Anecdote of the Fifth Queen Mother

Chapter 7 Queen Mother Hu (1)
(?—528 years)
[-]. Juveniles enter the palace

In ancient Chinese history, following the short-term unification of the Jin Dynasty, there were split Southern and Northern Dynasties.The Southern Dynasties included Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen, and the Northern Dynasties included the Northern Wei, Northern Zhou, and Northern Qi.Empress Dowager Hu was an important figure in the Northern Wei Dynasty.

Northern Wei, also known as Later Wei and Yuan Wei.The reason why it is called Later Wei is that it is different from the Cao Wei that appeared in the Three Kingdoms period, and the reason why it is called Yuan Wei is because Tuoba's surname was changed to Yuan.The Northern Wei Dynasty was established by the Tuoba tribe of Xianbei, a nomadic tribe in Mobei.In 386 A.D., Tuobagui claimed to be Daiwang and changed the name of the country to Wei, which was the beginning of the founding of the country.In 389 AD, the capital of the country was moved to Pingcheng (now Datong, Shanxi).In the past hundred years, the Northern Wei Dynasty has grown stronger and stronger.After Emperor Xiaowen ascended the throne, according to the development of the situation, he resolutely decided to move the capital.In 493 AD, the capital was moved to Luoyang.Then came some reforms.Change the mixed-use system of Xian and Han official titles to the Han official system; prohibit Hu clothing, and the clothing must follow the Han system; break the Xianbei language, and all use Chinese; change the surname, that is, Tuoba, Dugu, Bu Dagu and other Hu surnames to The single-syllable Chinese surnames Yuan, Liu, Lu, etc.The land equalization order issued in 485 AD will continue to be implemented.The reform brought prosperity to the Northern Wei Dynasty: the granary of the government was overflowing, and the national power increased greatly; the tall buildings and mansions of the nobles and princes were lined up, adding a splendid splendor to Luoyang, the capital;The merchants are rich and have traveled all over the Western Regions and North Korea.Luoyang, the capital of Kyoto, is even more prosperous, with merchants from all over the world gathering together.There are merchants from the Western Regions, North Korea, Mobei Rouran, and merchants from the Southern Dynasties.

Emperor Xiaowen's reforms promoted social and economic development and accelerated national integration.The boundary between Hu and Han was gradually broken, and the status of Han officials gradually improved.Girls of the Han nationality were chosen as the harem and established as concubines, and gradually more and more.It is in this era of singing and dancing, our hero is about to come.

The father of the biography master, named Hu Guozhen, was the son of Hu Yuan, Marquis of Wushi in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and was named Wushibo.The Hu family is from Linjing, Anding (now the eastern part of Zhenyuan, Gansu Province), and it is a common surname in the local area, and his wife, Huangfu, is also a common surname in Anding.The two get married, and it can be said that the family is right, and the husband and wife are honored.However, although the two love each other in every possible way after marriage, they are inseparable, but they also have troubles and worries that plague them from time to time.Shadows flitted across their smiling faces from time to time.It is not difficult to understand that in the feudal era where "there are three kinds of unfilial piety, and having no offspring is the greatest", how can it not be worrying to have no children after many years of marriage!Whenever his wife Huangfu talked about this matter with her husband Hu Guozhen, she always smiled bitterly with shame on her face.Although Hu Guozhen understands his wife's feelings very well, he has to think about the future. How can he do without an heir?Therefore, whenever he sees his wife wryly smiling, he can only sigh.The Huangfu family, who is eager to seek a child, spends the whole day in prayer. She sincerely prays for the protection of the gods and Buddhas, and hopes that the Huangfu family will have a son soon.It may be due to piety, Huangfu is really pregnant.When Huangfu told Hu Guozhen the news of her pregnancy with excitement and shyness, Hu Guozhen happily grabbed his wife's hands, held and shook them fiercely.The open smiles of the husband and wife have never passed the shadows again.

Since Huangfu's pregnancy, Hu Guozhen has been very concerned about her life.In this way, the stars moved, and the couple spent ten months in excitement and joy.On the day of delivery, Huangfu had already been taken care of by midwives and support staff, but Hu Guozhen was in a hurry to get in and out.Surprisingly speaking, when Huangfu's family was about to give birth, the red light shone all around, but the light did not go away, and then there was a cry, and a daughter came to the world.

When Huangfu gave birth, Hu Guozhen was in anxiety, and suddenly there was a cry, which made him immediately get rid of anxiety and enter a state of excitement.He listened to the wah-wah that came from time to time, crisp and sweet, so beautiful!Probably ten times stronger than court music!When he was free to think, he saw the servant walking towards him in a hurry.They came to announce the good news.

"Congratulations, Master Hu, your wife has given birth to a daughter."

