This an excerpt from a forthcoming "graphic novel" Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World, by Penelope Bagieu, due to be out on March 6, 2018. The excerpt was published at The Lily, a product of The Washington Post.
I'm not going to attempt to cut and paste the graphics here, complete with text. Here's the link. Enjoy - it's a fast read, and fascinating. You can find a lot more about Wu Zetian online. The Empress created her own dynasty (which did not outlive her); aging and sick, she ceded the throne to back to her son Zhong Zhong in 705 CE, and died in 713 CE at the age of 81.
All of this intrigue and action took place under the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE), during which the game called "Chinese chess" - Xiangqi - had fully evolved from the ancient Han Dynasty game of Liubo (played with "Generals" and "pawns" and moves determined by dice) into a game of multiple pieces and from a game of chance using dice to determine moves to one of strategy, where moves were constrained only by certain rules and the knowledge and abilities of the respective players.
I'll bet Empress Wu was a great fan of Xiangqi. A few years back, a tomb of one of the Empress' trusted female aides was discovered and excavated, and I wrote about it and some about Wu Zetian. Link.
Showing posts with label Empress Wu Zetian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Empress Wu Zetian. Show all posts
Monday, February 26, 2018
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Tomb of Shangguan Wan'er, 664-710 CE, Discovered in China!
What a great discovery! I am not familiar with written Chinese herstory, but it seems that during the Tang and Song Dynasties, in particular, women played important roles not only in family matters and behind-the-scenes in politics, they also served important official roles at the royal courts. This is, perhaps, reflected in xiang qi (Chinese chess) in excavated pieces dating to the Song Dynasty that have female advisors ("guards"), which hold the place of a queen on western chess boards, but with the 9x9 board, flank the General on either side.
In xiang qi, played on a 9 x 9 board, the pieces are placed on the intersections of the squares themselves, not inside the squares as pieces are placed in western chess. There are 9 pieces across the back rank on each side and only one General (western chess equivalent is the King). There is no "queen" in xiang qi as we know her in western chess. Therefore, the presence of those female
advisors or guards in that Tang Dynasty era chess pieces is all the more important and perhaps indicative of the important positions women held in Tang and Song Dynasty courts.
Chinese archaeology has confirmed in many instances what ancient historians (from the east and the west) wrote about -- the presence of powerful female empresses or queens, duchesses, and consorts of high-ranking officials and nobles. And now we have the tomb of Shangguan Wan'er of the early Tang Dynasty! It was a time of expanding contacts between the East and the West, when the Tang emperors sent out missions to establish trade and diplomatic contacts with western cities and empires. Cultural exchange flourished and ideas, goods and people flowed both ways across the ancient Silk Road, as well as on the seas.
Not very good images of those Song Dynasty xiang qi pieces showing the female guard piece (there would have been at least two for one color of pieces) can be found at a Chinese Chess Art Gallery at Yutopian online.
From BBC News
2 September 2013 Last updated at 06:29 ET
China finds ancient tomb of 'female prime minister'
The tomb of Shangguan Wan'er, who lived from 664-710 AD, was recently found in Shaanxi province. Archaeologists confirmed the tomb was hers this week.
She was a famous politician and poet who served empress Wu Zetian, China's first female ruler. However, the tomb was badly damaged, reports said.
The grave was discovered near an airport in Xianyang, Shaanxi province, reports said. A badly damaged epitaph on the tomb helped archaeologists confirm that the tomb was Shangguan Wan'er's, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
Experts described the discovery as one of "major significance", even though it had been subject to "large-scale damage".
"The roof had completely collapsed, the four walls were damaged, and all the tiles on the floor had been lifted up," Geng Qinggang, an archaeology research associate in Shaanxi, told Chinese media.
"Hence, we think it must have been subject to large-scale, organised damage... quite possibly damage organised by officials," he said.
Shangguan Wan'er was a trusted aide of Wu Zetian, who ruled during China's prosperous Tang dynasty. She [Empress Wu Zetian] was killed in a palace coup in 710 AD.
Her [Sjangguan Wan'er's] story has intrigued many in China, and has even inspired a TV series.
