How many concubines named Yang were there in the harem of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty? Is Princess Ruyi in "Heroes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties" really a real person? Is Princess Chao Yang really just one step away from the position of queen?
According to historical records, there were three people in the harem of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. The concubines named Yang are Yang Guifei, Yang Fei and Yang Jieyu. However, there are always people who can't figure out who these three concubines of the Yang family are, and sometimes they even mistakenly think that these three people are the same person. So who are the concubines Yang Guifei, Yang Fei and Yang Jieyu of Tang Taizong Li Shimin in history?
The highest status among the three concubines surnamed Yang is Yang Guifei, that is, King Zhao Li Fusheng mother. According to the epitaph of Li Fu, the son of Concubine Yang, it is recorded: "The king is the son of Concubine Yang." It can be inferred from the title of Concubine Yang. However, throughout the Zhenguan period, Wei Guifei's title remained unchanged from beginning to end, so the Yang family's imperial concubine emblem should be regarded as a posthumous title. However, Yang Guifei was a first-class concubine during her lifetime, and she should have been named the fourth concubine together with Wei Guifei, Yin Concubine, Yan Xianfei and others as early as the first year of Zhenguan. It is very likely that it was the emblem of Shu Concubine. In this way Only then can she be posthumously given the title of noble concubine after her death. After all, Yang Guifei did not take the initiative to die in burial like Chongrong Xu Hui, nor was her only son unjustly killed like Huangfu Deyi, so she would not be arbitrarily promoted to the fourth concubine, let alone a noble concubine.
In the thirteenth year of Zhenguan, Concubine Yang’s only son Li Fu was granted the title of King of Zhao, and was then adopted by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty to Prince Yin Li Jiancheng. Therefore, in terms of etiquette and law, Li Fu was no longer Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. The son of Prince Yin, Li Jiancheng.
At the same time, according to historical materials and epitaph records, Yang Guifei should have died between the sixth year of Yonghui and the first year of Xianheng, because on the first day of the first month of the sixth year of Yonghui, Yang Guifei As the concubine of the State of Zhao, she accompanied Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty to worship Zhaoling. When her son Li Fu died on September 13th in the first year of Xianheng, the epitaph had already written the posthumous title of his mother "Noble Concubine", so the year of Concubine Yang's death was It can only be during the period between the sixth year of Yonghui and the first year of Xianheng.
Next is Concubine Yang, the biological mother of King Wu Li Ke and King Li Min of Shu. The "Old Book of Tang" only mentions "Ke's mother, the daughter of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty" in "The Biography of Li Ke". It can be seen that although Concubine Yang She is nominally the daughter of Emperor Sui Yang and seems to be of noble birth. However, she does not even know who her biological mother is, what her rank is, and what her title is. Concubine Yang did not have the title of princess, indicating that she had not been formally canonized - Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty went to Luoyang after he ascended the throne. Even if he was appointed a prince, he would only issue an edict to send an envoy back to Chang'an, not to mention that he would specifically remember to canonize a person who stayed in Luoyang. The princess of Chang'an. It can also be seen from this that Concubine Yang's biological mother has a lower status and is not favored. She is just an ordinary harem.
The historian was extremely sympathetic to Li Ke in the history books. Although he could not list Li Ke's talents and talents at all, he still had all kinds of praise for Li Ke, so he was specially mentioned in his biography. The phrase "Ke's mother is the daughter of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty" is to commend Li Ke's biological mother for her noble status. But even so, she still only has the title of Daughter of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty. It can be seen that Concubine Yang's status is not high in either the Sui Palace or the Tang Palace - there is no princess title in the Sui Palace, and the concubines in the Tang Palace are of such low rank that there is no record or even It's not worth recording.
At the same time, according to the statistics of Mr. Cen Zhongmian, in the fourteen years of his reign, Yang Guang spent only 186 days in Chang'an. Most of the time was either on the way to patrol or preparing for patrol, so Thinking about it, if Princess Yang was favored, she should be like her eldest sister, Princess Nanyang, and stay with Emperor Sui Yang away from Chang'an. But the fact is exactly the opposite. Judging from the situation that Li Ke was born in the second year of Wude, Princess Yang should have entered the palace in the first year of Wude. In other words, as soon as Li Yuan ascended the throne in Chang'an, Princess Yang became a member of the backyard of Prince Qin's palace. Obviously, although Princess Yang was also the daughter of Emperor Yang of Sui, she did not receive the attention and favor of her father at all, so Only then would he be forgotten in Chang'an and be easily taken over by the newly established Li Tang Dynasty.