After hearing the news that his wife gave birth to a daughter, Hu Guozhen's excitement was swept away.He stood there stunned, without moving.My God, I'm looking forward to a son so much, why did you give me a beautiful girl!The servants who came to announce the good news were very happy at first, but they were very disappointed seeing Hu Guozhen's blank look.After a short pause, they realized that there was an important situation that had not been reported, so they cleared their throats and continued:
"There is still a strange thing that has not been reported to my lord. When my wife is about to give birth, the red light shines everywhere. I don't know what the sign is?"

"What?" Hu Guozhen, who was sitting blankly, asked in surprise after hearing the servants' report.He really couldn't believe it, because the history books clearly remembered that only Longzi could have such a sign, could it be...

The servants heard Hu Guozhen's question and saw his confused expression.They unconsciously recalled the scene at that time.When the wife was giving birth, the tall candle was particularly dazzling, and suddenly the candle light jumped, and the nervous people could only see red light everywhere. This red light is so dazzling, is it an illusion when they are nervous?But everyone in the room saw it!Yes, it was red light, so the servants repeated their report firmly.

"Return to my lord, when my wife is giving birth, the red light shines everywhere!"

After hearing the servants' firm answers, Hu Guozhen's cold heart warmed up again, and he had great hopes for this daughter.For this reason, he sent his servants to Jingzhaoshan North County to invite Zhao Hu, the well-known divining master, to come and meet his newly born daughter.Zhao Hu used divination as his career, and when he heard Wu Shibo's invitation, he dared to neglect it, so he immediately followed his servants to Hu's residence.

After Zhao Hu ascended the mansion, he first visited Hu Guozhen with his servants.After Hu Guozhen explained to him what she wanted to invite, she immediately ordered someone to present her daughter to Zhao Hu.Zhao Hu didn't catch his breath, and immediately started his work.I saw him carefully looking at the infant girl, showing a look of surprise from time to time.After reading it, he stood there without opening his mouth.Even Hu Guozhen was wondering at that time, why didn't the physiognomist talk about the result?Zhao Hu seemed to understand what his master meant, he wanted to speak, but he opened his mouth and closed it again, stretching his hands forward, showing a very embarrassed look.Seeing this, Hu Guozhen knew that there might be something difficult to say, so she winked at the servants around her, and the servants retreated knowingly.

"From the face of a virtuous woman, she has the appearance of great nobility. When she grows old, she will be the mother of the world and give birth to the lord of the world." Zhao Hu told the result of his face-to-face after seeing the servants retreat.Then, he moved his body forward, and said in a low voice: "The heavenly secret must not be leaked out. The virtuous lady must not tell anyone except you, me and my wife."

After hearing Zhao Hu's advice, Hu Guozhen suppressed the joy in her heart, nodded silently, and then thanked Zhao Hu heavily.The divining master got a big reward and left.

The red light at the time of birth coincided with the prediction of the divining master Zhao Hu.This brought joy and hope to Hu Guozhen and his wife.They no longer worry about giving birth to a daughter, but are full of hope for their daughter's future.This daughter is also really extraordinary. She is very cute because she looks like a flower and jade, but she has a smart head and knows how to please her parents at a very young age.The Hu family really regarded her as the apple of their eye.Seeing that her daughter is smart and cute, the wife loves her more, so she pays more attention to clothing and food.As a father, Hu Guozhen has both fatherly love and fatherly responsibility.He also has to think about his daughter's future, so when he has nothing to do, he teaches his daughter piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and reads a collection of classics and history to her daughter.

More than ten years have passed in a blink of an eye.Hu Guozhen saw that her daughter had grown into an adult, and her young daughter was really charming and very beautiful.Hu Guozhen looked at her daughter, thinking about the past.The red light seemed to reappear in front of his eyes, surrounding his daughter, and the divination words of the divination master came to mind again. Isn't the "mother of the world" the queen and concubine? Isn't "giving birth to the lord of the world" the same as giving birth to a prince?However, how can a daughter who is in her young age step into the palace gate, and how can she be honored by the emperor?When Hu Guozhen was thinking hard, a happy edict fell from the sky, and the current emperor, Wei Xuanwu Emperor Yuan Ke, sent an envoy to Hu's mansion:

"Call the daughter of Wu Shibo Hu Guozhen into the palace to meet the emperor."

When Hu Guozhen and his wife heard the call, they were overjoyed.In fact, the edict did not come down from the sky, nor was Emperor Xuanwu Yuan Ke instructed by the spirit of heaven. To explain why the edict was sent suddenly to summon Hu's daughter, there is an episode in it.

