Wu Zetian, whose real name is Chang, is from Nanxu Village, Wenshui County, Shanxi Province. Born in the seventh year of Tang Wude (623), he died in the first year of Tang Shenlong (705) at the age of 82. At the age of 67, he proclaimed himself emperor and reigned 15 years. Tang Zhongzong Li Xian was honored as "Great Sage Emperor" after his abdication, and was named "Great Sage Queen" by posthumous title after his death. Since then, the word "Zetian" has gradually replaced its name. Today, people call it Wu Zetian.
Wu Zetian was the only female emperor in the history of China and an outstanding female politician in feudal times. She inherited the Zhenguan and enlightened Yuan Dynasty, and managed a generation of dynasties as a world power. However, in the historical comments of 1000 years, some people called her a lascivious and fierce woman, while others praised her as a monarch who was observant and good at judging. Such contradictory evaluations, one focusing on women's "women's virtue" and the other focusing on the achievements of the empress dowager, have their own opinions and are inconclusive. /kloc-in the past 0/0 years, the national symposium on archival science with the theme of Wu Zetian has been held for five times, and experts have expressed their opinions. Since the May 4th Movement, there have been more than 500 papers and monographs on Wu Zetian, and this is the only emperor in the history of China who can enjoy such honor.
Born into an official family.
Wu Zetian is the eighth generation descendant of the Wu family in Wenshui County. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, Wu Qia, her ancestor, made five soldiers, Shang Shu and Jin Yanggong, who lived in Wenshui and gave them 50 hectares of land. This fief occupied about two villages from Nanxu to Beixu. Up to now, Zetian Temple, Wujiashan, Wujiakou, Bishui River, Shenfuquan, Wuyuan City and other historical sites related to the Wu family are still preserved in this land. His father Wu Shihuo was the founding hero of Tang Gaozu Tang Gaozu. He used to be the right-hand man of General Jing Yue and the minister of the Ministry of Industry, and was awarded the title of lord protector.
In the Tang Taizong dynasty, he served as the secretariat of Yuzhou, Lizhou and Jingzhou. In the ninth year of Zhenguan (635), he died in Jingzhou at the age of 59. His mother, Yang, was the daughter of the imperial clan prime minister of Sui Dynasty. She believed in Buddhism since she was a child, was ordained to serve the Buddha, and had a high cultural accomplishment. At the age of 42, she married Wu Shihuo as her second wife, and gave birth to three daughters, the second being Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian was born in such an official family.
Wu Zetian was the daughter of the Governor's House in her childhood, and later was the Emperor of the Holy Spirit. Many stories about her have been passed down as fairy tales, such as the legend of Yuan Tiangang's physiognomy. Today, there are still promising place names in Guangyuan, Sichuan. According to legend, during the Tang Dynasty, the pit of fire brought Yuan Tiangang back to Beijing. When I went to Chaotian Guanshan, I saw a royal spirit in the direction of Lizhou, so I went southwest 15, and arrived at Wangyunpu. When he saw the clouds over Illinois, he said, "The king is angry." Wu Tuyou heard that he was easy to find, so he invited him to your house. At that time, Wu Zetian was still in her arms, dressed as a boy. Yuan Tiangang said after reading it: "Dragon pupil is very rich." After careful consideration, he said, "If a woman is the son of heaven." Another example is the Riverbend Women's Tour on the 23rd day of the first month, which is an annual folk custom meeting in Guangyuan, Sichuan. According to legend, this day is Wu Zetian's birthday. There are also relics and legends such as Zetian Popo's dressing room and Zetian Dam.
In the ninth year of Zhenguan (635), it should be the first time that Wu Zetian went back to her hometown to bury her father. "Yongle Dadian Wenshui County Records" records that "Wuhou dug a well for supplies, and the well was deep, and then the water overflowed, flowing southeast and injecting water". This project was probably done by Wu Zetian during the funeral service in the village. After Wu Zetian proclaimed himself emperor, this river was copied into Zhu by the Tang people and has been passed down to this day.
