Why was Shangguan Wan'er tortured by Wu Zetian?Is it a competition for male pets, or is there another reason?
In Ziwei Palace in 690 AD, Shangguan Wan'er was forcibly pulled out by the guards, and just now, Wu Zetian angrily ordered an execution. The "Old Tang Book" records, "When the sky is right, Wan'er should be beheaded if she resists the order, then the heavens will pity her and not kill her, but she will only stab her in the face."
Ink punishment, also known as "black face", although its damage is small, but the insult is very strong, the prisoner tattoos on the face, and then smeared with black charcoal, the wound is difficult to heal, leaving a lifelong brand.
The ancients regarded the hair and skin of the body as precious, so Shangguan Wan'er tattooed a delicate red plum blossom between the eyebrows in order to cover up the traces of "ink punishment" on the forehead, which looked like "two dragons playing with pearls".
As for why Shangguan Wan'er was punished by Wu Zetian, the history books do not give the exact reason, but there is a theory among the people that she had a tryst with Zhang Changzong and was bumped into by Wu Zetian.
In 697 AD, Princess Taiping recommended the Zhang Changzong brothers to Empress Wu Zetian, and since then, the empress has been very fond of the brothers, indulging in the gentleness of the male pet.
At this time, Shangguan Wan'er was deeply appreciated by the empress, but she angered the empress because of "digging the foot of the wall". Wu Zetian said angrily: "How dare you approach my beloved, the crime deserves death!."
As she spoke, she pulled out the golden knife she was carrying, preparing to kill Shangguan Wan'er. Fortunately, Zhang Changzong knelt in front of the empress and kowtowed and begged for mercy, so that Shangguan Wan'er escaped.
However, although the death penalty was exempted, the living crime could not be escaped, and Shangguan Wan'er was sentenced to "ink punishment". Although this story is widely circulated among the people, its credibility is very low. First of all, Zhang Changzong was not a hard-headed man, and he would not stand up to the empress's wrath, because he knew that doing so would most likely result in death.
First of all, the origins of this claim can be traced back to a book from the Ming Dynasty called "The Secret Records of the Crane Guard", which recorded many stories about Wu Zetian and her lover, but these stories were most likely based on folklore, so they are not very credible.
Secondly, we can't ignore the existence of Shangguan Wan'er. In fact, she may be a person who has been misunderstood by historians. So, what is so special about her?
The Shangguan Wan'er family was originally a famous family, and during the Western Han Dynasty, the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and the Sui Dynasty, members of the Shangguan family held important official positions. Her grandfather's name was Shangguanyi, and he served as the prime minister during the Tang Gaozu period.
However, because Shangguan Yi had helped Tang Gaozu draft an edict abolishing Wu Zetian, he was retaliated against by Wu Zetian and was eventually killed.
When Wan'er was just born, she was a slave in the palace of the Tang Dynasty with her mother. Her mother taught her to read and write, which made Wan'er smart and understanding.
According to the "Old Tang Book", "When Wan'er was young, she entered the palace with her mother. As she grew older, she showed excellent writing and mastery of officialdom.
When Wan'er was fourteen years old, her fate took a turn for the worse. She was favored by Wu Zetian, who promoted her status from slave to slave and kept her by his side, mainly responsible for handling paperwork and edicts.
It is worth mentioning that the disaster of the Wan'er family was caused by Wu Zetian, but Wan'er chose to follow Wu Zetian, which required great courage and reason. After Wu Zetian became the empress, most of the edicts were drafted by Wan'er, and she was also deeply trusted by Wu Zetian.
Therefore, it is impossible for her not to know the relationship between Wu Zetian and Zhang Changzong. However, Wan'er's reason prevents her from touching the "emperor's man".
Since the Holy Calendar, Baisi has played and participated in many orders", which means that even if Shangguan Wan'er was sentenced to "ink punishment", she was still trusted by Wu Zetian and participated in the decision-making of the court.
This is also the reason why she is called the "female prime minister". If Shangguan Wan'er and Zhang Changzong's "tryst turmoil" was true, Wu Zetian would never let them stay by her side, after all, she had killed her male pet Xue Huaiyi before.
However, Shangguan Wan'er and Zhang Changzong were unharmed, Wu Zetian died in 705, and Zhang Changzong also died in the same year. So, why are there rumors of their "tryst" among the people?
I think this may be because of the record in the "Old Tang Book" about "Wan'er and Wu Sansi fornication".
In 705, Zhang Cambodia, a supporter of the Tang Dynasty, staged a Shenlong coup, Wu Zetian announced his abdication, and Tang Zhongzong Li Xian returned to the throne. Although Tang Zhongzong Li Xian ascended the throne, Shangguan Wan'er was not ostracized because of this, but was highly regarded and appointed as Zhaorong by Tang Zhongzong, still responsible for the drafting of the edict.
According to the "Old Tang Book", Shangguan Wan'er constantly sowed discord between Empress Wei and Princess Anle, and designed to frame Zhang Khan Zhi and other five heroes, resulting in them all being deposed and beheaded.
