Yang Concubine, One of the Four Beauties of China

Yang Gui Fei is one of the most beautiful ladies of ancient China but she got the most unfortunate compare to those three left.

Yang Gui Fei or Yang Concubine was named Yang Yuhuan, she was a daughter of a nobleman in the little village by her 16 years old, her father sent her into the palace to be a wife of the sixteenth years old 18th prince.

After she got into the palace, her beautiful appearance was well-known after the Emperor Tang Xuanzong heard that he wanted to see this girl so that he went to his son’s palace; once Xuangzong saw Yang Yuhuan he suddenly fell in love with her and accommodated her into his palace. In that time Xuanzong was 56 years old and Yang was 22 years old

Yang Concubine’s character

Yang was not only beautiful but also very clever, learned fast and talented in music and dancing, the sound of music of Yang brought Xuanzong into day-dream.

One day Xuanzong took Yang to see the beautiful white lotus, and said, "The lotus is beautiful without spirit, it cannot be compared with my concubine. My concubine is the best flower in the world."

After several years she became ennobled high-ranked imperial concubine and ranked with the Empress the she was named as Yang Gui Fei.

The smile of Yang Gui Fei was enough to enchant and enrapture the Emperor. Xuanzong loved her more than anything in the world; he even built her a natural warm spring pool which she could take a bath at spring time.

The First Class Concubine’s power

After Yang Yuhuan, a normal ordinary girl from little village became the first class concubine Yang Gui Fei; gradually her family’s member gained the high position in the government the finally Yang’s family gained enormous power in the Tang Court. Yang Guo Zhong who was Yang Gui Fei’s eldest brother became the Prime Minister but he was very corrupt.

At the time people in Tang Dynasty preferred to have a daughter than son because of Yang family who got the glory and wealth form Yang Gui Fei so that people hope their daughter could follow her footsteps to be the favorite concubine of the Emperor.

The End of the Prosperity

After several years that Yang Guo Zhong governed the Tang’s land as a prime minister, people got suffer from his corruption and lived very poor and difficult. An Lu Shan who was the non Han Chinese commander-in-chief and governor of Fan Yang had come to visit Chang An the Capital and found out that the Prime Minister so that he wanted to report to the Emperor but not success by this situation he had made a formidable enemy then Yang Guo Zhong also knew about this and vowed to destroy him.

The Rebellion

Yang Guo Zhong sent troops to ransack An Lu Shan’s house and also killed An Lu Shan’s friend that enraged An Lu Shan so that he wanted to retaliate without no others mission.

An Lu Shan leaded 170,000 troops marched to the Chang An the Capital to make a war against Yang Guo Zhong. An Lu Shan’s troop were unstoppable, they crossed the Yellow River, overran Luo Yang and went straight to Chang An.

The people and also the government of Tang were in panic since the Emperor ordered a mass evacuation then not so long, An Lu Shan occupied the capital and demolished it to the ground.

The Execution

The procession of the Emperor went southwest towards Cheng Du with the thousands of the residents from the capital and after arrived Ma Wei Yi which is about 100 kilometers from the Capital the mass of people stopped and refused to go and protect the Emperor.

People demanded the death of Yang Gui Fei and Yang Guo Zhong since they were the cause of this destruction. Xuanzong had no alternative under such extreme circumstances so that he issued an order the have them executed.

The Prime Minister was carried out for the execution instantly and for Yang Gui Fei was to be executed by hanging from the tree in a nearby hill. At the time Yang Gui Fei cried and begged for life, Xuanzong had powerless to help her but hung his head and buried his face in his dragon robes.

After Yang Gui Fei kicked her bucket and died finally, the crowd were quiet. Yang Gui Fei’s jewelry was scattered all over but nobody picked them up.

The Emperor’s life after the death of his love’s one

The death of Yang Gui Fei brought out the spirit of Xuanzong also, he lost his vitality to continue as Emperor so that he abdicated the throne to his third son, Li Heng who became Emperor Su Zong.

After the rebellion were crushed, Tang Court moved back to Chang An and on the way back to the Capital at the spot where Yang Gui Fei died Xuanzong stopped and he tried to find the place that she was buried but couldn’t.

At the times Xuangzong could not bear to look at the full moon as it reminded him to think of Yang Gui Fei. Xuanzong recited the secret the phrases which nobody knew but him and her.

"Up above the sky we wish we were a pair of birds
On earth we wish we were the two branches of a tree."

At Chang An the capital, the natural warm spring pool was still there and also the flowers and trees but no more Yang Gui Fei. Xuanzong lost his will to live, he lived with grieve only hope he had in that time was to see Yang Gui Fei in his dreams every night. He ordered the soothsayer to search for her spirit but never appear, not even just once…