How to Read Who is the "foreign imperial concubine" who fascinated Tang Xuanzong with the secret of the harem?

Introduction: "In the faded old palace, the peony is red, but no one comes to see it. The ladies-in-waiting are all white-haired and talking about the grand occasion of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. " A Tang poem often reminds people of Yang Yuhuan, Li Longji I and Tang Xuanzong. Yang Guifei's "If things are a godsend, you can't hide them" made Bai Juyi, a great poet, interpret the Song of Eternal Sorrow. Today, Mr. Ge, a famous expert in literature and history and editor-in-chief of Cultural Relics magazine, found that besides Yang Guifei, there is also a Hu with bulging sleeves and snowflakes flying, and a "foreign imperial concubine" from Central Asia!

Tang Xuanzong had 29 daughters and 30 sons. The empresses recorded during the year include Liu Huafei, Zhao, Qian Fei, Huang Fudi and Liu Jieyu. There are still some queens missing, the most curious of which is "Cao Ye Naji". The Book of the New Tang Dynasty in the Biography of Empresses only contains: "Shouan Gongzhu was born in Naji, Cao Ye." Ge said: "There is no doubt that the academic research on Shouan Gongzhu's biological mother has a long history. However, with the deepening of the study on the history of cultural exchanges between the East and the West along the Silk Road, the close relationship between the Sogdians in Central Asia and ancient China has become increasingly important. "

During the Wei, Jin, Sui and Tang Dynasties, "Ji" was used to address young and beautiful women, and it was a title representing women's identity. "Jena" is a foreign word, and "Cao" is a common surname used by the Sogdians of Cao State in Central Asia when they entered China. Is "Cao Ye" from Cao Zhou in Central Asia? According to the reporter, Cao is a country in the Sogdian region of Central Asia, which spans Tajikistan and Uzbekistan today. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Sogdians were generally named after China, such as "Nine surnames of Zhaowu". Like Mi's, Shi's, Kang's and An's in Cao Shi, it is one of the most common surnames of the Sogdians in China.

Ge said that Dunhuang and Turpan documents revealed rich surname information and greatly expanded the research on Cao's surname by later generations. There are names of Sogdians such as Cao and Na in documents unearthed in Turpan. Shishi, Xishan, Guilin, Tang Jinglong was awarded the title of Anye for three years. "Cao Ye Najib's name is undoubtedly transliterated in Chinese. Cao is the general name of the Sogdian people whose surname is Cao. The word "Yena" is obviously a common name for the Sogdians. In Sogdian, it means "the person you like", and both handsome and beautiful people can use it. It's just the spirit of men and the beauty of women. " Ge Yongcheng said.

Ge Yongcheng said, "The pronunciation of the name Cao Yena has not changed, indicating that she is not deeply localized. Generally speaking, if a foreign Sogdian is called Xishang, there are many Chinese names, which means that the localization has been deep for a long time, so it is difficult to judge whether she is a Sogdian. Cao Na: Hu of Central Asia? As the founder of the "New Century", she owns "there are other ladies in his court and 3,000 peerless women". One of the women named Na, who used to be her concubine, fell in love with her. So, as a foreign women, how did she come to China and get close to Tang?

According to the clues of historical documents and the in-depth study of China Sogdian culture by domestic and foreign scholars in recent years, there are three possible sources for women to enter central China and Asia: First, trade from Humen on the Silk Road. In the Tang Dynasty, both Qiuci and Yu Kan had their own female bosses. Western countries inherited the handmaiden trade market left by Gao Chang, especially the handmaiden trade of Hu people was very prosperous. Ge said that at that time, the price of handmaiden in Chang 'an, Beijing was quite high, 250 silks per person, compared with 40 silks in the Western Zhou Dynasty. The price of Chang 'an was six times that of the Western Zhou Dynasty, which stimulated travelers and wealthy Hu people to buy Hu people's handmaiden and bring them to Guanzhong and Jianghuai areas.

Secondly, it is the Sogdian women in the Sogdian Hutu settlement in Chang 'an. Many people in Central Asia moved to Chang 'an, especially the Hu people on the Silk Road. They often regard Chang 'an as a trade transit point or destination. Later, many stayed in Chang 'an. According to historical records, as the largest consumer market and commodity distribution center in Chang 'an in the Tang Dynasty, the main force of West Chang 'an was Hu merchants, who opened stores, profited from them and were eager to supply them. Generally speaking, they all live in Chang 'an, get married and have children, and many of them are "Hu Tu", that is, Hu descendants of the second or third generation immigrants. There may be a woman named Cao Hu in the beautiful "Hu Ji" of Chang 'an Hotel.

In addition, there are many Hu artists in the Royal Pear Garden, and a woman named Cao may be elected as emperor and concubine when she enters the palace as a musician. However, if Cao Ye Najib was born into a happy family in Juan, she generally wouldn't use Xiaomi's name "Jena". The third type is "Hu Nv" or "Hu Xuan Nv" employed by the Sogdians in Central Asia. The formal contacts between Hu, the nine surnames of Central Asia, and the Tang Dynasty were often conducted in the form of "tribute" and "ceremony", with various types.

Professor Cai Hongsheng has devoted himself to the study of the history of Sino-Western communication for a long time. According to the statistics of Biography of Emperor Gaozu, during the hundred years from the seventh year of Emperor Gaozu's Wude to the seventh year of Dali, the surname Hu of Tang Dynasty paid tribute for 94 times, including 8 times. Especially in the first half of the 8th century, the Arab Empire launched a military attack to the East, gradually pushing the Central Asian countries forward, forcing them to seek help from China, and China accounted for more than half in the Tang Dynasty. In the fourth year of Tianbao, King Glopoulos of Cao paid tribute, apparently hoping to get rid of the threat of Arabs and become a small country in the Tang Dynasty. In this way, it is natural to pay tribute to Hu.

Ge said: "During the Kaiyuan period in history, women were worshipped by secret countries, Kang countries and Shi countries many times, and only once by the United States." As a traditional custom, pay tribute to Hu and others.

"As a beautiful woman who can sing and dance and behave gracefully, foreign women is one of the easiest to get close to the emperor. During the Kaiyuan period, he was called Hu, a tribute of Cao Cao. She won Xuanzong's love for entering the harem with her own color art, and so did Yang Guifei. She catered to Xuanzong's joy by being good at singing and dancing and knowing the rhythm. " Ge Yongcheng said.