"5,000 Years of China"
Chapter Seven: The Five Dynasties of the Sui and Tang Dynasties
Chapter Nine: Female Emperor Wu Zetian
In the feudal society where men were superior to women, it was always men who became emperors. However, in the Tang Dynasty, the first female emperor in Chinese history was born, and she was the empress Wu Zetian, who had never been before and had never come after.
Wu Meiniang legend Wu Zetian nun stills (network picture)
From Nun to Queen
Wu Zetian was a native of Wenshui (文水, in present-day Wenshui, Shanxi). At the age of 14, Wu Zetian, with his handsome appearance, became a talent in the palace (a title of a concubine), serving Emperor Taizong of Tang.
After Tang Taizong's death, a major event occurred.
According to the rules of the court, Wu Zetian was sent to ganye temple as a nun. Fortunately, when Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi was still the crown prince, he had a crush on Wu Zetian. Two years later, Zhi took Wu Zetian out of the nunnery and made her Zhaoyi. Zhaoyi is a title of concubine.
Although Li Zhi was an emperor, all major affairs of the dynasty were handled by his uncle and the chancellor Sun Wujie.
Soon, Emperor Gaozong insisted on deposing Empress Wang and installing his favorite Wu Zhaoyi as empress. In this regard, many old ministers vigorously opposed it, especially the eldest grandson Wujie and Chu Suiliang, who were entrusted with orphan ministers, and said that they did not agree with anything. They believed that Wu Zetian was born humble and could not be an empress under any circumstances, and that he had served the former emperor.
But Wu Zetian was not an idle person, and she privately co-opted a group of ministers to support her in front of Emperor Gaozong.
This left Emperor Gaozong in a dilemma. One day, Emperor Gaozong of Tang asked Li Ji, "I plan to make Wu Zhaoyi empress, but Chu Suiliang opposes them. Seeing that Emperor Gaozong's determination had been made, Li Ji said good things for Wu Zetian: "This is Your Majesty's family affair, and no one else can take care of it." With this reassuring pill, Emperor Gaozong of Tang made up his mind to depose Empress Wang as a shuren and crowned Wu Zetian as empress.
Wu Meiniang legend Wu Zetian costume stills (network picture)
"Almost Scrapped"
Wu Zetian, who became empress, first demoted and exiled those old ministers who opposed her one by one, and even the emperor's uncle, Changsun Wuji, was not spared, and was eventually forced to commit suicide. Slowly, Wu Zetian formed her own circle, and Li Yifu and Jingzong, who supported her, also held important positions.
Soon, Emperor Gaozong fell ill and was dizzy, sometimes unable to open his eyes.
The sick Emperor Gaozong of Tang had the heart to take care of the affairs of the dynasty, and simply handed over the affairs of the government to the empress. Wu Zetian is indeed capable, and the handling of government affairs is also orderly.
Wu Zetian, who could occupy a high position, gradually did not take Emperor Gaozong into account. Emperor Gaozong wanted to do it, but he couldn't do it without the empress's consent. Emperor Gaozong of Tang held his breath, and he consulted with Shangguan Yi and asked him to draft an edict to depose the empress. Unexpectedly, someone walked away and the sound of the wind reached Wu Zetian's ears.
Before Shangguan Yi could send the drafted edict to Emperor Gaozong, Wu Zetian had already arrived and asked his husband, Emperor Gaozong, in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, I have worked hard to help Your Majesty manage the affairs of the country, and I have worked tirelessly every day to share the worries of His Majesty, but what is the reason why Your Majesty wants to abolish me?" ”
When Emperor Gaozong saw the empress, he said timidly, "I didn't mean this, shangguan yi taught me to do it." Emperor Gaozong pushed the blame to Shangguan Yi.
Wu Zetian was not soft-hearted and ordered Shangguan Yi to be killed immediately.
After that, the affairs of the imperial court were decided by Wu Zetian. In 683, Emperor Gaozong fell ill and died, and the crown prince Li Xian took the throne as Emperor Zhongzong of Tang. Li Xian was the third son of Emperor Gaozong and Wu Zetian.
Stills of the legend of Wu Meiniang, Wu Zetian ascended the throne into a generation of empresses (network picture)
"Changing the Name of the Country to Zhou"
Emperor Zhongzong was just a puppet, and he had to ask his mother for everything. Emperor Zhongzong Li Xian, feeling that he was the king of a country, could not do anything in such a situation, and thought that this would not work, so he took it upon himself to elevate his own state from a small army to an assassin, and planned to promote him to a servant.
After Wu Zetian found out, he found a high-sounding reason to demote Emperor Zhongzong to the title of King of Luling, drove out of Chang'an, and established his fourth son, Li Dan the Prince of Yu, as emperor.
However, in only half a year, Wu Zetian deposed Li Dan again, personally took charge of the imperial government, and reused the Wu family.
Wu Zetian's casual abolition of the emperor, coupled with the Wu family's hegemony overpowering her power, made everyone in the Li clan endanger themselves, causing some people to openly oppose her.
First, Xu Jingye, Luo Binwang, and others rose up in Yangzhou, and they openly put forward slogans to support Li Xian's restoration. In a few days, 100,000 people gathered and captured Runzhou (present-day Zhenjiang, Jiangsu), Huaiyin and other places. King Luo Bin also passionately wrote a "Discussion on Wu Shuo".
Wu Zetian sent a general to lead an army of 300,000 to attack Xu Jingye. Xu Jingye's soldiers were few and lonely, resisted for a while, and finally ended in failure. Subsequently, two more Tang Dynasty murong yue kings Li Zhen and LangYa king Li Chong raised troops against Wu Zetian, and were also suppressed by Wu Zetian's troops.
In 690, Wu Zetian, with the support of some people, proclaimed himself the Emperor of the Holy Spirit and changed his name to Zhou. She became the only female emperor in Chinese history.
Historical Archives
Qianling and wordless monuments
Wordless monument (network picture)
Located on the top of The Liang Mountain in Xianyang, Shaanxi, Qianling is the only mausoleum of two emperors in Chinese history. Before Wu Zetian's death, he voluntarily removed the imperial title and was buried with Emperor Gaozong in the name of empress. There is a wordless stele in front of Qianling, which is said to be Wu Zetian's last words on his deathbed, allowing posterity to comment on his own merits and demerits. The wordless stele, which is carved from a complete boulder, is 7.53 meters high, 2.1 meters wide, 1.49 meters thick, and weighs 100 tons, giving people a dignified, thick, and integrated beauty. There are also many flowers and grass ornaments on the stele, and the lines are fine and smooth, so this wordless monument has always been famous.
However, there is now writing on the wordless tablet.