A Thousand Words on a Wordless Stele: Wu Zetian of Tang

I personally believe that emperors only judge success or failure based on their merits. Confucian theory uses virtue, righteousness, benevolence, etiquette, etc. To comment on a person's quality (mentioning this reminds me of Song Xianggong's saying "benevolence and righteousness are invincible"). In this regard, I prefer the Taoist theory of yin and yang. Later generations said that judging a person depends on what he has done. So is it true that the evaluation of emperors is the same? Regardless of the interests of the majority of people, no one in power can become a public servant of the people, and nothing can be accomplished by respecting the people as God. Then, just measure it by military, economic, cultural, etc. As for how many people have been killed, what the public opinion is, whether they live a luxurious life, and their private life style... Stick to those, it's just for food, it's nothing to talk about. Or, they are just trying to find faults with the goal of discrediting the enemy.

The ending is classic~ Politicians do not distinguish between men and women!

It wasn't until Chiang Kai-shek wrote the Queen Mother series that I discovered that the most suitable people in the world to write about women are women, not necessarily politicians, not necessarily historians. Even if they have not experienced the same journey, women still know the stories and feelings of these women best. However, so many various works in the past either focused on the cruelty and viciousness of the queen, or focused on her complex feelings with men and the complicated fights between her sons. They rarely described her from the perspective of a person or a successful ruler. Looking at the queen from a modern perspective, and removing the gorgeous attire of the dynasty, perhaps she is just a female politician who is better than Hillary and Mrs. Thatcher.

The price you pay for staying in that position is unimaginable.

Whether it's Empress Wu or Wu Zetian, Although she is a woman, there are many things she is not willing to do. Although she is a mother, there are many people she is not willing to kill.

Regardless of likes and dislikes, this woman is the one I admire the most.

Power is a powerful medicine

This is true for all emperors, let alone the empress! She is not an ordinary woman, she is a politician! "Throughout the ages, among the people of the emperor's family, who doesn't have a heart full of holes?" A classic.

I watched an episode of Wanjia Denghuo recently that said that the incident of Wu Zetian strangling her little daughter and taming the horse were probably fabricated. As smart as she is, she would not know the emperor's likes and dislikes and show her ruthlessness, etc. It sounds reasonable. History books are compiled by people. Can a man in a patriarchal society really record the deeds of an empress in a fair and colorless way? Isn't this the reason why Wu Zetian erected a wordless monument? Author's reply: The horse taming thing is true, Wu Zetian said it herself. She had just entered the palace at that time, and she wanted to show off. What do little girls know? Human sperm is not born. I didn't understand it until I was arrested and imprisoned in a nunnery for several years.

My home is in Bazhou, now called "Bazhong". There is also a "Wangwang Mountain" in the local area. It is said that it was named after Li Xian often climbed up to look at Chang'an from a distance after he was demoted.