Hu Guozhen has a younger sister who is also a beautiful and capable woman.In the Northern Wei Dynasty when Buddhism was prevalent, she didn't know whether she was influenced by the social atmosphere, or she wanted to convert to Buddhism for research, or she was moved by those profound teachings to her young and pure heart, anyway, she became a nun since she was a child.With her eloquent mouth and years of training in lecturing scriptures and interpreting the Dharma, she is also a good hand at preaching scriptures.Gradually, she became a well-known female Buddhist mage.Emperor Xuanwu was a believer in Buddhism. He often invited some eminent monks and nuns into the palace to give lectures. Under the introduction of Wu Shibo Hu Guozhen, his nun sister became a frequent visitor to the palace, and a very popular Welcome guest.Because she can explain the esoteric Buddhist scriptures clearly and logically, and she can explain the clay Buddha statues vividly. Over the past few years, she has become a respected nun who can enter and leave the inner palace.Because of her reputation, this nun often told people about her proud niece when she was preaching scriptures. At first people knew that she had a dignified and docile niece, and later they knew that her niece was very beautiful and like a fairy. beauty.These words were talked about by everyone in the palace as gossip after tea and dinner, and then they spread to the ears of Emperor Xuanwu.Whether it is true or false can be seen at a glance, so an edict was passed to Hu Guozhen's residence.

How could the emperor dare to neglect the edict, besides, how could he miss the golden opportunity, so Hu Guozhen and his wife immediately sent their daughter to the palace.Emperor Xuanwu was waiting for the beautiful woman to come after sending an edict.When he saw a young girl coming down to his eyes under the guidance of the messenger, he was really moved. He saw that the girl had a well-proportioned figure, slender and plump, with a proteiny and rosy face, and her lips and teeth were distinctly red and white. They complement each other.Especially those watery eyes, full of youthful charm.Facing the beauty of the sky and the country, Emperor Xuanwu couldn't help but be overwhelmed by it.In his opinion, this well-deserved girl is much better than those harem beauties, so the imperial decree came out:
"Yeting, a woman from Hu Guozhen, the first uncle of Wu Dynasty, is the wife of Chenghua."

In this way, the daughter of Hu Guozhen finally stepped into the palace gate and became the favored wife of Chenghua, who was favored by Emperor Xuanwu, and took a crucial step in her journey of life.

[-]. Breaking through obstacles

Since Hu Chenghua entered the palace, he was very favored by Emperor Xuanwu for his beauty.The beauties in the harem couldn't share Hu Chenghua's happiness, they could only sigh and be jealous.Soon, Hu Chenghua became pregnant.

Hu Chenghua is favored and pregnant, which should make him excited, but at this time, Chenghua is excited and worried from time to time, and he is in a contradiction.Why is this?Excitement is natural, but this anxiety is puzzling.It turned out that the rulers of the Northern Wei Dynasty had determined to rule the Central Plains as early as the time of Saibei. For this reason, they were familiar with the history of the Central Plains and summed up the pros and cons.Seeing that the Central Plains dynasty continued to have foreign relatives authorizing politics, which caused chaos, they decided to take measures to prevent the recurrence of this historical phenomenon, so they established a rule for the harem that "the child born in the harem will be the second child, and the mother will die". Rules ("Wei Shu" Volume [-] "Queen's Biography").This means that as long as a son is established as a prince, his mother will be given death.Under this rule, the Empress Liu of Daowu Xuanmu "deceased by the old law".Empress Xiaowenzhen Lin, because she gave birth to a son, Xun, who will be the second crown prince, also "still made the scorpion" ("Wei Shu" Volume [-] "Queen's Biography").Although this rule in the Northern Wei Dynasty was called "the death of the son and the mother, it is not an exaggeration", Emperor Xiaowen also felt that it was inappropriate, so he asked Empress Dowager Feng to abolish this system, but she was opposed by Empress Dowager Feng. But failed.Therefore, under this rule, once a woman in the harem is pregnant, she will "bless each other, wishing to have kings and princesses, but not a prince."How could Hu Chenghua, who was pregnant, not worry about it!

