The love story between Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei has been widely circulated for thousands of years through the Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi’s “Song of Everlasting Sorrow”. In Bai Juyi’s poetry, the love story between Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei is deeply moving and deeply rooted in people’s hearts. However, were Tang Xuanzong and Yang Guifei truly in love? Or should we each take what we need? Did Gao Lishi recommend Yang Guifei to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang because of her unparalleled beauty or for any political purpose?
To interpret the love story of Yang Guifei, we need to start with the male protagonist, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji. Li Longji was the third son of Emperor Ruizong of Tang, Li Dan. In his youth, due to his grandmother Wu Zetian proclaiming himself emperor and valuing descendants of the Wu family, although Li Longji was a noble grandson, he suffered from the humiliation and hardship of the Wu family’s offspring. At the most difficult times, he even demanded that his wives and concubines have abortions to prevent their children from being bullied by the Wu family again. One year on Li Longji’s birthday, he surprisingly didn’t have enough money at home to make soup cakes. In the end, it was his father-in-law who pawned off his clothes and held his own birthday party.
It was on such a difficult day that Li Longji and his first wife Wang, as well as his concubines Zhao and Yang, supported each other and formed a good revolutionary friendship through thick and thin. His wife Wang did not have any children, so he raised the children of Zhao’s Yang family as his own, including later Tang Suzong Li Heng. However, the most ruthless imperial family, after Li Longji and his father Li Dan launched the Tang Long coup, Li Longji forced his father Li Dan to abdicate and become the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. After becoming the emperor, the countless beautiful women in the harem made Li Longji linger on and forget to leave. Compared to his aging wife and two concubines, as a passionate emperor, Li Longji quickly fell into the gentle embrace of many beautiful women.
And it was at this moment that a woman entered Li Longji’s life, and that woman was Empress Wu Huifei. Wu Huifei’s father was Wu Youzhi, Wu Zetian’s cousin, and from this perspective, Wu Zetian is Wu Huifei’s great aunt. And this Empress Wu Huifei not only has a blood relationship with Wu Zetian, but also has Wu Zetian’s means.
When Empress Wu Huifei entered the palace, she was in her prime and quickly used her beauty and wisdom to win the favor of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. In the end, she, like Empress Wu Zetian, favored the imperial harem. On the other hand, Empress Wang, who was already old and frail, was no longer favored by the emperor. In this situation, Empress Wu Hui began to covet the position of empress, and she began to frame the empress. In the end, Li Longji completely disregarded the friendship between him and the queen and ordered the empress to be treated as a commoner. At the same time, in order to make her son, Prince Shou Li Mao, the Crown Prince, Empress Wu Huifei also framed Crown Prince Li Ying, Prince E, and Prince Guang, and ultimately the Crown Prince and the two princes were killed. In this situation, Empress Wu Huifei began to advance towards the position of empress.
However, Empress Wu Huifei had another natural Achilles’ heel, which was her niece who came from Wu Zetian’s family. This was quite fatal at the time. Especially when she asked Tang Xuanzong and his grandfather Tang Gaozong Li Zhi to depose the empress and kill the crown prince, the courtiers began to unite in opposition. After the imperial censor Pan Haoli wrote a memorial detailing the actions of the Wu family from Empress Wu Zetian to Wu Sansi, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang suddenly realized and dispelled the idea of appointing Empress Wu Huifei as his empress.
After losing hope of becoming the empress, Empress Wu Huifei began to feel depressed, and coupled with the pressure of framing the empress, she ultimately passed away at the age of only forty. The death of Empress Wu Huifei was a heavy blow to Li Longji. After her death, Li Longji posthumously honored her as empress, which also fulfilled her dream of becoming empress. At the same time, it had a significant impact on his son, Prince Shou Li Mao, and Yang Guifei.
For Li Mao, losing his mother, who supported him as the crown prince, was almost hopeless and he could only obediently become a vassal prince. What he couldn’t bear the most was that his wife ran away with his father, making Li Mao really a green hat.
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Why is it said that Yang Guifei and Li Longji ran away instead of Li Longji taking Yang Guifei away? This starts with the union of Li Mao and Yang Guifei. Li Mao’s mother was Empress Wu Huifei, and Empress Wu Huifei’s mother was Yang, the wife of Zheng State, who was of the same clan as Yang Guifei. It is not difficult to understand their union in this way. The Yang family’s decision to marry their daughter to Li Mao was both an act of marriage and a political motive.
At that time, Empress Wu Hui was being favored, and Prince Shou Li Mao was also favored by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang due to his maternal status, and had the potential to become the crown prince. Combined with Empress Wu Huifei’s intelligence and skill, as well as the influence of the Wu family in the court, marrying Yang to Li Mao may lead to her becoming the Crown Princess and ultimately achieving great success as the Empress.
However, human calculation is not as accurate as fate. Empress Wu Huifei passed away. King Shou lost his support and quickly disappeared from his father’s sight. In addition, after the passage of time, Li Longji began to suspect the Queen, Crown Prince, and the Two Princes, and intentionally distanced himself from King Shou. The throne of Prince Shou ultimately became a fantasy.
There is no hope for King Shou anymore, and coupled with the failure of Empress Wu Huifei to compete for the throne, the Wu and Yang families saw that in order to maintain their own glory and wealth, there must be someone else to serve Emperor Xuanzong of Tang in the palace. The reputation of the Wu family is too bad, so it is best for the Yang family. In this way, the peerless Yang Guifei appeared in their sight.
Why choose Princess Shou? Originally, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang had met Princess Shou and perhaps said that she was exceptionally beautiful. Therefore, presenting Princess Shou to the emperor would definitely be favored. Once favored, both families could restore their original glory. Moreover, Yang’s marriage to Prince Shou had no future prospects. Only by jumping out of the Shouwang Mansion and climbing a higher branch can it be possible.
So they started planning and operating, and they first found Gao Lishi. Gao Lishi was a trusted eunuch of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty. During the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, she often visited Wu Sansi’s mansion and had connections with the Wu family, as well as the Yang family. They told Gao Lishi once again about their plan to transfer Princess Yang of Shou to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. Upon hearing this, Gao Lishi was greatly surprised and reported the matter to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was initially surprised by their boldness and coveted the beauty of Yang Guifei. In the end, he came up with a plan to first send Yang Guifei to the Taoist temple, and then find a way to send her to the palace. In this way, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang successfully obtained the peerless beauty Yang Guifei, and the Yang and Wu families once again climbed up to the great support of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.
And the most pitiful one is Prince Shou Li Mao. The departure of Yang Guifei is not only a change in his family, but also a standard for him to be completely abandoned politically. His mother and wife’s families have abandoned him, and there is a dark future waiting for him. Shortly thereafter, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang appointed Li Heng, the loyal king of Emperor Suzong of Tang, as the crown prince, while Li Mao ultimately distanced himself from the political center.
From this perspective, Yang Guifei’s entry into the palace is actually an investment operation. When the Yang family saw that Li Mao’s potential stock had turned into a junk stock, they immediately withdrew their resources and invested in Tang Xuanzong’s outstanding stock, ultimately bringing more than ten years of glory and wealth to the Yang family. Yang Guifei, on the other hand, was a tool for his family to seek prosperity and wealth from beginning to end.