Empress Wu Zetian, from Women in World History
Empress Wu Zetian, from Wikipedia
Yeah, she wasn't a very nice lady sometimes...
For more information on Shangguan Wan'er:
Wikipedia
Tomb of China's woman prime minister Shangguan Wan'er, from The Daily Mail online (video in Chinese)
Huffington Post news report from September 12, 2013
In xiang qi, played on a 9 x 9 board, the pieces are placed on the intersections of the squares themselves, not inside the squares as pieces are placed in western chess. There are 9 pieces across the back rank on each side and only one General (western chess equivalent is the King). There is no "queen" in xiang qi as we know her in western chess. Therefore, the presence of those female
advisors or guards in that Tang Dynasty era chess pieces is all the more important and perhaps indicative of the important positions women held in Tang and Song Dynasty courts.
Chinese archaeology has confirmed in many instances what ancient historians (from the east and the west) wrote about -- the presence of powerful female empresses or queens, duchesses, and consorts of high-ranking officials and nobles. And now we have the tomb of Shangguan Wan'er of the early Tang Dynasty! It was a time of expanding contacts between the East and the West, when the Tang emperors sent out missions to establish trade and diplomatic contacts with western cities and empires. Cultural exchange flourished and ideas, goods and people flowed both ways across the ancient Silk Road, as well as on the seas.
Not very good images of those Song Dynasty xiang qi pieces showing the female guard piece (there would have been at least two for one color of pieces) can be found at a Chinese Chess Art Gallery at Yutopian online.
From BBC News
2 September 2013 Last updated at 06:29 ET
China finds ancient tomb of 'female prime minister'
The ancient tomb of a female
politician in China, described as the country's "female prime minister", has
been discovered, Chinese media say.
The tomb of Shangguan Wan'er, who lived from 664-710 AD, was recently found in Shaanxi province. Archaeologists confirmed the tomb was hers this week.
She was a famous politician and poet who served empress Wu Zetian, China's first female ruler. However, the tomb was badly damaged, reports said.
The grave was discovered near an airport in Xianyang, Shaanxi province, reports said. A badly damaged epitaph on the tomb helped archaeologists confirm that the tomb was Shangguan Wan'er's, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
Experts described the discovery as one of "major significance", even though it had been subject to "large-scale damage".
"The roof had completely collapsed, the four walls were damaged, and all the tiles on the floor had been lifted up," Geng Qinggang, an archaeology research associate in Shaanxi, told Chinese media.
"Hence, we think it must have been subject to large-scale, organised damage... quite possibly damage organised by officials," he said.
Shangguan Wan'er was a trusted aide of Wu Zetian, who ruled during China's prosperous Tang dynasty. She [Empress Wu Zetian] was killed in a palace coup in 710 AD.
Her [Sjangguan Wan'er's] story has intrigued many in China, and has even inspired a TV series.
*****************
Oh yeah, Wu Zetian was much hated for many years both before and after she took the Chinese throne for herself and was ultimately, finally, shoved aside in her old age. When her husband died, she took control of the throne in place of a, frankly, idiotic son who played the role of puppet for many ambitious men behind the scenes, along with many ambitious concubines of the deceased emperor touting their own sons as potential worthy heirs to the throne. See what kind of trouble happens when a man can't keep his penis inside his pants - ha! But Wu Zetian outfoxed them all for a good 40 years or more. She was replaced on the throne, but not killed, and died a short time thereafter at the age of 80. The Dynasty died within a generation of Wu Zetian. You can find a lot of information online about Empress Wu Zetian, here are some interesting links:Empress Wu Zetian, from Women in World History
Empress Wu Zetian, from Wikipedia
Yeah, she wasn't a very nice lady sometimes...
For more information on Shangguan Wan'er:
Wikipedia
Tomb of China's woman prime minister Shangguan Wan'er, from The Daily Mail online (video in Chinese)
Huffington Post news report from September 12, 2013
Friday, September 24, 2010
Tang Dynasty Sarcophogus Shows Ties to Silk Road Diversity
Big noses, hey?
