What is the significance of Wu Zetian's "tablet without words"?

Because I have long been concerned about the protection of imperial tombs, I will briefly talk about this issue.

On the east side of Zhuquemen in Ganling, where Li Zhi and Wu Zetian were buried in Tang Gaozong, stands a tall stone tablet with no words on it. This stone tablet is 7.5 meters high, 2. 1 m wide, 1.5 meters thick and weighs100t. It is the first stone tablet in the Tang Dynasty.

As for why Wu Zetian was buried in Ganling in 706, there have always been different opinions about why she set up such a stone tablet without inscriptions. Generally speaking, there are the following representative statements: first, "the merits and demerits are said by future generations"; Second, "needless to say, high work"; Third, "it is needless to say that Buddhism is enlightened"; The fourth is "the theory that Zhongzong did not engrave words".

We know that the stone tablet was originally used as a monument to record merits and demerits. After the death of Emperor Li Zhi, Wu Zetian wrote a 5 100-word "Syria's Holy Record" in Luoyang with great sadness. In this article, Wu Zetian spoke highly of Tang Gaozong Li Zhi's life and attributed the achievements of Emperor Gaozong to him. His feelings can be said to be strong, and his heart can be said to be boxing. After writing this article, Wu Zetian asked Li, the Chinese emperor, to write Dan.

In May 684, Wu Zetian arranged for Zong Rui Emperor Li Dan to bury Li Zhi's coffin back in Chang 'an, and Li Zhi was buried in Ganling in August. Li Dan, the emperor of Zong Rui, carved the Book of Sages into a stone tablet at the request of Wu Zetian, and set it on the west side of Zhuquemen in Ganling.

After the Dragon Coup, Wu Zetian was pulled down from the position of emperor, and Li Xian, the middle emperor, ascended the throne of emperor again. Li Xian is eight blocks behind his mother Wu Zetian in wisdom and strategy. He can't arrange Wu Zetian's funeral calmly, and no one can write a decent inscription for Wu Zetian. And the stone tablet has been polished. Just stand up.

We say that the wordless tablet erected by Gan Ling was not a whim of Wu Zetian, nor was it her creation. At that time, how could she create suspense for history?

Of course, some people later carved words on this stone tablet, some said it was a bronze inscription, some said it was a privet book (the result of Guo Moruo's textual research), and of course there were some inscriptions.

It is interesting to say that this stone tablet, which was not engraved in time, has just become a part of the charm of Ganling and has been praised by later generations for more than 1000 years.