Yang Guifei

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Yang Guifei with Peonies , painting by Hosoda Eishi , early 19th century

Yang Guifei ( Chinese  楊貴妃  /  杨贵妃 , Pinyin Yáng Guìfēi  - "Imperial Concubine Yang"; born June 26, 719 - † July 15, 756 ), née Yang Yuhuan ( 楊玉環  /  杨玉环 , Yáng Yùhuán ), was a concubine emperor Xuanzongs from the Tang Dynasty and was one of the so-called four beauties of ancient China .

Life

youth

She was born in Yongle ( 永樂  /  永乐 ), Pu ( 蒲州 ) prefecture , but her family comes from Huayin ( 華陰  /  华阴 ) and Hongnong ( 弘農  /  弘农 ) ( Shaanxi Province ). One of her ancestors was Yang Xuanyan ( 杨玄琰 ), also known as Sihu ( 司 戶 ), a senior tax officer in Shu Prefecture ( 蜀 州 ).

Yang at the imperial court

A few years after her father's death, sixteen-year-old Yang married Prince Shou Li Mao , son of Emperor Xuanzong, of the same age .

In 740, three years after the death of Xuanzong's wife Wu Huifei ( 武惠妃 ), the high-ranking eunuch Gao Lishi arranged for Xuanzong to meet Yang in the Water Palace in Xingwen ( 幸 溫泉 宮  /  幸 温泉 宫 ). At the behest of the emperor, she divorced her princely husband and entered  a nunnery under the name Taizhen ( 太 真 - “Supreme Truth”).

In 745 Prince Shou married again, namely the daughter of General Yuan Zhaoxun ( 韋昭 訓  /  韦昭 训 ). Yang became his concubine, but also had sexual relations with the aging Emperor Xuanzong. Yang had a strong liking for lychees . Since they grew only in southern China, the emperor had them transported from Guangdong and Sichuan to Chang'an by mounted courier squadrons . Yang Guifei's beauty has been celebrated by countless poets, including Li Bai and Bai Juyi .

The An Lushan Uprising

Several of Yang's relatives moved to the highest government offices. When, after the death of the imperial confidante Li Linfu in 752, she tried to heave her cousin Yang Guozhong into the office of State Chancellor, there was an open conflict with General An Lushan , who in turn had ambitions for this post. After the appointment of Yang Guozhong, a military revolt, known as the An Lushan Uprising , broke out in 755 , which was to bring the Tang dynasty to the edge of the abyss.

Yang's death

Most recently, the emperor and his entourage even had to flee to Chengdu in Sichuan. In the vicinity of Mawei ( 馬 嵬 驛站  /  马 嵬 驿站 ) (today: Xinping 興平 縣  /  兴平 县 , Shaanxi Province), the soldiers who were traveling with the Yang clan and who were responsible for the uprising demanded the death of Yang Guozhong and Yang Guifei . Whether Yang Guifei voluntarily committed suicide, was forced to commit suicide, or was killed is unclear; in any case, she died by hanging. When Xuanzong went to Mawei the following year to have Yang's body recovered, he was no longer there. On this basis the myth arose that she did not die at all, but rather fled to Japan and lived there unmolested until the end of her days.

Apparently Yang Guifei was slightly overweight, which was in great demand at the time. As "obese", as it is rumored in some sources, she could not be called. She was often compared with the considerably more delicate, but also widely praised for her beauty, Empress Zhao Feiyan ( 趙飛燕  /  赵飞燕 ), the wife of Han Emperor Han Cheng (51-7 BC), who had also committed suicide. This led to the Chinese expression yanshou huanfei ( 燕 瘦 環 肥  /  燕 瘦 环 肥 ), which still outlines the range of female beauty, especially in connection with sexual services.

Processing in art and literature

Yang Yuhuan

Operas:

  • Guifei Zuijiu ( 貴妃醉酒  /  贵妃醉酒  - "The drunken imperial concubine")
  • Taizhen Waizhuan ( 太 真 外傳  /  太 真 外传  - "The Unofficial Biography of the Taizhen")
  • Mawei Po ( 馬 嵬 坡  - "The Escape from Mawei") by Chen Hong ( 陳鴻  /  陈鸿 )

Stories:

  • Yang Taizhen Waizhuan ( 楊 太 真 外傳  /  杨 太 真 外传  - "The unofficial biography of the Yang Taizhen")
  • Changhen Gezhuan ( 長恨歌 傳  /  长恨歌 传  - "The Ballad of Long Grudges")
  • Eleanor Cooney , Daniel Altieri : The Court of the Lion . ISBN 0-87795-902-1

Dramas:

  • Changshen Dian ( 長生 殿  /  长生 殿  - "The Hall of Longevity", Qing Dynasty )
  • Mocheng Jian ( 磨 塵 鑒  /  磨 尘 鉴  - " Cleaning the mirror", Ming Dynasty )
  • Jinghong Ji ( 驚鴻 記  /  惊鸿 记  - "Shock of Dignity", Ming Dynasty)
  • Caihao Ji ( 彩 毫 記  /  彩 毫 记  - "Shiny hair", Ming Dynasty)
  • Tang Minghuang Qiuye Wutong Yu ( 唐明皇 秋夜 梧桐 雨  /  唐明皇 秋夜 梧桐 雨  - "Tang Emperor Ming with a kola nut on a rainy autumn night", Yuan Dynasty )

Films:

Web links

Commons : Yang Guifei  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Yang, Guifei
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Yang Yuhuan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Chinese concubine of Emperor Xuanzong
DATE OF BIRTH June 26, 719
PLACE OF BIRTH Yongle, Pu Prefecture
DATE OF DEATH July 15, 756
Place of death Mawei (today: Xinping )