A brief introduction to Shangguan Wan'er, a female official in history: Shangguan Wan'er, also known as Shangguan Zhaorong, was a female official, poet and imperial concubine in the Tang Dynasty. A native of Shaanxian County, Shaanxi Province, she is the granddaughter of Shangguan Yi. After Shangguan Yi was convicted and killed, she was married to her mother Zheng and became a maid in the inner court. When he was fourteen years old, he was placed in Wu Zetian's employ because of his intelligence and good writing. He was in charge of the imperial court for many years and was known as the Prime Minister. What is the relationship between Shangguan Wan'er and Wu Zetian?
Introduction to Shangguan Wan'er
During the reign of Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty, Shangguan Wan'er was granted the title of Zhaorong, became more powerful, and had a prominent position in the political and literary circles. From then on, she was in charge of the inner court and the imperial concubine as an imperial concubine. Government decrees and proclamations of foreign dynasties. He once proposed to expand the library and add more bachelors. During this period, he presided over Fengya and commented on the world's poetry on behalf of the court. At that time, many poets gathered in his sect, and thirty-two of his poems were collected in the entire Tang Dynasty. In 710, King Linzi raised troops to launch the Tang Long coup, and was killed at the same time as Queen Wei.
A native of Shaanxian County, Shaanxi Province, she is the granddaughter of Shangguan Yi, the prime minister of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty. Her great-grandfather Shangguan Hong served as the Fu Supervisor of Jiangdu Palace in the Sui Dynasty. In the first year of Linde, Shangguan Yi was killed by Empress Wu for drafting an edict for Emperor Gaozong to depose Wu Zetian. The newly born Shangguan Wan'er and her mother Zheng were exiled to Yeting. During her time as a slave in Yeting, under the careful training of her mother, Shangguan Wan'er was familiar with poetry and books. Not only could she recite poems and write articles, she was also very knowledgeable about official matters and was extremely intelligent. In the second year of Yifeng, Shangguan Wan'er was summoned to the palace by Wu Zetian and asked her to write a text based on the topic. Shangguan Wan'er's essays were written in a matter of seconds without adding any extra points. The writing is smooth, the words are gorgeous, and the language is beautiful. It really seems to have been composed long ago. Wu Zetian was overjoyed after seeing this, and immediately ordered her to be relieved of her status as a slave and let her take charge of the imperial edicts in the palace. Soon after, Shangguan Wan'er was sentenced to death for disobeying the decree. However, Wu Zetian cherished his literary talent and pardoned her, only giving her a tattoo. From then on, Shangguan Wan'er served her carefully and catered to Wu Zetian's needs.
From the first year of Tongtian, he was allowed to handle Baisi Zoubiao and participate in government affairs, and his power became increasingly powerful. In the first year of Shenlong, after Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty was restored to power, he ordered Shangguan Wan'er to take charge of drafting edicts. She was deeply trusted, and she was worshiped as Zhaorong, and her mother Zheng was granted the title of Lady of Peiguo. In the second year, Wu Sansi relied on the support of Empress Wei, Princess Anle and others, and successively planned to demote and kill five kings, including Zhang Jianzhi, Huan Yanfan, Jinghui, Yuan Shuji and Cui Xuanyi. Shangguan Wan'er also had an affair with her, and in the edicts she drafted, she often praised the Wu family and suppressed the royal family, which made the prince Li Chongjun very angry.
In July of the first year of Jinglong, Li Chongjun, Li Duozuo, the general of Zuo Yulin, and others issued an imperial edict to send more than 300 Yulin troops to kill Wu Sansi and Wu Chongxun in their mansion, and also executed them More than ten members of his party led troops to enter through the Suzhang Gate, knocked on the pavilion door and searched for Shangguan Wan'er. Shangguan Wan'er hurriedly fled to Tang Zhongzong and Empress Wei, and threatened that according to the prince's intention, he wanted to kill Shangguan Wan'er first, and then arrest the queen and his majesty in turn. Empress Wei and Zhongzong were furious, so they took Shangguan Wan'er and Princess Anle to the Xuanwu Gate to avoid the enemy. They ordered General Liu Jingren of Youyu Lin to lead more than 2,000 flying cavalry to guard themselves behind closed doors in front of the Taiji Hall. . The prince was defeated and killed.
After that, Shangguan Wan'er often persuaded Zhongzong to set up a large number of Zhaowenguan bachelors, summoned officials of the dynasty's Ci studies, gave many banquets and entertainments, and composed poems and songs. Shangguan Wan'er replaced Zhongzong, Empress Wei and Princess Anle at the same time every time, and composed several poems together. The poems were beautiful, and most people at that time recited and sang them. Zhongzong also ordered Shangguan Wan'er to evaluate the poems written by ministers. Those who ranked first were often rewarded with golden titles, which were extremely valuable.
Therefore, reciting poems and writing poems became a common practice both inside and outside the imperial court. Zhongzong sent people to build rocks across the pond at Shangguan Wan'er's residence, and decorated them with exquisite carvings, which often attracted ministers to enjoy themselves. At that time, the palace restrictions were relaxed and palace officials were allowed to come and go at will. Shangguan Wan'er then bought and built mansions outside the palace with some palace officials, and often communicated with them. Some people obtained high-ranking positions because of this. Cui _, the assistant minister of Zhongshu, was later taken as the prime minister because of his affair with Shangguan Wan'er outside his house. Soon after, Cui made many mistakes when presiding over the election. He was impeached by the imperial censor Li Shangyin and was demoted to the Sima of another state for the crime. However, because Shangguan Wan'er and Princess Anle appealed for him, he was still reinstated.
