor Xiangguo Xiao, was born in the second year of Jingzong's reign (970), one year older than her husband, Emperor Shengzong Longxu, who was born in December of the third year of Boryeong (971).
On September 16, 986, the 16-year-old Shengzong married Empress Xiao, and in the same year, the 17-year-old Concubine Xiao guifei also entered the harem of Shengzong.
Compared with empress Xiao, who was as transparent as a passerby, Xiao Guifei, who had no position, was favored by the Holy Sect, and on February 14, 989, in the seventh year of reunification (989), Xiao Guifei gave birth to a prince of the hou clan' bloodline, Buddha Baonu.
In April of the same year that Xiao Guifei gave birth to a son, Shengzong's 15-year-old sister, Changshou Daughter, married Xiao Pai for the second time and became Xiao Guifei's stepmother, so that Xiao Guifei could also be regarded as the granddaughter of Empress Dowager Chengtian, Xiao Qi, and her husband Shengzong also became her uncle.
This marriage is a real icing on the cake for the Xiao Guifei family, which also excludes the possibility that Xiao Guifei is the queen of Xiao Guifei.
Immediately in the eighth year of Reunification (990), the 21-year-old Concubine Xiao Guifei gave birth to an imperial daughter of Hou clan blood, that is, Princess Yange, the eldest daughter of Shengzong.
The Khitan Liao state is clearly distinguished, but their concubines are related to the children of the hou clan, such as the concubines of the Xiao clan of the post-birth clan, in the case that the Zhengpai empress did not give birth to the concubines, the status of the crown princesses they gave birth to was regarded as the same, higher than the status of the children born to non-hou concubines, and the order tooth ranking was also in front.
Therefore, although it was not excluded that the Holy Sect had no children at that time, in the case that the Empress did not have children, the children born to Concubine Xiao Guifei were the eldest son and eldest daughter of the Holy Sect.
Then, in June of the ninth year of reunification (991), the 22-year-old Xiao Guifei was crowned as a noble concubine, becoming the second noble concubine recorded in the history of the Khitan Liao state, the first being her mother-in-law Xiao Yanyan.
Later, Xiao Guifei gave birth to another imperial daughter, gave birth to three consecutive children, and was canonized as a noble concubine, which was enough to prove Xiao Guifei's position in the court in the early stage of the Holy Sect.
But unfortunately, the two daughters and one son she gave birth to, only the eldest daughter Yan Ge grew up healthy, the crown prince Fo Baonu did not know when he died, and the other imperial daughter was also suspected of dying prematurely, so it did not leave a name in the annals of history.
Perhaps mourning the premature death of her children, or perhaps it was an illness, and on June 27, 993, the eleventh year of reunification (993), Xiao Guifei Yu, who accompanied the Holy Sect on a tour, died at the age of 24.
The 23-year-old Shengzong was extremely mournful for the death of the red-faced and short-lived xiande guifei, and Empress Dowager Chengtian was also very sad, and Sufu personally came to her funeral to mourn for the act.
Xiao Guifei's zhiwen written by Zhang Gan is full of praise for her, praising her for assisting the emperor and serving the empress, "although the position is long and autumny, the merit is more than one helper", the harem concubines are grateful to her, the emperor is also grateful to her, and the empress dowager praises her filial piety.
These praises, if it were not for the approval of the Holy Sect, the courtiers would naturally not dare to write, so it can be known that the status of Xiao Guifei, who died early, in the hearts of the Holy Sect far exceeded that of his original wife, Empress Xiao.
Of course, from the content of Xiao Guifei's epitaph, it can also be inferred that Empress Xiao at that time was in a bad situation in the harem, if she was originally made empress, there was the meaning of the empress dowager to win over her family, but with the passage of time, her family power may have been inferior to Xiao Guifei's family, or it may have been from the object of the empress dowager's co-optation to the object of prevention and suppression, so Empress Xiao, whose status was precarious, could only look at Xiao Guifei's pet crown six palaces with resignation.
Even if Xiao Guifei died early, it did not relieve the crisis faced by Empress Xiao, because the second year after Guifei's death, that is, in the twelfth year of Reunification (994), the 12-year-old Little Lori Bodhisattva Brother entered the palace, and seven years later, Empress Xiao was deposed, and the 19-year-old Bodhisattva Brother was crowned empress of Qi by his cousin.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="57" >04, because the tomb was stolen into the world's sight</h1>
In 2015, villagers in Wangligou Village, Duolun County, Xilingol League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, accidentally discovered a robbery cave while grazing, the cemetery has been excavated, after receiving the report, the Duolun County Public Security Bureau and the Cultural Relics Bureau immediately launched an investigation and recovered a large number of precious cultural relics.
The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and other archaeologists formed a team to carry out rescue excavations of the cemetery, and cleared out 2 tombs, numbered M1 and M2, of which the identity of the owner of the tomb of M2 is Xiao Guifei of Liao shengzong.