What's more, the mothers of Li Yuan and Yang Guang were both Dugu surnames, and they were biological sisters. Queen Dugu once took good care of Li Yuan; the Tang Dynasty founded by Li Yuan was at least nominally abdicated from Emperor Gong of the Sui Dynasty. , as a result, Li Yuan left his cousin's forgotten daughter in Chang'an to his son as a concubine. If Li Yuanruo still values ????this princess of the former dynasty who is somewhat related to him by blood, no matter what, he will marry her as his wife instead of a concubine - whether she is married to a prince or a minister.
And even if she is a concubine, she should be given to Prince Li Jiancheng, not to King Qin Li Shimin. After all, Li Jiancheng was still the crown prince nine years ago. If nothing unexpected happened, Princess Yang, as Li Jiancheng's concubine, would be able to become a fifth-grade concubine or above after the crown prince ascended the throne. When a prince becomes a concubine, he is only a fifth-grade concubine at most.
What's more, judging from the fact that Yang Guang died in March of the second year of Yining (618), Li Yuan became emperor in May of the same year, and Li Ke was born in the second year, Yang The princess was obviously conceived during the period of hot mourning - not to mention that she had not kept the full 27-month mourning period for her biological father, but she did not even keep the full year of hot mourning. This shows that this so-called "Sui Yang" What kind of existence is the "emperor's daughter" in the eyes of the Li Tang Dynasty, let alone what kind of courtesy she can get. If Princess Yang's status was still noble, how could she be dismissed so casually, without even a chance to honor her father's filial piety.
And it is normal for Concubine Yang to be treated like this. Since ancient times, the status of a successful king or a defeated bandit, and the king of a subjugated country has been placed there, let alone the princess of a subjugated country. Think about the miserable appearance of the Six Kingdoms after the Qin destroyed them, and how "the concubines, concubines, princes, emperors, and grandsons of the Six Kingdoms left the palace and came to Qin in their chariots." The princess was given to Yang Su as a concubine, Mrs. Xuanhua was taken into the Sui Dynasty as usual, and another one was given to He Ruobi; consider that Song Huizong's daughter Roufu Diji was also a princess, but she lived in the Jin Dynasty. One day, we will know that these subjugated princesses are nothing more than trophies in the eyes of the new dynasty.
Let’s look at her title in the harem. The titles of the four ladies during the Zhenguan period of the Tang Dynasty were in order of Noble Shu, Virtuous and Virtuous, and the title of Concubine Wei was very clear. Another concubine, Yang Guifei, who gave birth to the thirteenth prince Li Fu, was also one of the four concubines of the first rank during her lifetime. She could only be posthumously named a concubine after her death. Concubine Yan De was promoted from Concubine Xian to Concubine De. The reason was that Concubine Yin's son Li You was executed for rebellion, and Concubine Yin was demoted to concubine. There is also Concubine Zheng Xian, who should have been promoted to the throne after Concubine Yan Xian was promoted to Concubine De. Therefore, it is very possible that Concubine Yang did not have the title of concubine during her lifetime, and was posthumously named "concubine" after her death, which raised her rank.
Concubine Yang gave birth to King Li Ke of Wu in the second year of Wude, and the king of Shu Li Min was born eight years after Wude. In the Wude period, the princes and grandsons were all canonized at the age of one as usual, and in the eighth year of Wude, Among Li Shimin's sons, only the fifth son Li You was granted the title, so the sixth son Li Min was not born until eight years after Wude at the earliest. Concubine Yang had no daughters, because among the 21 princesses of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, only the biological mother with a higher status was recorded in history books or epitaphs. The biological mothers of the remaining 15 princesses were not recorded due to their humble background.
As for Concubine Yang’s two sons, Wu Wang Li Ke and Shu Wang Li Min, although many people have mistakenly thought that Li Ke was Tang Taizong’s favorite son due to the promotion of TV series, but as far as historical facts are concerned, When asked who received the worst treatment among all the sons of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Li Ke ranked second. No one could be worse than him.
