Princess Wencheng (? -680), named Li Yaner, the imperial daughter of Emperor Taizong in Li Shimin. Han nationality. She is smart and beautiful. Influenced by her family, she studied culture, was polite and believed in Buddhism.
Songtsan Gampo is a hero in Tibetan history, rising in Yalong River Valley (now Yarlung Zangbo River) in the middle reaches of Tibetan River. He unified Tibetan areas, became Zanpu (meaning "monarch") of Tibetans, and established the Tubo Dynasty. In the 14th year of Zhenguan in Tang Dynasty (640), Lu Dongzan, a minister, was sent to Chang 'an to donate 5,200 yuan to treat the treasures, so he proposed to the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Taizong promised to marry Princess Wencheng.
In the 15th year (64 1), Princess Wencheng left Chang 'an for Tubo, accompanied by Li Daozong, cousin of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty who sent Wang Tai, and Lu Dongzan, special envoy of Tubo. Songzan Gambu personally greeted him in Baihai (now maduo county, Qinghai Province), paid an audience with Daozong, and paid his son-in-law a gift. Then she returned to Luoyang (now Lhasa) with Princess Wencheng. Princess Wencheng has lived in Tubo for nearly 40 years and has always been respected.
According to books such as The Hereditary Mirror of Tubo Dynasty, when Princess Wencheng entered Tibet, the team was very large, and the dowry of Emperor Taizong was very rich. There are "siddhattha gotama, treasures, jade bookcases, 360 volumes of classics and various jade ornaments". He also presented all kinds of cooking foods, brocade quilts with various patterns, 300 divination classics, 60 books on distinguishing good from evil, architecture and technology, 65,438+000 therapeutic prescriptions, 4 medical works, 5 diagnostic methods and 6 medical instruments. It also carries all kinds of grains and turnip seeds.
In the first year of Yonghui (650), Princess Wencheng lived in Tibet after the death of Songzan Gambo. She loves Tibetan compatriots and is deeply loved by the people. She designed and helped build Jokhang Temple and Jokhang Temple. Under her influence, the technologies of milling, weaving, pottery making, paper making and wine making of the Han nationality were spread to Tubo one after another; She brought poems, agricultural books, Buddhist scriptures, historical books, medical books, calendars and other classics, which promoted the economic and cultural development of Tubo and strengthened the friendly relations between the Chinese and Tibetan people. The golden Buddha statue of Sakyamuni she brought is still worshipped by the Tibetan people.
In the first year of Yonglong (680), Princess Wencheng died, and the Tubo Dynasty held a grand funeral for her. The Tang Dynasty sent envoys to pay tribute to Tubo. Up to now, the statue made by Tibetans in memory of her is still preserved in Lhasa, with a history of 1300 years.
There is also Princess Wencheng Temple in Yushu County, Qinghai Province. The statue of Princess Wencheng in the center of the temple sits on the lotus seat of the lion, which is 8 meters high, vivid and finely carved. Incense is constantly burning here all year round, butter lamps are brightly lit day and night, and Tibetan and Chinese people who come to worship are in an endless stream. According to legend, Princess Wencheng stayed here for a long time on her way to Lhasa and was warmly welcomed by local Tibetan leaders and the masses. Deeply moved, she decided to stay and teach local people agriculture and textile technology. Princess Wencheng Temple has been listed as a national cultural relic protection unit.
In the history of China, there are many cases in which princesses or imperial daughters married the king of Tibet. During the period of Emperor Taizong, Princess Wencheng married Tubo far away, which was a model of this kind of marriage. Under her influence, the friendship between the Chinese and Tibetan peoples has developed greatly, so it is not an exaggeration to call Princess Wencheng the most successful female diplomat.
Tubo is now Tibet, and there was no contact with China before the Tang Dynasty. It is said that the Tubo people are descendants of Xianbei, the king of the Southern Liang Dynasty in the late Eastern Jin Dynasty, and fled to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in mourning. In order to commemorate the ancestors, it was named "Bald Hair" and later changed to "Tubo" according to its similar pronunciation. Tubo people live a nomadic life, raising yaks, horses, pigs and camels, and some also grow highland barley and buckwheat. In the 7th century AD, he abandoned Zong Nong Zan and succeeded Tubo Zanpa (King of Tubo). People also call him Songzan Gambu. He is a brave and brave leader. He led the army to unify many tribes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and established a powerful kingdom centered on some cities, which is today's Lhasa.
In the twelfth year of Emperor Taizong's Zhenguan reign, Songzan Gambu led the Tibetan army to attack Songzhou, a major town in the Tang Dynasty, which is now Songpan County, Sichuan Province. Under the rule of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, the country was rich and powerful, and the army was strong. Hou was sent to lead an army to crusade. Defeated Tubo at the gates of Songzhou. Songzan Gambu had to bow down and admire the power of Datang. While he was writing an apology letter, he also proposed to Tang Ting.
