What does Wu Zetian look like? You can see both places!

Celebrity is controversial. Aunt Baiyun said it was difficult to be a woman, and Black Soil said it was even more difficult to be a famous old woman. Wu Zetian ascended the throne as a woman, so there are many controversies. From the rumor that she personally killed her daughter for the highest position to her birthplace, there are many controversies. As for what she looks like, more people will discuss it.

The true meaning of Wu Zetian in historical books and ancient paintings

Wu Zetian had no photography skills, and what people left behind at that time was painting. Judging from the existing ancient paintings, Wu Zetian's face is full and her eyebrows are full. Wu Zetian in The Journey to the West is not bad.

The familiar portrait of Wu Zetian was published in the eleventh year of Hongzhi in Ming Dynasty (1498), which is far from the era of Wu Zetian.

The closest thing is the plump Wu Zetian in the late Tang Dynasty. The author is Zhang Xuan, a former court painter. He is most likely to have seen the true face of Wu Zetian, so on the whole, his true face of Wu Zetian is the most credible.

I'm a little skeptical. Maybe Wu Zetian opened a beauty face. Today, many people don't take selfies, so they must add filters before sending photos. Of course, the queen who loves beauty is no exception. Wu Zetian is very aware of the power of makeup and attaches great importance to shaping the image through makeup and careful dressing. "Zi Tong Zhi Jian" records: "Although the Queen Mother was tall in the Spring and Autumn Period, she was good at painting herself, although she didn't know her decline." So the painter who painted her portrait won't see her without makeup.

In addition to intuitive ancient paintings, there are also written records in history books.

"Tang Xinyu" said that the phoenix neck of Tianzhu was extremely expensive. The author of this book is Liu Su in Tang Xianzong period, which is closer to Wu Zetian.

The old Tang book records that Wu Zetian's daughter Princess Taiping looks like her, with a plump figure and a broad forehead. He is plump, and his forehead and cheeks are wide. Wu Zetian can be elected to the palace, which is certainly in line with the aesthetics of the people at that time. Otherwise, how could Li Can Shimin and Li Zhi and his son be fascinated by them?

The Book of the Old Tang Dynasty also records that at the beginning of the year, at 14 o'clock the following year, Emperor Taizong heard of his beauty and called him into the palace as a talented person. Emperor Taizong doted on Wu Zetian because of her beauty, and gave her the title of "Mei".

Although we can get a glimpse of Wu Zetian from ancient paintings and history books. But the most direct thing is probably the statue. There are two existing statues of Wu Zetian.

The middle-aged statue of Wu Zetian.

The representative work of Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang is Rushena Buddha statue, which is carved according to Wu Zetian's own appearance and manners.

The Buddha statue of Lushena was carved in Xianheng in the third year of Ritchie in Tang Gaozong (AD 672) and was born in Wu Zetian in 624. At this time, he was in his forties and middle-aged. At this time, Wu Zetian has become the imperial concubine queen. For this image project of her own, she took out 20 thousand rouge money. Someone has calculated an account based on this, which is equivalent to 6 million RMB today.

Lushenafo's face is plump, beautiful and dignified, with slender eyes, especially the corners of his mouth slightly upturned to form a mysterious smile, which has the majesty of a mother instrument.

The statue of Wu Zetian in his later years.

People's appearance always changes with the passage of time, even Wu Zetian, who is good at beauty, cannot escape the tempering of time.

In Huangze 'an, Guangyuan, Sichuan, there is a temple dedicated to Wu Zetian, which contains the true appearance of Wu Zetian in his later years and is also the most widely concerned sculpture that truly restores Wu Zetian's appearance in his later years.

According to the Records of Nine Domains in Song Dynasty, Wu Zetian became the emperor, and she gave the temple real meaning. According to the time recorded in the book, after Wu Zetian acceded to the throne, the queen acceded to the throne in 690 and was 67 years old when she acceded to the throne. She is an old man.

Guangyuan is one of the theories about the origin of Wu Zetian's birthplace. Huangze Temple is a shrine of Wu Zetian, and the second hall in the temple is dedicated to Wu Zetian and Tang Gaozong Li Zhi.

Wu Zetian ascended the throne as emperor. In order to commemorate her own land of Longxing, she named the West Buddhist Temple in Zhou Mingli "Huangze Temple", which means "the imperial grace is mighty and the hometown is peaceful".

From this statue, we can see that Wu Zetian's forehead and neck are very wide, and she looks serene, wearing a Buddhist crown, a monk's robe, plain silk on her shoulders, a ring on her necklace, and her hands folded on her knees, which is quite spiritual.

Final summary:

What does Wu Zetian look like? Basically, many people will ignore the story of Wu Zetian when they understand it. He was born in 624 AD, ascended the throne in 690 and died in 705. Wu Zetian's outstanding achievements made her the only female emperor recognized by official history in China. After her death, she left a stone tablet without a word. Let future generations speak freely.