Wu Zetian in Tang Dynasty

Wu Zetian's tablet without words is very famous in Liangshan Ganling, north of Ganxian County, Shaanxi Province. However, why the wordless tablet was created has become an eternal mystery that people have speculated and explored for more than 300 years. Recently, Tian Yaqi, an associate researcher of Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology, and Gao Fa, a cadre of Ganling Museum, put forward a new view on this-there is an inscription on Wu Zetian's "wordless tablet". The great unification in the stone tablets of past dynasties caused numerous speculations by later generations because of "not knowing a word" Ganling is the mausoleum of Li Zhi (628-683 AD) and Wu Zetian (624-705 AD) in Tang Gaozong. It is the tomb of the only couple and two emperors in the royal cemetery of China, representing the Tang and Zhou Dynasties. From the death of Emperor Gaozong in 683 AD to the death of Wu Zetian in 705, under the personal planning and command of Wu Zetian, it took 22 years to build Ganling. The tall and majestic "tablet without words" stands on the east side of Sima Road outside Zhuquemen in the south of the cemetery, standing shoulder to shoulder with the "merit tablet" celebrating Gaozong's martial arts in the west. The "tablet without words" is carved from a complete boulder, with a height of 7.53 meters, a width of 2. 1 meter, a thickness of 1.49 meters and a total weight of 98.84 tons. The head of the monument is carved with eight intertwined dragons, and the east and west sides of the monument are carved with a picture of Ran Ran Dragon. The ascending dragon is 4.12m high and1.19m wide. Its body is thick and twisted, with elegant expression, smooth lines and skillful knife cutting. The stele seat is 3.35 meters long, 2.65 meters wide and 2.10 meters high. The 0.66-meter-long lion-horse figure line depicts the lion holding his head high, his eyes bright and imposing; The horse, on the other hand, bends its hoof and bows its head, swimming and eating. The whole monument is tall, majestic and finely carved, which can yet be regarded as a masterpiece of past dynasties.

Strangely, when the monument was first erected, there was not a word engraved on it. According to "New Records of Ganxian County", "Xiang has no words. After Jinyuan, I went back and forth with poems on it. " "Yongzhou Jinshi Ji" also contains: "The side of the monument is carved with a dragon and phoenix shape, and its face is cloudy without words." Only in the Song Dynasty were there inscriptions with steep brushwork and ready-made fonts. Why was there "no word" on the original "no word tablet"? Later generations have a lot of speculation about this. To sum up, there are three kinds of sayings: First, it is said that Wu Zetian left a last word: "His merits and demerits are left to future generations to comment on", so he left no last words; Second, it is said that Wu Zetian is "respected, not to write, leaving people to comment", so she is not a word; Third, after the death of Wu Zetian, it was difficult for Tang Zhongzong and Li Xian to determine his title (such as singing the praises of Wu Zetian and carving the "Golden Wheel Emperor of Zhou Dynasty", as a descendant of Li Tang, he was emotionally reluctant; For example, she was denounced as the "Great Sage Queen", while Wu Zetian was clearly the "Great Zhou" emperor in 16, but she was in a dilemma and simply "didn't know a word". When the monument was erected, the inscription was drawn up and carefully engraved with a "word grid". Tian Yaqi, an associate researcher of Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology, and the cadres of Ganling Museum analyzed and studied the historical materials, and thought that according to the symmetrical layout of Ganling buildings, the "tablet without words" and "tablet to record saints" were obviously set by Wu Zetian at the same time when the emperor died, and Wu Zetian also wrote an inscription of more than 8,000 words for the "tablet to record saints", praising the emperor's virtue (the inscription was written by Emperor Li in regular script). As the first and only female emperor in the history of China and an outstanding female politician in feudal society, Wu Zetian tried her best to show off after she ascended the throne: In 695 AD, she ordered the bronze tripod of Kyushu and the zodiac to be cast in Tiantong Palace; In 694 AD (after her death 1 1 year), it was cast at a cost of10 billion yuan, engraved with her merits, eulogized Zhou, relegated Tang, and her handwritten Ode to the Nations of the Zhou Dynasty. Then, how could Wu Zetian in her later years not want to use this tablet to sing praises for herself? Besides, Wu Zetian died 22 years later than Emperor Gaozong, so she had enough time to prepare the inscription for this monument.

