Why doesn’t Li Longji care about Yang Guifei staying overnight with An Lushan? Next, the editor of History Encyclopedia will take you to learn the historical truth in detail. Let’s take a look together!
There has always been a saying in the folk that ‘the Tang Dynasty was dirty and the Song Dynasty was chaotic’, which refers to the fact that the relationships between men and women in the Tang Dynasty were too dirty, and there were too many rebellious people in the Song Dynasty.
How dirty is the relationship between men and women in the Tang Dynasty? After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Shimin smiled and accepted his younger brother’s wife, setting a precedent.
The descendants who followed suit eagerly, including Empress Wu Zetian, Princess Anle, Princess Gaoyang, Empress Wei, and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, were surprisingly open-minded.
In view of Emperor Xuanzong’s virtue of robbing his daughter-in-law Yang Yuhuan, Mr. Sima Guang, a traditional rigid and old scholar, shook his head and looked disgusted, writing in the “Zizhi Tongjian”:
On Jiachen, the birthday of Lushan, the Noble Consort bestowed clothing, precious utensils, and rich wine and food upon him. On the last three days, Lushan was summoned to the Forbidden City, and the Noble Consort wrapped Lushan in a large swaddling cloth made of brocade, causing the palace staff to adorn it with colorful offerings. Upon hearing the commotion in the imperial harem and asking for the reason, the Noble Consort spent three days washing Lushan. Looking up from above, he was delighted and bestowed with gold, silver, and coins to wash Lushan’s son. He generously gave Lushan back and forth, enjoying himself. Since Lushan entered and exited the palace, he could not help but eat with the Noble Consort, or stayed up all night without going out. There were some ugly sounds heard outside, and the Noble Consort did not doubt it
To take care of those with poor Chinese language skills, the author would like to briefly translate:
One day, it happened to be An Lushan’s birthday, and both Emperor Xuanzong and Yang Guifei gave generous birthday gifts to this’ adopted son ‘. Three days later, An Lushan was ordered to enter the palace to express gratitude. The imperial carriage was in Yichun Courtyard, and An Lushan finished his worship, wanting to kowtow to his adoptive mother, Yang Guifei.
Emperor Xuanzong smiled and said, “Your stepmother was just here attending a banquet and has now returned to the palace. You can go to the harem to see her yourself
After thanking An Lushan, he quietly slipped into Yang Fei’s palace.
Yang Guifei had just returned to the palace after attending a banquet, and was slightly drunk when she saw An Lushan come to kowtow and thank her for her kindness. She claimed to be a child and kowtowed to her mother.
Yang Guifei said ambiguously, “They have raised a child, and on the third day, according to tradition, they have to perform the baptism ceremony. Today happens to be the third day after your birthday, and I will baptize you according to tradition
So, riding on the pleasure of drinking, the eunuchs and palace maids rushed forward, stripped off the fat An Lushan’s clothes, served him clean, wrapped him in silk all over like a baby in a swaddling clothes, and carried the “fat baby” An Lushan in a colorful carriage, surrounded by a group of palace maids, and paraded around the harem. Causing the palace maids to laugh incessantly.
At that time, Emperor Xuanzong was still sitting in the courtyard of Yichun, leisurely reading a book. He could smell the sound of laughter from afar and asked the eunuch next to him, ‘What is the reason why the harem is so happy?’? The eunuch replied, ‘It’s the play of the Noble Consort washing her child for An Lushan.’.
Emperor Xuanzong laughed heartily and boarded a small car to watch the parade in Yang Guifei’s palace. He was also overjoyed for a moment and gave Yang Guifei ten thousand yuan in silver and ten thousand yuan each. As money for washing his son, he also gave An Lushan a batch of money.
Afterwards, An Lushan entered and exited the palace at will, sometimes having meals with Yang Guifei, and sometimes staying overnight in the harem. People outside said that Emperor Xuanzong wore a green hat from head to toe, but Emperor Xuanzong did not suspect any connection between the two.
Did An Lushan and Yang Guifei have an affair? Does Xuanzong know?
It is understood that when Sima Guang wrote the section on Yang Guifei and An Lushan in the “Zizhi Tongjian”, he referred to the “Lushan Deeds” of Yao Runeng from the Tang Dynasty and the “Kaiyuan Tianbao Legacy” of Wang Renyu from the Five Dynasties. At that time, there were already rumors of “Guifei washing her child” among the people.
This is a wild history novel, but Mr. Sima Guang still quoted it because his purpose in writing “Zizhi Tongjian” was to educate the emperor. It is obvious that this wild history has a very significant warning effect.
When later generations read history, they often question this historical material. As follows:
All of these are based on the deeds of Lushan and the remains of Tianbao, and it is feared that they may not be true records. Therefore, we cannot take them today. “-” Compilation of Imperial Censorates from Various Dynasties ”
I often wonder why Yang Guifei was attracted to An Lushan, who was so obese as a pig, covered in abscesses all over his body, and had to be serviced by three or four people even to dress himself?
What about Yang Guifei? Firstly, she needs to consider Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, and secondly, what kind of man does she want? It’s a godsend to have an affair with An Lushan.
Lushan is known for its fat body and long sores… Lushan has a large belly, and when he wears clothes, three or four people help him. Two of them lift their bellies, and the eunuch Zhu’er wears them on his head before taking out skirts, pants, and belts. Emperor Xuanzong favored Lushan and gave him a bath in the Huaqing Palace, allowing Zhu’er and others to come in and help him undress. “-” Biography of the Old Book of Tang, Volume 200, Part 150
The only possible explanation for An Lushan’s frequent visits to the palace is that Yang Guifei wanted to learn the Hu Xuan dance.
Yang Guifei gained favor because she shared a common interest with Emperor Xuanzong: a love for singing and dancing art. For this reason, the two also collaborated on a song called “Ni Chang Yu Yi Qu” and introduced each other as kindred spirits.
And An Lushan was a master of Hu Xuan dance in history, as evidenced by history:
In his later years, he became increasingly fat, with his abdomen hanging over his knees and weighing 330 pounds. He had to lift his shoulders and shoulders left and right to move his steps. When he arrived in front of Emperor Xuanzong, he performed a hulun dance and was as fast as the wind. “-” Biography of the Old Book of Tang, Volume 200, Volume 150 ”
Think about it, a 330 pound fat pig dancing like a gust of wind is such a powerful dance technique.
Yang Guifei may have been delighted by this and specifically asked her adopted son to teach her how to perform the Hu Xuan dance, which gave her the opportunity to enter and exit the palace and create rumors and gossip.
Chen Yinke’s “Yuan Bai Poetry Raft Verification Draft” infers: “This dance (Hu Xuan dance) was loved by the Tang Dynasty palaces and nobles. Taizhen (Yang Yuhuan) was good at singing and dancing, and Hu Xuan dance was once popular at that time. Therefore, it is possible that Taizhen was skilled in this dance
