After that, she lived happily in the Taoist temple and never got married. However, she had scandals with many famous poets in the Tang Dynasty, the more famous ones being Wang Wei and Li Bai. Who was she?

There was such a princess in the Tang Dynasty . She was much loved, but she became a monk. After that, she lived happily in the Taoist temple and never got married. However, she had scandals with many famous poets in the Tang Dynasty. The more famous ones were Wang Wei and Li Bai. Who was she?

She is Li Longji's sister - Princess Yuzhen.

became a monk and became a Taoist

Princess Yuzhen is Li Longji's sister, but her birth can be said to be untimely. Their father is Tang Ruizong Li Dan.

When she was a child, it happened to be a time when the internal power struggle in the Tang Dynasty was serious. In 690 AD, Wu Zetian proclaimed herself emperor, and Li Dan became a thorn in their side. In 693 AD, Wu Zetian had a maid Wei Tuan'er who failed to seduce Li Dan, so she framed Li Dan's concubines Liu and Dou for using witchcraft in the palace to harm Wu Zetian. The two were executed by Wu Zetian in anger.

Mrs. Dou was the mother of Princess Yuzhen and Li Longji. Princess Yuzhen was only two or three years old at the time. But at that time, Li Dan could not protect himself, and he did not dare to openly confront Wu Zetian, so he could only pretend that nothing happened. But since then, Li Dan's life has become even more difficult. As his daughter, Princess Yuzhen witnessed the intrigues in the palace and the tragic death of her mother, and was walking on thin ice. This was also one of the main reasons why she later sought immortality and became a Taoist nun.

Under such circumstances, Li Longji and his sister also hugged each other for warmth and spent those dark years together. Therefore, after Li Longji ascended the throne, he also doted on his sister.

Princess Yuzhen became a monk not on a whim, but since she was a teenager, she began to seek immortality and seek a peaceful place. In 711 AD, Princess Yuzhen officially entered Taoism, and her Taoist title was Master of the Three Sceneries of Dadong, Xuandu City, Qing Dynasty. In this year, she was 23 years old. At this time, her father Li Dan, also known as Tang Ruizong, had ascended the throne.

is probably out of guilt for the daughter who lost her mother at a young age and wants to make up for her. Although Ruizong persuaded his daughter several times and wanted her to return to a normal life, Princess Yuzhen was not moved at all. But Ruizong had no choice but to agree to his daughter's wishes, and built the magnificent Yuzhen Temple in Chang'an City for her daughter to practice.

During the Tang Dynasty, Taoism was prevalent. Influenced by Wu Zetian, feminist ideas in the Tang Dynasty were very strong. Many aristocratic girls did not want to live a life of restraint, so they became Taoist nuns. This is not a real practice, but a disguise to escape reality. Some female Taoist priests are even high-level prostitutes. The more famous female Taoist priests such as Yu Xuanji, Xue Tao, etc.

The same is true for Princess Yuzhen's Taoism. Her Taoist temple is not a practice in the traditional sense, but she often sings and dances, and gathers some literati. Princess Yuzhen also took off the shackles of a princess and lived happily every day. She was a veritable single queen.

to After Tang Xuanzong ascended the throne, he doted on his sister who had shared weal and woe with him since childhood. Princess Yuzhen liked to travel around, so he built Taoist temples for her sister everywhere, such as Anguo Temple in Luoyang, and Lingdu Palace in Wangwushan. In addition, in many big cities, some villas, villas, etc. have also been built. In short, wherever you travel, you can buy a house.

Not only that, Tang Xuanzong also gave Princess Yuzhen a high power and status. She often attended major occasions as a representative of Tang Xuanzong. And Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty also gave this sister face. It is said that once Wei Zhengyuan and Sun Weizhan committed a capital crime, and Princess Yuzhen interceded with them, and they were exempted from the death penalty. This shows how much face Princess Yuzhen has. .

The reason why Princess Yuzhen has always been favored by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty is, needless to say, their blood relationship. The two are biological brothers and sisters. They have witnessed the death of their mother and the turmoil of childhood together. The true love in adversity is naturally not comparable to ordinary relationships.

Furthermore, Princess Yuzhen has been a Taoist since she was young and has not been involved in government affairs. She does not pose a threat to Li Longji. They have a very simple brother-sister relationship.

Moreover, Li Longji himself also believes in Taoism. At this point, the two can be said to have the same interests.Therefore, during the decades when Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was in power, Princess Yuzhen had been living a carefree and comfortable life as a monk.

Princess Yuzhen’s Taoist temple can be said to be full of big names. They are often invited to the Taoist temple to read poems and songs and watch singing and dancing to promote peace. Among them are famous poets like Wang Wei and Li Bai. It is said that Princess Yuzhen has an unusual relationship with these two.

