With the lifting of the mask policy, our normal life and production activities are finally back on track, and everyone is looking forward to the resumption of tourism after a three-year absence. However, when we were planning to travel around East Asia, we found that South Korea and Japan had quite strict entry control policies, which made it impossible for us to travel smoothly.
South Korea, in particular, has imposed measures on Chinese tourists who hang yellow cards and detain them in small black rooms. It was only after we adopted a reciprocal policy that South Korea's attitude eased and the relevant policies were gradually lifted.
Nevertheless, this incident is a wake-up call that there are still many unknown risks in the global travel market, and we need to be vigilant and prepared.
The economic fate of the three East Asian countries is closely linked, but South Korea's attempts to restrict the entry of Chinese tourists despite its own domestic economic downturn may be explained by national nature.
Historically, there was a Goguryeo empress who, after gaining power, did not choose to help her own country, but took the initiative to send troops, which is very puzzling. Who is this queen, why does she have such a powerful ability to become an empress, and why did she finally declare war on her country?
If you know anything about Chinese history, you will find that no matter what dynasty you are in, you can always see Goguryeo women in the harem.
Historically, the Chinese nation has had deep relations with many countries. During the Tang Dynasty, the Silla maid, the Ming Dynasty Concubine Pu, the Qing Dynasty Jin Huang Guifei, etc., were all representatives of Chinese private capital.
While the Central Plains states were rising and changing, the vassal states never decreased, especially Goguryeo, who often paid tribute to the Central Plains Dynasty to win the favor of the Central Plains Emperor.
Among them, the most famous Goguryeo woman is undoubtedly Empress Qi.
Qi has been favored since she was a child, and her parents have carefully cultivated her, hoping that she will become the favorite concubine of the harem of the Central Plains when she grows up, so as to stabilize the relationship between the two countries. Qi was born beautiful, and after continuous learning, she mastered various talents and etiquette, and eventually became a little palace maid in the Yuan Court.
The status of Goguryeo palace ladies was lower than that of ordinary court maids, and the state gambled on the happiness of their lives, hoping that a palace maid would be favored in order to ensure the security of the country.
The Qi clan was assigned to the work of serving tea in the court of the Yuan Dynasty, although it seemed simple, it was not easy to do it well. Compared to other tribute girls, the Qi family was already lucky, at least she had the opportunity to meet Emperor Yuan Shun.
The Qi clan was favored by Emperor Yuan Shun because of her outstanding appearance and gentle personality, which made her the object of jealousy of other women in the harem. The Empress Kipchak Tana was particularly jealous, and once summoned Qi to come and insult her in anger.
The Qi clan knew that they did not have the support of a powerful maternal clan like the queen, but only a weak heart. She chose to be patient and wait for the time to come.
At the right time, the Empress Kipchak Tana's brother was implicated in rebellion and finally died in the palace. Therefore, the Qi family no longer needs to worry, and strives to become the queen with all their might.
However, this innovative idea of Emperor Yuan Shun was opposed by the Manchus for the simple reason that the Qi clan was a Goguryeo and the empress had to be a Mongol. In the end, Emperor Yuan Shun failed to canonize Qi as the empress.
Although the Chi clan was favored, she still did not become the queen.
Although Qi did not become the empress, she was still favored, and soon gave birth to Emperor Yuan Shun's eldest son, Aiyu Zhi Lidala. In order to be able to become the queen, Qi actively did good deeds, when there was a major drought in the capital, she seized the opportunity to set up many soup kitchens, arranged ** for the victims to cook porridge, so she won the love of the people.
However, the Qi family's mother family also became arrogant because of this, especially several elder brothers of the Qi family, who relied on the power of their sister to run rampant in Goguryeo, and even asked the king of Goguryeo to give up the throne to the Qi family.
The end of the Qi family's demise is obvious. The Qi clan had already made a name for themselves in the harem of the Yuan Dynasty at this time, and although they were furious after learning the news, they knew that in order to unify the harem, they still needed to continue to accumulate strength.
As a result, Empress Qi began to actively recruit cronies, the most famous of whom was Pu Buhua, whose childhood friendship made their cooperation even closer. After Empress Qi sent Pu Bu to the Yuan court, her greed could no longer be concealed.
She used her eldest son and the power she held to coerce Emperor Yuan Shun to abdicate and pass the throne to her son, so as to achieve her goal of being the empress dowager.
In order to realize his dream of becoming a queen, Qi did not hesitate to falsely accuse those ministers who did not support him, the most famous of which was Prime Minister Taiping. The innocent prime minister was eventually framed by the Qi clan for rebellion, and was eventually exiled and killed.
Although Qi went through many difficulties, she eventually realized her childhood dream and became an empress. Empress Qi was promoted to empress by Emperor Yuan Shun after the death of Empress Boyan Hudu, thus fulfilling her wish.
Empress Qi was already powerful at this time, but she had not forgotten her mother. She instigated her son, Aiyu Zhilidara, to attack Goguryeo, hoping to expand her influence.
However, Aiyu Zhilidara did not prepare well before setting out for the war, and as a result, the war was not only unsuccessful, but was ridiculed by Goguryeo.
Although the war did not break out, Empress Qi had reached the peak of her power, and the end of the Yuan dynasty was imminent. Emperor Yuan Shun was absurd and unreasonable, ignoring the government and politics, only knowing pleasure, and the contradictions among the people could not be contained.
At this time, Empress Qi was close to fifty years old, her youth was gone, and her favor was also taken away by other Han concubines. However, at this time, the favor was no longer of much concern to her, because the contradictions between the people and the Yuan Dynasty were on the verge of breaking out.
In the twenty-eighth year of Zhizheng, the Ming Dynasty army captured Dadu, and the Yuan Dynasty came to an end. Empress Qi had to flee and eventually died of illness a year later. The legend of Queen Qi has been made into a TV series in South Korea, and this may be the only real history they can get their hands on.
However, after reading Queen Qi's experience, we feel more sad. As a woman, she took on the responsibility of protecting the country, showing the tenacity and determination of "140,000 people to be disarmed, and none of them were men".
Her life seems to be well-planned, but the bitterness of it is little known. So if she had to do it all over again, would she choose to leave her hometown and come to Dadu and become a favored concubine?
Perhaps only time will tell.