In the history of the Song Dynasty 300, there were a total of 9 women in power who came to govern. Among them, the empress dowager Liu E of Song Renzong dynasty and the empress dowager Gao Taotao of song Zhezong dynasty had the longest regency. However, history books have very different evaluations of the two regents. Liu E has a poor reputation, while Gao Taotao has the best reputation and is known as "Yao and Shun among women". What did Gao Taotao really look like in history?
Gao Taotao was born into a famous family, and Queen Cao of Song Renzong was her aunt. Therefore, she has lived in the palace since she was a child, and was a childhood sweetheart with Song Renzong's adopted son Zhao Shu (ie Song Yingzong). After Zhao Shu ascended the throne in 1063, he made Gao Taotao his queen. She gave birth to four sons and four daughters for Song Yingzong. Song Yingzong was frail and sickly, and died of illness within four years of his reign. The eldest son, Zhao Xu, succeeded him as Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty.
htmlThe 120-year-old Song Shenzong intended to reform the old system, and he boldly appointed Wang Anshi to implement the reform. Although the reform had certain effects, the new law touched and damaged the interests of some powerful merchants and was strongly opposed by conservatives. As a result, there was a fierce confrontation between the reformers and the opposition. Song Shenzong was depressed and unhappy, and finally passed away when he was 38 years old. The 9-year-old emperor's sixth son Zhao Xu succeeded to the throne, namely Song Zhezong. Therefore, the Empress Dowager Gao Taotao came to the court to assist in the administration, starting her nine-year regency career.
" History of the Song Dynasty " gave Gao Taotao a very high evaluation, calling her "the female middle school of Yao and Shun", and called her regency period "the imperial court was Qingming, China was Suiding", "the rule of our dynasty, Yuanyou" Even more so, Xuanren is the most virtuous queen." But is this really the historical truth? Let’s take a look at what Gao Taotao did during his administration.
The abolition of the new law caused the national economy to begin to decline.
Gao Taotao was opposed to reform and innovation. When Song Shenzong was in power, she, Empress Dowager Cao and Song Shenzong Queen Xiang, put pressure on Song Shenzong to abolish the laws implemented by Wang Anshi. The new law restores the old ancestral system.
Therefore, the first major event after her regency was to appoint Sima Guang as prime minister, and reintroduce Lu Gongzhu, Wen Yanbo and others to the court. These people were opponents of the reform and supporters of the ancestral old system. By. As a result, there was an irreconcilable confrontation between the reformists and the conservatives in the court. The focus of the government also shifted from research and development of the economy to factional struggle, and the national economy began to decline.
Exclusion of dissidents, partisan struggle increasingly intensified
Some among the reformists believe that reform and innovation can make the country rich and powerful, while others want to use the reform to seek their own selfish interests. Similarly, among the conservatives, there are also some who selflessly seek development for the country, and some try to obtain better results through the reform. Multiple benefits. As the country's supreme ruler, Gao Taotao did not adopt smarter means. She blindly relied on conservative veterans to suppress those who advocated reform.
During the Song Shenzong period, party disputes continued, and they became more and more intense during the Gao Taotao period. Party strife became a lingering nightmare for the political situation in the late Northern Song Dynasty. From the regency of Gao Taotao to the pro-government of Song Zhezong, the entire Song was filled with resentment and revenge.
Gao Taotao is different from Liu E. She had never had any experience in participating in politics before becoming the regent. She did not have the social changes to establish a system and promote advantages and eliminate disadvantages like during Liu E's regency, nor did she have the ability to deal with court disputes with a foresight. In fact, it was the nine years of Gao Taotao's regency that laid hidden dangers for the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty.
So, why does "History of the Song Dynasty" have such a high opinion of Gao Taotao? Gao Taotao is the highest representative of conservatives and a staunch supporter of imperial power. She is more likely to be recognized by history writers. Therefore, during the Emperor Gaozong period of the Song Dynasty, the historical records of Gao Taotao's regency period were revised. The book fully affirmed her political achievements and called her "Yao and Shun among women". Although it does not conform to the historical truth, the "History of the Song Dynasty" compiled by officials in the Yuan Dynasty was based on the history books of the Southern Song Dynasty. Therefore, this rewritten history was inherited by the "History of the Song Dynasty" and has been passed down to this day.