The romantic story with Wang Wei

Wang Wei and Princess Yuzhen first met when he came to Beijing to take the exam. In the Tang Dynasty, the scientific examinations mainly focused on poetry, and a popular method of cheating at that time was called Xingjuan. A simple understanding is that before the exam, candidates show their best work to respected people. If it can be praised by these people and spread to the ears of the examiner, it will naturally be a big bonus.

Wang Wei had gained some fame when he first entered the capital, but he also had to take the scientific examination. So I asked my friend Qiwang in Beijing to recommend it to me. King Qi directly recommended him to Princess Yuzhen.

And Wang Wei also designed a very special way of appearing for himself. He didn't just show off his works when he came up, but played a pipa song first, which shocked everyone present, including Princess Yuzhen of course.

Princess Yuzhen loved music, so she naturally called him to ask questions, and asked casually: Besides playing the pipa, what else do you do? Wang Wei answered modestly that he could also write some poems and make some paintings. Then he presented his proud work that he had prepared long ago. Princess Yuzhen saw it and was full of praise for him.

Then Wang Wei was indeed the first place in that session. Of course, Wang Wei's talent and learning must have reached a certain level, otherwise he would not have been able to win first place just relying on Princess Yuzhen's nepotism. However, this also despised many literati and became a "black history" of Wang Wei.

Since then, Wang Wei frequently visited the princess's mansion. No one knew what he was doing. However, it is not unreasonable for later generations to say that Wang Wei was adopted by Princess Yuzhen.

It stands to reason that with such good grades, Wang Wei should be entrusted with important tasks, but he only got the position of "Tai Le Cheng", which is equivalent to an official position for the royal training band. It's a job with little real power, but a very leisurely, comfortable and well-paid job. Of course, this arrangement may be to facilitate Wang Wei's access to places such as the palace and the royal garden, and to facilitate private meetings between the two.

Later, after Wang Wei married his wife, he was demoted to a remote area as a granary treasurer because of a small mistake. Some people speculated that this was because Wang Wei was tired of pleasing Princess Yuzhen and married his wife. Princess Yuzhen became angry and used some force, so Wang Wei's career was frustrated.

Wang Wei, who had no background, was appreciated by Princess Yuzhen for his talent and learning, and became an official in the court. Princess Yuzhen admired his talents and had a romantic relationship with him. But after Wang Wei established a foothold in the officialdom, he wanted to get rid of Princess Yuzhen, which was really annoying, so Princess Yuzhen's behavior was not surprising.

However, after four years of hard work, Wang Wei couldn't stand it anymore. So he resigned and secretly returned to Changan . However, during the seven or eight years he was in Chang'an, he did not have any official position, but stayed at home. So how has he supported himself in recent years? So there is speculation that Wang Wei will rekindle his old relationship with Princess Yuzhen when he comes back this time.

Of course, this guess was confirmed in a short story. Wang Wei has a famous good friend - Meng Haoran . At that time, Meng Haoran was a guest at Wang Wei's house, but he didn't know that Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty suddenly arrived. When the emperor comes, just greet him openly and introduce him to him naturally. As a result, Meng Haoran actually hid under the bed.

This move is a bit strange, and why would the emperor visit a minister's house for no reason? Therefore, there is speculation that this is actually Princess Yuzhen's home or a separate courtyard, and it would be understandable for the emperor to visit his sister's house. On this day, Princess Yuzhen happened to be away, so Wang Wei invited his friends. So when the emperor came, Meng Haoran was so frightened that he crawled under the bed.

And Meng Haoran also has a good friend, Li Bai.Li Bai and Wang Wei are similar in age, and both are famous poets. And there is a mutual friend. In theory, the two should discuss each other often and exchange poems and so on. However, from various information, there is no trace that Li Bai and Wang Wei had a relationship.

In fact, the reason is very simple. They are both the lovers of Princess Yuzhen, so it is natural for them to ignore each other.

The emotional entanglement with Li Bai

The acquaintance of Li Bai and Princess Yuzhen is actually inseparable from Taoism. Li Bai is also good at Taoism, and he and Princess Yuzhen can be said to be like-minded. After being recommended by Taoist friend Yuan Danqiu, the two met. For this reason, Li Bai specially wrote a poem, which is "The Immortal Ci of Yuzhen", praising Princess Yuzhen.

Princess Yuzhen also admired Li Bai very much, not only for his talent and learning, but also for her study of Taoist spirit . More importantly, Li Bai's free ambition in his words also attracted Princess Yuzhen.

Li Bai is a good drinker, and he often gets very drunk. No one can call him out, not even Princess Yuzhen. Moreover, he is also lustful and loves to look at beautiful women. It is estimated that after Princess Yuzhen lived with Li Bai for a period of time, she felt that the arrogant and arrogant Li Bai was not her cup of tea, and that the versatile and quiet Wang Wei was more to her liking.

