Revealing why Princess Taiping became a Taoist before her marriage

Liang Li’s version of Princess Taiping
According to historical records, Princess Taiping was a model filial daughter. According to the “Biography of Princesses” in the New Book of Tang, she became a female Taoist at a young age in order to fulfill her filial piety to her grandmother Lady Yang on behalf of her mother Wu Zetian. According to calculations, she was only seven years old at that time, and as a Taoist, she only followed her mother’s orders and went through the motions.
However, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty, Tubo requested to reconcile with the Tang Dynasty. At that time, Tang Gaozong had only Princess Taiping, who was twelve or thirteen years old, by his side. The Tubo people first investigated the situation and immediately asked Princess Taiping to marry her. Thinking of Princess Taiping’s childhood as a female Taoist, Taoism advocates religious celibacy. So Wu Zetian ordered the immediate construction of a Taoist temple for Princess Taiping, called Taiping Temple. Xiao Taiping, who was in his teens, performed the ordination ceremony and became a monk in a dignified manner, leaving Tubo with nothing to say.
Although Princess Taiping did indeed become a monk, according to the ideas of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Empress Wu Zetian at that time, once Tubo completely gave up, she would let her daughter return to secular life. However, at that time, Emperor Gaozong’s health was deteriorating, and Wu Zetian was busy accumulating power and seizing power, so she had no intention of caring about her. Princess Taiping in the Taoist temple couldn’t help but feel anxious as she watched her precious youth slip away quietly.
One day, she came up with a clever plan. Tang Gaozong held a banquet in the palace to entertain his relatives. Suddenly, Princess Taiping descended from the sky. She was dressed in a purple robe, with a jade belt around her waist and a black scarf on her head. Holding a bow and arrow, she walked up to Tang Gaozong and Wu Zetian, bowed deeply, and said, “Father and Mother, let me dance for you to entertain you.” After that, she began to sing and dance. Looking at their daughter’s heroic appearance, dressed as a young military officer, Tang Gaozong and Wu Zetian burst into laughter and said, “You are a girl’s family, not a military officer. How can you dress up like this?” Princess Taiping immediately said, “Since I am not suitable to dress like this, can you give me this outfit as a son-in-law?” Thus, the selection of a son-in-law for Princess Taiping was put on the agenda. In the end, Tang Gaozong chose the young and handsome Xue Shao for Princess Taiping. Xue Shao was born into the Xue family of Hedong, and was also an uncle and sister of Princess Taiping. His father was also a son-in-law and had served as the Left Fengchen Guard General. His mother was Princess Chengyang, the elder sister of Emperor Gaozong of Tang.
In July of the first year of Kaiyao (681 AD), Emperor Gaozong and his wife held a grand and solemn wedding ceremony for Princess Taiping. The wedding hall is located in the county government office of Wannian County. But Princess Taiping’s wedding car is too luxurious and huge, and the gate of the Wannian County Government cannot be entered at all. Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian immediately decided to demolish the wall! According to Tang Dynasty customs, weddings were held at night, but there were no streetlights on the streets at that time, so only torches could be lit. As a result, from the Daming Palace (Xing’an Gate) in the northeast of Chang’an City, all the way to the Wannian County Government in the southeast of the city, the torch ignited into a dragon, scorching the locust trees along the way.
Thus, through her own efforts, Princess Taiping finally succeeded in marrying her beloved aristocratic youth.