What is the relationship between Ming Chongyan and Wu Zetian

Speaking of Ming Chongyan and Wu Zetian, their relationship is a bit unclear, but Ming Chongyan’s death is indeed very strange and inexplicable. So many people speculate about the cause of his death, but they don’t gain much from it. So what is the relationship between Ming Chongyan and Wu Zetian? How did Ming Chongyan die? Let’s take a look with the editor below!
1. How did Ming Chongyan die
After Ming Chongyan was assassinated, both Tang Gaozong and Wu Zetian were shocked and immediately established a special task force to investigate the matter. But the ministers hope that the assassination case will not be resolved. Because in their eyes, Ming Chongyan is nothing but a martial arts master, and death is not to be regretted. There were several legends about the cause of death of Ming Chongyan at that time:
1、 Killed by ghosts and gods. A minister half jokingly said, ‘Ming Chongyan, isn’t he proficient in magic and the best at driving ghosts and gods to do things for him?’? Perhaps it has driven the ghosts and gods to the brink of being killed by them!
2、 Accidentally killed by wandering bandits.
3、 He was killed by someone sent by the Crown Prince.
The second version is recorded in official history, while the first version was popular at the time, but Wu Zetian firmly believed in the third version
At that time, there were rumors that Empress Wu Zetian had secretly summoned Ming Chongyan multiple times, asking him to show off his sons. Ming Chongyan criticized the Crown Prince Xian very impolitely, believing that the third son Xian or the fourth son Dan had more of the demeanor of an emperor. Later, the news reached Xian’s place. In addition, it is said that Ming Chongyan, who was skilled in witchcraft, was always invited by Wu Zetian to secretly curse the wise. Now that Ming Chongyan has been assassinated, who did it?
Wu Zetian said that she must investigate this matter thoroughly, and she hoped to pick out the Crown Prince Xian from behind the scenes. Contrary to expectations, there has been no direct evidence to prove that Xian was involved in the case for several months. Wu Zetian couldn’t sit still, perhaps she didn’t know that Di Renjie and Su Wuming (another detective of the Tang Dynasty) had extraordinary detective talents. Wu Zetian had been deadlocked with the Crown Prince Xian for a year.
2. What is the relationship between Ming Chongyan and Wu Zetian
Ming Chongyan did indeed exist in history. He was a native of Yanshi, Luozhou, and his ancestors were the Pingyuan gentry who had served as officials in the Southern Dynasties for generations. He was the fifth generation descendant of Mingshan Bin, the son of the Southern Liang dynasty, who offered wine. Father Mingke, Governor of Yuzhou. Ming Chongyan has a handsome appearance, extraordinary charm, and comes from a noble family, but is proficient in witchcraft, physiognomy, and medicine. When he was young, his father Mingke was appointed as the magistrate of Anxi County. There was a county official who could summon ghosts, gods, and spells. Ming Chongyan learned his spells. After entering the officialdom, he initially served as a county magistrate. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, the emperor often suffered from headaches, and Ming Chongyan truly believed in the emperor’s illness, thus gaining the love of Emperor Gaozong and Wu Zetian.
How Ming Chongyan in history was portrayed through his actions can be seen. According to literature, Ming Chongyan did not commit any major crimes or engage in bribery or corruption during his lifetime, nor did he abuse his power to harm the country. If one were to say that he did poorly, it could be that he used ghosts and gods to discuss national affairs, and Emperor Gaozong of Tang firmly believed in this.
Time has passed, and now it is the time for the empress to rule. She ordered the Grand Historian Bureau to recruit capable people to observe the stars and revise the calendar. Many people applied, but the most outstanding one was a master of planting peonies. His name is Ming Shiyin. People have been saying that this person is the disciple of the legendary Peony Master. These common sayings even reached the ears of the Empress Dowager, who curiously summoned Ming Shiyin. Ming Shiyin presented three hexagrams, each corresponding to a prediction of a battle for the Great Wall Guard Army. And these predictions were all fulfilled within a few days.
The empress was very surprised in her heart. She has ambitious aspirations and wants to make the prosperous era last forever, which is a wish she has never let go of. Whether the predictions of this practitioner come from divination or strategy, they will surely become their own help. So he ordered Ming Shiyin to be rewarded heavily, but Ming Shiyin refused. All he wanted was a small courtyard in Chang’an City where he could cultivate peonies and play chess with his disciples on the flowers. He achieved his wish. Quickly, the title of the Peony Fangshi, along with its precise divination and the disciples of the genius chess player, instantly became famous in Chang’an City.
It is said that the relationship between Chongyan and Wu Zetian was very ambiguous, and it is difficult to make a hasty decision at any point. However, one thing is certain: apart from relying on the brothers Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong spiritually in her later years, Wu Zetian’s most admired person in her life was likely Ming Chongyan. As for later male pets such as Xue Huaiyi and Shen Nanliao, they were just physical dolls and health consultants of Empress Wu Zetian. It is highly possible that Ming Chongyan, with his special abilities, could win the favor of Empress Wu Zetian and become her most beloved man in her life. Ming Chongyan could be said to have died a natural death.