So he kept Li Bai in his "Princess Yuzhen Villa" under Zhongnan Mountain , and didn't go to see him much. At this moment, Li Bai was a little worried. After all, it was not a problem for him to live here without being embarrassed by his status. When he was depressed, he wrote a poem, "The Bitter Rain at Princess Yuzhen's Villa Presents Two Heads to Guard Zhang Qing". In the poem, he expressed how depressed he was here and how difficult his life was to describe Zhang Qing in the poem, that is, Zhang Qing. Zhang Yan said after a while that he wanted him to say a good word to him in front of the emperor and let him go back again.

Zhang Bian was able to speak in front of Xuanzong. He was another consort of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, but his relationship with Princess Yuzhen was probably not ordinary. So he talked nonsense in front of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. Li Bai foolishly waited for someone to say a few nice words to him, but he didn't know that he was asking for help from his love rival, and his comeback would naturally fail.

I don’t know if this poem had an effect, or if Princess Yuzhen was in a window of opportunity at this time. During this period, Wang Wei returned to Beijing for the second time, but after he came back, he was no longer the same as before. He was depressed and felt guilty about his wife. This also made Princess Yuzhen lose interest in him, so she thought about it again. Meet old friend Li Bai.

She strongly recommended Li Bai in front of her brother Tang Xuanzong, and Tang Xuanzong recalled Li Bai back and granted him the title of Imperial Scholar.

However, although Li Bai was talented, he was also known to be arrogant. "The emperor couldn't get on the boat even if he called for it." He even asked Xuanzong's favorite Gao Lishi to take off his boots and Yang Guozhong to grind ink for him, which offended him. a lot of people. Not only that, he didn't change his old habit of drinking. He got drunk every day, spent all day with beautiful women, and didn't even know he offended people.

Tianbao In the second year of Tianbao, Li Bai wrote many sad and disappointed poems, such as "Jade Level Resentment", " Resentful Songs ", etc. This made Tang Xuanzong very angry, coupled with the instigation of Yang Yuhuan and Yang Guozhong's brothers and sisters. In the autumn of the second year, Tang Xuanzong decided to compensate Li Bai for his salary and fired him.

Princess Yuzhen was of course unwilling. She threatened her brother that if Li Bai was taken away, she would lose her title and would spend all her property to focus on repairs. However, Tang Xuanzong had Yang Yuhuan by his side at this time, and he no longer indulged his sister so much, so he didn't listen to her this time.

The fate between the two seems to have come to an abrupt end. However, Princess Yuzhen has always been Bai Yueguang in Li Bai's heart. We are familiar with " Sitting Alone on Jingting Mountain ". When we read it, we think it is about the beautiful scenery of Jingting Mountain . In fact, Princess Yuzhen once practiced in Jingting Mountain. This is when Li Bai wrote about his longing for Princess Yuzhen. Affection. Moreover, Jingting Mountain is also the burial place of Princess Yuzhen. Li Bai also died in Dangtu County in Jingting Mountain the second year after Princess Yuzhen's death. The two of them renewed their relationship in another way.

ending

Princess Yuzhen has never married anyone in her life, but according to records, she has two sons, whose biological father is unknown. Regarding her eldest son, there is no mention in historical data, but it is recorded in another historical data that Princess Yuzhen's second son was named Zhang Ti.

Some people also say that Princess Yuzhen was once married, but according to her position in Tang Xuanzong's heart, the wedding must have been grand, but there is no record in the history books, and there is no trace of Princess Yuzhen's consort, so this child Most likely an illegitimate child. Of course, it is impossible to verify how many children Princess Yuzhen gave birth to and when they were born.

After Tang Suzong came to power, Princess Yuzhen often went to the palace to visit her brother, who was the Supreme Emperor. Suzong of the Tang Dynasty and the eunuch Li Fuguo were worried that Li Longji would take the opportunity to recover, so they moved him to live in the inner palace and did not allow him to meet foreign ministers at will. Everyone around him was also dealt with, such as Gao Lishi who was exiled. Because Princess Yuzhen was his aunt and a female Taoist priest, she was sent back to Yuzhen Temple and was not allowed to see Li Longji at will.

But Princess Yuzhen’s son was not spared. At this time, Zhang Ti was exiled and died later, probably in his forties.

In this way, Princess Yuzhen began her true spiritual practice. She died at about the age of 70 and ended her free and unrestrained life.

Looking back at Princess Yuzhen's life, her childhood misfortunes planted the seeds for her to become a monk and become a Taoist. Relying on the favor of her father and brother, she met literati in Taoist temples and spent her youth to her fullest. Not being bound by marriage and enjoying a free life, this is obviously not a life that ordinary people should live, but is it not an enviable life? !