In 653 AD, in the fourth year of Yonghui in the Tang Dynasty, a huge peasant uprising occurred in Tonglu County, Zhejiang. Although the uprising ended in failure, it was unique among the many peasant uprisings in Chinese history and had special significance.
Chen Shuozhen, an extraordinary woman, led the peasant uprising and went one step further, proclaiming herself emperor. She was the first recognized female emperor in Chinese history, even before Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty was officially proclaimed emperor.
However, her historical place is not widely recognized. Therefore, from a certain point of view, Chen Shuo is really the first female emperor in Chinese history. So, what kind of person is Chen Shuozhen?
What made her the leader of this peasant uprising? Why did her revolt fail in the end? Let's explore the history of this mysterious woman.
Chen Shuozhen, a native of Chun'an County, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, was born in 620 AD, just in the third year of Wude in the Tang Dynasty. However, just four years later, the Tang Dynasty pacified the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, bringing peaceful life to the locals.
When Chen Shuozhen was 7 years old, the Xuanwumen Incident occurred in Chang'an, thousands of miles away, and Li Shimin ascended the throne as the emperor, opening the rule of Zhenguan, which was one of the most heyday periods in Chinese history and was widely praised by later generations.
For the ancients, it was undoubtedly a blessing to live in the period of Zhenguan's rule, and there was basically no war within the country, and it was more likely to survive.
Although Li Shimin and the founders of the rule of Zhenguan are highly praised, we should not lose sight of the fact that even during the famous period of the rule of Zhenguan, the lives of ordinary people at the bottom were not easy.
In fact, any dynasty in history, as long as it can ensure that the people do not starve to death, is already a prosperous era. This applies not only in China, but also globally.
Throughout human history, there have always been more times when people starved to death than when people did not starve to death. Even today, there are many parts of the world where hunger is acute.
For us, there are only a few decades before we can truly solve the problem of hunger. Therefore, although the true rule of Sadakan is better than in other periods, this beauty is only relative.
Life is still difficult for ordinary people who lack land and have lower social status.
Living in the Zhenguan period, although life was difficult, it was a blessing to be able to avoid the starvation and death caused by the war. Chen Shuozhen is a low-level commoner, his parents died early, and he and his sister depend on each other.
During the war years, it was very difficult for them to survive, but during the Zhenguan years, they were barely able to make ends meet. As they get older, their living conditions gradually improve.
Initially, there were still famines in the country, such as in the second year of Zhenguan, the Guanzhong area suffered from famine, and Li Shimin had to allow the victims to move freely. However, after more than a decade of restoration, the country gradually recovered from the war, and the Chen sisters' lives became easier.
However, a flood and a war changed Chen Shuozhen's life.
Many historians have studied the taxation situation during the Zhenguan period and have come to the conclusion that the taxation during the Zhenguan period was one of the lowest in history. The correctness of this conclusion cannot be doubted, because in historical sources, the proportion of taxes in the Tang Dynasty is indeed extremely low.
However, it should be noted that the tax rate announced by the state and the actual tax burden borne by the people at the bottom are two completely different concepts. For example, the state imposes a 10 percent tax, but in the state it may become 15 percent in the state and 20 percent in the county.
And when these taxes end up on the people at the bottom who don't have their own land, the tax rate can exceed 50%. At the end of the day, it's really a matter of layering.
In order to accomplish their own tax goals, the imperial courts at all levels will have various means. In this process, the richer the landlords, the more they had various means to avoid paying taxes.
And the amount of taxes that have been avoided will eventually have to be apportioned by the government to the people at the bottom. Therefore, although on the surface it seems that the country's tax rate is very low, in fact, the tax burden of the people at the bottom is very heavy.
In the process of solving problems, it is essential to ensure the integrity and integrity of the people. However, in ancient China, this was almost impossible to achieve. In Chun'an County, where Chen Shuozhen lived, although there was a famous Qing official Hai Rui who served as the magistrate of the county, it is a pity that Chen Shuozhen did not live in that era.
In the era in which she lived, the ** in Chun'an County was generally more corrupt. In the latter part of the Zhenguan period, a once-in-a-century flood broke out in Chun'an County, resulting in a significant reduction in local grain production.
According to the system of the Tang Dynasty, at this time, the first at all levels should actively organize flood relief work, open warehouses and release grain, and at the same time reduce the tax rate in this place. However, if it is really done, it will definitely result in the relevant ** being dealt with.
As a result, instead of opening warehouses to release grain, the imperial court continued to levy taxes at the original tax rate, which made the life of the people in the Chun'an area even more difficult.
While the Tang Dynasty was developing steadily, Goguryeo in the northeast gradually became stronger, posing a serious threat to the Tang Dynasty's borders. Therefore, in the seventeenth year of Zhenguan, Li Shimin decided to personally lead a large army to conquer Goguryeo, and from the perspective of national history, this expedition was undoubtedly strategically correct.
However, wars have always been the most expensive, and in order to support the army's crusade against Goguryeo, the tax rate of the common people can only be raised. The Chun'an area, which had been hit by the disaster, has now increased its tax burden, making life even more difficult.
Selling children, displacement, and starvation carry ......These tragic scenes, which originally only existed in the book, are now being staged in the Chun'an area. In this process, Chen Shuozhen has been thinking about how to deal with it.
Chen Shuo is really a chivalrous man, even if he is hungry, he does not forget to think about how to help others. When the people of Chun'an County were hungry and had no food, but the government refused to open a warehouse to release grain, Chen Shuozhen decided to secretly go to the owner's granary to get food to relieve the victims.