After repeated observation and research, they found that the front of the "tablet without words" was covered with 4.5 cm square fine lines engraved with grids. These squares are carved in one breath, running through the whole face, with 84 squares up and down and 44 squares left and right. Although some linear lattices have been eroded by wind and rain for more than 300 years, they are still relatively clear. These squares are definitely not carved later. There is only one possibility, that is, after the inscription is drawn up, the lattice is engraved on the monument. According to the total number of squares facing the sun, the inscription has about 3000 words.

In addition, judging from the overlapping relationship of cultural relics and archaeology, there are 42 inscriptions on "Wordless Monuments" (Beiyang 3 1, Yin Bei 1 1), which started in the Song Dynasty and ended in the Ming Dynasty. The earliest characters were printed on the dark side of the tablet, carved in the second year of Zhao Ji Chongning in Hui Zong at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty (A.D. 1 103). The latest paragraph was carved in the sixth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1633). Most of them were inscribed by court officials who held important positions at that time. These inscriptions lasted for 530 years and were mostly realistic works, which were divided into three categories: recording, lyricism and traveling. Tian Yaqi and others found that these inscriptions all overlap with thin-line lattices, that is, the lattices are in front and the inscriptions are in the back. From the rubbings of some inscriptions, we can see that some words are engraved in one grid, and some words are engraved in several grids. These also show that the lattice on the monument was there.

The front of the "tablet without words" is right above the center, and there is an inscription that is the most distinctive and precious. In the 12th year of Jintianhui (A.D. 1 134), Zong Fu, the younger brother of the second generation of the Great Jin Dynasty emperor Sheng (the inscription is called "Arubu"), wrote it in the Khitan characters, with a Chinese translation of "Travels of the younger brother of the Emperor of the Jin Dynasty". The inscription is surrounded by a line with a width of 6.2 cm, engraved with the lotus pattern of vines and the pattern through which flying lions pass. It is 142 cm high and 96 cm wide. Only this paragraph was carved after grinding off the grid carved on the original monument.

Wu Zetian abused violence, and Li Xian, the Chinese emperor, held a grudge, so he had to be "speechless". He had written an inscription and the grid had been engraved. Why didn't he engrave a word at that time? After research, Tian Yaqi and Gao Fa think that the reason should not be found from Wu Zetian herself, but from her successor in connection with the political situation at that time.

Although Wu Zetian reigned in 16, she was all-powerful and heroic, but in her later years, especially before her death, she was extremely desolate. In the first month of the first year of Shenlong (AD 705), more than 500 guards led by prime ministers Zhang Jianzhi, Cui Xuanmuwei, Huan and others launched a "Xuanwumen coup", killing Wu Zetian's brothers and marrying the Chinese emperor, forcing Wu Zetian to give way and restore the title of "Tang". Wu Zetian has been living in Shangyang Palace from the Palace of Immortality. In June165438+1October of the same year, 82-year-old Wu Zetian died of illness in Xianju Hall of Shangyang Palace in Luoyang, the eastern capital. Living will: "The last emperor was called the Great Sage Queen". In May of the following year, he was buried in Ganling with Emperor Gaozong.

