It is a pity that such an outstanding emperor died of chronic poisoning.
Photo: Portrait of Li Shimin.
According to Three Books of the Old Emperor Taizong (Volume III), in April of the 23rd year of Zhenguan (AD 649), "Shang collapsed in the temple with the wind, at the age of 52." Memory is simple. Traditionally, Li Shimin's specific cause of death is dysentery, but this is not the case.
"A Mirror of the Nineteen Years of Emperor Taizong Zhenguan" (Volume 198) records that in 645 AD, Li Shimin personally invaded Korea (now Korea) and put down the rebellion. On the seventh day of December, I found carbuncle on my body, which was so painful that I couldn't even ride a horse. I had to carry it in a sedan chair. A week later, the illness became worse, and the following Prince Li Zhi personally sucked the pus out of the poisonous sore with his mouth, which was only better.
Generally, taking Dan medicine will cause carbuncle sores on the body. Taoism believes that this is a sign of effective detoxification of Dan medicine, but it is actually a symptom of poisoning. Li Chen, who later died of poisoning, was also in this situation.
But it was in the 19th year of Zhenguan that Li Shimin's health slowly failed. Since then, I have been nursed back to health in the palace, but my state is good and bad. Prior to this, Li Shimin was superstitious about Dan medicine, and had called many Taoist priests to refine the "elixir of life" for him. Li Shimin went to the hospital in a hurry, his health went from bad to worse, and he was too lazy to move Dan medicine.
In the twenty-second year of Zhenguan (AD 648), Tang Jun's Western Expedition captured a Tianzhu (now Indian) alchemist named Nal Shu Mei, who claimed to have lived for 200 years and lived forever. Li Shimin was very happy. "Emperor Taizong is deeply respected, and the museum is under the door of Jin Biao. I hope to get the "foreign elixir"-the so-called "Hu monk medicine".
Li Shimin ordered Cui Dunli, the minister of the Ministry of War, to supervise the refining of the "elixir of life". "All kinds of strange medicines and stones are too numerous to mention." It took people years to make a "foreign panacea", but after taking many pills in Li Shimin, it didn't work at all. Later, he had to send her back to India. Li Shimin had been converted to the "earth elixir" refined by local Taoist priests. Results At the age of 52, Xu died of chronic poisoning.
The Tang Dynasty (6 18-907) is one of the most important dynasties in the history of China, and it is also recognized as the heyday of feudalism in China. Compared with the emperors of other dynasties, the emperors of the Tang Dynasty seem to have the strongest pursuit of immortality, but this desire for immortality was exchanged for "quick death".
After Li Shimin's death, Prince Li Zhi succeeded to the throne. This is Tang Gaozong's husband, the famous female emperor Wu Zetian in history.
Photo: Li Zhi and Wu Zetian were buried together in "Ganling" after their death.
Li Zhi has been in power for 34 years and has been in poor health. The Chronicle of Emperor Gaozong of the Old Tang Dynasty (Volume 6) records that "after the emperor celebrated, he suffered from wind diseases, and the departments made detailed decisions." Xianqing is the title of Li Zhi. It began to be used in 656 ad, and it was only seven years since it became emperor. In other words, by the time she died of erysipelas poisoning in 683 AD, Wu Zetian had been in charge of the Tang Dynasty for 27 years. Therefore, Wu Zetian's subsequent lust for power and usurpation of the Tang and Zhou Dynasties were directly related to this "actual emperor".
In order to cure his dizziness (wind disease) and prolong his life, Li Zhi believed in the art of immortality, so that he recruited Taoist priests from all over the world to jointly refine yellow and white (another name for Dan medicine). At that time, Sun Simiao and Ye Fashan, the famous Taoist priests, were recruited by Li Zhizheng to seek medicine in the palace.
On one occasion, more than 100 Taoist alchemists were summoned at once. In two or three years, the "touch of gold" will be tens of millions. The Biography of Ye Fashan in Old Tang Dynasty (volume 19 1) records that Ye Fashan said to Li Zhi at that time: "Then it is hard to find, but it is a waste of money. Please check its authenticity. " It means that Dan medicine is difficult for ordinary people to make. Don't waste money and let people gossip. See if these Taoist priests have real kung fu. Li Zhi accepted Ye Fashan's suggestion and asked Ye Fashan to interview the alchemist who entered the palace. It turned out that more than 90 alchemists were fake and were driven out of the palace.
Later, Li Zhi invited Pan and Liu Daohe, famous alchemists, to enter the palace and give him an alchemy. Pan and Liu Daohe are hermits, and Liu Daohe is also good at "stopping rain". Once Li Zhi asked him to perform in front of a Luan Temple, and the rain soon stopped. Li Zhi therefore admired Liu Daohe very much.
