One day Wu Zetian was enjoying the snow while gambling with Shangguan Wan'er and reciting poems. Shangguan Wan'er wrote a poem about "snow", and Wu Zetian drank a glass of wine. While drinking, a fragrance suddenly hit her nostrils. It turned out that the wintersweet was blooming. Unexpectedly, Empress Wu felt that Long Yan was so happy and whimsically thought that all the flowers in the garden should bloom for her like the wintersweet. She ordered the chariot to be prepared and prepared to go with the princess. Go and enjoy the flowers. At this time, the princess said: "Flowers bloom in their own time. It is not spring now, so how can there be flowers blooming? Wintersweet is a winter flower, and it is normal to bloom at this time." The princess is an understanding princess and knows that nature is sometimes orderly. . But Empress Wu didn't listen to this trick, and felt that she was "the Holy Emperor and the Hundred Spirits helping each other", so it would not be a problem to seize human resources to save the good fortune. Of course, the cruel reality gave this comrade who believed that man can conquer nature a resounding slap in the face. Fortunately, there was a eunuch who was able to come and smooth things over for Empress Wu like this: "According to the slave girl, the flower fairies probably didn't know that Banzai was coming to enjoy the flowers, so they came to serve them. Just now, the slave girl had declared her holy will to the flowers. If Banzai I will issue another imperial edict in person, and the flowers will naturally bloom tomorrow." So Empress Wu wrote four sentences: Traveling to Shangyuan in the Ming Dynasty, she quickly announced the spring: the flowers will bloom all night long, don't wait for the dawn wind to urge them. Everyone knew the rest. When we came together the next day, flowers bloomed everywhere. It was truly a beautiful and colorful world. Looking carefully, only the peonies are in bud. Empress Wu was furious, thinking that she was usually the most kind to Mu Dan, but Mu Dan was so unfaithful. After burning her with a charcoal cannon, she even sent an order to banish Mu Dan to Luoyang. "So in the world peonies are the most prosperous in Luoyang so far."
Later, after careful cultivation by Luoyang people, the flowers became redder and more colorful, so later generations named it "Luoyang Red". Due to her own hobbies and influence, during her reign, Confucian classics, history, literature, music, dance, astronomy, mathematics and other undertakings were very developed. The National History Museum compiled one hundred volumes of "Records of Emperor Gaozong" and an unfinished "History of the Tang Dynasty". Private historical writings were also extremely prosperous, including Yao Xuan's "Current Affairs", which recorded military and state affairs; and Liu Zhiji's "Shi Tong", which expounded historical theories.
Wu Zetian also ordered the editing of "Three Teachings of Pearls". The three religions are Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. "The Pearls of the Three Religions" is a collection of famous quotes from celebrities of the three religions. She ordered Zhang Changzong to summon 26 people, including Li Qiao, Yan Chaoyin, Xu Yanbo, Zhang Shuo, Song Zhiwen, Shen Quanqi, and Fu Jiamo, "to compile an anthology in separate departments into 1,300 volumes." These editors are known as "Bachelor Zhuying". Zhu Ying, a bachelor, was both a poet and a scholar. During the period of writing books, they "talked and wrote poems day and night, and gathered together." It was a grand gathering of court poets during the Wu Zetian period, which was very popular for a while. Cui Rong compiled their poems into five volumes of "Zhuying Bachelor Collection". Historical records: "The literati at that time, with the Shen and Song Dynasties being the most outstanding, would use beautiful words to invite the queen to be happy. Shangguan Wan'er would dye them with Han colors, and the court and the public would be jealous of them, so they were transformed for a while."
The Wu Zetian period was a period when Tang Dynasty literature got rid of the old habits of the Six Dynasties and took on a new look. Wu Zetian herself knew how to compose poems, and there are still 46 poems in existence. Her poems also include fresh and recitable lines, such as "Bamboo leaves floating in the wine, hibiscus written on the cup" and so on. At that time, she traveled a lot. Once she saw good scenery, she would compose impromptu poems by herself, and she would also order her officials to comply.
There were also large-scale poetry competitions at that time, among which "Seizing the Robe at the Dragon Gate" became a legend in the poetry world. When Wu Zetian visited Longmen in Luoyang, she ordered her ministers to compose poems. Zuo Shi Dongfang Qiu came first, and Wu Zetian gave him a brocade robe. Later, when Song Zhiwen completed his poem, Wu Zetian read it and admired it greatly. She thought it was better than the former, so she took the brocade robe and gave it to Song Zhiwen.
What is good at the top will be bad at the bottom. Wu Zetian's interest in poetry and her courtesy to poets directly affected the atmosphere of the entire society.
When Wu Zetian reformed the imperial examination system, he decided to use poetry to win Jinshi. As a result, the style of poetry became popular all over the country, ranging from officials in the imperial court to children five feet tall. It is said in history that during the 20 years that Wu Zetian reigned in the world, "all officials and ministers expressed their opinions through writings, and they followed this practice for a long time, and it became a common practice."
Selecting officials based on their good poetry has become a long-term system. Probably unique in human history!
Every official takes pride in writing poetry, students take it as their job, and ordinary people take it as a pleasure. As soon as this trend started, the poetry style in the early Tang Dynasty changed completely, completely breaking away from the style of palace poetry, and the meter gradually became more complete. The beauty of Qi Liang gradually faded away, and the character of Han and Wei Dynasties was revived. A number of star poets emerged, including Li Qiao, Su Weiwei, Cui Rong, Du Shenyan, Shen Quanqi, Song Zhiwen, Yang Jiong, Lu Zhaolin, Chen Ziang, etc., paving a broad road for the prosperity of poetry in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.