After the midsummer in the second year of Yongping (509 A.D.), the autumn wind was refreshing, and the blooming flowers in the imperial garden went with the midsummer from time to time.Only the chrysanthemum gives off a fragrant breath, which is refreshing.The yellow chrysanthemums in full bloom, the budding red chrysanthemums and the newly blooming pink chrysanthemums and purple chrysanthemums complement each other, and they look so harmonious, forming a moving picture, which makes Hu Chenghua nostalgic for it.She has been a frequent visitor to this garden since she was conceived.Before the autumn chrysanthemums were in full bloom, Hu Chenghua who came to visit was worried.Because she is afraid that the shackles of the harem will be put around her neck, this kind of worry is understandable.Before Hu Chenghua entered the palace, Emperor Xuanwu had two concubines who had given birth to princes, but unfortunately they died before taking the throne.Now that she is pregnant, if she gives birth to a prince, she must be a prince, so she would have already died before her son succeeded to the throne.For this reason, she often paced alone in the garden anxiously.It's better to pass the time than sightseeing, because Hu Chenghua really doesn't have the heart to watch those blooming flowers.Summer has passed and autumn has come, and the season of autumn chrysanthemums blooming has arrived.At this time, Hu Chenghua's worried face has changed into a smile.You see, there is no longer a trace of shadow across her face, the frown has been relaxed, and her steps are much more stable than before.At this time, what Hu Chenghua thought of was not death, but life.What she wanted was not to give birth to a princess or kings, but to give birth to a lovable crown prince.She thought that since Emperor Xuanwu loved her deeply.Logically speaking, he would not easily kill his loved one.Isn't Emperor Xiaowen just unwilling to give his queen to death?It's just that the powerful Empress Dowager Feng didn't allow it, so she had to bear the pain and ordered her to die.Today's Emperor Xuanwu is in power!Besides, the deceitful shackles have killed countless innocent women in the harem and countless aborted lives. Couldn't Hu Chenghua make a dash for it? !Perhaps, this already cracked shackle will be broken by his own strength.Besides, Emperor Xuanwu favored him very much, he devoted his love to himself alone, shouldn't I share some worries for him?Ever since he became pregnant, the emperor has often nagged, wishing to have a prince, because his first two princes died young, and so far there is no son to inherit the throne for him, so he is anxious about this.How could I have the heart to disappoint him when my own pregnancy brought him joy and hope?Therefore, Hu Chenghua made up his mind that even if he died, he would live up to the emperor's hope.Now that she has thought about it, she no longer worries.When the autumn chrysanthemums were in full bloom, she was so nostalgic and watched them with so much heart.Her rosy face is like a blooming pink chrysanthemum.

Some well-meaning concubines in the harem, seeing Hu Chenghua's growing belly, couldn't help worrying about it, and sometimes someone offered advice: it is better to abort as soon as possible.Hu Chenghua replied to the exhorter with a silent laugh.Is this smile expressing gratitude, or is it a mockery of their short-sightedness?That is only understood by the exhorter himself.There are really some enthusiastic people. Hu Chenghua turned a deaf ear to every persuasion and persuasion, and they kept nagging.
"How can the emperor have no sons alone, why should he fear the death of his whole body, and make the royal family infertile?"

The enthusiastic concubine stuck out her tongue when she heard Hu Chenghua's decisive words.Secretly raised their thumbs, they couldn't help admiring Hu Chenghua who was superior to them.

The night quietly pulled down, driving away the sunshine and colorful clouds.The quiet night came slowly, extinguishing the light of candles in thousands of households.The backyard of the palace has also been plunged into darkness.Hu Chenghua, who had already turned off the lights, was tossing and turning on the bed.I saw her gently stroking her abdomen with her hands, from top to bottom, from left to right, repeating her movements again and again.At this time, Chenghua was immersed in happiness, and the smile on her face showed people that she was happy about becoming a mother soon, and also proud of being able to make a great contribution to Emperor Xuanwu—giving birth to an heir.She was looking forward to it, as if she had given birth to a prince, established himself as a prince, and succeeded him as an emperor; she turned over and stroked her belly again.At this time, another thought suddenly appeared in my mind: Alas, this unborn child should not be a princess, right?Yes, or not? Hu Chenghua can only make many guesses before the child is born.She didn't want to have a princess in her heart.But, who knows what God bestows?Yes, taking advantage of the undecided opportunity of the sky, why not ask for its protection and bestow a prince!She rolled over and got out of bed, lit the candles again, and then lit the incense again.I saw her knelt down slowly, put her hands together, and prayed in a low voice: "I hope the heavens will bless me and let me conceive a man. If so, he will be born as the eldest son and can inherit the throne. Even if I die for this, I will die." Do whatever you want!"

Bingxu in March of the third year of Yongping (510 AD) was the day Hu Chenghua gave birth.On this day, Hu Chenghua was placed in the greenhouse in the northeast of Xuanguang Hall, while Emperor Xuanwu waited for the good news in Xuanguang Hall.Suddenly, the courtyard was illuminated by red lights, followed by the baby's cries.Hu Chenghua hadn't gotten rid of the pain of childbirth, when she heard the baby's bell-like cries, she hurriedly turned her pale face and stared at the crying child.The midwifery physicians deeply understand the relationship between mother and child, so they picked up the newly born baby, and then parted the two calves, which means: see!It's a boy.Hu Chenghua could see clearly that it was a man, the man she was looking forward to day and night!She seemed to have forgotten her tiredness and couldn't restrain the joy in her heart. She smiled so sweetly.Agitated, she answered clearly with tears filling her eyes.

(End of this chapter)