From genius to queen
In the 11th year of Zhenguan (637), 14-year-old Wu Zetian was called into the palace. When leaving, Yang's mother cried sadly, but Wu Zetian took it calmly and comforted her mother, saying, "Is it a blessing to see the son of heaven? What does the child mourn? " It can be seen from this little incident that Wu Zetian has seen extraordinary things since she was a child.
Wu Zetian was canonized as a gifted scholar when she entered the palace, but after 10 years, Wu Zetian had neither children nor promotion, which shows that her situation at that time was not very ideal. However, Wu Zetian is always looking for opportunities to show her talents and political ambitions. Once, Emperor Taizong got a fierce horse named "Lion Qi", and no one could tame it. Emperor Taizong sighed for it. At that time, Wu Zetian was waiting by. She bravely put forward the request to train a horse, saying, "I can handle it, but I need three things, a iron whip, two hammers and three daggers. If iron whip refuses to accept the blow, hammer his head with a hammer; If he refuses to accept it, he will cut his throat with a dagger. Horses are for people to ride. What's the use of it if it can't be tamed? " Emperor Taizong praised her courage. This is also a way to govern politics after Wu Zetian. Later, they became like-minded and had close ties with Prince Li Zhi. In the 23rd year of Zhenguan (649), Emperor Taizong died. According to the court practice at that time, Wu Zetian became a nun. Two years' life as a nun has made her comprehensively examine the wealth and risks of court life, and become more and more mature politically.
In August of the second year of Yonghui (65 1), Wu Zetian returned to the official residence of the Tang Dynasty. This is her request with Tang Gaozong and Li Zhi, and there is another complicated background. This is why the queen was troubled by the rivalry in the palace and was eager to use Wu Zetian's return to the palace to alienate the emperor's love. At the beginning of Wu Zetian's return to the palace, she was just a maid-in-waiting and arranged for the queen. Wu Zetian is clever for political requirements, "the wind of clumsy words is behind", and the queen Wang "takes its beauty as the most important".
In the third year of Yonghui (652), Wu Zetian gave birth to her eldest son Li Hong, which brought her hope of promotion and added a layer of anxiety to the queen. It turns out that Wu Zetian and Tang Gaozong are like-minded, and the emperor's love for her is increasing day by day, which makes the queen greatly jealous.
In March of the 5th year of Yonghui (654), Wu Zetian was made Zhao Yi, ranking second only to the Queen and Ji Shu, and became the third person in the harem. At the same time, at the request of Wu Zetian, the emperor posthumously awarded 13 official titles, including Wu Zetian's father. This move greatly shocked the queen. At first, Wu Zetian was just a maid-in-waiting. Today, she suddenly became a Zhao Yi with a prince, born in a family of founding fathers. At this time, the queen deeply felt the threat from Wu Zetian, so she and Wu Zetian began to have conflicts in status and feelings.
Queen Wang is from Qixian County, Bingzhou. His father, Wang Renyou, was made Duke Wei, and his grandmother, An princess royal, was the aunt of Emperor Taizong. It was on the recommendation of this aunt that Wang became the queen of Jin and became the new queen. The fact that the Queen Wang has not given birth for many years has become a major defect that she can't make up for.
In the first year of Yonghui (650), at the beginning of the conferring of the Queen, there was a son, and other ladies-in-waiting such as Liu Chen and Zheng Chenggong, Shang Jin, Wang Qi, Yang Shisheng.