Shangguan Wan'er's power is said to have reached an unprecedented level. The "Old Tang Book" also mentioned that Shangguan Wan'er had an illicit relationship with Wu Sansi, so in the process of issuing the edict, she always admired the Wu family and belittled the Li family, which made Li Chongjun, as the crown prince, feel very angry.
It is stated in the history books that at the instigation of Shangguan Wan'er, Li Chongjun was forced to stage a coup d'état, and as a result, he was killed in front of the Taiji Palace. In 710 AD, Li Xian's Empress Wei planned to emulate Wu Zetian, and when Li Longji, the king of Linzi, learned the news, he decisively took the lead in launching a coup d'état, leading the forbidden army to storm the palace and kill Empress Wei and her henchmen.
In the process of Li Longji rushing into the palace, he met Shangguan Wan'er who was hurrying away with a candle, and directly killed Shangguan Wan'er despite the dissuasion of the people around him.
Although Shangguan Wan'er was on the side of the Li Tang clan, Li Longji did not believe her. After the death of Tang Zhongzong, she used the power to draft the edict to draft the edict to establish Li Chongmao as the crown prince, but Empress Wei controlled the government and was about to ascend the throne as the regent empress dowager, so she had no choice but to give up.
The Book of the Old Tang Dynasty was compiled by Zhao Ying and Liu Yun of the Later Jin Dynasty, which was not far from the fall of the Tang Dynasty, so there are many rich and credible historical materials, so it is also included in one of the "Twenty-four History".
However, I believe that there is a personal bias in the "Old Tang Book" about Shangguan Wan'er's record and evaluation. Under the influence of the ideology of the ancient patriarchal society, it was very resistant to women dominating the court, and Wu Zetian was generally opposed by all levels of society at the beginning of his ascension to the throne, and this sentiment was also placed on Shangguan Wan'er.
Shangguan Wan'er was highly praised by Tang Zhongzong for her outstanding ability to govern the country, and was known as "a conspicuous industry and an economic talent". Her work ability and grades are even comparable to those of men.
According to Shangguan Wan'er's epitaph, she gave advice to Tang Zhongzong four times, resolutely opposing the establishment of Princess Anle as the crown princess. And Tang Zhongzong Li Xian was poisoned and died, and Princess An Le also played an important role.
Shangguan Wan'er only provided evidence at first and exposed Princess An Le in a decent manner, but Tang Zhongzong did not accept it. So, Shangguan Wan'er handed in her resignation and used abandoning her official position and going into hiding as a bargaining chip, but she was still unsuccessful.
Then, she cut off her hair and prepared to become a nun, but Tang Zhongzong remained unmoved. In the end, Shangguan Wan'er chose to drink the poison and admonish each other with death, hoping to awaken Tang Zhongzong's consciousness.
However, her efforts did not work. Fortunately, the doctor treated her in time and was able to save her life. After a long period of recuperation, Shangguan Wan'er finally recovered her health.
I am inclined to believe in epitaphs because they were engraved shortly after the death of the deceased and record their life deeds and exploits. Why does the "Old Tang Book" say that Shangguan Wan'er and Wu Sansi are suspected of fornication?
It may be that the compiler has misunderstood a word. In compiling the Book of the Old Tang Dynasty, the author consulted many sources from the Tang Dynasty, including Wu Pingyi's Jinglong Wenguan Ji, a documentary literary history of the Jinglong reign of Emperor Zhongzong of the Tang Dynasty, whose credibility is widely recognized.
In the book, there is a sentence mentioning that Shangguan Wan'er "had a lot of friends in her later years", and the "tong" here can be understood as both fornication and normal communication, and it cannot be concluded that Shangguan Wan'er and Wu Sansi had an affair based on this word alone.
In addition, according to some historical materials of the Tang Dynasty, Shangguan Wan'er's social evaluation at that time was much higher than that in the "Old Tang Book", which may be caused by the bias of the historian who compiled the "Old Tang Book".
Shangguan Wan'er showed her loyalty and steadfastness in the struggle to win Li Chongmao as the crown prince and to oppose Princess An Le to become the crown princess. Her actions show her deep love for the Li family and the Tang Dynasty, and she hopes to protect the dynasty from traitors through her own efforts.
However, Li Longji did not give her a chance to explain, which ultimately led to her misfortune. This may also be the reason why Wu Zetian carried out the "ink punishment" on Shangguan Wan'er, because Shangguan Wan'er may not have fully followed Wu Zetian's instructions.
Because Shangguan Wan'er was still young at the time, she didn't know much about the affairs of the imperial court, and she had not been able to hide her preference for Emperor Li well, so the historical record that "Wan'er should have been killed against the holy will" is in line with historical facts.
Back to the original question, if it was really because Shangguan Wan'er had a private meeting with Zhang Changzong and was discovered by Wu Zetian, I think the historian would definitely record it "meticulously".
In general, Wu Zetian's "ink punishment" on Shangguan Wan'er was because Shangguan Wan'er did not support Wu Zetian from the bottom of her heart, and the reason was not "private meeting turmoil", on the contrary, we linked Shangguan Wan'er's behavior with the content of the epitaph, and found that the historian was biased against her, which further proves that Shangguan Wan'er always supported Li as the emperor of the Tang Dynasty in her heart. 100 help plan