Original title: Wu Zetian: It is better to have words than to have nothing to say.
Panorama of Huangze Temple in Guangyuan. Photo by Tang Biao
The gold-plated stone statue of "Wuhou Rongzhen" in Huangze Temple. Photo by Tang Biao
Li Jin
As the most influential woman in Chinese history,
Guo Moruo commented that "Zheng Hong" and "Fang Liujiange" week". Soong Ching Ling commented, "Wu Zetian is the only female emperor in Chinese history and an outstanding female politician in the feudal era." Teacher Lu Xun said: "When Wu Zetian becomes emperor, who dares to say that men are superior to women?"
So, How to clarify the traditional cultural connotation represented by Wu Zetian? What is the contemporary significance of this historical figure?
The economic prosperity and social well-being during Wu Zetian's reign was marked by population growth, which increased from 3.8 million to 6.15 million during the reign of Tang Gaozong. At that time, taxes were collected on a per-household basis, and a large population would inevitably lead to a stable national treasury.
Wu Zetian attached great importance to the selection of talents. "Jianguan" or "Jianguan" became a system that paid equal attention to civil and military affairs, "created martial arts" and "instructed all states in the world to teach martial arts." It is generally believed that this was the formal introduction of "martial arts" or "martial arts" into China's imperial examination system, and it was an important system for recruiting military talents. Because Wu Zetian recruited talented people, a large number of small and medium-sized landowners entered the feudal ruling group, and the class domain name that expanded their Legalist line was only registered on the basis of Yunju Da. It is precisely because of Wu Zetian's eclectic use of talents that the phenomenon of "Wang Xietang in the old days entered ordinary people's homes before Yan Fei" appeared. Di, Wei, Yao Chong, Zhang Jianzhi, Song Jing, et al. The most influential people in history are all talents who were reused by Wu Zetian.
Wu Zetian, who also dabbled in literature and history, had profound attainments in literature and calligraphy. There are 46 poems by Wu Zetian in 2007, 3 supplementary poems in "Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty" and 1 preface. Wu Zetian asked literary scholars Zhou Maosi, Fan and others to compile the Supplement to the Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty, Essential Views, and Zi Hai, among others. He wrote 100 volumes of "Yeshu Yaolu", all of which were lost.
When Wu Zetian was in power, she laid a solid material foundation and talent reserve. A group of politicians, military strategists, writers, and poets during the Xuanzong period of the Tang Dynasty were mostly talents from the Wu Zetian period. Wu Zetian's policies were conducive to social progress and development, and the era was the era when China's feudal society continued to develop after Zhenguan and before Kaiyuan. Politically speaking, Wu Zetian was not only a female emperor, but also a very accomplished and good emperor. Her achievements are impressive and she is a promising monarch.
However, there are also some incompatibilities in the evaluation of Wu Zetian. In the eyes of the "anti-military faction", Wu Zetian was purely a monster and a monster, and her evil deeds were hard to read. But in the minds of the "Wu Ting Sect", Wu Zetian is a perfect goddess, full of poems and books, with high martial arts skills, and cannot be blasphemed at all.
In my opinion, evaluating Wu Zetian is neither "demonization" nor "goddess" or "perfection." Do not bury political achievements, do not whitewash evil deeds, and focus on conveying Wu Zetian's positive energy. For more than a thousand years, the legendary story of Wu Zetian has been presented in novels, dramas, songs and dances, movies, TV series and other forms. But they all focus on the interpretation of Wu Zetian's emotional and private life, palace battles, palace intrigues, and political tactics, while downplaying her great achievements in governing the country. This further shows that even though Wu Zetian has become the female emperor and reached the pinnacle of power, she still cannot get rid of gender issues because she is a woman. People not only regard her as the emperor, but also as the "empress". Female gender is still an important perspective for people to pay attention to her.
Wu Zetian, more than any other woman in China, can truly appreciate the "cold feeling at high places" after the prosperity fades away, so she wanted to leave a wordless monument, so she left He left his last words: He went to court as emperor, returned to his mausoleum and palace, and finally returned to his throne as a wife and wife. Wu Zetian did many extraordinary things in her life, and leaving a monument without words is one of them. With Wu Zetian's reign and her own talent, it would be easy to write an immortal inscription. Ganling in Shaanxi is the joint tomb of Tang Gaozong Li Zhi and Wu Zetian. To the west, there are the "Holy Monuments". The inscription of more than 5,000 words was written by Wu Zetian herself. It’s the “Wordless Monument” on the east side.
During her lifetime, she predicted that "her merits and demerits will be judged by future generations." She dared to leave a wordless monument, which shows that Wu Zetian was a woman full of great wisdom. The "wordless monument" is better than words!
What is the contemporary significance of Wu Zetian? In my opinion, as an outstanding woman, Wu Zetian’s cultural phenomenon can be explored and studied in depth, and her cultural relevance is high. Folk culture, women’s culture, Phoenix culture, etc. There is a lot of room for exploration and experimentation.
The cultural phenomenon of Wu Zetian is part of the study of women and gender culture. In recent years, the Girls' Day in Longnan, Gansu has closely followed the theme of female culture and formed its own advantages and characteristics. Daughter's Town in Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hubei Province, which is "the No. 1 Daughter's City in the world, but men in the world are indifferent", also promotes its brand around women's culture.
In 2010, the relevant report of the joint research group of the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences, the Sichuan Cultural Development Research Center, and the Sichuan Literary Critics Association recommended that "Phoenix Culture" and "Female Culture" be promoted in Wu Zetian's propaganda ". The reason is that Chinese culture has been endowed with a strong feminine color and the worship of motherhood and women from the beginning. As mankind continues to change on the road to women's liberation, women's creative vitality has become increasingly prominent, and women's status and contributions have gradually been widely recognized by the whole society.
Guangyuan researcher Yin Fu believes that Wu Zetian is a leader among women and one of the outstanding representatives of Chinese women. Her spiritual temperament belongs to the category of female culture. In a patriarchal society, Wu Zetian's ascension to the throne was an "earth-shattering" event. It was a huge impact and shock to the patriarchal society. It is the highest practice of empowering women and should be positively recognized by society.
Half of the world’s population is female. Women are closely related to politics, economy, religion, culture and art, ecology, environment, and urban character. It can be said that they cover all aspects of the development of human society. For the study of Wu Zetian and women's culture, Beijing Normal University has a women's culture research base, Guangyuan has a women's culture institute, other international Wu Zetian culture seminars and the China Wu Zetian Research Institute can all play an active role.