Li Ke not only had no favored deeds in his life, but also made small mistakes such as trampling crops and gambling. He was stripped of his title of governor twice in a row and his real title was stripped off one after another*** Of the 600 households, only 200 households are sealed. Li Ke was scolded by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty for this, and was even compared to King Yan Liu Dan (the son of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, who was disgusted by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty because he could not stay in peace). The mistakes Li Ke made and the punishment he received are all recorded in history books and Li Ke's own epitaph, and they corroborate each other.
In May of the second year of Zhenguan, Li Ke and Li Tai were granted the title of governor at the same time. Li Ke was granted the title of governor of Yizhou, with only 8 states under his title, while Li Tai was appointed as the governor of Yangzhou and the governor of Yuezhou, with as many as 22 lands. state. Moreover, Li Ke was only granted the title of Governor, while Li Tai was appointed as the Grand Governor ("Tang Huiyao" records that the Grand Governor's Mansion in Yizhou changed the word "big" on February 20, the second year of Zhenguan, until Long Shuo, Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty) It was only upgraded from the Dudu's Palace to the Grand Dudu's Palace in 2 years), so although Li Ke and Li Tai were granted the title at the same time, Li Ke's Dudu's Palace was not only much smaller in size than Li Tai's Grand Dudu's Palace, but his fiefdom was even smaller than Li Tai's. Two thirds.
When Li Ke went to his fiefdom in the 7th year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong said to him: "The love between father and son, don't you want to see each other often? But the family and country are special, so we must go out to serve as a vassal." It can be seen that the reason why the kings were granted vassal status was because of "different family and national affairs" and to eliminate the "covetousness" of the princes. However, these high-sounding words are actually more suitable for Li Tai, who is the prince's brother-in-law, rather than a concubine. Li Ke, after all, as the crown prince's brother and mother, Li Tai poses the greatest threat to the throne.
However, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty had selfish motives in the face of "different family and national affairs". Not only did he not allow Li Taizhi to become a vassal, he even wanted him to move into the Wude Palace. Not to mention Li Zhi, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty had always taken care of his son personally. He was raised by his side and never mentioned anything about his vassal. In the 16th year of Zhenguan, he even let him go to court to participate in politics, but he sent Li Ke, who was not a threat, to the fiefdom.
Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty once wrote a letter to Li Ke, which contained the sentence "You are kneeling down, why are you so sad? I want to leave you treasures, but I am afraid that I will be arrogant and extravagant." However, in the Tang Dynasty Tai said to Li Ke, "I want to leave you treasures, but I'm afraid it will lead to arrogance and extravagance" - when she refused to give him more property to prevent Li Ke from becoming arrogant and extravagant, she turned around to face Li Chengqian and Li Tai. Opposite attitude. When Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty rewarded Li Tai, he not only "gifted him thousands of things", but also gave Li Tai "more things than the crown prince" every month. He even directly lifted the restrictions on Li Chengqian's use of treasury items.
Historians say that Li Ke had both civil and military talents, but being good at riding and shooting was just the most basic quality for a Guanlong military noble. In the Tang Dynasty, even talented people from the harem could accompany the emperor on riding and shooting. , Although Li Ke is good at riding and shooting, he has no military merit or outstanding deeds to prove it. There is also no record of Li Ke's literary talent. Other princes have records of specific calligraphy works and how many works they are good at. However, Li Ke's "literary talent" does not even have the most common calligraphy specialty among the members of the Li Tang royal family. The Han king Li Yuanchang, who was also executed for treason, was famous in various history books for his calligraphy, painting, and hunting.
"Cefu Yuangui": "Yuanchang, the king of Han Dynasty in the Tang Dynasty, was the son of Emperor Gao. He was alert by nature, courageous, capable of riding, riding and shooting. He was involved in literature and history, and was also able to write official scripts."
" "Famous Paintings of the Tang Dynasty": "Yuan Chang, the king of the Han Dynasty, was good at painting horses, and his strokes were so wonderful that no one has seen them since. When he paints eagles, falcons, pheasants and rabbits in the world, he is so good that he sighs."