However, from a different perspective, Chen Shuozhen's actions may have different results. From the perspective of the modern rule of law, it is a crime to steal someone else's property.
But in that era, the grain of the landlord and the old rich man was usually accumulated by squeezing the tenant farmers, so in that era, Chen Shuozhen's actions were undoubtedly just. Despite this, Chen Shuo's true kindness was eventually discovered by the owner, and she was beaten to the point of uncertainty about life and death.
However, the victims who were rescued by her did not give up, they quietly entered the landlord Lao Cai's house at night, rescued Chen Shuozhen, and allowed her to survive.
Summary: Chen Shuo is really a chivalrous person, although her own life is also very difficult, she still chooses to help others. She stole food from her boss to help the victims, which was a righteous act in those days.
However, her actions are eventually discovered, but she is rescued, which shows the goodness and love of humanity.
Chen Shuozhen, in the name of a chivalrous woman, opened a warehouse to release grain, saved the people from fire and water, and his behavior was morally impeccable, but he had no choice but to violate the law. Pursued by the government, Chen Shuozhen could only escape into the mountains and incarnate as a Taoist aunt to practice, so that he could survive.
After experiencing the catastrophe of life and death, Chen Shuozhen began to reflect on what was the problem. Why did her righteous deeds attract the pursuit of officers and soldiers?
In modern society, if a well-intentioned action violates the law, it is a sign that there is a hole in our social system. We can improve the law and promulgate corrective measures by reflecting it to the relevant departments of the state or submitting it to the relevant departments of the state through the deputies of the people's congress.
But for Chen, this method does not work. Chen Shuozhen recognized that there were problems with the social structure, but with her identity and the social structure of the Tang Dynasty, she could not change the status quo.
Therefore, she chose the extreme method, that is, to overthrow the existing social system and directly carry out an uprising.
Although there were many causes of peasant uprisings, few succeeded them, and history seems to remember only one Ming Dynasty. The reason for this is that the people at the bottom of the uprising crave a stable life and a good stomach, and the leaders of the peasant army often lack this ability.
On the contrary, it was the old aristocracy and the landowning class that were more likely to meet their needs. For example, the Chen Shuozhen uprising was launched in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions of the Tang Dynasty, where life was difficult, so it was difficult to attract outside support, and the uprising naturally struggled to succeed.
Chen Shuozhen, a legendary woman, appeared as the Nine Heavens Xuannu, spreading her ideas and beliefs. Her teachings attracted many people in Chun'an County, and under the leadership of Chen Shuozhen, they began a vigorous uprising.
However, it was during Chen Shuozhen's ministry that a major event occurred in the Tang Dynasty: Li Shimin, an eloquent monarch, died in Chang'an. Li Shimin's death made his son Li Zhi ascend the throne and become Tang Gaozong.
However, Li Zhi's ascension to the throne did not bring peace and prosperity, but instead brought power struggles and chaos. Wu Zetian's return made Li Zhi's harem fall into a bloody storm.
Under such circumstances, the lives of the people at the bottom have become more difficult. Thus, four years after Li Zhi ascended the throne, Chen Shuozhen's uprising officially began. The core idea of the new copy: Chen Shuozhen's uprising originated from the social turmoil of the Tang Dynasty and the miserable life of the people at the bottom.
After Chen Shuozhen's uprising, he imitated the system of the Tang Dynasty, established a political power, and proclaimed himself "Emperor Wenjia". She and her brother-in-law Zhang Shuyin split their troops and attacked the Changhua area of Zhejiang and Tonglu County.
Wherever the rebel army went, it received enthusiastic responses from the people everywhere, and its scale rapidly expanded to tens of thousands. The rapid development of this uprising reflected that the people of Zhejiang were living extremely hard and living in dire straits.
Who would want to take the risk of joining an uprising if it weren't forced by life? However, despite the large number of soldiers recruited by the rebels in a short period of time, they were really just a group of peasants with no military training.
Historically, the combat effectiveness of the peasant army was usually weak, because most of them were low-level people who farmed the land, without any military training, not even basic **, and only used hoes and rakes to cultivate the land in ordinary times during the uprising.
Although the size of the peasant army was large, it was far from the regular army of the Tang Dynasty. Realizing this, the Tang Dynasty began to take action against the rebel army. In order to eliminate this peasant army, the Tang Dynasty blocked the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions and banned the movement of people.
At the same time, Cui Yixuan, the assassin of Wuzhou, and Shi Fang Renyu, the governor of Yangzhou, respectively led the regular army of the Tang Dynasty to suppress it. With the approach of the main forces of the two Tang armies, the scope of activity of the rebel army gradually narrowed and was confined to the territory of Wuzhou.
During this period, Tang Jun hyped up, claiming that God couldn't stand it anymore, and began to warn them, suggesting that Chen Shuozhen was about to fail. Many of the peasant army joined because of their faith, and when they heard such a statement, their hearts began to waver.
The truth is unknown, maybe it's a meteorite, maybe it's artificially made. In any case, the appearance of that stone caused the rebels to lose their determination to fight.
It was only a matter of time before the Tang army finally crushed them. After the start of the fighting, the peasant army mostly surrendered directly without any resistance. Only a few resolute peasant armies persisted in the fight, but were eventually easily defeated by the Tang army.
The leader of the rebel army, Chen Shuozhen, was captured, and Chen Shuozhen's uprising ended in failure.