The mystery of Wu Zetian's wordless monument
As the only female emperor in Chinese history, Wu Zetian's reign left behind many mysteries, one of the most intriguing is why she erected a wordless monument. This huge stele is located in the Qianling Mausoleum, the joint burial tomb of Li Zhi and Wu Zetian of Tang Gaozong, and has become a rather mysterious symbol in history.
A carving miracle without a wordless monument
Wu Zetian's wordless stele has reached an astonishing level in the art of carving, the stele head is carved with eight entwined crests, and the stele base is depicted with fine patterns such as horses drinking water, lions, and moire in line. This is a rare craftsmanship among tombstones throughout the ages, and people can't help but be more curious about the story behind this monument.
Wu Zetian's self-confidence is high and virtuous
There is a saying that Wu Zetian thinks that her merits cannot be expressed in words, she is extremely confident, she thinks that Gaozong is mediocre, and her talent is definitely higher than Gaozong. During her reign, the politics were clear, the society was stable, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, but she was ignored by many people and considered her a usurper. Therefore, she chose to leave her credit to future generations to comment, so she has this wordless tablet.
The struggle between inner sin and self-redemption
Another theory is that Wu Zetian may have felt guilty and uneasy in her heart, and she wanted to return the country to the Li family after her death, but because of her experience as emperor, she lacked confidence in the situation after death, and was even more afraid that the world would accuse her of usurpation. Therefore, she chose to leave the wordless monument, perhaps as an expression of self-atonement.
A lifetime of pride and an expectation of objective evaluation
The third argument emphasizes that Wu Zetian wants future generations to objectively evaluate her life. As a woman, she stood out in the political struggle and reached the pinnacle of power. In the face of her son, Li Xian, who has a conflict of interest with her, she may realize that he will not make an objective and fair evaluation of her. Therefore, Wu Zetian chose to leave his life to future generations to comment, hoping that future generations could objectively look at her cultural and martial arts.
The mystery of the written historical materials without the word tablet
After the Song and Jin dynasties, people began to add inscriptions to the inscriptions, including a long-abandoned Khitan script. As a lost script, the Khitan script was preserved on the wordless tablet and became a major contribution of Wu Zetian. This mysterious culture is superimposed on the inscriptions, making the wordless monument even more complex and full of mysteries.
epilogue
Although the mystery of why Wu Zetian erected the wordless monument is far from being revealed, this monolith still stands in the Qianling Tomb, showing future generations the glory and complexity of a woman in the ancient political arena. Perhaps, whether it is self-confidence, self-redemption or expectation of objective evaluation, Wu Zetian has left his life to posterity in a unique and deep way, which has become an eternal mystery in the long river of history.