After some consideration, Emperor Taizong decided to grant his request, so he chose an imperial daughter who was familiar with the poems and songs in the palace and named her Princess Wencheng. Princess Wencheng was originally the daughter of Li, a distant relative of Emperor Taizong. She is dignified and plump and has read many poems since she was a child. Although she had doubts about the distant Tubo, she was full of novel yearning and agreed. After more than two months' preparation, in the dead of winter in the fifteenth year of Zhenguan, Li Daozong, the minister of Wangli Department of Jiangxia County, led a large-scale farewell party to escort Princess Wencheng to Tubo and Qinqin.
The reason why we set out in the dead of winter is that it takes more than a month to get from Chang 'an to Tibet via Longnan and Qinghai, and there are several fast-flowing rivers along the way. In the dead of winter, the river is gentle, which is convenient for the farewell party. This team not only carries a generous dowry, but also a large number of books, musical instruments, silk and grain. In addition to Princess Wencheng's maid-in-waiting, there are a group of people, musicians and agricultural technicians, almost like a "cultural visiting group" and an "agricultural team". What are these people doing? Because Tubo defeated Tuyuhun at that time, Yiran became a powerful country in southwest China. Emperor Taizong was far-sighted and thought that only by strengthening the netting of Tubo could the stability of the southwest frontier of Datang be guaranteed, so he tried every means to help them economically and culturally, so that Tubo could appreciate and follow Datang imperceptibly. In fact, Princess Wencheng shoulders the political task of harmonious diplomacy and marrying away from home, and this farewell team is also to help her accomplish this mission.
After more than a month's arduous trek, facing the snow and spring, Princess Wencheng and her party arrived at Heyuan, the birthplace of the Yellow River. Here, there are lush water plants and flocks of cattle and sheep, which makes people feel relaxed and happy. Princess Wencheng, who was worried about the bad terrain all the way, was relieved at this moment, so the farewell party took a short rest here for a few days.
At this time, Songzan Gambu personally led a team to meet the bride and groom and arrived at Heyuan. When Songzan Gambu and his party saw Li Daozong, the envoy of the Tang Dynasty, they bowed their heads and held a wedding ceremony. He has decided to take Datang as the Tubo Kingdom. Li Daozong invited Princess Wencheng to meet Songzan Gambu. The Tubo king galloping on the plateau, seeing the golden branches and jade leaves of Middle-earth, immediately fell for her. I saw Princess Wencheng dressed in gorgeous costumes, dignified and elegant, completely different from the primitive and simple Tubo woman. The Songzan Ganbu seen by Princess Wencheng is dark and rough. Although it was shaped by the scorching sun and strong wind on the plateau, it is very heroic with his tall and strong figure and heroic spirit revealed in his brow. Princess Wencheng is very happy that she married a good husband.
With dignity and prestige, the procession to send in-laws and weddings poured into the city of Rosome. Under the auspices of Li Daozong, Songzan Gambo and Princess Wencheng held a grand wedding in accordance with the etiquette of the Han nationality. People in Luosuo cities sang and danced to celebrate their Zanpu and his wife. Songzan Gambule said to his subordinates, "My family is my father, and there has never been a precedent of intermarriage in China. Today, I have the honor to marry the princess of the Tang Dynasty. I want to build a gorgeous palace and let the princess leave it to future generations. "
Soon, a beautiful palace was built with gorgeous houses inside. The pavilion is exquisite and elegant, and a rippling pond is dug, and beautiful flowers and trees of various colors are planted. All the organizational systems are modeled after the imperial palace in the Tang Dynasty, which is used to place Princess Wencheng and comfort her homesickness. In order to have more * * * language with Princess Wencheng, Songzan Gambu took off his accustomed leather coat and put on a silk Tang suit sewn by Princess Wencheng herself. He also tried to learn Chinese from Princess Wencheng. An alien couple, with harmonious feelings, love and respect, started their new life.
According to the traditional custom, the Tubo people paint their cheeks with ochre clay every day, saying that it can ward off evil spirits. Although it looks ugly and uncomfortable, because it is a traditional custom, no one raises any objection. Most Tubo people just follow the rules. After Princess Wencheng arrived in Tubo, she carefully understood and pondered this habit, thinking that it was unreasonable, harmful to health and indeed a vulgar habit, so she gently put forward her own views to Songzan Gambu. Songzan Gambu felt that what she said was very reasonable and immediately ordered the abolition of this custom. At first, some nostalgic Tubo people were not used to it, and gradually found it convenient and beautiful to keep their true colors, and everyone was willing to accept it. They even thanked Princess Wencheng for breaking the rules for them.
