If China's mountains are concentrated in Guizhou, then the imperial tombs are in Shaanxi. "No three feet of flat land" is the most apt description of Guizhou, but what about Shaanxi? From the Yellow Emperor at the beginning of Chinese civilization to the Tang Dynasty, countless imperial tombs have been built here. They are like stars in the sky, making this ancient land shine brightly. Although after the Song and Yuan dynasties, with the eastward shift of the economic center, emperors and generals disappeared, the national roots of this land are undeniable, and unacknowledgeable.
For thousands of years, ancient Chinese society was a patriarchal society. Men could have multiple wives and concubines, divorce their wives at will, and even sell their wives to have children. In men's eyes, women were tools for procreation, sacrifices in political exchanges. The "Three Obediences and Four Virtues," "remaining faithful to one's husband until death," and "supporting one's husband and educating one's children" are all products of that culture that shaped women.
But in the Qianling Mausoleum in Qian County, Shaanxi, you will see the extraordinary nature of women. Wu Zetian, China's first and last female emperor. As for Empress Dowager Cixi of later generations, she was also a woman who ruled from behind the curtain, but compared to
Wu Zetian, she was slightly less glamorous. Wu Zetian entered the palace as a young girl and served two emperors. She rose from a lowly concubine, a nun, a consort, an empress, to the empress herself. She experienced countless hardships and bitterness along the way. She was a daughter-in-law of the Li Tang family, belonging to both her father and son, but ultimately she became the head of the household.
Despite the hardships and bitterness, Wu Zetian did not bow down, but instead became stronger, more mature, more shrewd, more ruthless, and more ambitious in the cruel court and political life. She killed her own children, and she ruthlessly slaughtered those who were loyal to the Li Tang dynasty but were opposed to it. She used cruel officials like Yong Junchen, and also wise ministers like Di Renjie. Framed people and helped others succeed were her life's work.
Some say she was violent and licentious, while others say her Great Zhou dynasty continued the prosperous reign of the early Tang dynasty. She lived her life amidst much gossip, and even after her death, opinions on her life remain divided. Yet the wordless monument she left to posterity offers neither self-evaluation nor commentary from later generations. It's unclear whether it's because there's nothing to say or nothing to write about. In any case, this monument has remained blank since the early Tang Dynasty.
Perhaps, for worldly commentators, the most difficult people to judge are not the perfectly virtuous or the utterly wicked, but rather those who are both praised and criticized. Because for such people, it's difficult to know whether to begin with good, evil, or even a dialectical perspective. Yet, to this day, the wordless monument remains wordless. If this can be considered the most difficult thing to write about since ancient times, then it shows that the talent of scholars is insufficient to encompass the entirety of this world. Perhaps only a natural record of facts can offer the best, incisive, and penetrating interpretation.
In my view, the Great Zhou Dynasty, which Wu Zetian ruled throughout her life, first and foremost promoted social development. But everyone, whether a saint or an ordinary person, will have flaws, because human nature and social nature prevent perfection. Secondly, on her deathbed, Wu Zetian entrusted the empire to the Li Tang dynasty, not to any descendant of the Wu family. Finally, looking at Qianling Mausoleum today, it is a joint burial tomb. Perhaps it's not hard to see that she acknowledged her role as a daughter-in-law of the Li family, or the Empress of the Li Tang dynasty, rather than an independent ruler.
Qianling is unlike any other imperial tomb in ancient China. Because two emperors are buried in one tomb, and this later emperor is the only female emperor in China's five-thousand-year history. That legendary period of history has faded into the mists of time, turning into a pile of yellow earth, a place for later generations to remember history, or perhaps a passage or a book in the pen of historians and novelists.
I have visited Qianling several times, but have never had the opportunity to pay my respects. As a native of Qin, this is perhaps a kind of helplessness of being close yet unable to see the moon. But it is precisely this helplessness that has given me a stronger sense of wonder and a desire for further research. But I know this idea isn't the orthodox scholarship of historians, but rather a sentiment from my heart, a flash of inspiration condensed from my knowledge, common sense, and imagination.
Although I know my language is superficial, lacking historical verification and weight, even a subjective conjecture, I'm not afraid of such conjecture and superficiality, because I will continue my search in the future, because I want to explore the traces of humanity within the "humanistic" study of history. In
a patriarchal society that has been passed down for thousands of years, the rise of a woman is a natural occurrence. Because that society, centered on men in every way, has gone to extremes, an imbalance of yin and yang. Perhaps the rise of a woman cannot fundamentally solve the problem of male dominance, the "centipede dies but does not fall." But this heavy oppression and constraint often makes such a rising woman resist even more. The destructive power of this struggle is enormous and terrifying. When women hold absolute power, men are terrified, an indescribable fear. Yet, the core culture of history remains patriarchal ideology. Perhaps patriarchal ideology is deeply rooted in the soul of the nation. Even today, we can still see its imprint.
A woman's life, compared to thousands of years of history, is short. Perhaps Wu Zetian's feminist reforms were subtly reinterpreted in the resurgence of patriarchal power in later generations. Thus, subsequent patriarchal ideology became even more authoritarian, imbued with a sense of revenge. Because they never wanted their male status to be overthrown a second time.
The peasant uprisings of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang failed, but history did not forget them because of their failure, for they set an example for later peasants, for they were the first peasant uprising in China. Wu Zetian, China's first female emperor, was not a defeated heroine, but a rising monarch.
Wu Zetian's life was radical and successful. As history, as people of later generations, who dares, who can forget her? Wu Zetian's life was spent in turmoil. Court intrigue and jealousy, open and covert struggles in the imperial court—everywhere was filled with the smoke of war. As a woman with a strong sense of self-preservation, and a woman unwilling to be subservient to others, countless conflicts made her stronger, more experienced, mature, ruthless, and ambitious; countless conflicts also made her more composed and magnanimous.
In that bloody arena, surrendering only hastens your demise, especially if you are weak. To survive, you must fight tooth and nail; only then can you have a chance of survival. Strengthening yourself is for a better life.
Wu Zetian did it; she was fortunate enough to win, reaching the pinnacle of her life and the pinnacle of power. She won, won a dynasty, and won a glimmer of hope in the hearts of women for generations to come.
Wu Zetian's life was long compared to ordinary people, but short compared to history. She left her brief glory in the Tang Dynasty, in later generations, and even more so in the hearts of women. Wu Zetian's life was marked by suspicion, not just compared to ordinary people, but compared to emperors throughout history. She was, after all, a woman, and even a strong woman possesses the nature of a woman. It was this multifaceted woman whose life radiated a timeless and brilliant light.
Like the wordless stele beside the Qianling Mausoleum, it stands majestically against the blue sky, majestically within the space and time of history, majestically in people's hearts. "Nothingness" itself is a supreme state, because all "having" is merely a reflection of "nothingness"!
Comments
Post a Comment