Yonghui three years (652), there was no contradiction between empresses, but Xiao Shufei's mother was favored by her son. This is a natural thing, but the queen Wang is jealous. In the first step, she intends to let Wu Zetian enter the palace, "with the favor of a beautiful princess." In the second step, she colluded with her uncle Liu (a special word) to make an illegitimate child (that is, Chen) a prince. "Biography of the Prince of the New Tang Dynasty" wrote: "The queen of the king has no children. After Liu (a special word) says it, she will be loyal to her mother, and then she will kiss herself. Later, she invited the emperor, followed by Chu Suiliang, Han Yuan, Sun Chang Wuji and Yu Zhining, and she was made the Crown Prince. " At that time, Tang Gaozong was only 25 years old, and he didn't press for the title of Taifei. It's only because the Prime Minister and several courtesies want to help the Queen overwhelm Xiao Shufei.
In the third year of Yonghui (652), the prince, queen and king won, but Xiao Shufei failed. After Wu Zetian returned to the palace, she gave birth to a son and fell out of favor, posing a new threat to the queen. So the contradiction resurfaced, and the queen and the king jointly dealt with Wu Zetian.
In June, the sixth year of Yonghui (655), the Queen Wang kept her mother Liu's family secret and asked the witch to curse others. After this incident, Liu was furious and forbidden to enter the palace, and his uncle Liu (a special word) no longer asked about political affairs. 10 13, Tang Gaozong issued an imperial edict: "Xiao Shufei, the queen of the king, plotted to poison pigeons, and this imperial edict was abolished as Shu Ren. Both mother and brother were removed from the list and exiled to Lingnan. My late father, Wang Renyou, pursued his confession. " Even Liu (Tezi), who was demoted to the capital, was sentenced to death for sneaking into the palace and plotting pigeon poison. On October 19th, the 6th year of Yonghui (655), Tang Gaozong made Wu Zetian the queen. Ascending to the throne of Empress is the key to the success or failure of Wu Zetian's life, from which her political career began.
During the reign of Wu Zetian, there were many charming officials and bodyguards, many of whom were recommended or recommended by others, or were lucky after Wu Zetian, thus becoming the leader of Wuhou.
Governing the DPRK and showing talents
The first problem Wu Zetian faced after she ascended the throne was how to deal with Empress Shu Ren and Xiao Shufei. In "Purple Tongzhi Sword", Tang Gaozong happened to visit his residence, and when he saw the doors and windows closed, he shouted, "Is Queen Shu Fei safe?" Hearing this, they sobbed and burst into tears, saying that if the emperor misses the old days and lets my concubine see the light of day again, please change this hospital into Huanxin Hospital. They hoped that Tang Gaozong would come to their senses and revoke their punishment. This matter was soon known by Wu Zetian. As a queen, she has the right to die in the harem, but she knows what it means to let the queen and Xiao Shufei see the light of day again. To this end, Wu Zetian took decisive measures against He Xiao to avoid future troubles.
In the final analysis, the contradiction shown by the abolished queen is the contradiction between the new monarch and the old minister. Sun Chang Wuji, Chu Suiliang and other ministers always take the old system as their elders to control the new emperor, and the new emperor always wants to handle state affairs according to his own ideas and get rid of the control of the old ministers. This is the contradiction between imperial power and relative power. This contradiction was most obvious during the change of imperial power.
In the Tang Dynasty, Tang Gaozong, Xuanzong, Tang Suzong and Tang Daizong were all obvious in the early years. Kangxi, Yongzheng and Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty also had outstanding performances in the alternation of imperial power. Wu Zetian seized this contradiction, wiped out her political enemies and helped Tang Gaozong get rid of the control of Minister Gu Ming. At this point, Tang Gaozong's means is to use the old minister of the East Palace. Shortly after he acceded to the throne, he began to use his own aides, namely Xu, the son of the former prince, and Li Yifu, the prince's scheerer. At first, they failed to enter the cabinet. In the struggle to abolish the queen, they always stood on the side of the emperor and helped Tang Gaozong and Wu Zetian defeat their opponents. In the struggle, Chu Suiliang stood up to the emperor and was demoted as the secretariat of Tanzhou, while Liu (special word) was demoted as the secretariat of Suizhou. Then a few years later, Han Yuan, Lai Ji and Yu Zhining were banished from Beijing. Sun Chang Wuji, the prince's maternal uncle, was expelled from Bazhou in 659. At this point, the forces that dared to oppose Emperor Gaozong and Wuhou were eliminated, and the dynasty that Tang Gaozong cooperated with Wu Zetian began its own promising era.
