WanPing: Tang Dynasty's Sappho and It-Princess couple

[hazevi]

 

千年万岁，椒花颂声。

 

‘Even after thousands of years, may people chorus your name as I do.’

 

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In 2013, archaeologists found a gravestone epitaph that was labeled with, ‘The Great Tang’s Former Zhaorong of the Shangguan Family.’ The words carved into stone completely changed how historians view some aspects of Tang Dynasty history, they also gave baihe planters a new clue about a previously unmentioned couple in history: Shangguan Wan’er and Princess Taiping. They might be the highest profile, and the closest thing Chinese history will give us to a lesbian couple. 

 

For those who don’t want to read a history lesson, tl;dr:

Princess Taiping: Emperor’s Gaozong and Empress (Emperor) Wu Zetian’s youngest daughter, helped her brothers regain their throne after Wu Zetian’s reign but was killed by her nephew Emperor Xuanzong in a later power struggle. Dealt with Wan’er’s funeral, and on Wan’er’s gravestone epitaph she (most likely) commissioned these words: 

 

‘As if the flowing water halts, the mountains are listing and crumbling. As if the round pearls sinking, a city’s worth of jade shattering. Staring off at the pine in front of the tomb, listening to the wind. Even after thousands of years, may people chorus your name as I do.’

 (潇湘水断，宛委山倾。珠沉圆折，玉碎连城。

甫瞻松槚，静听坟茔。千年万岁，椒花颂声。)

 

 

These words are the basis of the WanPing ship.

 

Shangguan Wan’er: Wu Zetian’s secretary, previous servant, one of the most talented poets and authors Ancient China has seen (I’d say she’s the Chinese equivalent of Sappho, really). Dubbed the 巾帼宰相 (Prime Minister) despite not having held any true political position in the front court. Killed during a rebellion despite standing on the ‘politically correct’ side. Princess Taiping took care of her funeral, and wrote her gravestone epitaph. 

 

Ps: (巾帼 jin guo refers to the cloth many women wore on their heads, so generally it denotes women)

 

Yes, in history, in the end, they were a tragedy, similar to a lot of couples. 

 

Note: this is real history, and this entire relationship is very much not verified within ANY history books. It is simply the imagination/bits of subtle evidence that have been pieced together. That being said, history does often have a habit of pointing fingers at notable females and throwing the whole “Sappho and her friend were roommates” argument. Also, the later Emperor Xuanzong (winner who walked out of the period of political upheaval and went on to rule the Tang Dynasty) was quite against people like Wu Zetian, Wan’er and Taiping holding power, so….

 

 

I stand by this ship, to say the least. 

 

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So, in modern baihe media, there are some AUs that tell their story in a different way, that showcase a different side of them. Here is a list:

 

 

 

The Forbidden Court 《禁庭》 by Liu Yuan Chang Ning (流鸢长凝) - 

 

 

A double rebirth novel, historical AU. The story is set within the real historical time period, and uses many notable events from actual history, but changes the details of the story of WanPing so that they can have a happy ending. This is a must read for history lovers, and whilst I was reading The Forbidden Court in order to understand the story better, that was when I looked up the entire mess of Tang Dynasty history during that time.

I would say that this is quite the difficult read to get through without full knowledge of the time period/understanding of politics, so in my efforts, I have written a mini history lesson. 

( history lesson (warning: a little long) )

As far as I could tell, Liu Yuan Chang Ning stayed really well to history, and included a lot of stories that were rumored to have come from that special period of Chinese history, so walking in as a history lover it felt like finding a gold mine. It is a little long by my standards, but a lot of problems that WanPing faced were cleverly solved and I think that the ending is really on par with the themes Liu Yuan Chang Ning writes about in general: feminism, confidence that a woman in power would be the same, if not better, and sweetness that the main pair has finally gotten the ending they deserve after two lifetimes. 

 

 

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( Reading the Remnants 《问棺》 2nd arc (spoilers!!) )

 

 

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Cai Shu Yuan 彩书怨 - single episode audio drama

45 minute audio drama that mainly tells the story of WanPing mostly through Shangguan Wan’er’s point of view, including how she navigated the difficult position she was in, how she was killed, and how Princess Taiping grieved for her. Great voice acting, I cried along with it. Also, notably, Cai Shu Yuan is the name of Wan'er's most famous poem, and the most famous lines are 'The leaves flow 'neath the bridge towards Dongting Lake, my thoughts are with you ten thousand li away.' (叶下洞庭初，思君万里馀)

 

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Finally, here are some bilibili 手书 (handdrawn fan videos) of WanPing!
1 (my fave) and

2 (beautiful song)

 

Hopefully this was of use and made people more interested in WanPing~

edit a day later: I posted another blurb about the gravestone epitaph in more detail