"Dharma" "Shu Yao Lu": "The king of Han was very proud of his calligraphy in his childhood. He has inherited Xi and Xian for a long time and abided by the law."
"Records of Famous Paintings of the Past Dynasties": "The posture of heaven and man, the wide range of skills, and the Charm. Naturally superb, deeply respected in Jie Palace, and rare in the world."
A versatile and handsome prince who specializes in classics, is good at music, and is an expert in hunting. It stands out vividly in the minds of future generations. In contrast, Li Ke's talent is not reflected at all in history books or epitaphs.
Although Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty once had the idea of ????making Li Ke the crown prince, this matter was not raised until more than 7 months after Li Zhi was made the crown prince. , and Tang Taizong only told Changsun Wuji, who was least likely to agree. After being refuted, not only did he never mention the matter again, he even took no protective measures against Li Ke, who was unsuccessful in the nomination.
Some people try to attribute the reason why Li Ke cannot become emperor to the fact that he has the blood of the previous dynasty. However, this statement is completely nonsense. After all, Li Ke’s blood from the two dynasties is not unprecedented. There is no such thing as a successor to the throne. There are many heirs to the throne from the two dynasties in history. For example, the biological mother of Prince Shi Shi of the later Zhao Shihu was Princess Anding of the former Zhao; for example, the biological mother of Emperor Min Yuwenjue of the Northern Zhou Dynasty was Princess Fengyi of the Northern Wei Dynasty; even the prince Yang Zhao of Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty was from the same lineage of the two dynasties - Yang Zhao's Her biological mother, Queen Xiao, was the daughter of Xiao Kui, Emperor Xiaoming of Western Liang Dynasty.
Besides, if the blood of the previous dynasty is really a problem and a taboo, then why did Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty want to make Li Ke the prince when he knew that he had the blood of the Sui Dynasty? Why didn't Changsun Wuji use this method? What is the reason to oppose Tang Taizong's appointment of Li Ke? Therefore, Li Ke's lack of access to the throne has nothing to do with the fact that his biological mother, Concubine Yang, is the daughter of Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty. It is because neither Li Ke nor Concubine Yang is favored by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. reason.
As for Concubine Yang’s second son, Li Min, although he was vassalized in the 10th year of Zhenguan, it was not until the 13th year of Zhenguan that Li Min received the 800 households that the prince should have. A whole 3 years late. And because Li Min repeatedly behaved in the fiefdom, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty once said with disgust: "Even animals can be made to obey people's orders as long as they are well tamed; even iron and stone can be made into usable objects as long as they are well refined. Only people like Li Min are worse than beasts and iron and stone!" Even then, half of Li Min's fiefdom and officials in the Shu palace were cut off, and he was demoted to the governor of Guozhou, just a few months after taking office. Gai Wenda, the king of Shu, was also dismissed from office.
Therefore, during the Zhenguan period of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, the other princes were all governors, but Li Ke and Li Min were the governors; the other princes all had 800 feudal households, but Li Ke and Li Min were the only ones who were enfeoffed. 600 households were eliminated and 400 households were eliminated. Think about it, if Concubine Yang was favored, how could she leave only 7 words in the history books, and how could her two sons be treated so poorly among Li Shimin's disciples?
Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty There is also Yang Jieyu in the harem, who is the third daughter of Yang Gongdao, the former Wei prince who proposed to join the army, and the niece of Yang Shidao. Yang Shidao's epitaph says: "My nephew is Shu De Hua Zong, Hua Fang Shu Ye", referring to this niece.
There is also the Chao Princess Yang who is widely circulated in various online articles, that is, the princess of Chao Ci King Li Yuanji. However, this one does not belong to Tang Taizong's harem, because Princess Chao Yang has never received an official title in Tang Taizong's harem. Her title has always changed with that of her husband Li Yuanji.
Some Internet articles have insisted that Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty launched the Xuanwumen Revolution for the sake of Princess Chao. This conclusion is pure nonsense. Because according to the system of the Tang Dynasty, the Yang family, as the family members of criminals, had to be taken into Yeting as maidservants. After Lujiang King Li Yuan was defeated and killed, his concubine was banished to the palace; Shangguan Wan'er was married to Yeting with her mother when she was still in her infancy because her grandfather and father were killed; Empress Wu of Suzong of the Tang Dynasty was also married to her father because she was not married. The matter was confiscated into the palace, so Yang's decision to confine himself to Yeting after Li Yuanji's death was completely based on the rules. What's more, judging from the epitaph of Li Jiancheng's wife Zheng, after the death of Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, their wives and concubines were all placed under house arrest in the palace, and could even only live in the same house.