Photo: Statues of Wu Zetian and Li Zhi.
The Biography of Liu Daohe in the Old Tang Dynasty (volume 192) records that "Emperor Gaozong (Li Zhi) made the Daohe belong to Dan, and Dan was the superior." Liu Daohe died in the reign of Xianheng (AD 670). Later Liu's tomb was moved and buried. After Liu's disciples opened the coffin, they found that Liu had only a shell, which split from his back, just like an insect shedding its shell. People call this the "autopsy" phenomenon after Taoism became immortal. Li Zhi was very unhappy when he heard about it. He said, "Li Shifu gave me an alchemist, but he ate it himself."
Because Liu Dao became immortal, Li Zhi was also convinced of the curative effect of offering Dan medicine, and increased the dose, leading to acute poisoning. He died in Luoyang, the eastern capital, and could not close his eyes again in Xi 'an, at the age of 56.
Before he died, Li Zhi wanted to live a little longer. "Although my whole life is happy, my life is dying. God of heaven and earth? If you extend your life for another month or two, you will have to go back to Chang 'an and die without complaint. "
I have talked about the hobbies of the Tang emperor in my blog before, and interested netizens can look forward to it. In addition to the two emperors mentioned above, many emperors, such as Li Shimin of Emperor Taizong, Li Zhi of Tang Gaozong, Chunli of Tang Xianzong, Hengli of Tang Muzong, Liyan of Tang Wuzong and Li Chen of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, were killed by taking the so-called elixir poisoning.
Judging from the composition of Dan medicine, both the "Hu Monk Medicine" developed by Indians and the "Huandan Pill" refined by Tang Gaozong litchi superstitious local Taoist Liu Daohe contain aphrodisiac substances. This kind of "elixir of life" is actually a prescription for overdrawing physical strength, which is no different from the modern "Viagra". Taking it for the first time may be very effective. Fortunately, when you become a harem concubine, you will feel like a duck to water and be full of vigor, but after a long time, you will be in trouble, addicted, poisoned, exhausted and finally died. Interestingly, the emperors of the Tang Dynasty regarded this "poison" as an elixir and didn't realize it until they died.
Why are the emperors of the Tang Dynasty so confused? In fact, it is not confusion, but the result of the dual worship of ancestors and Taoism.
The founding emperor Li Yuan had a prominent aristocratic family background in Longxi. Longxi is located in the southeast of Gansu and the north of Inner Mongolia. The genealogy of the royal family in Tang Dynasty can be traced back to Li Guang, a flying general in the period of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty. The Li family is proud of Li Guang. The most promising one is the 16th Sun Li X (saying "up" and "high" below), who established the famous Xiliang country in the ancient western regions, from which the "Long Mai" came into being.
However, after the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, people wanted to continue to "dye their roots red", so they opened the history books and looked for Li. This search led to the earliest person named Li Li Er, a great celebrity, and Li Er became the ancestor of Li.
Photo: Laozi sculpture
Li Yang, a native of Laixiang, an ancient county of Chu (present-day), was a great thinker in the Spring and Autumn Period, as well as Confucius. He was called Lao Zi in history and Lao Dan in some cases. Laozi's thought advocates "inaction", that is, the so-called "neighboring countries look at each other, the voices of chickens and dogs hear each other, and the people don't communicate with each other until they die." The core of his values is "Tao": "People should be everywhere, the land should follow the sky, the sky should follow the Tao, and the Tao should be natural." This "Taoist theory" became the "guiding ideology" of Taoism later, and Laozi also became the founder and the first leader of Taoism.
In the third year of Wude (AD 620), Tang Gaozu Li Yuanzun named Li Er as his ancestor and built a palace to promote the temple in his ancestral home of Lu Yi. Soon, Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong, wrote to compile a hundred-volume masterpiece "Tang Zonglu", officially acknowledging his ancestral home, saying that "my lineage began under the column" (Laozi called it "under the column" in history). When he arrived in Tang Gaozong for Li Zhi, he respected Lao Zi as the supreme emperor of the Yuan Dynasty. After Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty arrived in Li Longji, he promoted Taoism and ordered the two Beijing states to set up Xuanyuan Huangdi Temple. From then on, I became an old gentleman.
Taoism has "Daoism", advocates house art, pays attention to health preservation, and believes in elixir of life, that is, "external elixir" and "internal elixir". Laozi was very popular among the royal family in Li Tang and was regarded as an ancestor, so Taoism became the "state religion" of the Tang Dynasty.
After that, Taoism prevailed, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty was addicted to Dan medicine, and his private life was dissolute and indulgent. It was easy to understand, and the real cause of death of Wu Zetian's husband was also clear.