For those who are very interested in Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, the History Encyclopedia editor brings detailed articles for your reference.
Is Li Zhi’s marriage to Wu Zetian considered a violation of human ethics? According to ordinary ethical concepts, this is indeed the case. In fact, not only Wu Zetian, but also later Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and Yang Guifei were the same.
In history, Wu Zetian can be considered as the stepmother of Li Zhi. Li Zhi’s marriage to Wu Zetian is naturally a violation of ethics according to general ethical concepts.
In fact, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty also understood this point. Although some people said that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty had Hu ancestry and did not pay much attention to it, although this statement was not completely unreasonable, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty actually took some precautions. At least it should be acceptable in terms of face.
Wu Zetian once served as a nun, while Yang Guifei later became a nun. In fact, whether it is a nun or a nun, they all have a general term, which is becoming a monk. The so-called becoming a monk means cutting off the dust, which means that everything in the past has nothing to do with oneself, and it can be considered as drawing a boundary with oneself and everything in the past.
But since I am a monk, I can still return to secular life. After my family returns to secular life again, because everything in the past has been cut off, I can naturally start anew without any worries. This can at least be justified in name and won’t look too ugly.
Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain why both Wu Zetian and Yang Yuhuan would go to the monastic world to cleanse themselves. This is actually cutting off the dust and the past. Whether it is self deception or not, the process still needs to go through. Otherwise, the act of marrying a stepmother and taking away a daughter-in-law directly like this is somewhat questionable.
From the need to follow this process, it can be seen that this is indeed contrary to human ethics.