After life settled down, the Han musicians brought by Princess Wencheng began to perform their duties. They worked very hard to play the most popular music in Tang Palace for Songzan Gambo and Princess Wencheng. The music is soothing and beautiful, so that Songzan Ganbu seems to smell the fairy sound. He was full of praise for musicians and music, and selected a group of boys and girls with smart qualifications to learn from Han musicians, so that Han music gradually spread throughout Tubo and flowed into the hearts of Tubo people.
Later, the scribes also began to work. They helped to sort out the relevant documents of Tubo, recorded the important conversations between Songzan and ministers, and made Tubo politics go out of the primitive and move towards normalization. While Songzan Gambu was delighted, he ordered the ministers and nobles to sincerely worship the scribes as teachers, learn Chinese culture and study the poetry books they brought. Then, a group of aristocratic children traveled thousands of miles to Chang 'an, entered the countries of the Tang Dynasty, studied poetry and books, and brought the Han culture back to Tubo.
Agricultural technicians don't preach anything. They just sow the grain seeds brought from the central plains on the fertile soil of the plateau, and then carefully irrigate, fertilize and weed. In the harvest season, the robust and amazing high yield of crops made the Tubo people stare big eyes. At that time, Tubo people also planted some crops such as highland barley and buckwheat, but due to poor management, they often only planted them, so the yield was extremely low. They have to admire the superb planting techniques of Han agricultural technicians. Inspired by Songzan Gambu and Princess Wencheng, agricultural technicians began to teach agricultural technology to Tubo people in a planned way, so that they could harvest a lot of food while nomadic. Especially after the technology of planting mulberry and raising silkworms was passed on to them, Tubo gradually got homemade silks with soft luster and rich colors, which greatly beautified the life of Tubo people and made them overjoyed. They are all very grateful for the benefits that Princess Wencheng brought to them after she entered Tubo.
Princess Wencheng treated Songzan Gambu with tenderness, which made Tubo Shenshen Wang, who grew up in a wild land, feel the self-restraint and warmth of Han women. He not only cherished Princess Wencheng, but also tried his best to adopt some of her suggestions. With her knowledge and insight, Princess Wencheng carefully observed the Tibetan people's feelings, and then put forward various reasonable suggestions to help her husband govern this vast country with fierce and simple folk customs. Princess Wencheng is not the kind of woman who has a strong desire for power. She participated in governing the country, but never asked Songzan Gambu to give her an official position. She only put forward her own views on the major political decisions of Tubo countries, and did not forcibly interfere. Therefore, Songtsan Gambo and ministers are very satisfied with her, and often ask her about the political system of the Tang Palace as a reference for their administration. The majority of Tubo people regard her as a god.
In the twenty-second year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong sent Wang Shixuan to Tibet, on the one hand, to negotiate relations between the two countries, and on the other hand, to meet Princess Wencheng, who was married by Roy. Wang Xuance led the mission team with a large number of silk cultural relics on the road, and when passing through Tianzhu, it was unfortunately looted by Tianzhu people. Except for Wang Xuance who escaped with a small number of troops, most of the troops and articles were robbed. Wang Xuance arrived in Tubo in a mess, paid a visit to Songzan Gambu and told the story of the robbery. Songzan Gambu believed that Tianzhu was deliberately provocative and destroyed his relationship with the Tang Dynasty, so he sent troops to crusade against Tianzhu, destroyed their capital, captured Tianzhu prince, captured a large number of livestock, and saved the entourage of the Tang Dynasty envoys, which was a relief to the Tang Dynasty envoys.
In the twenty-third year of Zhenguan, Taizong Li Shimin died, and Tang Gaozong was the heir to the Prince. The new emperor of Tang Dynasty conferred Songzan Gambu as a captain of Xu and the king of Xihai County, and sent special envoys to send a large number of gold, silver, silks, poetry books and grain seeds, and also specially sent ornaments and cosmetics to Princess Wencheng to show encouragement and care for her merits.
Songzan Gambu wrote to thank him and faithfully said, "The son of heaven has just acceded to the throne. If his adjutant is disloyal, they should be diligent soldiers to go to the country to get rid of it. " And present fifteen kinds of jewels, please stay in front of Taizong's tomb to show your grief. Songzan Gambu's loyalty moved Tang Gaozong, made him a guest king, and gave him three thousand colored silks. After the Tubo emissary arrived in Chang 'an, it was an eye-opener. Tang Gaozong was happy, so he asked him about the techniques of brewing, rice milling, paper making, ink making and stone making. Tang Gaozong agreed. The relationship between Tang Dynasty and Tubo, based on the contact with Princess Wencheng, reached the peak of harmony.
With the efforts of Songzan Gambu and Princess Wencheng, and the proper planning of Tubo Prime Minister Dalun, Tubo has made rapid development in military, political, economic and cultural aspects, so it can dominate the western regions and become a powerful barrier to the westward advancement of the Tang Dynasty.