Although Tang Zhongzong Li Xian was the biological son of Wu Zetian, he lived in fear for a long time and was killed several times under his arrogance. Li Xian also hates his mother's atrocities of torturing and killing innocent people. Wu Zetian successively poisoned Prince Li Hong (posthumous title "respected the emperor"); Li Xian (the sixth son of Emperor Gaozong, posthumous title of Zhang Huai) was abolished as Shu Ren, and then he was forced to commit suicide. Li Xian (the seventh son of Emperor Gaozong) was deposed by Wu Zetian less than one year after he ascended the throne and was expelled from Beijing. For more than 20 years, Li Xian has been living in fear, so that every time he heard that Wu Zetian sent someone to see him, he was afraid. His eldest son Li Zhongrun ("Prince Yide" in posthumous title) and his daughter Li Xianhui ("Princess Yongtai" in posthumous title, the seventh daughter of Zhongzong) were both executed by Wu Zetian for their careless remarks. In addition, Wu Zetian has been trying to pass on the throne to her Wu family nephew in her later years. After this ordeal, Zhongzong could not publicly vent his hatred for his mother after he succeeded to the throne, but he could not say a good word of praise for his mother, so he simply left a "wordless monument" for Wu Zetian.

Tian Yaqi and others believe that the inscription written by Wu Zetian before his death (the author is unknown) is very likely to be buried in the underground palace of Ganling together with Wu Zetian's precious historical albums such as Hanging Arch Collection and Golden Wheel Collection.

In fact, the "tablet without words" is not without words. Look carefully, there are many words engraved on it, which were added by people since Song and Jin Dynasties because of the regret of "no words". Wu Zetian set up a biographical monument for Tang Gaozong. Why doesn't she write a biography of herself? Since the Tang Dynasty, people have had various opinions about it for more than 1000 years.

The first view is that Wu Zetian's "tablet without words" is used to brag and show his boundless merits. Wu Zetian became queen in 655 AD and was forced to abdicate in 705 AD. She participated in and held the supreme power for fifty years. If it is counted from Tang Gaozong's death, it will be 2 1 year. She is the only outstanding female emperor in the history of China. She attacked the powerful family politically, and through the development of the imperial examination system, a large number of talents entered the political arena and suppressed the monopoly of powerful people. She rewarded farming and mulberry, built water conservancy projects, lightened corvee, and rectified the system of land equalization, which made the social economy rise and the number of households increase. She knows how to make good use of people, makes an exception in employing people, encourages officials at all levels to recommend talents, and is also very modest about the position of capable minister, which is why she was "used by many people in the past." She strengthened the frontier defense of feudal countries and improved relations with all ethnic groups on the border. In a word, Wu Zetian is a person full of political talents and ideals. During her reign, she did many things in line with the interests of the people, stabilized and developed the "Zhenguan Rule", pushed history forward a big step, and played a connecting role in the later "Kaiyuan Rule".

The second view is that Wu Zetian set up a "tablet without words" because she knew that she was guilty, and she thought it would be better not to write an inscription. First, Wu Zetian gained trust by flattery, changed from a low-ranking "talent" to a powerful queen, and finally stole the throne. Second, cultivate henchmen in Li Tang, establish a traitor's palace group, and eliminate dissidents under the banner of "going to court". Third, appoint cruel officials and implement the terrorist policy of informers and abuse of punishment. Fourth, the social and economic development in the early Tang Dynasty was saddle-shaped, and Wu Zetian was at the lowest point when he was in power. Fifth, during his administration, he lost four towns in Anxi, which endangered the unity of the country. Wu Zetian can't make a biography for herself, so she can only set the tone for future generations with the "tablet without words".

The third view is that Wu Zetian is a self-aware person, and it is smart to set up a monument without words. It is the best way for future generations to comment on merits and demerits. Because Wu Zetian has both positive and negative aspects. During the reign of Wu Zetian, the economic development trend since Zhenguan continued; In dealing with the complicated situation before and after Tang Gaozong's death, she showed extraordinary personal talent; Even many feudal orthodox people are amazed at the two points of "teachability" and "employing people" However, Wu Zetian's negativity is also very prominent. In order to consolidate her personal status, she appointed "cruel officials" and killed innocent people, believed in Buddhism and was extravagant and wasteful. Especially in the later period of rule, government politics became increasingly corrupt, and a group of new privileged nobles were connived and supported by Wu Zetian. Wu Zetian was forced to hand over power and regain power in Tang Zhongzong. She knew that people would have all kinds of comments on her life, and it was difficult to write a good or bad inscription, so she decided to set up a "wordless tablet" for future generations to evaluate.