In the fourth year of Jinglong, Princess Taiping became increasingly powerful, and Shangguan Wan'er attached herself to Princess Taiping again. In June, after Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty was poisoned by Empress Wei and Princess Anle, Shangguan Wan'er and Princess Taiping drafted a posthumous edict to make King Wen Li Chongmao the crown prince. Empress Wei knew the political affairs, and Prime Minister Li Dan participated in the decision-making of government affairs. In July, Linzi King Li Longji led Yulin soldiers into the palace and killed Queen Wei and her party members. Shangguan Wan'er held a candle and led the palace people to greet her, and showed Liu Youqiu the edict drafted by her and Princess Taiping. Liu Youqiu took the edict to Li Longji to explain it to him, but Li Longji refused and killed Shangguan Wan'er under his banner. In the early years of Kaiyuan, Tang Xuanzong sent people to collect Shangguan Wan'er's poems and compile them into twenty volumes, and asked Zhang Shuo to write a preface. This collection is now lost, and only thirty-two of his poems from the Tang Dynasty are included.
How did Shangguan Wan'er die?
Although Shangguan Wan'er relied on her intelligence and wisdom to deal with major political forces such as Wu, Wei, and Li, and used this to control the country. Although she has great power, she is just a small Zhaorong after all and has no power of her own. The ups and downs in the court also make her tired to cope with it. In May 710, Zhongzong died suddenly, which made Shangguan Wan'er feel in crisis. Empress Wei wanted to take over the power alone, so she asked Wan'er to draft a posthumous edict with three key contents.
Article 1: Make Wen Wang Chongmao the crown prince; Article 2: Empress Wei knows political affairs; Article 3: Prime Minister Li Dan advises on political affairs.
However, Empress Wei was not satisfied. She planned to follow Wu Zetian's example and become the emperor, and arranged all the government positions, internal and external military power, and the central imperial army to her own party members and tribesmen. This undoubtedly caused the Li and Tang royal family to feel a huge crisis, and peace was The princess and Linzi King Li Longji decided to strike first.
On July 21, Li Longji led his troops into the inner palace, claiming that Wei had poisoned the late emperor and was planning to endanger the country. He was going to kill Zhu Wei tonight. Most of the Yulin army turned against Wei. The whole party had no time to react and were all killed. This was known as the Tang Long Coup in history. Shangguan Waner, who had a close relationship with Empress Wei, was also on the list of executioners. Waner held a candle and led the palace people to greet her, and showed Liu Youqiu the edict she and Princess Taiping had drafted to prove that she was on the same side as the Li Tang clan. Together, Liu Youqiu took the imperial edict and begged Li Longji to show mercy, but Li Longji knew that he was swinging back and forth, and if he let him go at this time, he would definitely regret it, so he killed him under his banner.
In fact, Shangguan Wan'er planned the coup very carefully, and she contacted Princess Taiping early. However, she did not expect that it would be the brave and courageous Li Longji who led the troops into the palace. Although Li Longji and Princess Taiping dealt with Empress Wei together, they actually had their own agendas. In addition, Wan'er has been playing both sides of the political struggle again and again, which not only shows that she is smart mentally, but also exposes the weakness of her political ethics. She is a person without any political integrity or political stance. Therefore, in this coup, Wan'er's cleverness was mistaken for her cleverness. Instead of becoming a life-saving straw, the imperial edict in her hand became a sharp sword that stabbed herself.
Shangguan Wan'er and Wu Zetian
Wu Zetian relied on Shangguan Wan'er as a confidant and did not avoid her even when having sex with Zhang Changzong on the bed. Shangguan Wan'er was in love for the first time, so she couldn't help but be attracted. Coupled with Zhang Changzong's beautiful appearance, she couldn't help but feel like a deer. One day, Wan'er and Zhang Changzong were having a private banter. Wu Zetian saw her, pulled out a golden knife, inserted it into Shangguan Wan'er's bun, hurting her left forehead, and said angrily: "You dare to come close to me, you will be punished with death." Fortunately, Zhang Changzong knelt down and begged for her, and she was pardoned. Because Wan'er had a scar on her forehead, she tattooed a red plum blossom on the scar to cover it up. Unexpectedly, it made her look even more charming. The ladies in the palace all thought it was beautiful, so some secretly imitated it by applying rouge to their foreheads. Gradually, this kind of red plum makeup appeared in the palace.
After that, Shangguan Wan'er served her carefully and catered to Wu Zetian's needs. Starting from the first year of the Holy Calendar, he was allowed to handle hundreds of memorials and participate in government affairs, and his power became increasingly powerful.
In the first year of Shenlong, Tang Zhongzong was restored to power. After Zhongzong ascended the throne, the political power was in the hands of Empress Wei. Zhongzong lived a life of wandering and precarity, and developed a weak character. Empress Wei devoted herself to imitating Wu Zetian and colluded with her daughter Princess Anle to control Chao Gang. As early as the death of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, Shangguan Wan'er was sixteen years old and her mother had already passed away. This Wan'er was good at grooming, her eyebrows were covered with emerald green, and her head was posing, so she had an affair with Emperor Zhongzong. Later, Zhongzong was deposed and You was imprisoned in Fangzhou. Only Empress Wei accompanied Emperor Zhongzong in You imprisoned and suffered all the hardships. After Zhongzong was restored to power and had great power, he then summoned Wan'er and formed a Luanfengjiao, named Jieyu, and named Wan'er's mother Zheng as Mrs. Peiguo. He also ordered Wan'er to take charge of drafting edicts.