How unfortunate and how absolutely abhorrent that the archaeological integrity of this artifact is lost forever due to looting - and it weren't no Americans over there doing it, either, although we are the country to blame for everything, aren't we. This was an inside job, probably from high up. The Chinese could teach the crooks in the Middle East and the Revolutionary Guard in Iran a thing or two, I'm sure, when it comes to official corruption and smuggling precious archaeological artifacts out of one's home country, sold to the highest bidder, screw the citizens, to whom it really belongs, and screw their rightful heritage. And you know, it's all so stupid because in the end, they end up full of worms in the ground, just like everyone else. No amount of money in the world can stop that from being the eventual fate of each and everyone of us. The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the worms play pinochle in your mouth...
From People's Daily Online, one of the propaganda pipes for the Communist Party of the People's Republic of China, but they do publish good articles on archaeology if you ignore the occasional "rah, rah!" slant.
Big noses, curly hair on empress's coffin suggests deep cultural exchange on Silk Road
17:33, September 14, 2010
Chinese archeologists have found new evidence of international cultural exchange on the ancient Silk Road.
Four European-looking warriors and lion-like beasts are engraved on an empress's 1,200-year-old stone coffin that was unearthed in Shaanxi Province, in northwestern China.
The warriors on the four reliefs had deep-set eyes, curly hair and over-sized noses -- physical characteristics Chinese typically associate with Europeans.
The 27-tonne Tang Dynasty (618-907) sarcophagus contained empress Wu Huifei (699-737), Ge Chengyong, a noted expert on Silk Road studies, said Tuesday.
Ge said one of the warriors was very much like Zues [Zeus], the "father of gods and men" in Greek mythology.
The coffin was also engraved with deer, tigers and goats.
"It's noteworthy that goats signify tragedy in Greek mythology. The word 'tragedy' itself means 'song of the man-goat singer'," he said. [Um, is something missing in this translation?]
He said the tragic element coincides with the empress's unhappy life: several of her children died young and she herself lived constantly in fear.
Ge said the exotic sarcophagus is rare for China, where ancient coffins almost always had Buddhist-themed reliefs and murals depicting harmony, happiness and peace. [I know tigers are a Taoist favorite, not so sure about deer but I believe deer were a symbol for the Goddess in ancient Persia, which had extensive trading contact with the Tang Dynasty.]
The elements of Greek mythology on Empress Wu Huifei's coffin suggest cross-cultural exchange was common in Chang'an, capital of the Tang Dynasty, located in today's Xi'an, he said. "There could have even been clergymen from Western countries serving in the Tang imperial court."
Wu Huifei was Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine and was posthumously known as Empress Zhenshun, meaning "the virtuous and serene empress."
Her sarcophagus - 4 meters long, 2 meters wide and 2 meters high - was stolen from her tomb in the southern suburbs of Xi'an in 2006. Police said it was then smuggled out of China and sold to a businessman in the United States for 1 million U.S. dollars.
It returned to China in April and has been housed at the Shaanxi History Museum from June.
Source: Xinhua
Tang Dynasty sarcophagus brought back home
Fri, Jun 18, 2010
China Daily/Asia News
The 27-ton stone coffin of Tang empress Wu Huifei (AD 699-737) arrived at the Shaanxi History Museum on Thursday, four years after it was smuggled out of the country.
27 tons. Yeah, something 10,000 smugglers walked out of the country with tucked under their clothes. LOL! Look at the size of the thing!
A fascinating review of the life (and times) of Consort Wu at Wikipedia - who,it is revealed, was a descendant of the infamous (and quite incredible) Empress Wu Zetian! Like - WOW! The Chinese absolute hate and revile Wu Zetian, but she was one ambitious and incredibly smart woman, who survived Imperial Chinese Court life to a ripe old age - she was over 80 when she finally was forced to kill herself. Oh my!
