When it comes to Emperor Wu, we can't help but think of Shangguan Wan'er. Shangguan Wan'er, as a female official around Emperor Wu, can be described as a great power in her hands. So how did she go from being a sinner to taking power?
Shangguan Wan'er
Shangguan Wan'er, Shangguan is her compound surname, And Wan'er is her small character. When she was still in her infancy, her grandfather Shangguan Yi, who was then a waiter in Xitai and a Shangguan Yi of The Eastern and Western Terrace Sanpin, was retaliated against for advising Emperor Gaozong to depose Wu and was framed as a great rebel, not only to die but also to implicate the family.
The newborn Shangguan Wan'er thus followed her mother into the inner courtyard of the palace as a slave.
Shangguan Wan'er's mother, Zheng Shi, was also a large birth clan, and although she was punished in the inner court, the Zheng clan has been trying to protect herself and her daughter and teach her daughter wholeheartedly. Otherwise, even if Shangguan Wan'er was born intelligent and had no one to teach, she could only be like that Fang Zhongyong.
In the second year of Yi Feng, Shangguan Wan'er, who was only fourteen years old, was summoned by Wu Zetian, and I thought that she must have been preparing for this day for a long time, maybe fourteen years. When Wu Zetian came up with the question, Shangguan Wan'er immediately wrote a beautiful article, and this beautiful article made Wu Zetian very happy, and at that time he ordered that Shangguan Wan'er be relieved of her status as a slave and also let her take charge of the edicts in the palace. This was a step for Shangguan Wan'er to walk out of the court and out of her slave status, and it was a big step.
Later, Wu Zetian was called emperor, and as a faction of Emperor Wu, Shangguan Wan'er was more highly valued. At that time, people called her "Neishe" because many of the court edicts were written by Shangguan Wan'er.
Soon, Shangguan Wan'er committed the death penalty, but Wu Zetian still cherished her talent and gave her amnesty. It is also for this reason that Shangguan Wan'er was punished by the noodles, which is also the origin of the plum blossom makeup allusion.
Returning from the state of near death, Shangguan Wan'er naturally served Wu Zetian more carefully, and was therefore more pleased. Pleasing to the emperor, Shangguan Wan'er began to handle the hundreds of tables, participated in the handling of government affairs, and became more powerful.
Shangguan Wan'er gained power with Wu Zetian, but Wu Zetian himself would die of old age, and Shangguan Wan'er naturally had to make plans for the future.
In the first year of shenlong, the ministers who supported Li Tangzong's office launched a coup d'état, which was the shenlong coup. After that, Wu Zetian was forced to abdicate, and Emperor Zhongzong of Tang became emperor again. At this time, Shangguan Wan'er became Emperor Zhongzong's Zhaorong.
Zhaorong was one of the harem concubine ranks. The Tang Dynasty was under the empress, the fourth lady and the ninth concubine. Zhaorong ranked second among the nine concubines, only under the empress and The four concubines of Gui, Shu, De, Xian, and Zhaoyi, the head of the nine concubines.
Not only did she become a high-ranking concubine in the harem, but she was still in charge of drafting edicts, and her mother Zheng Shi was given the title of Lady Peiguo. All this vaguely proves that Shangguan Wan'er, who is a confidant of Emperor Wu, must have done something for this coup.
During the reign of Emperor Zhongzong, Shangguan Wan'er was close to Empress Wei and Princess Anle, and repeatedly persuaded Empress Wei to learn from Wu Zetian. It was at this time that Li Xian granted Empress Wei's request and stipulated that she would also serve three years of mourning for her abandoned mother, which also improved the status of women.
Wu Sansi was also brought into the palace by Shangguan Wan'er at this time. Soon, Wu Sansi was in a position of power, and Shangguan Wan'er had close contacts with him, often favoring the Wu family in his edicts, and thus offending the crown prince.
In the first year of Jinglong, The Crown Prince Jiaozhao sent troops to kill Wu Sansi and wanted to hunt down Shangguan Wan'er, but Shangguan Wan'er escaped, deliberately provoking Li Xian and Empress Wei, and the crown prince was also defeated and killed.
The prince is dead, but new forces have emerged. Princess Taiping's power gradually grew stronger, and Shangguan Wan'er became dependent on Princess Taiping. In fact, during this period, Princess Anle had been seeking the status of "Imperial Lady", but Shangguan Wan'er was resolutely opposed, and even advised her with death.
Four years after Jinglong, Li Xian died, and another coup d'état occurred. In the end, Li Longji and Princess Taiping joined forces to gain profits, but Shangguan Wan'er died in this coup.
Throughout Shangguan Wan'er's life, she was deeply involved in political power from the beginning. The status of the sinner after the sinner requires that she must hold power, and with the example of the Emperor Wu in front, how can she not afford to fight for power with her talent? So she became attached to people again and again, and eventually died in a coup d'état.
However, some of her initiatives in her political career improved the status of women at that time, and she was talented, "weighed the world's corporals", led the literary style, and contributed to the development of the theme of Tang Dynasty garden landscape poetry, the gradual emergence of the Shangguan body into the mainstream of society, and the gradual formation of legal poetry.