Today, let's follow the footsteps of history and enter the private life of Wu Zetian, the unique female emperor in Chinese history.
Wu Zetian, as the only empress in the history of the mainland, has an extremely respected status. Her life is full of legends, and even after her death, she has set up a wordless monument for herself, perhaps hoping that future generations will be able to fairly evaluate her merits and demerits. Putting aside her political achievements for the time being, we are more concerned about her personal life.
In ancient times, emperors often had many wives and concubines, and the history books often recorded the grand occasion of the emperors' harem beauties of 3,000, and those palace maids with low status were countless. However, Wu Zetian is an exception. As a female emperor, it is naturally impossible for her to accept concubines like other emperors, so what is her harem life like?
In fact, Wu Zetian's harem is not the group of concubines we imagined, but her male favorites. Except for famous male pets such as Xue Huaiyi and Zhang Yizhi in history, there is no exact number of her male pets, which also reflects her indulgence from the side. This act caused great controversy in the society at the time and became a stain on the history of her rule. In her opinion, a male emperor can have a large harem, why can't a female emperor?, therefore, she indulges herself in this regard, and seems to be trying to prove the power of women.
However, this also makes us wonder where did the concubines who originally belonged to Li Zhi go after Wu Zetian seized power? What was their fate? Some concubines were able to live with their children and live for the rest of their lives because they gave birth to children, and this was undoubtedly the best outcome. And those concubines who have no children, no daughters, and are lonely and helpless, may be sent to the temple to become nuns, although it is hard, but it is also a peaceful way of life.
However, not all concubines were so lucky in their fate. Some concubines who were favored by the emperor during their lifetime may be forced to be buried with them after death, and it is a pity that they are accompanied by loess at a young age. What's even more tragic is that those concubines who have been disrespectful to Wu Zetian or have festivals were set up by Wu Zetian in the crane control room and suffered endless torture. Their lives are like hell, they can't survive, they can't die.
In general, the concubines of the harem are useless in the eyes of Wu Zetian, and their fate depends entirely on Wu Zetian's joys, sorrows, and sorrows. This is the truth of Wu Zetian's Hou Palace, full of intrigue, struggle and helplessness.