A large number of burial items have been excavated from the tomb of the noble concubines, including silver gilt hollow phoenix pattern high wing crown, gold flower silver hollow phoenix pattern high tassel boots, gilt gold and silver sheath agate handle short knife, gilt gold and silver purlin inlaid jade waist, silver wire chain jade group pendant, silver piece on disc pattern lacquer wood pillow, kiln white glazed "official" character porcelain, Yue kiln blue glazed porcelain, Jingdezhen blue and white glazed porcelain, Islamic glassware, silver lid white porcelain gourd bottle, silver gilt celadon pot, gilt silver gilt celadon cup holder, etc., many precious cultural relics.
Among them, the gilded gold and silver crown, gold flower and silver boots, etc., are more elaborate than the similar cultural relics excavated from the tomb of Princess Chen Guo, and the gilded gold and silver high wing crown of the tomb of the noble concubine is a compound wing, while the tomb of Princess Chen Guo is a single wing.
Among the burial items of the tomb of the noble concubine, the large proportion is porcelain, mainly the ding kiln and the Yue kiln, with exquisite shapes and gorgeous ornaments, and many porcelains are decorated with gold and silver in the mouth and feet. There are also four pieces of glassware and three pieces of copper pots, which belong to the typical Islamic glass and should be produced near present-day Iran. The decoration of the copper basin is also very West Asian style, and it should be an imported product.
Judging from these funerary items, it can be shown that the grassland Silk Road in the middle of the Liao Dynasty was kept unimpeded, and the cultural and material exchanges between the Liao State and Central Asia and West Asia were more frequent.
The content of the tombstone of the noble concubine is also very rich, which provides very valuable information for the study of the family relations of the Liao Dynasty descendants, fills in many deficiencies in the "History of Liao", and determines the reasons why the Liao Dynasty royal family and the Later Clan are called Liu and Xiao, and solves the debate in the academic circles.
In addition, judging from the specifications, shapes, and burial items of the tomb of the noble concubine, there is no doubt that Xiao Guifei was very honored and favored before her death, just one year before her burial, the Holy Sect issued an edict prohibiting thick burial, even so, the tomb of the noble concubine still has so many burial items, is it not enough to prove her position in the heart of the Holy Sect?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="60" >05, Monkey said</h1>
In the early days of Emperor Shengzong's reign, the more powerful of the Hou clan was represented by empress Dowager Ying Tian's mother Shu Luping's ex-husband clan and houfu clan, and the leader of the ex-husband's clan at that time was Xiao Gan, the son of Shu Luping's half-brother Xiao Qilu, and the leader of the Houfu clan was Xiao Jielie, the grandson of Shu Luping's half-brother Agu only (Liao Shi ji is Xiao Minlan).
The family of Empress Xiao Yanyan, who was well known to posterity, and the family of Empress Dowager Xiao Yunjin, who were still only side branches at that time, although Xiao Yanyangui was the biological mother of Empress Jingzong Shengzong, she also rose very slowly because of the early death of her father and the thin family.
Therefore, in order to win over the power of the uncle of the state and protect the status of her mother and son, Xiao Yanyan pushed out her underage daughters to marry, married the 9-year-old second daughter Longevity Daughter to Xiao Wuliu, the son of Xiao Gan, and married the 7-year-old third longevity daughter to Xiao Hengde, the son of Xiao Xielie, in order to win their support.
At the same time, Xiao Yanyan also recognized Xiao Gan as his righteous father, and asked Shengzong to be close friends with yelü Xie, and married his son Shengzong to an empress suspected of being from the traditional Hou clan Xiao Clan, as well as Xiao Guifei from the Xinxing Hou Clan (Ying Tian's mother's posthumous clan) Xiao Qilie's family.
Due to the rise and strength of the emerging hou clan, the traditional hou clan has been suppressed, so the actual status of Empress Xiao in the palace is not as good as that of Xiao Guifei from the Xinxing Hou clan, that is to say, part of Xiao Guifei's glory and favor is derived from family power, but it cannot be simply twisted into imperial love.
But in any case, in the early period of the reign of the Holy Sect, it was Xiao Guifei who led the way, in the middle period it was The QiTian Empress Xiao Bodhisattva, and in the later period it was the Yuan Concubine Xiao Yunjin. Because of the flaws in the "History of Liao", Xiao Guifei is not known, and fortunately, a thousand years after her death, the tomb was excavated, and this thin red face who had once favored the sixth palace in the court of the Holy Sect entered the eyes of the world, which was also magical!
I hope that the tomb of the Holy Sect's unfortunate original Xiao Ruin can also see the light of day! We will definitely be able to fill in the gaps in a lot of Liao history, look forward to it!
That's it.
The image comes from the internet intrusion and deletion.
References: Gai Zhiyong's "Tomb of XiaowangLigou liao dynasty in Duolun County, Inner Mongolia", Shi Fengchun's "Re-examination of the Family Lineage of the Tomb of Xiaowangligou Liao Dynasty Guifei in Duolun County, Inner Mongolia", "Tomb of Xiao Guifei" and so on