Although the close cooperation between Wu Zetian and Tang Gaozong began in the reign of Emperor Xianqing (656-660), it had a deep political foundation in Yonghui (650-655). In Zi Jian, Wei, Xu, Cui and Yuan all confided in Wu. It shows that Wu Zetian had a certain political influence in Yonghui period. It can be said that their cooperation system was basically formed in the first year of the Qing Dynasty (656). After Sun Chang Wuji was demoted in the fourth year of Qing Dynasty (659), it was called "politics in the palace" in history, and Wu Zetian had a far-reaching influence in the imperial court.
On the 23rd day of the first month in the fifth year of Xianqing (660), Tang Gaozong and Wu Zetian both returned to Bing for inspection. On February 15, a banquet was held in honor of officials and their relatives, silks were sent to officials and elders in Bing, and descendants of heroes and former officials in the General's Office were helped. Only when they were alive were they given to officials, and the deceased were sacrificed. The version over 80 years old was awarded to the secretariat and the county magistrate. On February 23rd, a sacrifice was held in Taiyuan's former residence, and Wu Shihuo, Yin Kaishan and Liu Zhenghui served dishes to enjoy the moon. On the fifth day of March, Wu Zetian hosted a banquet in the court of Bing to entertain relatives, neighbors and old friends. Everyone got married in the inner hall, and the royal family gave them gold and silk. Under the imperial edict, senior women from the hometown of the empress, the history of the state governor, and Sima, who reached the age of 80 or above, were all awarded the title of princess, and each was given cloth and silk. Later, Wu Zetian returned to his hometown Wenshui County again and went to the Xiaowendi Temple in Diya Village to worship. That night, she lived in the village, went out to see the stars at night, and was hooked by Zizyphus jujuba. She reached out and took off her skirt, snapped off the hook and scolded the annoying person. I left the next day, and since then all the wild jujubes here have no thorns. Because this village is the distant place of Wu Zetian, people later called it "Five Margins Pool". The name of this village has not changed until today. Wuyuanchi Village was submerged in Xiuwenyuhe Reservoir on 1958, and the stone tablet engraved with the name of Wuyuanchi Village still surfaced every day when the drought was shallow.
Wu Zetian left the village and went to Diezigou. Seeing that the river here is convenient for the canal to divert water, she suggested that Wenshui County order the canal to divert water to irrigate farmland. After that, two canals were opened in the local area, one was Ganquan Canal and the other was Changren Canal. However, due to unresolved land disputes, the scale is not large. In the second year of Kaiyuan (7 14), Wenshui County ordered Chiyo people to open canals to divert water, forming four canals, namely Ganquan Canal, Qianmu Canal, Dangsha Canal and Lingchangmu Canal, to irrigate thousands of hectares of fertile land, which became an immortal project for the benefit of future generations and fulfilled Wu Zetian's last wish.
The choice of prince is an important part of Wu Zetian's political career, and it is also a problem that has plagued her for many years. At the beginning of becoming emperor, the descendants of the Wu family and Wu Sansi sought audience with the Prince. In the second year (69 1) in September, at the behest of Wu Zetian's nephew Wang, Zhang Jiafu, the Scheeren of Fengge, ordered Wang Qingzhi to lead hundreds of people to the table, and asked Wu to be a prince. Wu Zetian refused, and Wang Qingzhi cried her eyes out. Wu Zetian gave Yinzhi a witness to let him go. Later, Wang Qingzhi asked for it many times. Wu Zetian was furious and ordered Li Zhaode, assistant minister of Fengge, to give him a staff. Li Zhaode led Wang Qingzhi out of the door, immediately stick to kill, figurehead dispersed. Later, Li Zhaode and Di Renjie advised Wu Zetian to let his parents be princes, and no one dared to beg Wu Chengsi and others.
