Why is there no word on Wu Zetian's tombstone? Everyone is shocked to hear this!

China is a vast country with an area of 9.6 million square kilometers, and this vast land contains many secrets. Among them, there are two great puzzles that have not been solved to this day, one in Beijing, one in Xi'an, and the other is even more puzzling.

Tombstone of Wu Zetian

When it comes to Wu Zetian, everyone is certainly familiar. She is the most outstanding female emperor of China and also the only female emperor of this country. After her death, Wu Zetian was buried at Qianling in Liangshan, Xianyang. Qianling has now become a very popular tourist destination. However, when visiting Qianling, everyone will surely notice the blank stele right in front of the mausoleum.

Normally, a stele would be erected in front of the emperor’s tomb to record the emperor’s great achievements during his lifetime. Even if the emperor had not made any contributions to the country, the tombstone would still be compiled and engraved with some key content. However, nothing was written on Wu Zetian’s stele – this also puzzled historians.

There are many different theories surrounding this riddle. Some people believe that because she had so many achievements, it was impossible to record them all on her tombstone. Starting from becoming empress in 655 AD, Wu Zetian was forced to abdicate in 705 AD, participating and holding the highest power for 50 years.

The second hypothesis is that, because she herself knew of her serious crimes during her reign, Wu Zetian erected a "wordless stele" and believed that it was the best way to avoid being smeared by the world. Talking about Wu Zetian's heinous crimes in addition to her achievements in governing the country, there are many oral versions, mainly revolving around her harming the empress to usurp power, even killing her own biological son and royal family to ascend to the throne, and most horrifyingly, the massacre of her lovers.

In addition, the economic and social development in the early Tang Dynasty was like a saddle, while Wu Zetian was at its lowest point when she took power. And during her reign, she lost the four Anxi towns, endangering the unity of the country. Wu Zetian could not establish a glorious biography for herself, but could only leave it blank with a "wordless stele".

The third argument is that Wu Zetian, the mother of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, knew that people would have different opinions about her life, especially the event of deposing Emperor Zhongzong of Tang to usurp the throne. It was very difficult to write good or bad on the tombstone, so she decided to create a "wordless stele" for future generations to judge for themselves.

Another thing is that after Wu Zetian passed away, no one paid attention to the political turmoil. When things settled down and people paid attention again, that period of history had already passed away. It was passed down by word of mouth, making it difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood, so no one knew what was engraved on the tombstone. Regardless of the hypothesis, the riddle of Wu Zetian's tombstone still has no exact answer.

Ancient Loulan Kingdom in the Labo Desert

Loulan (Kroran) was an ancient country that existed from the 2nd century BC in the northeastern region of the Labo Desert, Xinjiang (now China). Loulan is known by its Russian name Krorayina or Kroran.

However, in 630 AD, it suddenly and mysteriously disappeared, and it was not until after its liberation that it was discovered and studied by archaeologists. To this day, the reason for its disappearance remains a great mystery.

Some theories suggest that this ancient and glorious city was reduced to ruins due to natural disasters. Some suggest that it was caused by war. Others suspect that all the people of the ancient Loulan Kingdom were infected with a malignant disease and died one after another in a short period of time.

A hypothesis that is said to have a scientific basis believes that Loulan Kingdom, due to its past abuse of deforestation, lost a large amount of land and water, resulting in desertification and the residents being unable to live, so they moved elsewhere. However, no matter what the explanation is, it is just an unverified hypothesis, and Loulan Kingdom is still a secret box that has not yet found its key.

Concubines in the past had a terrifying "privilege" that even the main wife did not have. Minh Lợi17:19:18 19/03/2025In feudal Chinese society, concubines were seen as mere commodities, bought and sold without any significant rights, and did not even have an official position in the husband's family tree.