Unfortunately, soon after, Songzan Gambu died, and his grandson inherited Zampa. Because Zampa is young, Lu Dongzan is in charge of state affairs and Princess Wencheng is in charge of family affairs. At this time, everything is going well. However, Lu Dongzan died soon, and his son, Qin Ling, spoke loudly about it. At this point, the relationship between Tubo and neighboring Gu Hun deteriorated, and everyone wrote to Tang Ting to judge right and wrong, but Tang Gaozong refused to make a ruling. Qin Mausoleum couldn't help it. He got up and defeated Gu Hun. Unexpectedly, this move violated the majesty of Tang Ting. Tang Gaozong believes that before he made a judgment, Tubo was good at using force, and he simply ignored Tang China. Therefore, in the first year of Xianheng, he sent Xue to crusade against Tubo.
Who knows that Xue's army was defeated by the Tubo army in Dafeichuan area. From then on, the Tubo people no longer took the anger of Datang and attacked the border of Datang year after year. The Tang court sent an army commander to guard the Taohe River to prevent the harassment of the Tubo army. The two sides fell into a hostile situation, and Tubo became the biggest enemy that the Tang Dynasty could never solve.
From the early spring of the fifteenth year of Emperor Taizong's Zhenguan reign, Princess Wencheng married Songzan Gambu until the first year of Xianheng when Xue led his troops to conquer Tubo. In the past 30 years, Princess Wencheng's erudition has had a great influence on Tibetan civilization, which not only consolidated the frontier defense in the Tang Dynasty, but also spread the culture of the Han nationality to the western regions. This is the masterpiece of Emperor Taizong. Unfortunately, Tang Gaozong failed to make good use of it in the end, and it was easy to start a war.
In the first year of Yonglong in Tang Gaozong, Princess Wencheng died of illness in some cities. Tang Tingte sent envoys to pay homage, but failed to improve diplomatic relations between the two countries. However, the admiration of Princess Wencheng by Tibetan officials and people did not decrease because of her estrangement from the Tang Dynasty. Her death led to the decline of all Tubo people.
After the death of Princess Wencheng, the Tubo people set up temples and shrines for her in various places to commemorate her. Some local craftsmen who came with her also received generous courtesy. After their death, they were also buried on both sides of Princess Wencheng's tomb. Up to now, Princess Wencheng and these friendly messengers are still regarded as gods by Tibetans.
Temple of Varokana
Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province, located in the southeast of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is the "Three Rivers Source" in China and the world-famous hometown of Tibetan songs and dances. Princess Wencheng Temple has been built here with a history of 1300 years, and it has been listed as a national cultural relic protection unit.
Princess Wencheng Temple, alias "Princess Shajia Temple", is located in Benagou, 25 kilometers southeast of Jiegu Town, Yushu County. It is a grand canyon with endless mountains on both sides, standing under the blue sky of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with picturesque pines and cypresses on the mountains and picturesque rivers below. Princess Wencheng Temple in Tibetan architecture is close to Baizhang Cliff, with quiet scenery and splendid roof. Numerous Tibetan scriptures are engraved on all the cliffs and big stones around the temple. The temple has three floors, covering an area of more than 600 square meters and 9.6 meters high. The statue of Princess Wencheng in the center of the temple sits on the lotus seat of the lion, which is 8 meters high. There are eight statues of Buddha on each side of the statue, which are divided into two layers. Each statue is 3 meters high, finely carved and lifelike. The temple is an ancient building, which has both the artistic style of the Tang Dynasty and the characteristics of Tibetan flat-topped architecture.
1300 for more than 300 years, incense has never stopped here all year round, butter lamps are always on day and night, and Tibetans and China people who come to worship are also in an endless stream, like a family.
Princess Wencheng is the daughter of Emperor Taizong's imperial clan. She married Tubo Songzan Gambu in the fifteenth year of Tang Zhenguan (64 1). Princess Wencheng and her party set out from Chang 'an, passed through Xining, crossed Sun Moon Mountain and made a long journey to Lhasa. It is said that Benagou in Yushu County is the place where Princess Wencheng stayed the longest on her way to Tibet. Tibetan leaders and the masses here once held a grand welcoming ceremony for her. Princess Wencheng was deeply moved. She decided to stay longer and teach local people agriculture and textile technology.
After Princess Wencheng left here and entered Lhasa, Tibetans here built statues on the stone wall to commemorate the princess's portrait, and then built temples. This temple has become a symbol of Tibetan-Chinese unity. Since then, Baigou has become a sacred place in Yushu area and a Buddhist temple where believers worship. Incense is lingering and enduring, and the local Tibetan people regard it as a "paradise" on the Yushu Plateau.