As the first and only female emperor in Chinese history, Wu Zetian has always been controversial.
Lu Zongdao once commented on in "Introduction to the History of the Song Dynasty" : The sinners of the Tang Dynasty almost endangered the country.
But in fact, you can leave a wordless tombstone after death and let future generations evaluate it.
Just from this point of view, how many emperors in the past dynasties of China have such magnanimity?
In comparison, in fact, a slightly more convincing evaluation should be Hong Mai said in "Rong Zhai's Continuation" :
"The Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and the Empress Wu of the Tang Dynasty are not unknown. , and the disaster of witchcraft and the prison of Luo Zhi have devastated the world, and the concubines, concubines, and ministers will be killed at the crossroads of arms. When future generations hear the name of the two warriors, they will hate them."
What this means here is that Emperor Wu of the Han and Wu Zetian, the two emperors, cannot be said to be unwise.
It’s just that under their governance, there will still be disasters of witchcraft and Luo Zhi’s prison, and the world will be devastated. Concubines and court ministers may be killed because of trivial matters. This is what future generations will feel when they hear the two emperors. Reasons to hate.
Indeed, few people know that a criminal method "Jade Girl Climbing the Ladder" was invented during Wu Zetian's reign. After using it, women all cried out for mercy. Although
made the people at that time fear her, it also became the main excuse for future generations of literati to criticize her verbally and in writing.
Wu Zetian
Anyone who has watched Wu Zetian's film and television works must be very familiar with the sentence "After three generations of the Tang Dynasty, the heroine King Wu " .
During Li Shimin 's reign, he was actually very nervous about this prophecy.
However, he never thought that the so-called King Wu was actually Wu Zetian, a talented man whom he did not value.
Judging from Wu Zetian's journey from a talented woman to the pinnacle of national political power step by step, people have to admit that Wu Zetian's ruthlessness and decisiveness are definitely not what ordinary women can achieve.
Of course, if it weren't for her personal machinations, has reached a level beyond the reach of ordinary people, I believe it would be difficult to accomplish this achievement.
After Li Shimin died of illness, the two happiest people in the entire Tang Dynasty were one was Li Zhi who finally became the emperor, and the other was Wu Zetian who trapped Li Zhi deeply and couldn't extricate himself.
Despite the collective opposition of the ministers, Li Zhi still took Wu Zetian back to the palace from Ganye Temple . From that moment on, Wu Zetian seemed to have seen her future.
In the end, under circumstances that were incomprehensible to predecessors and unimaginable to people today, Wu Zetian successively deposed several sons and successfully sat on the throne of the emperor.
Outsiders have no way of knowing the hardship and sadness involved, and Wu Zetian did not bother to make it all public.
The Beautiful Girl Climbs the Ladder
So what exactly is the "Jade Girl Climbing the Ladder" specifically for women?
On the surface, this criminal law does not seem to pose any threat.
But in fact, during the actual execution, a rope with a live buckle was put around the neck of the female prisoner, and then she was forced to climb a wooden stake several meters high.
During this process, the other end of the rope is pulled by the executioner, and the prisoner can only keep climbing up.
Once he retreats, the rope will be pulled straight, causing the prisoner to eventually suffocate to death.
But is this the end? The answer is not that. When the relevant torture instruments were set up, both the top and bottom of the wooden piles were covered with sharpened bamboo .
During the process of climbing, women not only have to bear the stinging pain from the bamboo tips on the wooden posts, but they also have to worry about being stabbed to death by the bamboo tips after falling under the wooden posts.
Under the dual physical and psychological pressure, almost all women who suffered this criminal law would eventually die tragically from the torture instruments.
And even if they are lucky enough to survive, half-dressed women will be exposed to the public, and their lives will be considered to have come to an end.
It has been recorded in relevant historical materials that many women, although they were very strong and went through the whole journey, ultimately chose to commit suicide because they could not bear the cynicism of the world.
It can be seen from this that although on the surface it seems harmless to humans and animals, the actual criminal law makes women cry out for mercy.
People can hardly imagine that under the prosperous Tang Dynasty, such criminal law still existed.
It is no wonder that Lu Zongtaohui commented on the four words "the country is in danger".
However, it is worth mentioning that when looking at historical figures, we must not define her just by one thing or some evaluations.
Take Wu Zetian as an example. The world sees her as cruel, tyrannical, and ruthless, and she especially favors cruel officials Lai Junchen.
But did she really have no contribution to the development of the Tang Dynasty or even Chinese history? The answer is naturally no.
It has been mentioned in previous historical textbooks that it was precisely because of the existence of Wu Zetian that the development of Zhenguan Shengshi was continued and laid a solid foundation for the emergence of Kaiyuan Shengshi .
During her reign, the entire Tang Dynasty's military, economy, culture, politics, and diplomacy have grown to a certain extent.
From these aspects, how many emperors of the Tang Dynasty could do this?
