In the royal family of the Han Dynasty, there was an incredible collection, the head of Wang Mang, which was left in the inner court of the palace by emperors of all ages without hesitation. After many twists and turns, I realized that Wang Mang's head disappeared during the civil strife in the Western Jin Dynasty, and this absurd 272-year collection history ended.
Treacherous subjects and unfilial sons
Wang Mang has always been a mystery in history. He is the nephew of the Queen of the Western Han Dynasty. He entered the imperial court by nepotism, and gradually became the biggest power minister of the dynasty. He always shows an upright and bright image in front of everyone, loyal to the royal family, and even his own children don't tolerate the law. No one expected that what he wanted was to seek the position of usurper.
But it is such an aboveboard person who, relying on his good acting skills, took power in his own hands step by step, and finally ended the rule of the Western Han Dynasty. Wang Mang also became the best spokesman for the idiom "duplicity".
However, after Wang Mang usurped the throne, he proved that his ability was limited and he was a good minister, but he could not be an emperor. After Wang Mang came to power, a series of perverse policies made people angry. The "new dynasty" he established lasted for more than ten years before it was overthrown by a group of insurgents headed by the nobles of the Western Han Dynasty, and Wang Mang who dismounted died miserably. Liu Xiu's accession to the throne opened a new stage of the Han Dynasty-the Eastern Han Dynasty.
Wang Mang's body was chopped into ten thousand pieces, and his head was thrown into the market. The people who suffered from it actually "attacked it together or ate its tongue", and later it was taken back to the palace by the sergeant. The new successor made his own arrangements for Wang Mang's head.
Liu Xiu ordered the craftsman to paint Wang Mang's head with black paint, and then told the wizard to enter the palace. The craftsmen peeled off the flesh from Wang Mang's head in a special way, leaving only the bones, and then carefully preserved them.
As for where the head is hidden, no one knows. Some people say it is hidden in the imperial tomb, some people say it is hidden in the national treasury, and some people say that this man's head hangs somewhere in the inner court of the palace.
This legend is a bit scary. No matter where it was collected, why did the royal family keep such an avatar around? And the owner of this skull is not a loyal minister, but a thief. In the Han Dynasty, where superstition was very serious, was the emperor not afraid of Wang Mang's ghost?
Everyone knows how afraid people in the Han Dynasty were of ghosts and gods. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty abolished two queens because of a "witchcraft", and even the prince died because of a "witchcraft disaster". All the emperors in the Han Dynasty were not afraid of ghosts. Follwed this guy stirred the Han Dynasty before his death, not to mention after his death.
Theory of ghosts and gods
However, everyone has no objection to this approach, and there is a deep meaning behind it. The most important nature is the punishment of traitors. China people pay attention to burial, otherwise they will become ghosts. Even some bad emperors, such as Yang Di and Li Houzhu, were buried with relative dignity.
However, the nature of follwed is different. No matter how fatuous the emperor Yang Di was, at least in ancient China, he was still the legal heir. He is the biological son of Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty, so he naturally has the right to inherit the dynasty. Although Li Tang rebelled, he was able to maintain the last dignity for the former monarch, not to mention some relatives between the Sui and Tang royal families.
However, this is not the case between Wang Mang and his next monarch, Liu Xiu. Wang Mang was a usurper and an enemy of the royal family in the Han Dynasty. Out of trust in the Han royal family, he aimed his knife at the members of the royal family. I don't know how many royal families named Liu died because of Wang Mang. In this case, Liu Xiu and Wang Mang not only seized power, but also retaliated against the Han Dynasty. It is not necessary for the enemy to maintain dignity.
Moreover, the nature of Wang Mang's usurpation is very bad. Since Lv Hou, almost every emperor of the Western Han Dynasty has fought against his consorts. Dou Taihou, Huo Guang, the Wangs, every new king is afraid of his consorts, but the former consorts at least exceeded their authority rather than replaced them. Wang Mang began to usurp consorts. The emperor of the Han Dynasty could not do without the support of the matriarchal family, but if the relatives of the matriarchal family wanted to usurp the throne, it would be very terrible.
Therefore, in order to warn future generations, Liu Xiu must give Wang Mang the severest punishment so that he can never be buried safely. Later generations' consorts will make a crisis, and they should also think about the fate of follwed.
In addition, there is a slightly superstitious mentality. The ancients believed that Rainbow Mang, a traitor, would not rest in peace after his death, but would suffer in the underworld and become an evil spirit that was difficult to resolve. However, hanging this evil spirit in the imperial city can have the effect of "fighting poison with poison", so that other evil spirits dare not approach and keep one side safe.
The merits and demerits behind it
In a sense, this way is a common way to deal with people who conspire, either by exposing their bodies in the wilderness or by playing lanterns. In short, it is to make this person restless before and after life, and even make this person never be able to live beyond life, and there is no way to make trouble again. Only in this way can the rulers rest assured and vent their evil spirits.
Moreover, although Wang Mang succeeded in usurping the throne, he failed in the end. People also think that such a person is not the real God Blessed Dragon Emperor, and there is no way to fight against Liu Xiu, the son of the real destiny. Therefore, people are not worried that this loser will hurt Liu Xiu's fate, but believe that he will be shocked by Liu Xiu's The Son of Heaven.
Because this skull has a special significance, even if the Eastern Han Dynasty perished, the subsequent Cao Wei and the Western Jin Dynasty silently collected this skull, hoping to play some illusory roles.
Of course, later generations also understand that this head is just a bone, and it has no effect like ghosts and gods, and even backfires. In the end, the Eastern Han Dynasty, which was afraid of consorts, died at the hands of consorts in a sense. Blade, Dong Zhuo and other blades greatly washed away the crumbling imperial industry of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the 400-year-old dynasty was destroyed. Cao Wei inherited this head, but it did not spread to the eternal world. The Western Jin Dynasty was a China calendar.
The living Wang Mang changed the course of history, but after his death, Wang Mang was just one of Qian Qian's ten thousand bones. For more than 200 years, no one can stop the wheel of history. Who made history?
Is it follwed or Liu Xiu? But there seems to be none. The change of history is driven by gears. They have intentionally or unintentionally become the promoters of history. However, when the regime changes, it may not be Wang Mang, but there will be someone else. The drama of Wang Mang's life and death has far exceeded his own achievements, but the rise and fall of dynasties has only become a few gossip after dinner, and only history has never stopped.