In Chinese, the word "Lihua" means gorgeous and gorgeous, and the ancients often used this name for auspiciousness. In Chinese history, many great figures have taken this name as their name, such as "Zhao" in Zhao Qiansun Lizhong.
During the turbulent period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Zhang Lihua, the favorite concubine of Chen Shubao, the queen of the Southern Dynasty, was beheaded for her beauty, but her story left a deep mark on history.
Zhang Lihua was born in the war-torn period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, her family was poor, and her parents and brothers made a living from the weaving mat handicraft industry. During the reign of Emperor Chen Xuan, Zhang Lihua was elected to the court when she was ten years old and became the personal maid of the then crown prince Chen Shu Baoliangdi Gong.
Although Zhang Lihua, who first entered the court, was young, she was slim and elegant, and she had already shown a beautiful temperament. Fifteen-year-old Chen Shubao fell in love with Zhang Lihua at a glance, was deeply attracted by her beauty, and fell in love.
Two hot-blooded young people, in their youth, Chen Shubao is with Zhang Lihua day after day, Zhang Lihua has also won the favor of the crown prince, and her life has changed dramatically since then.
Zhang Lihua became pregnant after being frequently pampered by Chen Shubao. Soon after, at the age of sixteen, she gave birth to Chen Shubao's fourth son, Chen Shen, which also made her occupy a more important place in Chen Shubao's heart.
Although in the feudal era, the emperor was extremely noble, and the harem concubines were countless, so the emperor was often unkind, and the female appearance would age over time, so the emperor's favor generally did not last long.
However, Zhang Lihua is an exception. Although she has given birth and is no longer young, Chen Shubao still loves her very much, and even loves her even more. A few years later, her favor was still the same, and she even gave birth to her eighth son, Chen Zhuang, for Chen Shubao.
When Chen Shubao entered the prime of his life, his father Emperor Chen Xuan died, and he inherited the throne. At this time, Zhang Lihua also ushered in the peak of her life and was named a concubine.
She has jumped from a poor low-level woman to a noble woman who enjoys honor, and her status and treatment have changed dramatically. In the harem of Chen Shubao, the queen of Chen in the Southern Dynasty, although there is also a queen named Shen Wuhua, she is not favored by the queen master.
Therefore, Zhang Lihua became the most favored concubine in the harem. In ancient feudal dynasties, it was common for mothers to be more expensive than their sons, but if the mother was favored by the emperor, then her son would also be taken care of, and both parties would achieve each other.
Chen Shubao was very fond of the noble concubine Zhang Lihua, so he named their eldest son Chen Shen as the king of Shi'an, and the youngest son Chen Zhuang as the king of Huiji. These two sons are favored by their biological mother Zhang Lihua, and they are more loved and trusted by Chen Bao than other brothers.
Therefore, Zhang Lihua not only won favor by virtue of her beauty, but also had a unique outstandingness, able to observe words and feelings, and please Chen Shubao. In the feudal era, not only was she not jealous, but she also took the initiative to introduce harem beauties to the emperor, which made her win good popularity in the palace.
The palace ladies who wanted to take the opportunity to take the throne were grateful to her.
Emperor Chen Shubao deeply felt the magnanimity of the noble concubine Zhang Lihua, so he favored her even more. Zhang Lihua is good at words, has a strong eloquence and memory. She was able to memorize the contents of the recitals that the internal supervisor could not remember, which made her play an important role in the major affairs of the court.
However, Chen Shubao gradually indulged in pleasure and neglect of government, and every time he watched the recital, he had to lean on the pillow and let the concubine sit on his lap, and this phenomenon of luxury and decadence was already obvious.
Although Zhang Lihua was deeply favored by the emperor, she did not support the government, but instead exacerbated the corruption of the court. She wantonly appointed mediocre people from the inner and outer clans, and loyal ministers and good generals were suppressed and framed.
At this time, the imperial court was full of flattery and collusion, and the ruling group was already rotten.
In the ancient feudal society, the noble concubine Zhang Lihua was unique in the court with her mastery of the feudal ghost and god prayer technique. At that time, technology was not developed, and people believed in the theory of ghosts and gods.
In order to cater to this belief, Zhang Lihua often held sacrifices in the palace, and invited witches to beat drums and dance, in order to confuse Chen Shubao. In Chen Shubao's eyes, this is seen as a symbol of auspiciousness.
Zhang Lihua's graceful demeanor and mother-to-son nobility, as well as her auxiliary government, Shinto ability and virtuous and tolerant personality, made Chen Shubao love her.
In troubled times, if the monarch indulges in pleasure and neglects political affairs, the country will soon fall into turmoil. During the reign of Chen Shubao, the last emperor of Southern Chen, the government was chaotic and the people lived in poverty.
However, in troubled times, new and powerful regimes often emerge. After Emperor Wen of Sui eliminated the debaucherous Northern Zhou regime, he went south to destroy Chen, and the Sui Dynasty army was overwhelmed, while Southern Chen was vulnerable.
When Chen Shubao learned that the Sui army was about to attack the city, he panicked and took Zhang Guifei and Kong Guifei to hide in the deep palace well, trying to escape the rebels' search.
The soldiers of the Sui army threatened to fall into the well, and Chen Shubao, Zhang Lihua and others urgently called for help. Several people were pulled up and captured by Sui. Yang Guangchu wanted to accept Zhang Lihua as a concubine, but was opposed by Changshi.
In the end, a generation of Yan Concubine Zhang Lihua was put on the name of disaster and was brutally killed under the enemy's sword. Zhang Lihua's short thirty-year life has gone through twists and turns, from entering the palace at the age of 10, giving birth to a child at the age of 15, to once favoring the harem, and even the emperor let her sit on her lap in the court, but she became the red face in the eyes of the Sui army that led to the death of Nan Chen.
She became a political victim in troubled times, and the crime turned out to be because she was too beautiful. This hypocritical and ridiculous feudal patriarchal society makes people sigh and sigh.