There is also a saying that Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty liked Princess Chao Yang very much, and even thought of making Yang his queen after the death of Empress Changsun. However, how credible this matter is, let’s look at the analysis below.
According to the records in "New Tang Book" and "Zizhi Tongjian", after the death of Queen Changsun, Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty wanted to make Yang his queen, but was dissuaded by Wei Zheng on the grounds that "Your Majesty cannot marry Chen." Win and get tired." It means that if Mrs. Yang remarries and becomes the queen, your majesty's reputation will be damaged. However, in fact, the Tang Dynasty had always been open-minded, and Concubine Wei entered the palace as a widow. Not only was her ex-husband the son of an important minister of the Sui Dynasty, but she also had a daughter with her ex-husband; not to mention the even more shocking identity of the future Empress Wu, Concubine Yang. Therefore, it is not true that Yang could not be appointed queen because he was afraid of damaging his reputation.
If you look more carefully, you can also find that during the entire Zhenguan period, Emperor Taizong never even gave the Yang family any title of concubine. Instead, he posthumously named Li Yuanji the Queen of Chao and called her Princess Chao. . If Yang was really "the emperor's favorite" as stated in the "New Book of Tang", then even if Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty could not give her the honorary position of queen, he could definitely afford her the position of an ordinary concubine. What's more, in the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, the position of the fourth concubine in the harem was vacant. Because Li You rebelled and his biological mother Yin was demoted to a concubine, Concubine Yan Xian was promoted to Concubine De, leaving the position of Concubine Xian vacant. According to the fact that the Yang family's son, King Cao Li Ming, was granted the title in the 21st year of Zhenguan, this "old man" of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty should have been born around the eighteenth year. However, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty would rather give a virtuous concubine to the Zheng family, who had no children and no favors, rather than take the opportunity to replace the Yang family with children as the fourth concubine. Judging from this situation, it is really hard to see that this What kind of method does Yang use to "get favors from the top"?
What's more, if the Yang family was really so favored that she "wanted to establish herself as queen", then the "Old Book of Tang" would definitely record it in the biography of King Cao Li Ming. For example, the son of Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty, King Li Yuanjia of Han, his mother Yuwen Zhaoyi "had long been favored by Emperor Gaozu. When Emperor Gaozu first came to the throne, he wanted to establish her as a queen, but refused." Li Yuanjia was also favored by his mother and ascended the throne after Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty. Among the sons born in the future, he was the most favored. Another example is Concubine Wu Hui. Although Concubine Wu Hui could not be established as a queen due to various reasons, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty specially set up the title of "Concubine Hui" for her, and she was "ranked in the palace and empress together." Concubine Wu Hui’s eldest son, Prince Xia Dao, was “loved so much by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty that he named her one of the first.” His second son, Li Min, was also “favored by his mother, Concubine Hui, and Xuanzong paid special attention to her.” His daughter, Princess Taihua, was also “treated with maternal love and courtesy.” Above all the princesses, he was given the first rank and was even banned in the palace."
In the same way, if Yang is really so favored, then her son Li Ming should also be loved by both Wu Zhen and Wu Zhen in the eyes of Emperor Taizong.
However, throughout the official history, apart from enfeoffing Li Ming and recognizing the legal status of his son, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty had no more actions to show that he treated this son differently from other concubines. Moreover, although Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty granted Li Ming a title, he still only called Yang Princess Chao and did not officially include her as a member of the harem. Such a move actually changed the mother-son relationship between Yang and Li Ming. They are separated in terms of etiquette and law. After all, one was Tang Taizong's son and the other was Tang Taizong's sister-in-law, which vetoed the mother-son relationship between Yang and Li Ming in terms of status. If Yang was really favored by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, he would never be treated like this.
So whether Princess Chao Yang is favored or not, and whether she is really one step away from the queen position, I believe all readers will know in their minds.