According to historical records, after Wu Zetian ascended the throne, there were many "beautiful men" in the harem for Wu Zetian to enjoy. These "male concubines" are called "heads". Zhang Yizhi, Zhang Zongchang, Shen Nan and Xue Huaiyi were all favored by Wu Zetian.
The romantic queen gradually gained sexual freedom after she ascended the throne, and she would not be satisfied with only a few heads. As the saying goes, "passionate and lewd", ordinary people still do, not to mention the emperors who live in the palace? For Wu Zetian, who reached the peak of feudal power and never gave up, it was a long night and lonely. Do women have to be alone when they are emperors? Since this is the first time, let her decide. Can't a woman be an emperor without a harem? It can be said that Wu Zetian brought the feminist rights in China's patriarchal society for thousands of years to the extreme! At this time, she has every reason to collect noodles for her own enjoyment through various methods, and can boldly indulge her lust in the harem.
There are many channels for Wu Zetian to get her favorite face, and the most important one is from her daughter Princess Taiping. As the daughter of Wu Zetian, the clever Princess Taiping certainly knew the needs of the mother emperor, so she went out to find the so-called "treasure" for her mother and gave it to her. These "babies" have passed the "quality inspection", but they are not handsome guys! It can be said that the noodles sent by Princess Taiping are all hunger and thirst after the martial arts, just like "sending charcoal in the snow". Really like a woman! Zhang Yizhi, Zhang Zongchang, Shen Nan Miao and monk Fan Hui won the favor of Wu Zetian with their "Yangdao Wei Zhaung". These handsome guys are carefully selected by Princess Taiping after her personal experience, and should be "quality and quantity guaranteed". In the records of "Seeking Pleasure" in the Tang Dynasty, it was popular at that time that mother and daughter used a man for everyone to enjoy * * *!
In order to please Wu Zetian, some court ministers also looked for her everywhere. In fact, just as male emperors choose beautiful women among the people, they choose men who are handsome and fit in all aspects. After layers of selection, I was elected to the palace, and I looked like Pan An! Of course, as a leader, you should not only have a good appearance and a strong body, but also have the ability of "Wei Zhaung" and take care of Wu Zetian, who is in her sixties. Although Wu Zetian has the skill of keeping in good health, she can still maintain her appearance and charm in her sixties, but she can't get rid of her psychological emptiness and "menopause" temper! The leaders who entered the palace were abused, and the serious ones were tied up by guards within a few days of entering the palace and thrown into the longevity pool of the imperial garden to feed snakes and scorpions.
Among the many faces who come to the harem, there are also men who feel good about themselves. According to Old Tang Book, Liu was recommended by his father, and Hou Xiangyun was also recommended. "Liang Bin is a handsome man; Hou Xiangyun, the head of the left jailer, is too strong and too Xue Huaiyi to serve himself in Chennai. " It can be seen that it was a simple way for ordinary people to give a handsome man for the benefit of the whole family!
In addition to the recommendations of Princess Taiping, ministers and handsome men, Wu Zetian often sent harem officials to the people to actively collect interviews. It is said that Shangguan Waner, a talented woman at that time, had also accepted such a "special" task. Wu Zetian will teach the selection criteria face to face before Shangguan Waner leaves: a man's nose should be big and straight and strong. Shangguan Waner will, of course, go to the folk to collect interviews according to the standards, which is also an imperial official's business trip.
Through these channels, Wu Zetian's harem can be described as "three thousand faces", which can be compared with male emperors! In this way, Wu Zetian's harem has formed many management problems of harem faces. In order to effectively manage many harem faces, Wu Zetian set up a crane control supervisor. The origin of the name crane control supervisor may be related to Wu Zetian's Taoist worship. This kind of crane control prison is "unprecedented, and there will be no one after it", which is a unique harem management institution in the Wu and Zhou Dynasties! Later, Wu Zetian set up a crane supervisor and a general sacrificial officer. Later, Wu Zetian changed the Crane Supervisor to Fengzhen Mansion, which was managed by Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Zongchang brothers. This organizational system is similar to the male emperor's "three palaces and six courtyards", and the Zhang Zongchang brothers are similar to the queens or imperial concubines of the East and West palaces.
The era of Wu Zetian is purely the era of royal women's rights, and all gender systems and cultures are the first and only in history. It has made great contributions to the long history of patriarchal feudalism in China, and also opened a precedent of freedom for women who have been suppressed for a long time in China. Since then, women have gradually emerged, and it was not until the Empress Dowager Cixi in the Qing Dynasty that women were taken seriously. This world is no longer a man's world. Like men, women also make a difference.