More information and photographs in this report:
Tang Dynasty sarcophagus brought back home
2010-06-18 00:55:57 GMT2010-06-18 08:55:57 (Beijing Time)
How unfortunate and how absolutely abhorrent that the archaeological integrity of this artifact is lost forever due to looting - and it weren't no Americans over there doing it, either, although we are the country to blame for everything, aren't we. This was an inside job, probably from high up. The Chinese could teach the crooks in the Middle East and the Revolutionary Guard in Iran a thing or two, I'm sure, when it comes to official corruption and smuggling precious archaeological artifacts out of one's home country, sold to the highest bidder, screw the citizens, to whom it really belongs, and screw their rightful heritage. And you know, it's all so stupid because in the end, they end up full of worms in the ground, just like everyone else. No amount of money in the world can stop that from being the eventual fate of each and everyone of us. The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the worms play pinochle in your mouth...
From People's Daily Online, one of the propaganda pipes for the Communist Party of the People's Republic of China, but they do publish good articles on archaeology if you ignore the occasional "rah, rah!" slant.
Big noses, curly hair on empress's coffin suggests deep cultural exchange on Silk Road
17:33, September 14, 2010
Chinese archeologists have found new evidence of international cultural exchange on the ancient Silk Road.
Four European-looking warriors and lion-like beasts are engraved on an empress's 1,200-year-old stone coffin that was unearthed in Shaanxi Province, in northwestern China.
The warriors on the four reliefs had deep-set eyes, curly hair and over-sized noses -- physical characteristics Chinese typically associate with Europeans.
The 27-tonne Tang Dynasty (618-907) sarcophagus contained empress Wu Huifei (699-737), Ge Chengyong, a noted expert on Silk Road studies, said Tuesday.
Ge said one of the warriors was very much like Zues [Zeus], the "father of gods and men" in Greek mythology.
The coffin was also engraved with deer, tigers and goats.
"It's noteworthy that goats signify tragedy in Greek mythology. The word 'tragedy' itself means 'song of the man-goat singer'," he said. [Um, is something missing in this translation?]
He said the tragic element coincides with the empress's unhappy life: several of her children died young and she herself lived constantly in fear.
Ge said the exotic sarcophagus is rare for China, where ancient coffins almost always had Buddhist-themed reliefs and murals depicting harmony, happiness and peace. [I know tigers are a Taoist favorite, not so sure about deer but I believe deer were a symbol for the Goddess in ancient Persia, which had extensive trading contact with the Tang Dynasty.]
The elements of Greek mythology on Empress Wu Huifei's coffin suggest cross-cultural exchange was common in Chang'an, capital of the Tang Dynasty, located in today's Xi'an, he said. "There could have even been clergymen from Western countries serving in the Tang imperial court."
Wu Huifei was Emperor Xuanzong's favorite concubine and was posthumously known as Empress Zhenshun, meaning "the virtuous and serene empress."
Her sarcophagus - 4 meters long, 2 meters wide and 2 meters high - was stolen from her tomb in the southern suburbs of Xi'an in 2006. Police said it was then smuggled out of China and sold to a businessman in the United States for 1 million U.S. dollars.
It returned to China in April and has been housed at the Shaanxi History Museum from June.
Source: Xinhua
****************************************************************************
More information:Tang Dynasty sarcophagus brought back home
Fri, Jun 18, 2010
China Daily/Asia News
+2010.jpg) |
| This is what 27 tons of stone work looks like. Photo: China Daily. |
The 27-ton stone coffin of Tang empress Wu Huifei (AD 699-737) arrived at the Shaanxi History Museum on Thursday, four years after it was smuggled out of the country.
27 tons. Yeah, something 10,000 smugglers walked out of the country with tucked under their clothes. LOL! Look at the size of the thing!
A fascinating review of the life (and times) of Consort Wu at Wikipedia - who,it is revealed, was a descendant of the infamous (and quite incredible) Empress Wu Zetian! Like - WOW! The Chinese absolute hate and revile Wu Zetian, but she was one ambitious and incredibly smart woman, who survived Imperial Chinese Court life to a ripe old age - she was over 80 when she finally was forced to kill herself. Oh my!
More information and photographs in this report:
Tang Dynasty sarcophagus brought back home
2010-06-18 00:55:57 GMT2010-06-18 08:55:57 (Beijing Time)
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