On the ninth day of March in the first year of the holy calendar (the eighth year of autumn), Wu Zetian was ill in bed and sent a group of imperial secretaries to design a recall. On 28th, Li Xian returned to Luoyang, and no one knew the Manchu dynasty. On August 11th, Wu's wife pleaded with the king of Wu not to die of anxiety. On September 15, Wu Zetian agreed to be made a prince because she asked him to step aside. In the second year of the holy calendar (699), Wu Zetian was afraid that the prince would not get along with Wu Jiazi's grandson after his death, so she asked the prince, prime minister Li Dan, Princess Taiping, Wu and Wu Sansi to swear in the Mingcheng Hall and engrave them in the Tibet History Museum.
In December of the first year of Chang 'an (70 1), Wu Zetian erected a monument for her father in Wuling, Wenshui. The monument is 5 feet high, 9 feet wide and 3 feet thick, with an inscription of more than 6,700 words. This is the largest tombstone in the history of China. This is an inscription written by Li Jue, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, which records the origin of the Wu family and the life experience of his father. This is an important historical document. In June of the following year, Wu Zetian erected a monument in Shunling, Xianyang, which was also a huge tombstone for his mother, the Zhou Dynasty to filial piety. The inscription was written by Wu Sansi, the nephew of Wu Zetian, and recorded the life experience of his mother Yang.
Wu Zetian's Wordless Monument
In the first month of the second year of Chang 'an (702), Wu Zetian first set up a military exercise to select generals, which made many talented people reused. 1 1 month, Wu Zetian ordered Su (special word) to rehabilitate the old case set by the cruel officials, which rehabilitated many unjust cases and many unjust cases.
In August of the fourth year of Chang 'an (704), Wu Zetian was ill in bed. 1 1 month, Zhang Jianzhi was appointed assistant minister of Fengge.
On the 22nd day of the first month of the first year of Shenlong (705), Zhang Jianzhi and Cui Xuan (the merger of Japan and Wei) welcomed Prince Li Xian, killed Zhang Changzong and Zhang Yizhi, and forced Wu Zetian to give way to Li Xian. On 23rd, Wu Zetian ordered Prince Li Xian to supervise the country. On 24th, Wu Zetian wrote a letter to Prince Li Xian. On 25th, Prince Li Xian became the emperor. He was the emperor in the middle. On the 26th, Wu Zetian moved to Shang Yang Palace. On the 27th, Tang Zhongzong Li Xian led hundreds of officials to pay homage to Yangguan and named him "Great Sage Emperor". On the fourth day of February, Tang Zhongzong restored the title of the Tang Dynasty, thus ending the Wu and Zhou Dynasties of 15. On the same day, Tang Zhongzong resumed its eastern capital, and the northern capital resumed its annexation. 1 1 On 26th, Wu Zetian died in Xianju Hall of Shangyang Palace at the age of 82. Will: Emperor of the last dynasty, buried in Ganling. The Queen, Xiao Shufei and related personnel were pardoned. On May 18th, the second year of Shenlong (706), Wu Zetian was buried in Ganling, the "Great Sage Queen" of posthumous title. In the first year of Jing Yun (7 10), it was renamed "Tianhou" and later renamed "Tianhou of the Great Sage"; In the first year of Yanhe (7 12), it was renamed "Zetianhou"; In the eighth year of Tianbao (749), he was honored as "Tianhou".
Wu Zetian's life is a life of struggle, quite legendary. In the feudal era of 1000 years ago, because she violated the tradition of the whole family, she knocked down all her opponents and became a female emperor. She was accused by the rulers of past dynasties as a tyrant who was "vicious, lewd and murderous". But none of this can hide her brilliant achievements.